Mur. 35.1Praefectum fabrum semel locum tribūlibus suīs dedisse, quid statuent in virōs prīmāriōs quī in circō tōtās tabernās tribūlium causā comparārunt?That a chief of engineers once gave a place to his fellow tribesmen — what will they decide against leading men who have acquired whole booths in the circus for the sake of their fellow tribesmen? Mur. 35.1Haec omnia sectātōrum, spectāculōrum, prandiōrum item crīmina ā multitūdine in tuam nimiam dīligentiam, Servī, coniecta sunt, in quibus tamen Mūrēna ab senātūs auctōritāte dēfenditur.All these charges about followers, shows and lunches alike were cast by the crowd upon your excessive diligence, Servius, and yet on these points Murena is defended by the authority of the senate. Mur. 35.1Quid enim?What then? Mur. 35.1senātus num obviam prōdīre crīmen putat?does the senate think it a crime to go out to meet a candidate? Mur. 35.1Nōn, sed mercēde.No, but to do it for pay. Mur. 35.1Convince.Prove it. Mur. 35.1Num sectārī multōs?Does it think it a crime that many follow him? Mur. 35.1Nōn, sed conductōs.No, but hired men. Mur. 35.1Docē.Show it.
Mur. 35.1Num locum ad spectandum dare aut ad prandium invītāre?Does it think it a crime to give a place at a show or to invite to lunch? Mur. 35.1Minimē, sed volgō, passim.Not at all, but doing it generally, indiscriminately. Mur. 35.1Quid est volgō?What does 'generally' mean? Mur. 35.1Vniversōs.To everyone. Mur. 35.1Nōn igitur, sī Natta, summō locō adulēscēns, quī et quō animō iam sit et quālis vir futūrus sit vidēmus, in equitum centuriīs voluit esse et ad hoc officium necessitūdinis et ad reliquum tempus grātiōsus, id erit eius vītricō fraudī aut crīminī, nec, sī virgō Vestālis, huius propinqua et necessāria, locum suum gladiātōrium concessit huic, nōn et illa piē fēcit et hic ā culpā est remōtus.Therefore if Natta, a young man of the highest rank, whose present spirit and future character as a man we can see, wished to be influential in the centuries of knights, both for this duty of kinship and for the time to come, that will not be a cause of harm or a charge against his stepfather; nor, if a Vestal Virgin, his relative and close connection, gave up her place at the gladiatorial games to him, did she act otherwise than dutifully, or is he anything but free from blame.
Mur. 35.1Omnia haec sunt officia necessāriōrum, commoda tenuiōrum, mūnia candidātōrum.All these are the services of close friends, the advantages of the poor, the duties of candidates. Mur. 35.74At enim agit mēcum austērē et Stōicē Catō, negat vērum esse adlicī benivolentiam cibō, negat iūdicium hominum in magistrātibus mandandīs corrumpī voluptātibus oportēre.But Cato deals with me sternly and in Stoic fashion; he denies that it is right for goodwill to be enticed by food, he denies that men's judgement in entrusting magistracies ought to be corrupted by pleasures. Mur. 35.74Ergō, ad cēnam petītiōnis causā sī quis vocat, condemnētur?So if anyone invites someone to dinner for the sake of his candidacy, is he to be condemned? Mur. 35.74"Quippe" inquit "tū mihi summum imperium, tū summam auctōritātem, tū gubernācula reī pūblicae petās fovendīs hominum sēnsibus et dēlēniendīs animīs et adhibendīs voluptātibus?'Indeed,' he says, 'would you seek supreme power, supreme authority, the helm of the state, by pampering men's senses, soothing their minds and plying them with pleasures? Mur. 35.74Vtrum lēnōcinium" inquit "ā grege dēlicātae iuventūtis, an orbis terrārum imperium ā populō Rōmānō petēbās?"Were you seeking,' he says, 'a pander's trade from a flock of pampered youths, or the empire of the world from the Roman people?' Mur. 35.74Horribilis ōrātiō;A dreadful speech; Mur. 35.74sed eam ūsus, vīta, mōrēs, cīvitās ipsa respuit.but practice, life, custom, the state itself rejects it.
Mur. 35.74Neque tamen Lacedaemoniī, auctōrēs istīus vītae atque ōrātiōnis, quī cōtīdiānīs epulīs in rōbore accumbunt, neque vērō Crētēs quōrum nēmō gustāvit umquam cubāns, melius quam Rōmānī hominēs quī tempora voluptātis labōrisque dispertiunt rēs pūblicās suās retinuērunt;And yet neither the Spartans, the originators of that way of life and speech, who recline at their daily meals on hard oak, nor indeed the Cretans, none of whom has ever eaten lying down, preserved their states better than the Romans, who divide their time between pleasure and toil; Mur. 35.74quōrum alterī ūnō adventū nostrī exercitūs dēlētī sunt, alterī nostrī imperī praesidiō disciplīnam suam lēgēsque cōnservant.of whom the latter were destroyed by a single arrival of our army, while the former preserve their discipline and laws through the protection of our empire.