Mil. 16.1Quem igitur cum omnium grātiā nōluit, hunc voluit cum aliquōrum querēlā, quem iūre, quem locō, quem tempore, quem impūne nōn est ausus, hunc iniūriā, inīquō locō, aliēnō tempore, perīculō capitis nōn dubitāvit occīdere?So the man whom he would not kill with everyone's approval, him he chose to kill amid the complaints of some? The man he did not dare to kill lawfully, in a good place, at a good time, with impunity, him he did not hesitate to kill unlawfully, in a bad place, at an unfavourable time, at the risk of his life? Mil. 16.42praesertim, iūdicēs, cum honōris amplissimī contentiō et diēs comitiōrum subesset, quō quidem tempore—sciō enim quam timida sit ambitiō quantaque et quam sollicita sit cupiditās cōnsulātūs —omnia nōn modo quae reprehendī palam sed etiam quae obscūrē cōgitārī possunt timēmus, rūmōrem, fābulam falsam, fictam, levem perhorrēscimus, ōra omnium atque oculōs intuēmur.especially, judges, when the contest for the highest office and the day of the elections were close at hand — a time at which (for I know how timid ambition is, and how great and how anxious the desire for the consulship) we fear everything, not only what can be openly criticised but even what can be secretly thought, we shudder at a rumour, a story false, invented and idle, we watch the faces and eyes of everyone.
Mil. 16.42Nihil est enim tam molle, tam tenerum, tam aut fragile aut flexibile quam voluntās ergā nōs sēnsusque cīvium, quī nōn modo improbitātī īrāscuntur candidātōrum sed etiam in rēctē factīs saepe fastīdiunt.For nothing is so soft, so tender, so fragile or so pliable as the goodwill and feeling of citizens towards us; they are not only angry at the dishonesty of candidates but are often fastidious even about their right actions. Mil. 16.43Hunc igitur diem campī spērātum atque exoptātum sibi prōpōnēns Milō, cruentīs manibus scelus et facinus prae sē ferēns et cōnfitēns ad illa augusta centuriārum auspicia veniēbat?Was Milo, then, setting before himself this day of the Campus, so hoped for and longed for, coming to those august auspices of the centuries with bloody hands, flaunting and confessing his crime and misdeed? Mil. 16.43Quam hoc nōn crēdibile est in hōc, quam idem in Clōdiō nōn dubitandum, quī sē ipse interfectō Milōne regnātūrum putāret!How incredible this is in his case, and how beyond doubt in the case of Clodius, who thought that once Milo was killed he himself would reign! Mil. 16.43Quid?What then? Mil. 16.43quod caput est audāciae, iūdicēs, quis ignōrat maximam inlecebram esse peccandī impūnitātis spem?Who does not know, judges — and this is the root of audacity — that the greatest enticement to wrongdoing is the hope of impunity?
Mil. 16.43In utrō igitur haec fuit?In which of the two, then, was this hope? Mil. 16.43in Milōne quī etiam nunc reus est factī aut praeclārī aut certē necessāriī, an in Clōdiō quī ita iūdicia poenamque contempserat ut eum nihil dēlectāret quod aut per nātūram fās esset aut per lēgēs licēret?In Milo, who even now is on trial for a deed either glorious or at any rate necessary, or in Clodius, who had so despised courts and punishment that nothing pleased him that was either right by nature or permitted by law? Mil. 16.44Sed quid ego argūmentor, quid plūra disputō?But why do I argue, why do I debate further? Mil. 16.44Tē, Q. Petilī, appellō, optimum et fortissimum cīvem;I appeal to you, Quintus Petilius, an excellent and most courageous citizen; Mil. 16.44tē, M. Catō, testor, quōs mihi dīvīna quaedam sors dedit iūdicēs.I call you to witness, Marcus Cato, you whom some divine chance has given me as judges. Mil. 16.44Vōs ex M. Favōniō audīstis Clōdium sibi dīxisse, et audīstis vīvō Clōdiō, peritūrum Milōnem trīduō.You heard from Marcus Favonius that Clodius told him — and you heard it while Clodius was alive — that Milo would perish within three days.
Mil. 16.44Post diem tertium gesta rēs est quam dīxerat.On the third day after he had said it, the deed was done. Mil. 16.44Cum ille nōn dubitārit aperīre quid cōgitāret, vōs potestis dubitāre quid fēcerit?When he did not hesitate to reveal what he was planning, can you hesitate about what he did?