Rosc. Am. 24.1Vidētisne quōs nōbīs poētae trādidērunt patris ulcīscendī causā supplicium dē mātre sūmpsisse, cum praesertim deōrum immortālium iussīs atque ōrāculīs id fēcisse dīcantur, tamen ut eōs agitent Furiae neque cōnsistere umquam patiantur, quod nē piī quidem sine scelere esse potuērunt?Do you not see that those who, as the poets have handed down to us, punished their mother to avenge their father, even though they are said to have done it at the commands and oracles of the immortal gods, are nonetheless hounded by the Furies, who never let them stand still, because they could not be dutiful without being guilty? Rosc. Am. 24.1Sīc sē rēs habet, iūdicēs: magnam vim, magnam necessitātem, magnam possidet religiōnem paternus māternusque sanguis;This is how things stand, judges: a father's and a mother's blood holds great power, great constraint, great sanctity; Rosc. Am. 24.1ex quō sī qua macula concepta est, nōn modo ēluī nōn potest vērum ūsque eō permānat ad animum ut summus furor atque āmentia cōnsequātur.and if any stain is contracted from it, not only can it not be washed out, but it soaks through to the mind so deeply that the utmost frenzy and madness follow.
Rosc. Am. 24.67Nōlīte enim putāre, quem ad modum in fābulīs saepenumerō vidētis, eōs quī aliquid impiē scelerātēque commīserint agitārī et perterrērī Furiārum taedīs ārdentibus.For do not suppose, as you often see in plays, that those who have committed some impious and wicked deed are hounded and terrified by the blazing torches of the Furies. Rosc. Am. 24.67Sua quemque fraus et suus terror maximē vexat, suum quemque scelus agitat āmentiāque adficit, suae malae cōgitātiōnēs cōnscientiaeque animī terrent;It is his own guilt and his own terror that torments each man most; his own crime hounds each man and strikes him with madness; his own evil thoughts and the conscience of his mind terrify him; Rosc. Am. 24.67hae sunt impiīs adsiduae domesticaeque Furiae quae diēs noctēsque parentium poenās ā cōnscelerātissimīs fīliīs repetant.these are the unremitting Furies who dwell at home with the impious, and day and night exact from the most wicked sons the penalty due to their parents. Rosc. Am. 24.68Haec magnitūdō maleficī facit ut, nisi paene manifestum parricīdium prōferātur, crēdibile nōn sit, nisi turpis adulēscentia, nisi omnibus flāgitiīs vīta inquināta, nisi sūmptūs effūsī cum probrō atque dēdecore, nisi prōrupta audācia, nisi tanta temeritās ut nōn procul abhorreat ab īnsāniā.The enormity of this crime makes it incredible unless parricide almost caught in the act is brought forward, unless there is a disgraceful youth, unless a life stained with every outrage, unless lavish spending joined with shame and disgrace, unless audacity breaking all bounds, unless a rashness so great that it is not far removed from insanity.
Rosc. Am. 24.68Accēdat hūc oportet odium parentis, animadversiōnis paternae metūs, amīcī improbī, servī cōnsciī, tempus idōneum, locus opportūnē captus ad eam rem;There must be added to this hatred of the parent, fear of a father's punishment, wicked friends, slaves in the secret, a suitable time, a place conveniently chosen for the purpose; Rosc. Am. 24.68paene dīcam, respersās manūs sanguine paternō iūdicēs videant oportet, sī tantum facinus, tam immāne, tam acerbum crēditūrī sunt.I might almost say that the judges must see the hands spattered with a father's blood, if they are going to believe a deed so great, so monstrous, so bitter. Rosc. Am. 24.69Quā rē hoc quō minus est crēdibile, nisi ostenditur, eō magis est, sī convincitur, vindicandum.Therefore the less credible this is, unless it is proved, the more it must be punished, if it is established.