Mur. 6.1Hic vērō, iūdicēs, et fuit in Asiā et virō fortissimō, parentī suō, magnō adiūmentō in perīculīs, sōlāciō in labōribus, grātulātiōnī in victōriā fuit.This man, judges, was indeed in Asia, and to that bravest of men, his father, he was a great help in dangers, a comfort in toils, a source of congratulation in victory. Mur. 6.1Et sī habet Asia suspīciōnem luxuriae quandam, nōn Asiam numquam vīdisse sed in Asiā continenter vīxisse laudandum est.And if Asia carries a certain suspicion of luxury, what deserves praise is not never to have seen Asia, but to have lived temperately in Asia. Mur. 6.1Quam ob rem nōn Asiae nōmen obiciendum Mūrēnae fuit ex quā laus familiae, memoria generī, honōs et glōria nōminī cōnstitūta est, sed aliquod aut in Asiā susceptum aut ex Asiā dēportātum flāgitium ac dēdecus.Therefore what ought to have been thrown at Murena was not the name of Asia, from which praise was established for his family, renown for his line, and honour and glory for his name, but some outrage and disgrace either committed in Asia or brought back from Asia. Mur. 6.1Meruisse vērō stīpendia in eō bellō quod tum populus Rōmānus nōn modo maximum sed etiam sōlum gerēbat virtūtis, patre imperātōre libentissimē meruisse pietātis, fīnem stīpendiōrum patris victōriam ac triumphum fuisse fēlīcitātis fuit.To have served in that war, which was then not only the greatest but the only one the Roman people was waging, was a mark of courage; to have served most willingly under his father as commander was a mark of filial devotion; that the end of his service was his father's victory and triumph was a mark of good fortune.
Mur. 6.1Maledictō quidem idcircō nihil in hīsce rēbus locī est quod omnia laus occupāvit.There is, then, no room in these matters for abuse, because praise has taken possession of everything. Mur. 6.13Saltātōrem appellat Mūrēnam Catō.Cato calls Murena a dancer. Mur. 6.13Maledictum est, sī vērē obicitur, vehementis accūsātōris, sīn falsō, maledicī convīciātōris.This reproach, if it is made truly, is that of a vigorous accuser; if falsely, that of a slanderous railer. Mur. 6.13Quā rē cum istā sīs auctōritāte, nōn dēbēs, Catō, adripere maledictum ex triviō aut ex scurrārum aliquō convīciō neque temerē cōnsulem populī Rōmānī saltātōrem vocāre, sed circumspicere quibus praetereā vitiīs adfectum esse necesse sit eum cui vērē istud obicī possit.Therefore, since you have such authority, you ought not, Cato, to snatch up abuse from the street corner or from some brawl of buffoons, nor rashly call a consul of the Roman people a dancer, but to consider what other vices must necessarily belong to the man to whom that charge can truly be made. Mur. 6.13Nēmō enim ferē saltat sōbrius, nisi forte īnsānit, neque in sōlitūdine neque in convīviō moderātō atque honestō.For hardly anyone dances when sober, unless perhaps he is mad, either alone or at a moderate and respectable dinner.
Mur. 6.13Tempestīvī convīvī, amoenī locī, multārum dēliciārum comes est extrēma saltātiō.Dancing is the last companion of an early-starting banquet, a pleasant setting and many delights. Mur. 6.13Tū mihi adripis hoc quod necesse est omnium vitiōrum esse postrēmum, relinquis illa quibus remōtīs hoc vitium omnīnō esse nōn potest?Do you seize on this, which must be the last of all the vices, and leave aside those without which this vice cannot exist at all? Mur. 6.13Nūllum turpe convīvium, nōn amor, nōn cōmissātiō, nōn libīdō, nōn sūmptus ostenditur, et, cum ea nōn reperiantur quae voluptātis nōmen habent quamquam vitiōsa sunt, in quō ipsam luxuriam reperīre nōn potes, in eō tē umbram luxuriae repertūrum putās?No shameful banquet is shown, no love affair, no revelling, no lust, no extravagance; and when those things which bear the name of pleasure, vicious though they are, are not found, do you think that in a man in whom you cannot find luxury itself, you will find the shadow of luxury? Mur. 6.14Nihil igitur in vītam Mūrēnae dīcī potest, nihil, inquam, omnīnō, iūdicēs.Nothing, then, can be said against Murena's life, nothing, I say, at all, judges. Mur. 6.14Sīc ā mē cōnsul dēsignātus dēfenditur ut eius nūlla fraus, nūlla avāritia, nūlla perfidia, nūlla crūdēlitās, nūllum petulāns dictum in vītā prōferātur.So am I defending the consul-elect that no fraud, no greed, no treachery, no cruelty, no insolent word in his life is brought forward.
Mur. 6.14Bene habet;Very well; Mur. 6.14iacta sunt fundāmenta dēfēnsiōnis.the foundations of the defence have been laid. Mur. 6.14Nōndum enim nostrīs laudibus, quibus ūtar posteā, sed prope inimīcōrum cōnfessiōne virum bonum atque integrum hominem dēfendimus.For not yet with my own praises, which I shall use later, but almost by the admission of his enemies, I am defending a good and upright man. Mur. 6.14Quō cōnstitūtō facilior est mihi aditus ad contentiōnem dignitātis, quae pars altera fuit accūsātiōnis.With this established, my approach is easier to the comparison of standing, which was the second part of the accusation.