Mil. 15.1At quod erat tempus?And what sort of time was it? Mil. 15.1Clārissimus et fortissimus vir cōnsul, inimīcus Clōdiō, P. Lentulus, ultor sceleris illīus, prōpugnātor senātūs, dēfēnsor vestrae voluntātis, patrōnus pūblicī cōnsēnsūs, restitūtor salūtis meae;A most distinguished and most courageous man was consul, Publius Lentulus, an enemy of Clodius, the avenger of that crime of his, the champion of the senate, the defender of your wishes, the protector of the public consensus, the restorer of my safety; Mil. 15.1septem praetōrēs, octō tribūnī plēbeī illīus adversāriī, dēfēnsōrēs meī;seven praetors and eight tribunes of the plebs were his opponents and my defenders; Mil. 15.1Cn. Pompeius, auctor et dux meī reditūs, illīus hostis, cuius sententiam senātus omnis dē salūte meā gravissimam et ōrnātissimam secūtus est, quī populum Rōmānum est cohortātus;Gnaeus Pompey, the author and leader of my return, was his enemy — the man whose most weighty and most honourable proposal concerning my restoration the whole senate followed, who exhorted the Roman people; Mil. 15.1quī cum dēcrētum dē mē Capuae fēcisset, ipse cūnctae Ītaliae cupientī et eius fidem implōrantī signum dedit ut ad mē restituendum Rōmam concurreret;who, after he had made a decree about me at Capua, himself gave the signal to all Italy, which longed for it and begged for his protection, to hurry to Rome to restore me; Mil. 15.1omnium dēnique in illum odia cīvium ārdēbant dēsīderiō meī, quem quī tum interēmisset, nōn dē impūnitāte eius, sed dē praemiīs cōgitārētur.in short, the hatred of all citizens against him was burning with their longing for me, so that, had anyone killed him then, people would have been thinking not of impunity for him but of rewards.
Mil. 15.40Tum sē Milō continuit et P. Clōdium in iūdicium bis, ad vim numquam vocāvit.At that time Milo restrained himself, and twice summoned Publius Clodius to court, but never to violence. Mil. 15.40Quid?What then? Mil. 15.40prīvātō Milōne et reō ad populum accūsante P. Clōdiō, cum in Cn. Pompeium prō Milōne dīcentem impetus factus est, quae tum nōn modo occāsiō sed etiam causa illīus opprimendī fuit?When Milo was a private citizen and on trial before the people, with Publius Clodius as prosecutor, and an assault was made on Gnaeus Pompey as he spoke for Milo, what an opportunity, and indeed what a justification, was there then for crushing him? Mil. 15.40Nūper vērō cum M. Antōnius summam spem salūtis bonīs omnibus attulisset gravissimamque adulēscēns nōbilissimus reī pūblicae partem fortissimē suscēpisset, atque illam bēluam, iūdicī laqueōs dēclīnantem, iam inrētītam tenēret, quī locus, quod tempus illud, dī immortālēs, fuit!And recently, when Marcus Antonius had brought the highest hope of safety to all good men, and that most noble young man had most bravely taken up a most weighty share of public duty, and was already holding that beast entangled as it tried to slip the snares of a trial, what a place, what a moment that was, immortal gods!
Mil. 15.40Cum sē ille fugiēns in scālārum tenebrās abdidisset, magnum Milōnī fuit cōnficere illam pestem nūllā suā invidiā, M. vērō Antōnī maximā glōriā?When in his flight he had hidden himself in the darkness of a stairway, would it have been a great matter for Milo to finish off that plague, with no odium to himself and the greatest glory for Marcus Antonius? Mil. 15.41Quid?What then? Mil. 15.41comitiīs in campō quotiēns potestās fuit!At the elections on the Campus, how often there was the chance! Mil. 15.41cum ille in saepta inrūpisset, gladiōs dēstringendōs, lapidēs iaciendōs cūrāsset, Dein subitō voltū Milōnis perterritus fugeret ad Tiberim, vōs et omnēs bonī vōta facerētis ut Milōnī ūtī virtūte suā libēret.When he had burst into the voting enclosures and had seen to it that swords were drawn and stones thrown, and then, terrified by Milo's face, suddenly fled to the Tiber, you and all good men prayed that Milo might choose to use his courage.