Ep. 2.11.1Solet esse gaudiō tibi, sī quid āctī est in senātū dignum ōrdine illō.It usually gives you pleasure if anything has been done in the senate worthy of that order. Ep. 2.11.1Quamvīs enim quiētis amōre sēcesserīs, īnsidet tamen animō tuō maiestātis pūblicae cūra.For although you have withdrawn from love of quiet, concern for the majesty of the state still sits in your mind. Ep. 2.11.1Accipe ergō quod per hōs diēs āctum est, persōnae clāritāte fāmōsum, sevēritāte exemplī salūbre, reī magnitūdine aeternum.Hear, then, what has been done in these last days, a matter famous for the distinction of the person, salutary for the severity of the example, everlasting for the magnitude of the affair. Ep. 2.11.2Marius Prīscus accūsantibus Āfrīs quibus prō cōnsule praefuit, omissā dēfēnsiōne iūdicēs petiit.Marius Priscus, accused by the Africans whom he had governed as proconsul, abandoned his defence and asked for judges. Ep. 2.11.2Ego et Cornēlius Tacitus, adesse prōvinciālibus iussī, exīstimāvimus fideī nostrae convenīre notum senātuī facere excessisse Prīscum immānitāte et saevitiā crīmina quibus darī iūdicēs possent, cum ob innocentēs condemnandōs, interficiendōs etiam, pecūniās accēpisset.Cornelius Tacitus and I, appointed to act for the provincials, thought it consistent with our duty to make known to the senate that Priscus, by his monstrous cruelty, had gone beyond crimes for which judges could be granted, since he had taken money for condemning innocent people, and even for putting them to death.
Ep. 2.11.3Respondit Frontō Catius dēprecātusque est, nē quid ultrā repetundārum lēgem quaererētur, omniaque āctiōnis suae vēla vir movendārum lacrimārum perītissimus quōdam velut ventō miserātiōnis implēvit.Catius Fronto replied and pleaded that nothing should be investigated beyond the law on extortion, and, as a man most skilled at moving tears, he filled all the sails of his speech with a sort of wind of pity. Ep. 2.11.4Magna contentiō, magnī utrimque clamōrēs aliīs cognitiōnem senātūs lēge conclūsam, aliīs līberam solūtamque dīcentibus, quantumque admīsisset reus, tantum vindicandum.Great was the dispute, great the shouting on both sides, some saying that the senate's jurisdiction was confined by the law, others that it was free and unrestricted, and that the defendant must be punished as much as he had offended. Ep. 2.11.5Novissimē cōnsul dēsignātus Iūlius Ferōx, vir rēctus et sānctus, Mariō quidem iūdicēs interim cēnsuit dandōs, ēvocandōs autem quibus dīcerētur innocentium poenās vēndidisse.Finally the consul-elect, Julius Ferox, an upright and blameless man, proposed that Marius should be granted judges for the time being, but that those to whom he was said to have sold the punishment of innocent men should be summoned.
Ep. 2.11.6Quae sententia nōn praevaluit modo, sed omnīnō post tantās dissēnsiōnēs fuit sōla frequēns, adnotātumque experīmentīs, quod favor et misericordia ācrēs et vehementēs prīmōs impetūs habent, paulātim cōnsiliō et ratiōne quasi restīncta cōnsīdunt.This proposal not only prevailed, but after so much disagreement it was the only one with general support; and it was observed from experience that favour and pity have sharp and vehement first impulses, but gradually settle down, quenched as it were by reflection and reason. Ep. 2.11.7Unde ēvenit ut, quod multī clamōre permixtō tuentur, nēmō tacentibus cēterīs dīcere velit;Hence it happens that what many defend amid confused shouting, no one is willing to say when the rest are silent; Ep. 2.11.7patēscit enim, cum sēparāris ā turbā, contemplātiō rērum quae turbā teguntur.for when you are separated from the crowd, a view opens up of things which the crowd conceals. Ep. 2.11.8Vēnērunt quī adesse erant iussī, Vitellius Honōrātus et Flāvius Mārciānus;Those who had been ordered to appear came, Vitellius Honoratus and Flavius Marcianus; Ep. 2.11.8ex quibus Honōrātus trecentīs mīlibus exsilium equitis Rōmānī septemque amīcōrum eius ultimam poenam, Mārciānus ūnīus equitis Rōmānī septingentīs mīlibus plūra supplicia arguēbātur ēmisse;of these, Honoratus was charged with having bought for three hundred thousand sesterces the exile of a Roman knight and the death penalty for seven of his friends, Marcianus with having bought for seven hundred thousand several punishments for a single Roman knight; Ep. 2.11.8erat enim fūstibus caesus, damnātus in metallum, strangulātus in carcere.for he had been beaten with clubs, condemned to the mines and strangled in prison.
Ep. 2.11.9Sed Honōrātum cognitiōnī senātūs mors opportūna subtrāxit, Mārciānus inductus est absente Prīscō.But a timely death removed Honoratus from the senate's inquiry; Marcianus was brought in while Priscus was absent. Ep. 2.11.9Itaque Tuccius Ceriālis cōnsulāris iūre senātōriō postulāvit, ut Prīscus certior fieret, sīve quia miserābiliōrem sīve quia invidiōsiōrem fore arbitrābātur, sī praesēns fuisset, sīve - quod maximē crēdō - quia aequissimum erat commūne crīmen ab utrōque dēfendī, et sī dīluī nōn potuisset in utrōque pūnīrī.And so Tuccius Cerialis, an ex-consul, demanded by his right as a senator that Priscus should be informed, either because he thought he would be more pitiable, or because he would be more odious, if he were present, or – as I most believe – because it was most just that a shared crime should be defended by both, and, if it could not be refuted, punished in both. Ep. 2.11.10Dīlāta rēs est in proximum senātum, cuius ipse cōnspectus augustissimus fuit.The matter was postponed to the next meeting of the senate, the very sight of which was most august. Ep. 2.11.10Prīnceps praesidēbat - erat enim cōnsul -, ad hoc Iānuārius mēnsis cum cētera tum praecipuē senātōrum frequentiā celeberrimus;The emperor presided – for he was consul –; besides, it was January, a month crowded both in other respects and especially with senators; Ep. 2.11.10praetereā causae amplitūdō auctaque dīlātiōne exspectātiō et fāma, īnsitumque mortālibus studium magna et inūsitāta nōscendī, omnēs undique excīverat.moreover, the importance of the case, the expectation and talk increased by the delay, and the eagerness inborn in mortals to learn of great and unusual things, had drawn everyone from all sides.
Ep. 2.11.11Imāgināre quae sollicitūdō nōbīs, quī metus, quibus super tantā rē in illō coetū praesente Caesare dīcendum erat.Imagine what anxiety we felt, what fear, we who had to speak on so grave a matter in that assembly in the presence of Caesar. Ep. 2.11.11Equidem in senātū nōn semel ēgī, quīn immō nūsquam audīrī benignius soleō: tunc mē tamen ut nova omnia novō metū permovēbant.I have pleaded in the senate more than once, and indeed nowhere am I usually heard more kindly: yet then everything, being new, stirred me with a new fear. Ep. 2.11.12Obversābātur praeter illa quae suprā dīxī causae difficultas: stābat modo cōnsulāris, modo septemvir epulōnum, iam neutrum.Besides the things I have mentioned above, the difficulty of the case kept coming before my mind: there stood a man lately a consular, lately one of the Seven for feasts, now neither. Ep. 2.11.13Erat ergō perquam onerōsum accūsāre damnātum, quem ut premēbat atrōcitās crīminis, ita quasi perāctae damnātiōnis miserātiō tuēbātur.It was therefore extremely burdensome to accuse a man already condemned, whom, just as the atrocity of the charge weighed him down, so pity, as for a condemnation already completed, protected.
Ep. 2.11.14Utcumque tamen animum cōgitātiōnemque collēgī, coepī dīcere nōn minōre audientium assēnsū quam sollicitūdine meā.However, I gathered my mind and my thoughts as best I could, and began to speak, with the approval of my hearers no less than my own anxiety. Ep. 2.11.14Dīxī hōrīs paene quīnque;I spoke for almost five hours; Ep. 2.11.14nam duodecim clepsydrīs, quās spatiōsissimās accēperam, sunt additae quattuor.for to the twelve water-clocks, very generous ones, which I had been allotted, four more were added. Ep. 2.11.14Adeō illa ipsa, quae dūra et adversa dictūrō vidēbantur, secunda dīcentī fuērunt.So much did the very things that had seemed hard and hostile when I was about to speak prove favourable as I spoke. Ep. 2.11.15Caesar quidem tantum mihi studium, tantam etiam cūram - nimium est enim dīcere sollicitūdinem - praestitit, ut lībertum meum post mē stantem saepius admonēret vōcī laterīque cōnsulerem, cum mē vehementius putāret intendī, quam gracilitās mea perpetī posset.Caesar indeed showed me such interest, and such concern too – for it is too much to say anxiety –, that he several times reminded my freedman, who was standing behind me, that I should spare my voice and lungs, when he thought I was straining harder than my slender frame could bear.
Ep. 2.11.15Respondit mihi prō Mārciānō Claudius Mārcellīnus.Claudius Marcellinus replied to me on behalf of Marcianus. Ep. 2.11.16Missus deinde senātus et revocātus in posterum;The senate was then dismissed and recalled for the next day; Ep. 2.11.16neque enim iam incohārī poterat āctiō, nisi ut noctis interventū scinderētur.for no speech could now be begun without being cut off by the onset of night. Ep. 2.11.17Posterō diē dīxit prō Mariō Salvius Līberālis, vir subtīlis dispositus ācer disertus;On the following day Salvius Liberalis spoke for Marius, a man subtle, methodical, keen and eloquent; Ep. 2.11.17in illā vērō causā omnēs artēs suās prōtulit.and in that case he brought out all his skills. Ep. 2.11.17Respondit Cornēlius Tacitus ēloquentissimē et, quod eximium ōrātiōnī eius īnest, σεμνῶς.Cornelius Tacitus replied most eloquently and, as is the outstanding quality of his oratory, with majesty. Ep. 2.11.18Dīxit prō Mariō rūrsus Frontō Catius īnsigniter, utque iam locus ille poscēbat, plūs in precibus temporis quam in dēfēnsiōne cōnsūmpsit.Catius Fronto spoke again for Marius, remarkably, and, as that stage of the proceedings now demanded, spent more time on entreaties than on defence. Ep. 2.11.18Huius āctiōnem vespera inclūsit, nōn tamen sīc ut abrumperet.Evening closed his speech, though not so as to break it off.
Ep. 2.11.18Itaque in tertium diem probātiōnēs exiērunt.So the presentation of evidence ran over into a third day. Ep. 2.11.18Iam hoc ipsum pulchrum et antīquum, senātum nocte dirimī, trīduō vocārī, trīduō continērī.This in itself was fine and in the old manner, that the senate should be adjourned by nightfall, summoned for three days, kept in session for three days. Ep. 2.11.19Cornūtus Tertullus cōnsul dēsignātus, vir ēgregius et prō vēritāte firmissimus, cēnsuit septingenta mīlia quae accēperat Marius aerāriō īnferenda, Mariō urbe Ītaliāque interdīcendum, Mārciānō hōc amplius Āfricā.Cornutus Tertullus, consul-elect, an excellent man and most steadfast on behalf of truth, proposed that the seven hundred thousand which Marius had received should be paid into the treasury, that Marius should be banished from Rome and Italy, and Marcianus from Africa as well. Ep. 2.11.19In fīne sententiae adiēcit, quod ego et Tacitus iniūnctā advocātiōne dīligenter et fortiter fūnctī essēmus, arbitrārī senātum ita nōs fēcisse ut dignum mandātīs partibus fuerit.At the end of his proposal he added that, since Tacitus and I had performed the advocacy laid upon us diligently and courageously, the senate considered that we had acted in a manner worthy of the role entrusted to us.
Ep. 2.11.20Assēnsērunt cōnsulēs dēsignātī, omnēs etiam cōnsulārēs ūsque ad Pompeium Collēgam: ille et septingenta mīlia aerāriō īnferenda et Mārciānum in quīnquennium relēgandum, Marium repetundārum poenae quam iam passus esset cēnsuit relinquendum.The consuls-elect agreed, as did all the ex-consuls as far as Pompeius Collega: he proposed that the seven hundred thousand should be paid into the treasury and Marcianus banished for five years, but that Marius should be left to the penalty for extortion which he had already suffered. Ep. 2.11.21Erant in utrāque sententiā multī, fortasse etiam plūrēs in hāc vel solūtiōre vel molliōre.There were many on each side, perhaps even more for this proposal, as being either laxer or milder. Ep. 2.11.21Nam quīdam ex illīs quoque, quī Cornūtō vidēbantur assēnsī, hunc quī post ipsōs cēnsuerat sequēbantur.For some even of those who had seemed to agree with Cornutus were following this man, who had spoken after them. Ep. 2.11.22Sed cum fieret discessiō, quī sellīs cōnsulum astiterant, in Cornūtī sententiam īre coepērunt.But when the division was taking place, those who had been standing by the consuls' chairs began to go over to Cornutus' proposal.
Ep. 2.11.22Tum illī quī sē Collēgae adnumerārī patiēbantur in dīversum trānsiērunt;Then those who had been letting themselves be counted with Collega crossed to the other side; Ep. 2.11.22Collēga cum paucīs relictus.Collega was left with a few. Ep. 2.11.22Multum posteā dē impulsōribus suīs, praecipuē dē Rēgulō questus est, quī sē in sententiā quam ipse dictāverat dēseruisset.Afterwards he complained much about those who had urged him on, especially about Regulus, who had deserted him over a proposal which Regulus himself had dictated. Ep. 2.11.22Est aliōquī Rēgulō tam mōbile ingenium, ut plūrimum audeat plūrimum timeat.Regulus has in any case so fickle a temperament that he dares a great deal and fears a great deal. Ep. 2.11.23Hic fīnis cognitiōnis amplissimae.That was the end of a most important inquiry. Ep. 2.11.23Superest tamen nōn leve Hostīlius, Firmīnus lēgātus Marī Prīscī quī, permixtus causae graviter vehementer que vexātus est.There remains, however, a not unimportant piece of public business, Hostilius Firminus, legate of Marius Priscus, who was implicated in the case and severely and vehemently harassed. Ep. 2.11.23Nam et ratiōnibus Mārciānī, et sermōne quem ille habuerat in ōrdine Lepcitānōrum, operam suam Prīscō ad turpissimum ministerium commodāsse, stipulātusque dē Mārciānō quīnquāgintā mīlia dēnāriōrum probābātur, ipse praetereā accēpisse sēstertia decem mīlia foedissimō quidem titulō, nōmine unguentāriī, quī titulus ā vītā hominis cōmptī semper et pūmicātī nōn abhorrēbat.For it was proved, both by Marcianus' accounts and by a speech which Marcianus had made in the council of the people of Lepcis, that he had lent his services to Priscus for a most shameful task and had bargained with Marcianus for fifty thousand denarii, and that he had moreover received ten thousand sesterces himself, under a most disgraceful heading indeed, as a perfumer's fee, a heading not out of keeping with the life of a man always groomed and smoothed with pumice.
Ep. 2.11.24Placuit cēnsente Cornūtō referrī dē eō proximō senātū;On Cornutus' proposal it was decided that his case should be referred to the next meeting of the senate; Ep. 2.11.24tunc enim, cāsū an cōnscientiā, āfuerat.for at that time, whether by chance or from a guilty conscience, he had been absent. Ep. 2.11.25Habēs rēs urbānās;You have the news from the city; Ep. 2.11.25invicem rūsticās scrībe.write in return the news from the country. Ep. 2.11.25Quid arbusculae tuae, quid vīneae, quid segetēs agunt, quid ovēs dēlicātissimae?How are your young trees doing, your vines, your crops, how are your dainty sheep? Ep. 2.11.25In summā, nisi aequē longam epistulam reddis, nōn est quod posteā nisi brevissimam exspectēs.In short, unless you send back an equally long letter, there is no reason for you to expect anything afterwards but a very short one. Ep. 2.11.25Valē.Farewell.