Cael. 3.1ut ad mē revertar, ab hīs fontibus prōflūxī ad hominum fāmam, et meus hic forēnsis labor vītaeque ratiō dēmānāvit ad exīstimātiōnem hominum paulō lātius commendātiōne ac iūdiciō meōrum.to return to myself, it was from these sources that I flowed out to public renown, and this work of mine in the courts and my way of life spread rather more widely into men's esteem through the commendation and judgement of my own people. Cael. 3.1Nam quod obiectum est dē pudīcitiā quodque omnium accūsātōrum nōn crīminibus sed vōcibus maledictīsque celebrātum est, id numquam tam acerbē feret M. Caelius ut eum paeniteat nōn dēfōrmem esse nātum.As for the charge made about his chastity, which has been bandied about not in the charges but in the clamour and abuse of all the prosecutors, Marcus Caelius will never take it so bitterly as to regret that he was not born ugly. Cael. 3.1Sunt enim ista maledicta pervolgāta in omnīs quōrum in adulēscentiā fōrma et speciēs fuit līberālis.For such abuse is commonly levelled at all whose looks and appearance in youth were handsome. Cael. 3.1Sed aliud est male dīcere, aliud accūsāre.But it is one thing to abuse, another to accuse.
Cael. 3.1Accūsātiō crīmen dēsīderat, rem ut dēfīniat, hominem notet, argūmentō probet, teste cōnfirmet;An accusation requires a charge, so as to define the act, to brand the man, to prove it by argument, to confirm it by witness; Cael. 3.1maledictiō autem nihil habet prōpositī praeter contumēliam;abuse, on the other hand, has no aim beyond insult; Cael. 3.1quae sī petulantius iactātur, convīcium, sī facētius, urbānitās nōminātur.if it is flung about rather insolently, it is called slander; if rather wittily, urbanity. Cael. 3.7Quam quidem partem accūsātiōnis admīrātus sum et molestē tulī potissimum esse Ātrātīnō datam.That part of the accusation, indeed, I was surprised and sorry to see assigned to Atratinus above all. Cael. 3.7Neque enim decēbat neque aetās illa postulābat neque, id quod animum advertere poterātis, pudor patiēbātur optimī adulēscentis in tālī illum ōrātiōne versārī.For it was not fitting, nor did his age require it, nor, as you could observe, did the modesty of this excellent young man allow him to engage in such a speech. Cael. 3.7Vellem aliquis ex vōbīs rōbustiōribus hunc male dīcendī locum suscēpisset;I could wish that one of you sturdier men had taken on this business of abuse; Cael. 3.7aliquantō līberius et fortius et magis mōre nostrō refūtārēmus istam male dīcendī licentiam.I should rebut that licence of abuse rather more freely and boldly, and more in our usual way.
Cael. 3.7Tēcum, Ātrātīne, agam lēnius, quod et pudor tuus moderātur ōrātiōnī meae et meum ergā tē parentemque tuum beneficium tuērī dēbeō.With you, Atratinus, I shall deal more gently, both because your modesty restrains my speech and because I ought to preserve the kindness I have shown to you and your father. Cael. 3.7Illud tamen tē esse admonitum volō, prīmum ut quālis es tālem tē omnēs esse exīstiment, ut quantum ā rērum turpitūdine abes tantum tē ā verbōrum lībertāte sēiungās;Yet I wish you to take this warning: first, that everyone should think you to be such as you are, so that as far as you stand from baseness in deeds, so far you keep yourself from licence in words; Cael. 3.8deinde ut ea in alterum nē dīcās quae, cum tibi falsō respōnsa sint, ērubēscās.next, that you should not say against another what would make you blush if it were falsely said back to you. Cael. 3.8Quis est enim cui via ista nōn pateat, quis est quī huic aetātī atque istī dignitātī nōn possit quam velit petulanter, etiam sī sine ūllā suspīciōne, at nōn sine argūmentō male dīcere?For who is there to whom that road is not open, who is there who could not insolently abuse a man of this age and that standing as much as he likes, even if without any ground for suspicion, yet not without some pretext?
Cael. 3.8Sed istārum partium culpa est eōrum quī tē agere voluērunt;But the blame for that role lies with those who wanted you to play it; Cael. 3.8laus pudōris tuī, quod ea tē invītum dīcere vidēbāmus, ingenī, quod ōrnātē polītēque dīxistī.the credit goes to your modesty, because we saw that you said these things unwillingly, and to your talent, because you said them elegantly and with polish.