Rosc. Am. 5.1Quanta multitūdō hominum convēnerit ad hoc iūdicium vidēs;You see how great a crowd of people has gathered for this trial; Rosc. Am. 5.1quae sit omnium mortālium exspectātiō, quae cupiditās ut ācria ac sevēra iūdicia fīant intellegis.you understand what the expectation of all men is, what their desire that the courts should be keen and severe. Rosc. Am. 5.1Longō intervallō iūdicium inter sīcāriōs hoc prīmum committitur, cum intereā caedēs indignissimae maximaeque factae sunt;After a long interval this is the first trial for murder to be held, though in the meantime most outrageous and enormous killings have been committed; Rosc. Am. 5.1omnēs hanc quaestiōnem tē praetōre manifestīs maleficiīs cōtīdiānōque sanguine dignissimam spērant futūram.everyone hopes that this court, with you as praetor, will be most worthy of the open crimes and the bloodshed of every day. Rosc. Am. 5.12Quā vōciferātiōne in cēterīs iūdiciīs accūsātōrēs ūtī cōnsuērunt, eā nōs hōc tempore ūtimur quī causam dīcimus.The outcry which accusers are accustomed to use in other trials, we who are defending use at this time. Rosc. Am. 5.12Petimus abs tē, M. Fannī, ā vōbīsque, iūdicēs, ut quam ācerrimē maleficia vindicētis, ut quam fortissimē hominibus audācissimīs resistātis, ut hoc cōgitētis, nisi in hāc causā quī vester animus sit ostendētis, eō prōrumpere hominum cupiditātem et scelus et audāciam ut nōn modo clam vērum etiam hīc in forō ante tribūnal tuum, M. Fannī, ante pedēs vestrōs, iūdicēs, inter ipsa subsellia caedēs futūrae sint.We ask you, Marcus Fannius, and you, judges, to punish crimes as keenly as possible, to resist the most reckless of men as bravely as possible, and to consider this: that unless you show in this case what your mind is, the greed, wickedness and recklessness of men will burst out so far that killings will take place not only in secret but even here in the forum, before your tribunal, Marcus Fannius, before your feet, judges, among the very benches.
Rosc. Am. 5.13Etenim quid aliud hōc iūdiciō temptātur nisi ut id fierī liceat?For what else is attempted by this trial except that this may be allowed? Rosc. Am. 5.13Accūsant eī quī in fortūnās huius invāsērunt, causam dīcit is cui praeter calamitātem nihil relīquērunt;The accusers are those who have seized upon this man's fortunes, the defendant is the man to whom they have left nothing but misfortune; Rosc. Am. 5.13accūsant eī quibus occīdī patrem Sex. Roscī bonō fuit, causam dīcit is cui nōn modo lūctum mors patris attulit vērum etiam egestātem;the accusers are those who profited by the killing of the father of Sextus Roscius, the defendant is the man to whom his father's death brought not only grief but poverty as well; Rosc. Am. 5.13accūsant eī quī hunc ipsum iugulāre summē cupiērunt, causam dīcit is quī etiam ad hoc ipsum iūdicium cum praesidiō venit nē hic ibīdem ante oculōs vestrōs trucīdētur;the accusers are those who have most eagerly desired to cut this very man's throat, the defendant is the man who has come even to this very trial with a guard, so that he may not be butchered here on the spot before your eyes; Rosc. Am. 5.13dēnique accūsant eī quōs populus poscit, causam dīcit is quī ūnus relictus ex illōrum nefāriā caede restat.finally, the accusers are those whom the people demand for punishment, the defendant is the man who alone remains, left over from their wicked slaughter.
Rosc. Am. 5.14Atque ut facilius intellegere possītis, iūdicēs, ea quae facta sunt indigniōra esse quam haec sunt quae dīcimus, ab initiō rēs quem ad modum gesta sit vōbīs expōnēmus, quō facilius et huius hominis innocentissimī miseriās et illōrum audāciās cognōscere possītis et reī pūblicae calamitātem.And so that you may more easily understand, judges, that what has been done is more outrageous than what we are saying, we shall set out for you from the beginning how the affair was carried out, so that you may more easily come to know both the miseries of this most innocent man and the recklessness of those men, and the calamity of the state.