Iug. 14.1"Patrēs cōnscrīptī, Micipsa pater meus moriēns mihi praecēpit, utī regnī Numidiae tantummodo prōcūrātiōnem existumārem meam, cēterum iūs et imperium eius penes vōs esse;'Conscript fathers, my father Micipsa instructed me on his deathbed to consider only the stewardship of the kingdom of Numidia as mine, but its right and sovereignty to rest with you; Iug. 14.1simul ēnīterer domī mīlitiaeque quam maxumō ūsuī esse populō Rōmānō;at the same time to strive to be of the greatest possible service to the Roman people at home and in war; Iug. 14.1vōs mihi cognātōrum, vōs adfīnium locō dūcerem: sī ea fēcissem, in vostrā amīcitiā exercitum dīvitiās mūnīmenta regnī mē habitūrum.to regard you in the place of kinsmen, in the place of relations by marriage: if I did these things, I would have in your friendship an army, riches and defences for my kingdom. Iug. 14.2Quae quom praecepta parentis meī agitārem, Iugurtha, homō omnium quōs terra sustinet scelerātissumus, contemptō imperiō vostrō Masinissae mē nepōtem et iam ab stirpe socium atque amīcum populī Rōmānī regnō fortūnīsque omnibus expulit.While I was putting these precepts of my father into practice, Jugurtha, the wickedest of all men whom the earth supports, in contempt of your authority, drove me, the grandson of Masinissa and from my very birth an ally and friend of the Roman people, out of my kingdom and all my fortunes.
Iug. 14.3Atque ego, patrēs cōnscrīptī, quoniam eō miseriārum ventūrus eram, vellem potius ob mea quam ob maiōrum meōrum beneficia posse mē ā vōbīs auxilium petere, ac māxumē dēbērī mihi beneficia ā populō Rōmānō, quibus nōn egērem, secundum ea, sī dēsīderanda erant, utī dēbitīs ūterer.And I, conscript fathers, since I was destined to come to such misery, could wish that I were able to seek help from you on account of my own services rather than those of my ancestors, and above all that services were owed to me by the Roman people which I did not need, and next, if they were to be needed, that I might make use of them as my due. Iug. 14.4Sed quoniam parum tūta per sē ipsa probitās est neque mihi in manū fuit, Iugurtha quālis foret, ad vōs cōnfūgī, patrēs cōnscrīptī, quibus, quod mihi miserrumum est, cōgor prius onerī quam ūsuī esse.But since honesty by itself is not safe enough, and it was not in my power to determine what kind of man Jugurtha would be, I have fled to you, conscript fathers, to whom, what is most wretched for me, I am forced to be a burden before I have been of use.
Iug. 14.5Cēterī rēgēs aut bellō victī in amīcitiam ā vōbīs receptī sunt aut in suīs dubiīs rēbus societātem vostram adpetīvērunt;Other kings have either been received into your friendship after being conquered in war, or have sought alliance with you when their own affairs were in danger; Iug. 14.5familia nostra cum populō Rōmānō bellō Carthāginiēnsī amīcitiam īnstituit, quō tempore magis fidēs eius quam fortūna petunda erat.our family established friendship with the Roman people during the Carthaginian war, at a time when it was its good faith rather than its fortune that was to be sought. Iug. 14.6Quōrum prōgeniem vōs, patrēs cōnscrīptī, nōlīte patī mē nepōtem Masinissae frūstrā ā vōbīs auxilium petere.Do not, conscript fathers, allow me, a descendant of these men, the grandson of Masinissa, to seek help from you in vain. Iug. 14.7Sī ad impetrandum nihil causae habērem praeter miserandam fortūnam, quod paulō ante rēx genere fāmā atque cōpiīs potēns, nunc dēfōrmātus aerumnīs, inops aliēnās opēs expectō, tamen erat maiestātis populī Rōmānī prohibēre iniūriam neque patī quoiusquam regnum per scelus crēscere.If I had no reason for obtaining it except my pitiable fortune, that I, who a little while ago was a king powerful in birth, fame and resources, am now disfigured by misfortunes, destitute and waiting on the resources of others, it would still befit the majesty of the Roman people to prevent wrongdoing and not to allow anyone's kingdom to grow through crime.
Iug. 14.8Vērum ego iīs fīnibus ēiectus sum, quōs maiōribus meīs populus Rōmānus dedit, unde pater et avōs meus ūnā vōbīscum expulēre Syphācem et Carthāginiēnsīs.But I have been driven from those lands which the Roman people gave to my ancestors, from which my father and my grandfather, together with you, drove out Syphax and the Carthaginians. Iug. 14.8Vostra beneficia mihi ērepta sunt, patrēs cōnscrīptī, vōs in meā iniūriā dēspectī estis.It is your gifts that have been snatched from me, conscript fathers; it is you who have been scorned in the wrong done to me. Iug. 14.9Ēheu mē miserum!Alas, wretch that I am! Iug. 14.9Hūcinē, Micipsa pater, beneficia tua ēvāsēre, ut, quem tū parem cum līberīs tuīs regnīque participem fēcistī, is potissumum stirpis tuae extīnctor sit?Is this the outcome of your kindnesses, father Micipsa, that the man whom you made equal with your children and a partner in the kingdom should be, of all people, the destroyer of your line? Iug. 14.9Numquamnē ergō familia nostra quiēta erit?Will our family, then, never be at peace? Iug. 14.9Sempernē in sanguine ferrō fugā vorsābitur?Will it always be caught up in blood, the sword and flight?
Iug. 14.10Dum Carthāginiēnsēs incolumēs fuēre, iūre omnia saeva patiēbāmur: hostēs ab latere, vōs amīcī procul, spēs omnis in armīs erat.While the Carthaginians were unharmed, we suffered every cruelty as was only natural: enemies at our side, you our friends far off, all our hope lay in arms. Iug. 14.10Postquam illa pestis ex Āfricā ēiecta est, laetī pācem agitābāmus, quippe Quīs hostis nūllus erat, nisi forte quem vōs iussissētis.After that plague was cast out of Africa, we lived happily in peace, since we had no enemy, unless perhaps one whom you had ordered us to have. Iug. 14.11Ecce autem ex inprōvīsō Iugurtha, intolerandā audāciā scelere atque superbiā sēsē efferēns, frātre meō atque eōdem propinquō suō interfectō prīmum regnum eius sceleris suī praedam fēcit;But see, all of a sudden Jugurtha, carried away by unbearable audacity, wickedness and arrogance, killed my brother, who was also his own kinsman, and first made his kingdom the prize of his crime; Iug. 14.11post ubi mē īsdem dolīs nequit capere, nihil minus quam vim aut bellum expectantem in imperiō vostrō, sīcutī vidētis, extorrem patriā domō, inopem et coopertum miseriīs effēcit, ut ubivīs tūtius quam in meō regnō essem.then, when he could not catch me by the same tricks, while I was expecting nothing less than violence or war under your rule, he made me, as you see, an exile from my country and home, destitute and overwhelmed with miseries, so that I was safer anywhere than in my own kingdom.
Iug. 14.12Ego sīc existumābam, patrēs cōnscrīptī, utī praedicantem audīveram patrem meum, quī vostram amīcitiam dīligenter colerent, eōs multum labōrem suscipere, cēterum ex omnibus māxumē tūtōs esse.I used to think, conscript fathers, as I had heard my father declare, that those who diligently cultivated your friendship undertook much labour, but were of all men the most safe. Iug. 14.13Quod in familiā nostrā fuit, praestitit, utī in omnibus bellīs adesset vōbīs;What lay in our family's power it has performed, so that it stood by you in every war; Iug. 14.13nōs utī per ōtium tūtī sīmus, in vostrā manū est, patrēs cōnscrīptī.that we may be safe in time of peace lies in your hands, conscript fathers. Iug. 14.14Pater nōs duōs frātrēs relīquit, tertium Iugurtham beneficiīs suīs ratus est coniūnctum nōbīs fore.Our father left us two brothers, and thought that a third, Jugurtha, would be bound to us by his kindnesses. Iug. 14.14Alter eōrum necātus est, alterīus ipse ego manūs inpiās vix effūgī.One of them has been murdered; from the impious hands of the other I myself have barely escaped. Iug. 14.15Quid agam?What am I to do? Iug. 14.15Aut quō potissumum īnfēlīx adcēdam?Or where, unhappy man, should I turn above all?
Iug. 14.15Generis praesidia omnia extīncta sunt.All the protections of my family have been extinguished. Iug. 14.15Pater, utī necesse erat, nātūrae concessit.My father, as was inevitable, has yielded to nature. Iug. 14.15Frātrī, quem minumē decuit, propinquus per scelus vītam ēripuit.My brother has had his life torn from him by a kinsman, the last person who should have done it, through crime. Iug. 14.15Affīnīs amīcōs propinquōs cēterōs meōs alium alia clādēs oppressit: captī ab Iugurthā pars in crucem āctī, pars bēstiīs obiectī sunt, paucī, quibus relicta est anima, clausī in tenebrīs cum maerōre et lūctū morte graviōrem vītam exigunt.My relations by marriage, my friends and my other kinsmen have been crushed, one by one disaster, another by another: captured by Jugurtha, some have been crucified, some thrown to wild beasts, and a few, whose lives have been spared, shut up in darkness, drag out in grief and mourning a life harder than death. Iug. 14.16Sī omnia, quae aut āmīsī aut ex necessāriīs advorsa facta sunt, incolumia manērent, tamen, sī quid ex inprōvīsō malī accidisset, vōs inplōrārem, patrēs cōnscrīptī, quibus prō magnitūdine imperī iūs et iniūriās omnīs cūrae esse decet.If everything that I have either lost or seen turned from friendly to hostile were still unharmed, nevertheless, if some sudden misfortune had befallen me, I would be imploring you, conscript fathers, whom it befits, in view of the greatness of your empire, to take care of all matters of right and wrong.
Iug. 14.17Nunc vērō exul patriā domō, sōlus atque omnium honestārum rērum egēns quō adcēdam aut quōs appellem?But now, an exile from country and home, alone and in want of everything that befits my rank, where am I to turn or whom am I to appeal to? Iug. 14.17Nātiōnēsne an rēgēs, quī omnēs familiae nostrae ob vostram amīcitiam īnfestī sunt?To nations or kings, who are all hostile to our family because of your friendship? Iug. 14.17An quōquam mihi adīre licet, ubi nōn maiōrum meōrum hostīlia monumenta plūruma sint?Or may I go anywhere where there are not very many hostile monuments of my ancestors? Iug. 14.17Aut quisquam nostrī miserērī potest, quī aliquandō vōbīs hostis fuit?Or can anyone who was once your enemy take pity on us? Iug. 14.18Postrēmō Masinissa nōs ita īnstituit, patrēs cōnscrīptī, nē quem colerēmus nisi populum Rōmānum, nē societātēs, nē foedera nova acciperēmus: abundē magna praesidia nōbīs in vostrā amīcitiā fore;Finally, Masinissa so trained us, conscript fathers, that we should cultivate no one except the Roman people, should accept no new alliances or treaties: we would have abundantly great protection in your friendship; Iug. 14.18sī huic imperiō fortūna mūtārētur, ūnā occidundum nōbīs esse.if the fortune of this empire should change, we must fall along with it.
Iug. 14.19Virtūte ac dīs volentibus magnī estis et opulentī, omnia secunda et oboedientia sunt: quō facilius sociōrum iniūriās cūrāre licet.By your valour and the gods' good will you are great and rich, and all things are favourable and obedient to you: so much the more easily can you attend to the wrongs done to your allies. Iug. 14.20Tantum illud vereor, nē quōs prīvātā amīcitiā Iugurthae parum cognitā trānsvorsōs agat.I fear only this, that private friendship with Jugurtha, too little understood, may lead some astray. Iug. 14.20Quōs ego audiō maxumā ope nītī ambīre fatīgāre vōs singulōs, nē quid dē absente incognitā causā statuātis;I hear that these men are striving with all their might, canvassing and pestering you one by one, so that you may decide nothing about him in his absence, before his case has been heard; Iug. 14.20fingere mē verba et fugam simulāre, quoi licuerit in regnō manēre.that I am inventing my story and feigning flight, when I could have stayed in my kingdom. Iug. 14.21Quod utinam illum, quoius inpiō facinore in hās miseriās prōiectus sum, eadem haec simulantem videam, et aliquandō aut apud vōs aut apud deōs inmortālīs rērum hūmānārum cūra oriātur: nē ille, quī nunc sceleribus suīs ferōx atque praeclārus est, omnibus malīs excruciātus inpietātis in parentem nostrum, frātris meī necis meārumque miseriārum gravīs poenās reddat.Would that I might see him, through whose impious crime I have been cast into these miseries, feigning these same things, and that at last, either among you or among the immortal gods, some concern for human affairs might arise: then truly he who is now fierce and illustrious through his crimes, tortured by every ill, would pay a heavy penalty for his impiety towards our father, for the murder of my brother and for my miseries.
Iug. 14.22Iam iam, frāter animō meō cārissume, quamquam tibi inmātūrō et unde minumē decuit vīta ērepta est, tamen laetandum magis quam dolendum putō cāsum tuom.Ah, my brother, dearest to my heart, although your life was snatched from you before its time and by the one who should least have done it, nevertheless I think your fate is a matter for rejoicing rather than for grief. Iug. 14.23Nōn enim regnum, sed fugam exilium egestātem et omnīs hās quae mē premunt aerumnās cum animā simul āmīsistī.For it was not a kingdom that you lost along with your life, but flight, exile, want and all these hardships which oppress me. Iug. 14.23At ego īnfēlīx, in tanta mala praecipitātus ex patriō regnō, rērum hūmānārum spectāculum praebeō, incertus quid agam, tuāsne iniūriās persequar ipse auxilī egēns an regnō cōnsulam, quoius vītae necisque potestās ex opibus aliēnīs pendet.But I, unhappy man, hurled from my father's kingdom into such great evils, present a spectacle of human fortunes, uncertain what to do, whether to avenge the wrongs done to you, when I myself need help, or to look after my kingdom, when the power over my own life and death hangs on the resources of others.
Iug. 14.24Utinam ēmorī fortūnīs meīs honestus exitus esset neu iūre contemptus vidērer, sī dēfessus malīs iniūriae concessissem.Would that death were an honourable way out of my misfortunes, and that I might not seem justly despised if, worn out by my troubles, I had given in to injustice. Iug. 14.24Nunc neque vīvere lubet neque morī licet sine dēdecore.As it is, I have no wish to live, and I cannot die without disgrace. Iug. 14.25Patrēs cōnscrīptī, per vōs, per līberōs atque parentīs vostrōs, per maiestātem populī Rōmānī, subvenīte mihi miserō, īte obviam iniūriae, nōlīte patī regnum Numidiae, quod vostrum est, per scelus et sanguinem familiae nostrae tābēscere."Conscript fathers, by yourselves, by your children and parents, by the majesty of the Roman people, help me in my misery, oppose this injustice, do not allow the kingdom of Numidia, which is yours, to waste away through crime and the blood of our family.'