Mil. 23.1Quod sī nōndum satis cernitis, cum rēs ipsa tot tam clārīs argūmentīs signīsque lūceat, pūrā mente atque integrā Milōnem, nūllō scelere imbūtum, nūllō metū perterritum, nūllā cōnscientiā exanimātum Rōmam revertisse, recordāminī, per deōs immortālīs, quae fuerit celeritās reditūs eius, quī ingressus in forum ārdente cūriā, quae magnitūdō animī, quī voltus, quae ōrātiō.But if you do not yet see clearly enough — though the matter itself shines with so many and such clear proofs and signs — that Milo returned to Rome with a pure and blameless mind, stained by no crime, terrified by no fear, unnerved by no guilty conscience, recall, by the immortal gods, how swift his return was, how he entered the forum while the senate house was burning, what greatness of spirit, what a face, what words he showed. Mil. 23.1Neque vērō sē populō sōlum sed etiam senātuī commīsit, neque senātuī modo sed etiam pūblicīs praesidiīs et armīs, neque hīs tantum vērum etiam eius potestātī cui senātus tōtam rem pūblicam, omnem Ītaliae pūbem, cūncta populī Rōmānī arma commīserat: cui numquam sē hic profectō trādidisset, nisi causae suae cōnfīderet, praesertim omnia audientī, magna metuentī, multa suspicantī, nōn nūlla crēdentī.And he entrusted himself not only to the people but also to the senate, and not only to the senate but also to the public guards and arms, and not only to these but also to the power of the man to whom the senate had entrusted the whole state, all the youth of Italy, all the arms of the Roman people: to him this man would surely never have handed himself over unless he had confidence in his cause, especially as that man was hearing everything, fearing much, suspecting many things and believing some.
Mil. 23.1Magna vīs est cōnscientiae, iūdicēs, et magna in utramque partem, ut neque timeant quī nihil commīserint et poenam semper ante oculōs versārī putent quī peccārint.Great is the power of conscience, judges, and great in both directions, so that those who have done no wrong do not fear, and those who have sinned think that punishment is always hovering before their eyes. Mil. 23.62Neque vērō sine ratiōne certā causa Milōnis semper ā senātū probāta est;Nor indeed was it without sure reason that Milo's cause was always approved by the senate; Mil. 23.62vidēbant sapientissimī hominēs factī ratiōnem, praesentiam animī, dēfēnsiōnis cōnstantiam.those very wise men saw the reasoning behind the deed, his presence of mind, the steadiness of his defence. Mil. 23.62An vērō oblītī estis, iūdicēs, recentī illō nūntiō necis Clōdiānae nōn modo inimīcōrum Milōnis sermōnēs et opīniōnēs sed nōn nūllōrum etiam imperītōrum?Or have you forgotten, judges, when the news of Clodius' death was fresh, the talk and opinions not only of Milo's enemies but even of some ignorant people? Mil. 23.62Negābant eum Rōmam esse reditūrum.They said that he would not return to Rome. Mil. 23.63Sīve enim illud animō īrātō ac percitō fēcisset ut incēnsus odiō trucīdāret inimīcum, arbitrābantur eum tantī mortem P. Clōdī putāsse ut aequō animō patriā carēret, cum sanguine inimīcī explēsset odium suum;For if he had done the deed with an angry and excited mind, so as to butcher his enemy while inflamed with hatred, they thought that he had reckoned the death of Publius Clodius worth so much that he would calmly go without his country, once he had sated his hatred with his enemy's blood; Mil. 23.63sīve etiam illīus morte patriam līberāre voluisset, nōn dubitātūrum fortem virum quīn, cum suō perīculō salūtem populō Rōmānō attulisset, cēderet aequō animō lēgibus, sēcum auferret glōriam sempiternam, vōbīs haec fruenda relinqueret quae ipse servāsset.or if he had also wished to free his country by Clodius' death, they thought that, as a brave man, he would not hesitate, having brought safety to the Roman people at his own risk, to yield calmly to the laws, to carry away with him everlasting glory, and to leave to you the enjoyment of these things which he himself had saved.
Mil. 23.63Multī etiam Catilīnam atque illa portenta loquēbantur: "Ērumpet, occupābit aliquem locum, bellum patriae faciet."Many even talked of Catiline and those monstrous deeds: 'He will break out, he will seize some position, he will make war on his country.' Mil. 23.63Miserōs interdum cīvīs optimē dē rē pūblicā meritōs, in quibus hominēs nōn modo rēs praeclārissimās oblīvīscuntur sed etiam nefāriās suspicantur!Wretched at times are citizens who have served the state superbly, in whose case men not only forget their most glorious deeds but even suspect them of wicked ones! Mil. 23.64Ergō illa falsa fuērunt quae certē vēra exstitissent, sī Milō admīsisset aliquid quod nōn posset honestē vērēque dēfendere.So those predictions were false which would certainly have come true, if Milo had committed anything which he could not honourably and truthfully defend.