Rosc. Am. 2.1Hīs dē causīs ego huic causae patrōnus exstitī, nōn ēlēctus ūnus quī maximō ingeniō sed relictus ex omnibus quī minimō perīculō possem dīcere, neque utī satis firmō praesidiō dēfēnsus Sex. Roscius vērum utī nē omnīnō dēsertus esset.For these reasons I have come forward as advocate in this case, not chosen as the one who could speak with the greatest talent, but left over from them all as the one who could speak with the least danger, and not so that Sextus Roscius might be defended with a sufficiently strong protection, but so that he might not be wholly deserted. Rosc. Am. 2.1Forsitan quaerātis quī iste terror sit et quae tanta formīdō quae tot ac tālīs virōs impediat quō minus prō capite et fortūnīs alterīus quem ad modum cōnsuērunt causam velint dīcere.Perhaps you ask what this terror is, and what fear so great, that hinders so many men of such quality from being willing to plead, as they are accustomed to, for the life and fortunes of another. Rosc. Am. 2.1Quod adhūc vōs ignōrāre nōn mīrum est, proptereā quod cōnsultō ab accūsātōribus eius reī quae cōnflāvit hoc iūdicium mentiō facta nōn est.It is no wonder that you are still unaware of this, because the accusers have deliberately made no mention of the matter which has brought about this trial.
Rosc. Am. 2.6Quae rēs ea est?What is that matter? Rosc. Am. 2.6Bona patris huiusce Sex. Roscī quae sunt sexāgiēns, quae dē virō fortissimō et clārissimō L. Sullā, quem honōris causā nōminō, duōbus mīlibus nummum sēsē dīcit ēmisse adulēscēns vel potentissimus hōc tempore nostrae cīvitātis, L. Cornēlius Chrȳsogonus.The property of the father of Sextus Roscius here, which is worth six million sesterces, which a young man who is perhaps the most powerful in our state at this time, Lucius Cornelius Chrysogonus, says he bought for two thousand sesterces from that most gallant and illustrious man Lucius Sulla, whom I name with respect. Rosc. Am. 2.6Is ā vōbīs, iūdicēs, hoc postulat ut, quoniam in aliēnam pecūniam tam plēnam atque praeclāram nūllō iūre invāserit, quoniamque eī pecūniae vīta Sex. Roscī obstāre atque officere videātur, dēleātis ex animō suō suspīciōnem omnem metumque tollātis;He demands this of you, judges: that, since he has without any right seized upon another man's fortune so ample and splendid, and since the life of Sextus Roscius seems to stand in the way of that fortune and to obstruct it, you should erase every suspicion from his mind and remove his fear; Rosc. Am. 2.6sēsē hōc incolumī nōn arbitrātur huius innocentis patrimōnium tam amplum et cōpiōsum posse obtinēre, damnātō et ēiectō spērat sē posse quod adeptus est per scelus, id per luxuriam effundere atque cōnsūmere.while this man is unharmed he does not think he can keep the patrimony, so large and rich, of this innocent man, but once he is condemned and banished he hopes that he can squander and consume in extravagance what he has gained through crime.
Rosc. Am. 2.6Hunc sibi ex animō scrūpulum quī sē diēs noctēsque stimulat ac pungit ut ēvellātis postulat, ut ad hanc suam praedam tam nefāriam adiūtōrēs vōs profiteāminī.He demands that you pluck out of his mind this worry which goads and pricks him day and night, so that you may declare yourselves his helpers towards this wicked plunder of his. Rosc. Am. 2.7Sī vōbīs aequa et honesta postulātiō vidētur, iūdicēs, ego contrā brevem postulātiōnem adferō et, quō modō mihi persuādeō, aliquantō aequiōrem.If this seems to you a fair and honourable demand, judges, I for my part bring a brief demand against it and, as I persuade myself, a considerably fairer one.