Mur. 28.1Veniō nunc ad Catōnem, quod est fundāmentum ac rōbur tōtīus accūsātiōnis;I come now to Cato, who is the foundation and strength of the whole accusation; Mur. 28.1quī tamen ita gravis est accūsātor et vehemēns ut multō magis eius auctōritātem quam crīminātiōnem pertimēscam.yet he is so weighty and vigorous an accuser that I fear his authority much more than his charges. Mur. 28.1In quō ego accūsātōre, iūdicēs, prīmum illud dēprecābor nē quid Mūrēnae dignitās illīus, nē quid exspectātiō tribūnātūs, nē quid tōtīus vītae splendor et gravitās noceat, dēnique nē ea sōlī huic obsint bona Catōnis quae ille adeptus est ut multīs prōdesse possit.In the case of this accuser, judges, I shall first beg that neither his standing, nor the expectation of his tribunate, nor the splendour and dignity of his whole life may harm Murena at all; in short, that those good qualities of Cato, which he has acquired so that he may be of service to many, may not damage this man alone. Mur. 28.1Bis cōnsul fuerat Āfricānus et duōs terrōrēs huius imperī, Carthāginem Numantiamque, dēlēverat cum accūsāvit L. Cottam.Africanus had been consul twice and had destroyed the two terrors of this empire, Carthage and Numantia, when he prosecuted Lucius Cotta.
Mur. 28.1Erat in eō summa ēloquentia, summa fidēs, summa integritās, auctōritās tanta quanta in imperiō populī Rōmānī quod illīus operā tenēbātur.There was in him the highest eloquence, the highest honour, the highest integrity, and an authority as great as that of the empire of the Roman people, which was upheld by his efforts. Mur. 28.1Saepe hoc maiōrēs nātū dīcere audīvī, hanc accūsātōris eximiam vim et dignitātem plūrimum Cottae prōfuisse.I have often heard my elders say that this exceptional power and standing of the accuser helped Cotta greatly. Mur. 28.1Nōluērunt sapientissimī hominēs quī tum rem illam iūdicābant ita quemquam cadere in iūdiciō ut nimiīs adversāriī vīribus abiectus vidērētur.The very wise men who were then judging that case did not want anyone to fall in a trial in such a way that he seemed to have been overthrown by the excessive strength of his opponent. Mur. 28.59Quid?What of this? Mur. 28.59Ser. Galbam — nam trāditum memoriae est — nōnne proavō tuō, fortissimō atque flōrentissimō virō, Catōnī, incumbentī ad eius perniciem populus Rōmānus ēripuit?Servius Galba — for it has been handed down to memory — did not the Roman people snatch him from your great-grandfather Cato, a most brave and eminent man, when he was bent on his ruin?
Mur. 28.59Semper in hāc cīvitāte nimis magnīs accūsātōrum opibus et populus ūniversus et sapientēs ac multum in posterum prōspicientēs iūdicēs restitērunt.Always in this state both the whole people and wise judges, who look far into the future, have resisted the excessive power of accusers. Mur. 28.59Nōlō accūsātor in iūdicium potentiam adferat, nōn vim maiōrem aliquam, nōn auctōritātem excellentem, nōn nimiam grātiam.I do not want an accuser to bring power into court, nor any superior force, nor outstanding authority, nor excessive influence. Mur. 28.59Valeant haec omnia ad salūtem innocentium, ad opem impotentium, ad auxilium calamitōsōrum, in perīculō vērō et in perniciē cīvium repudientur.Let all these things avail for the safety of the innocent, the aid of the powerless, the help of the unfortunate, but in the danger and ruin of citizens let them be rejected. Mur. 28.60Nam sī quis hoc forte dīcet, Catōnem dēscēnsūrum ad accūsandum nōn fuisse, nisi prius dē causā iūdicāsset, inīquam lēgem, iūdicēs, et miseram condiciōnem īnstituet perīculīs hominum, sī exīstimābit iūdicium accūsātōris in reum prō aliquō praeiūdiciō valēre oportēre.For if anyone perhaps says that Cato would not have come down to prosecute unless he had first judged the case, he will establish an unjust law, judges, and a wretched condition for men in peril, if he thinks that the accuser's judgement against the defendant ought to count as a kind of prior verdict.