Mur. 8.1Quamquam ego iam putābam, iūdicēs, multīs virīs fortibus nē ignōbilitās generis obicerētur meō labōre esse perfectum, quī nōn modo Curiīs, Catōnibus, Pompeiīs, antīquīs illīs fortissimīs virīs, novīs hominibus, sed hīs recentibus, Mariīs et Dīdiīs et Caeliīs, commemorandīs id agēbam.And yet I thought, judges, that through my labour it had been brought about that lowly birth would no longer be thrown in the face of many brave men, since I made a point of citing not only those new men of old, the bravest of men, the Curii, the Catos, the Pompeii, but also these recent ones, the Marii, the Didii and the Caelii. Mur. 8.1Cum vērō ego tantō intervallō claustra ista nōbilitātis refrēgissem, ut aditus ad cōnsulātum posthāc, sīcut apud maiōrēs nostrōs fuit, nōn magis nōbilitātī quam virtūtī patēret, nōn arbitrābar, cum ex familiā vetere et inlūstrī cōnsul dēsignātus ab equitis Rōmānī fīliō cōnsule dēfenderētur, dē generis novitāte accūsātōrēs esse dictūrōs.But when I, after so long an interval, had broken down those barriers of nobility, so that from now on the way to the consulship should lie open, as it did in our ancestors' day, no more to nobility than to merit, I did not think that, when a consul-elect from an old and illustrious family was being defended by a consul who was the son of a Roman knight, the accusers would speak about the newness of his family.
Mur. 8.1Etenim mihi ipsī accidit ut cum duōbus patriciīs, alterō improbissimō atque audācissimō, alterō modestissimō atque optimō virō, peterem;Indeed, it happened to me myself that I stood for office along with two patricians, one most wicked and reckless, the other a most modest and excellent man; Mur. 8.1superāvī tamen dignitāte Catilīnam, grātiā Galbam.yet I surpassed Catiline in standing and Galba in influence. Mur. 8.1Quod sī id crīmen hominī novō esse dēbēret, profectō mihi neque inimīcī neque invidī dēfuissent.But if that ought to be a charge against a new man, surely I should not have lacked enemies or envious men. Mur. 8.18Omittāmus igitur dē genere dīcere cuius est magna in utrōque dignitās;Let us then leave off speaking about birth, in which both men have great distinction; Mur. 8.18videāmus cētera.let us look at the rest. Mur. 8.18"Quaestūram ūnā petiit et sum ego factus prior."'He stood for the quaestorship with me, and I was elected first.' Mur. 8.18Nōn est respondendum ad omnia.Not everything needs a reply. Mur. 8.18Neque enim vestrum quemquam fugit, cum multī parēs dignitāte fīant, ūnus autem prīmum sōlus possit obtinēre, nōn eundem esse ōrdinem dignitātis et renūntiātiōnis, proptereā quod renūntiātiō gradūs habeat, dignitās autem sit persaepe eadem omnium.For it escapes none of you that, when many men equal in standing are elected, but only one can take first place, the order of standing and the order of declaration are not the same, because declaration has a ranking, while standing is very often the same for all.
Mur. 8.18Sed quaestūra utrīusque prope modum parī mōmentō sortis fuit.But the quaestorship of each of you was of almost equal weight by lot. Mur. 8.18Habuit hic lēge Titiā prōvinciam tacitam et quiētam, tū illam cui, cum quaestōrēs sortiuntur, etiam adclāmārī solet, Ōstiēnsem, nōn tam grātiōsam et inlūstrem quam negōtiōsam et molestam.He had by the Titian law a silent and quiet province; you had that one which is usually greeted with shouts when the quaestors draw lots, Ostia, not so much popular and conspicuous as busy and troublesome. Mur. 8.18Cōnsēdit utrīusque nōmen in quaestūrā.The names of both of you lay quiet during the quaestorship. Mur. 8.18Nūllum enim vōbīs sors campum dedit in quō excurrere virtūs cognōscīque posset.For the lot gave neither of you a field in which merit could run out and be recognised. Mur. 8.19Reliquī temporis spatium in contentiōnem vocātur.The rest of the time is now brought into the contest. Mur. 8.19Ab utrōque dissimillimā ratiōne trāctātum est.It was spent by the two of them in the most different ways.