Mil. 30.1Etenim sī id nōn negat ex quō nihil petit nisi ut ignōscātur, dubitāret id fatērī ex quō etiam praemia laudis essent petenda?For if he does not deny the deed for which he seeks nothing but pardon, would he hesitate to admit a deed for which he could even claim the rewards of praise? Mil. 30.1nisi vērō grātius putat esse vōbīs suī sē capitis quam vestrī dēfēnsōrem fuisse;unless indeed he thinks it more welcome to you that he should have been the defender of his own life rather than of yours; Mil. 30.1cum praesertim in tālī cōnfessiōne, sī grātī esse vellētis, honōrēs adsequerētur amplissimōs.especially since, by such a confession, if you were willing to be grateful, he would obtain the highest honours. Mil. 30.1Sīn factum vōbīs nōn probārētur—quamquam quī poterat salūs sua cuiquam nōn probārī?—sed tamen sī minus fortissimī virī virtūs cīvibus grāta cecidisset, magnō animō cōnstantīque cēderet ex ingrātā cīvitāte.But if the deed did not win your approval — though how could anyone fail to approve his own safety? — but still, if the courage of a most brave man had proved less welcome to the citizens, he would withdraw with a great and steadfast spirit from an ungrateful community.
Mil. 30.1Nam quid esset ingrātius quam laetārī cēterōs, lūgēre eum sōlum propter quem cēterī laetārentur?For what would be more ungrateful than that the rest should rejoice, and he alone should mourn, thanks to whom the rest were rejoicing? Mil. 30.82Quamquam hōc animō semper fuimus omnēs in patriae prōditōribus opprimendīs ut, quoniam futūra esset nostra glōria, perīculum quoque et invidiam nostram putārēmus.And yet we have all always been of this mind in crushing traitors to our country, that, since the glory would be ours, we considered the danger and the odium ours as well. Mil. 30.82Nam quae mihi tribuenda ipsī laus esset, cum tantum in cōnsulātū meō prō vōbīs ac līberīs vestrīs ausus essem, sī id quod cōnābar sine maximīs dīmicātiōnibus meīs mē esse ausūrum arbitrārer?For what praise would have been due to me myself, when I had dared so much in my consulship for you and your children, if I had thought that I could dare what I was attempting without the greatest struggles on my part? Mil. 30.82Quae mulier interficere scelerātum ac perniciōsum cīvem nōn audēret, sī perīculum nōn timēret?What woman would not dare to kill a wicked and destructive citizen, if she did not fear danger?
Mil. 30.82Prōpositā invidiā, morte, poenā quī nihilō segnius rem pūblicam dēfendit, is vir vērē putandus est.The man who, with odium, death and punishment before him, defends the state no less vigorously is the one who must truly be considered a man. Mil. 30.82Populī grātī est praemiīs adficere bene meritōs dē rē pūblicā cīvīs, virī fortis nē suppliciīs quidem movērī ut fortiter fēcisse paeniteat.It is the part of a grateful people to reward citizens who have served the state well, and of a brave man not to be moved even by punishments to regret having acted bravely. Mil. 30.83Quam ob rem ūterētur eādem cōnfessiōne T. Annius quā Ahāla, quā Nāsīca, quā Opīmius, quā Marius, quā nōsmet ipsī, et, sī grāta rēs pūblica esset, laetārētur;Therefore Titus Annius would make the same confession as Ahala, as Nasica, as Opimius, as Marius, as we ourselves, and, if the state were grateful, he would rejoice; Mil. 30.83sī ingrāta, tamen in gravī fortūnā cōnscientiā suā nīterētur.if ungrateful, he would still lean on his own conscience in his hard fortune. Mil. 30.83Sed huius beneficī grātiam, iūdicēs, Fortūna populī Rōmānī et vestra fēlīcitās et dī immortālēs sibi dēbērī putant.But the gratitude for this benefit, judges, the Fortune of the Roman people, your own good luck and the immortal gods think is owed to themselves.
Mil. 30.83Nec vērō quisquam aliter arbitrārī potest, nisi quī nūllam vim esse dūcit nūmenque dīvīnum, quem neque imperī nostrī magnitūdō nec sōl ille nec caelī signōrumque mōtūs nec vicissitūdinēs rērum atque ōrdinēs movent neque, id quod maximum est, maiōrum nostrōrum sapientia, quī sacra, quī caerimōniās, quī auspicia et ipsī sānctissimē coluērunt et nōbīs suīs posterīs prōdidērunt.Nor indeed can anyone think otherwise, unless it is someone who believes there is no divine power or will, someone whom neither the greatness of our empire moves, nor that sun, nor the movements of the heavens and the stars, nor the changes and orders of nature, nor, what is greatest, the wisdom of our ancestors, who both themselves most devoutly cherished sacred rites, ceremonies and auspices and handed them down to us, their descendants.