Ep. 4.9.1Causam per hōs diēs dīxit Iūlius Bassus, homō labōriōsus et adversīs suīs clārus.In these last few days Julius Bassus has stood trial, a man who has had many troubles and is famous for his misfortunes. Ep. 4.9.1Accūsātus est sub Vespasiānō ā prīvātīs duōbus;He was accused under Vespasian by two private individuals; Ep. 4.9.1ad senātum remissus diū pependit, tandem absolūtus vindicātusque.referred to the senate, he was long in suspense, and at last was acquitted and vindicated. Ep. 4.9.2Titum timuit ut Domitiānī amīcus, ā Domitiānō relēgātus est;He feared Titus as a friend of Domitian, and was banished by Domitian; Ep. 4.9.2revocātus ā Nerva sortītusque Bīthȳniam rediit reus, accūsātus nōn minus ācriter quam fidēliter dēfēnsus.recalled by Nerva and allotted Bithynia, he came back to face trial, prosecuted no less fiercely than he was loyally defended. Ep. 4.9.2Variās sententiās habuit, plūrēs tamen quasi mītiōrēs.He had a variety of sentences proposed, but more of them, as it were, on the lenient side. Ep. 4.9.3Ēgit contrā eum Pompōnius Rūfus, vir parātus et vehemēns;Pomponius Rufus spoke against him, a well-prepared and forceful man; Ep. 4.9.3Rūfō successit Theophanēs, ūnus ex lēgātīs, fax accūsātiōnis et orīgō.Rufus was followed by Theophanes, one of the envoys, the firebrand and source of the prosecution.
Ep. 4.9.4Respondī ego.I replied. Ep. 4.9.4Nam mihi Bassus iniūnxerat, tōtīus dēfēnsiōnis fundāmenta iacērem, dīcerem dē ōrnāmentīs suīs quae illī et ex generis clāritāte et ex perīculīs ipsīs magna erant, dīcerem dē cōnspīrātiōne dēlātōrum quam in quaestū habēbant, dīcerem causās quibus factiōsissimum quemque ut illum ipsum Theophanēn offendisset.For Bassus had charged me to lay the foundations of the whole defence, to speak of his distinctions, which were great owing both to the fame of his family and to his very dangers, to speak of the conspiracy of the informers, which they ran for profit, and to speak of the reasons why he had offended every great intriguer, such as that very Theophanes. Ep. 4.9.5Eundem mē voluerat occurrere crīminī quō maximē premēbātur.He had also wanted me to meet the charge by which he was most hard-pressed. Ep. 4.9.5In aliīs enim quamvīs audītū graviōribus nōn absolūtiōnem modo vērum etiam laudem merēbātur;For on the other charges, although they sounded more serious, he deserved not only acquittal but even praise; Ep. 4.9.6hoc illum onerābat quod homō simplex et incautus quaedam ā prōvinciālibus ut amīcus accēperat - nam fuerat in eādem prōvinciā quaestor -.what weighed him down was that, being a simple and incautious man, he had accepted certain things from the provincials as a friend — for he had been quaestor in the same province.
Ep. 4.9.6Haec accūsātōrēs fūrta ac rapīnās, ipse mūnera vocābat.These the prosecutors called thefts and plunder, while he himself called them gifts. Ep. 4.9.6Sed lēx mūnera quoque accipī vetat.But the law forbids the acceptance even of gifts. Ep. 4.9.7Hīc ego quid agerem, quod iter dēfēnsiōnis ingrederer?What was I to do here, what line of defence was I to take? Ep. 4.9.7Negārem?Deny it? Ep. 4.9.7Verēbar nē plānē fūrtum vidērētur, quod cōnfitērī timērem.I was afraid it would look plainly like theft, if I were afraid to admit it. Ep. 4.9.7Praetereā rem manifestam īnfitiārī augentis erat crīmen nōn dīluentis, praesertim cum reus ipse nihil integrum advocātīs relīquisset.Besides, to deny an obvious fact was to aggravate the charge, not to wash it away, especially since the defendant himself had left nothing open to his advocates. Ep. 4.9.7Multīs enim atque etiam prīncipī dīxerat, sōla sē mūnuscula dumtaxat nātālī suō aut Sāturnālibus accēpisse et plērīsque mīsisse.For he had told many people, and even the emperor, that he had accepted only small presents, and those only on his birthday or at the Saturnalia, and had sent presents to most of the givers.
Ep. 4.9.8Veniam ergō peterem?Should I then ask for pardon? Ep. 4.9.8Iugulāssem reum, quem ita dēlīquisse concēderem, ut servārī nisi veniā nōn posset.I would have cut the defendant's throat, conceding that he had offended so badly that he could not be saved except by pardon. Ep. 4.9.8Tamquam rēctē factum tuērer?Should I defend it as rightly done? Ep. 4.9.8Nōn illī prōfuissem, sed ipse impudēns exstitissem.I would not have helped him, but would have shown myself shameless. Ep. 4.9.9In hāc difficultāte placuit medium quiddam tenēre: videor tenuisse.In this difficulty I decided to hold a middle course: I think I held it. Ep. 4.9.9Āctiōnem meam, ut proelia solet, nox dirēmit.Night broke off my speech, as it usually does battles. Ep. 4.9.9Ēgeram hōrīs tribus et dīmidiā, supererat sesquihōra.I had spoken for three hours and a half; an hour and a half remained. Ep. 4.9.9Nam cum ē lēge accūsātor sex hōrās, novem reus accēpisset, ita dīvīserat tempora reus inter mē et eum quī dictūrus post erat, ut ego quīnque hōrīs ille reliquīs ūterētur.For since by law the prosecution had received six hours and the defendant nine, the defendant had divided the time between me and the man who was to speak after me in such a way that I should use five hours and he the rest.
Ep. 4.9.10Mihi successus āctiōnis silentium fīnemque suādēbat;The success of my speech urged me to be silent and stop; Ep. 4.9.10temerārium est enim secundīs nōn esse contentum.for it is rash not to be content with good fortune. Ep. 4.9.10Ad hoc verēbar nē mē corporis vīrēs iterātō labōre dēsererent, quem difficilius est repetere quam iungere.Besides, I was afraid that my bodily strength might fail me in a renewed effort, which is harder to resume than to continue. Ep. 4.9.11Erat etiam perīculum nē reliqua āctiō mea et frīgus ut dēposita et taedium ut resūmpta paterētur.There was also a danger that the rest of my speech would suffer both coldness, as having been laid aside, and tedium, as having been taken up again. Ep. 4.9.11UT enim facēs ignem assiduā concussiōne custōdiunt, dīmissum aegerrimē reparant, sīc et dīcentis calor et audientis intentiō continuātiōne servātur, intercapēdine et quasi remissiōne languēscit.For just as torches keep their fire alive by constant shaking but rekindle it with great difficulty once it has been let go, so both the speaker's warmth and the listener's attention are preserved by continuity, and grow faint with a break and a kind of slackening.
Ep. 4.9.12Sed Bassus multīs precibus, paene etiam lacrimīs obsecrābat, implērem meum tempus.But Bassus begged me with many entreaties, almost with tears, to use up my time. Ep. 4.9.12Pāruī ūtilitātemque eius praetulī meae.I obeyed and put his interest before my own. Ep. 4.9.12Bene cessit: invēnī ita ērēctōs animōs senātūs, ita recentēs, ut priōre āctiōne incitātī magis quam satiātī vidērentur.It turned out well: I found the senate's minds so alert, so fresh, that they seemed stimulated rather than sated by my earlier speech. Ep. 4.9.13Successit mihi Lucceius Albīnus, tam aptē ut ōrātiōnēs nostrae varietātem duārum, contextum ūnīus habuisse crēdantur.Lucceius Albinus followed me, so fittingly that our speeches are thought to have had the variety of two and the continuity of one. Ep. 4.9.14Respondit Herennius Polliō īnstanter et graviter, deinde Theophanēs rūrsus.Herennius Pollio replied insistently and weightily, and then Theophanes again. Ep. 4.9.14Fēcit enim hoc quoque ut cētera impudentissime, quod post duōs et cōnsulārēs et disertōs tempus sibi et quidem laxius vindicāvit.For he did this too, like everything else, most impudently, in that after two men who were both ex-consuls and eloquent he claimed time for himself, and generous time at that.
Ep. 4.9.14Dīxit in noctem atque etiam nocte illātīs lucernīs.He spoke into the night and even after dark, when lamps had been brought in. Ep. 4.9.15Posterō diē ēgērunt prō Bassō Homullus et Frontō mīrificē;The next day Homullus and Fronto spoke wonderfully for Bassus; Ep. 4.9.15quartum diem probātiōnēs occupārunt.the fourth day was taken up with the evidence. Ep. 4.9.16Cēnsuit Baebius Macer cōnsul dēsignātus lēge repetundārum Bassum tenērī, Caepiō Hispō salvā dignitāte iūdicēs dandōs;Baebius Macer, consul-elect, proposed that Bassus be held guilty under the law of extortion, Caepio Hispo that judges be assigned to him with his rank left intact; Ep. 4.9.16uterque rēctē.both rightly. Ep. 4.9.17"Quī fierī potest" inquis, "cum tam dīversa cēnsuerint?"'How can that be,' you say, 'when they proposed such different things?' Ep. 4.9.17Quia scīlicet et Macrō lēgem intuentī cōnsentāneum fuit damnāre eum quī contrā lēgem mūnera accēperat, et Caepiō cum putāret licēre senātuī - sīcut licet - et mītigāre lēgēs et intendere, nōn sine ratiōne veniam dedit factō vetitō quidem, nōn tamen inūsitātō.Because, of course, it was consistent for Macer, looking to the law, to condemn a man who had accepted gifts against the law, while Caepio, believing that the senate was allowed — as indeed it is — both to soften laws and to tighten them, not without reason granted pardon for an act which was forbidden indeed, but not unusual.
Ep. 4.9.18Praevaluit sententia Caepiōnis, quīn immō cōnsurgentī eī ad cēnsendum acclāmātum est, quod solet resīdentibus.Caepio's proposal prevailed; indeed, as he rose to give it, he was cheered, as men usually are when they sit down. Ep. 4.9.18Ex quō potes aestimāre, quantō cōnsēnsū sit exceptum, cum dīceret, quod tam favōrābile fuit cum dictūrus vidērētur.From this you can judge with what unanimity it was received while he was speaking, since it was so popular when he only seemed about to speak. Ep. 4.9.19Sunt tamen ut in senātū ita in cīvitāte in duās partēs hominum iūdicia dīvīsa.Yet opinion is divided into two parties, in the city as in the senate. Ep. 4.9.19Nam quibus sententia Caepiōnis placuit, sententiam Macrī ut rigidam dūramque reprehendunt;For those who liked Caepio's proposal criticise Macer's as rigid and harsh; Ep. 4.9.19quibus Macrī, illam alteram dissolūtam atque etiam incongruentem vocant;those who liked Macer's call the other lax and even inconsistent; Ep. 4.9.19negant enim congruēns esse retinēre in senātū, cui iūdicēs dederīs.for they say it is inconsistent to keep in the senate a man to whom you have assigned judges. Ep. 4.9.20Fuit et tertia sententia: Valerius Paulīnus assēnsus Caepiōnī hoc amplius cēnsuit, referendum dē Theophane cum lēgātiōnem renūntiāsset.There was also a third proposal: Valerius Paulinus, agreeing with Caepio, proposed in addition that the matter of Theophanes should be raised once he had reported on his embassy.
Ep. 4.9.20Arguēbātur enim multa in accūsātiōne fēcisse, quae illā ipsā lēge quā Bassum accūsāverat tenērentur.For he was alleged to have done many things during the prosecution that fell under that very law under which he had accused Bassus. Ep. 4.9.21Sed hanc sententiam cōnsulēs, quamquam maximae partī senātūs mīrē probābātur, nōn sunt persecūtī.But the consuls, although this proposal was remarkably popular with the greater part of the senate, did not pursue it. Ep. 4.9.22Paulīnus tamen et iūstitiae fāmam et cōnstantiae tulit.Paulinus nevertheless won a reputation for both justice and firmness. Ep. 4.9.22Missō senātū Bassus magnā hominum frequentiā, magnō clamōre, magnō gaudiō exceptus est.When the senate was dismissed, Bassus was greeted by a great crowd of people, with great shouting, with great joy. Ep. 4.9.22Fēcerat eum favōrābilem renovāta discrīminum vetus fāma, notumque perīculīs nōmen, et in prōcērō corpore maesta et squālida senectūs.He had been made popular by the old story of his dangers revived, by a name known for its perils, and by a sad and unkempt old age in a tall frame. Ep. 4.9.23Habēbis hanc interim epistulam ut exspectābis, ōrātiōnem plēnam onustam que.Meanwhile you will have this letter as a forerunner; you will wait for the speech, full and richly laden.
Ep. 4.9.23Exspectābis diū;You will wait a long time; Ep. 4.9.23neque enim leviter et cursim, ut dē rē tantā retractanda est.for it must not be revised lightly and in haste, given so great a subject. Ep. 4.9.23Valē.Farewell.