Rosc. Am. 20.1Accūsātōrēs multōs esse in cīvitāte ūtile est ut metū contineātur audācia;It is useful that there should be many accusers in a state, so that recklessness may be held in check by fear; Rosc. Am. 20.1vērum tamen hoc ita est ūtile ut nē plānē inlūdāmur ab accūsātōribus.but this is useful only on condition that we are not openly made fools of by accusers. Rosc. Am. 20.1Innocēns est quispiam, vērum tamen, quamquam abest ā culpā, suspīciōne tamen nōn caret;Someone is innocent, but, although he is free from guilt, he is still not free from suspicion; Rosc. Am. 20.1tametsī miserum est, tamen eī quī hunc accūset possim aliquō modō ignōscere.though it is a sad thing, I could still in some way forgive the man who accuses him. Rosc. Am. 20.1Cum enim aliquid habeat quod possit crīminōsē ac suspīciōsē dīcere, apertē lūdificārī et calumniārī sciēns nōn videātur.For since he has something he can say that sounds incriminating and suspicious, he would not seem to be openly making a mockery and knowingly bringing a false charge. Rosc. Am. 20.1Quā rē facile omnēs patimur esse quam plūrimōs accūsātōrēs, quod innocēns, sī accūsātus sit, absolvī potest, nocēns, nisi accūsātus fuerit, condemnārī nōn potest;That is why we all readily allow there to be as many accusers as possible, because an innocent man, if he is accused, can be acquitted, but a guilty man, unless he has been accused, cannot be condemned; Rosc. Am. 20.1ūtilius est autem absolvī innocentem quam nocentem causam nōn dīcere.and it is better for an innocent man to be acquitted than for a guilty man not to stand trial.
Rosc. Am. 20.1Ānseribus cibāria pūblicē locantur et canēs aluntur in Capitōliō ut significent sī fūrēs vēnerint.Contracts for feeding the geese are let out at public expense, and dogs are kept on the Capitol, to give warning if thieves come. Rosc. Am. 20.1At fūrēs internōscere nōn possunt, significant tamen sī quī noctū in Capitōlium vēnerint et, quia id est suspīciōsum, tametsī bēstiae sunt, tamen in eam partem potius peccant quae est cautior.But they cannot tell thieves apart; still they give warning if anyone comes to the Capitol at night, and because that is suspicious, though they are beasts, they err rather on the side of caution. Rosc. Am. 20.1Quod sī lūce quoque canēs lātrent cum deōs salūtātum aliquī vēnerint, opīnor, eīs crūra suffringantur, quod ācrēs sint etiam tum cum suspīciō nūlla sit.But if the dogs were to bark in daylight too, when people had come to pay their respects to the gods, I imagine their legs would be broken, because they were fierce even when there was no ground for suspicion. Rosc. Am. 20.57Simillima est accūsātōrum ratiō.The case of accusers is very much the same. Rosc. Am. 20.57Aliī vestrum ānserēs sunt quī tantum modo clāmant, nocēre nōn possunt, aliī canēs quī et lātrāre et mordēre possunt.Some of you are geese, who only cackle and can do no harm; others are dogs, who can both bark and bite.
Rosc. Am. 20.57Cibāria vōbīs praebērī vidēmus;We see that you are provided with your rations; Rosc. Am. 20.57vōs autem maximē dēbētis in eōs impetum facere quī merentur.but your chief duty is to attack those who deserve it. Rosc. Am. 20.57Hoc populō grātissimum est.This pleases the people most of all. Rosc. Am. 20.57Deinde, sī volētis, etiam tum cum vērī simile erit aliquem commīsisse, in suspīciōne lātrātōte;Next, if you wish, even when it seems likely that someone has committed a crime, bark on suspicion; Rosc. Am. 20.57id quoque concēdī potest.that too can be allowed. Rosc. Am. 20.57Sīn autem sīc agētis ut arguātis aliquem patrem occīdisse neque dīcere possītis aut quā rē aut quō modō, ac tantum modo sine suspīciōne lātrābitis, crūra quidem vōbīs nēmō suffringet, sed, sī ego hōs bene nōvī, litteram illam cui vōs ūsque eō inimīcī estis ut etiam Kal. omnīs ōderītis ita vehementer ad caput adfīgent ut posteā nēminem alium nisi fortūnās vestrās accūsāre possītis.But if you act in such a way as to charge someone with killing his father, and cannot say either why or how, and simply bark with no ground for suspicion, no one, to be sure, will break your legs, but, if I know these men well, they will brand that letter, to which you are so hostile that you hate even all the Kalends, so firmly on your forehead that afterwards you will be able to accuse no one but your own bad luck.