Iug. 85.1"Sciō ego, Quirītēs, plērōsque nōn īsdem artibus imperium ā vōbīs petere et, postquam adeptī sunt, gerere: prīmō industriōs supplicēs modicōs esse, Dein per ignāviam et superbiam aetātem agere.'I know, citizens, that most men seek office from you and, once they have obtained it, exercise it by quite different methods: at first they are hard-working, humble and modest, then they pass their lives in idleness and arrogance. Iug. 85.1Sed mihi contrā ea vidētur: nam quō plūris est ūnivorsa rēs pūblica quam cōnsulātus aut praetūra, eō maiōre cūrā illam administrārī quam haec petī dēbēre.But to me it seems the opposite: for by as much as the whole commonwealth is worth more than the consulship or the praetorship, with so much the greater care ought it to be administered than these are sought. Iug. 85.3Neque mē fallit, quantum cum maxumō vostrō beneficiō negōtī sustineam.Nor am I unaware how much business I take on along with this very great favour of yours. Iug. 85.3Bellum parāre simul et aerāriō parcere, cōgere ad mīlitiam eōs quōs nōlīs offendere, domī forīsque omnia cūrāre et ea agere inter invidōs occursantīs factiōsōs opīniōne, Quirītēs, asperius est.To prepare for war and at the same time to spare the treasury, to force into military service men whom you would not wish to offend, to look after everything at home and abroad, and to do it among the envious, the obstructive and the factious, is harder, citizens, than one would think.
Iug. 85.4Ad hoc, aliī sī dēlīquēre, vetus nōbilitās, maiōrum fortia facta, cognātōrum et affīnium opēs, multae clientēlae, omnia haec praesidiō adsunt;Besides, if others have done wrong, their ancient nobility, the brave deeds of their ancestors, the wealth of their kinsmen and relations by marriage, their many clients, all these stand by to protect them; Iug. 85.4mihi spēs omnēs in mēmet sitae, quās necesse est virtūte et innocentiā tūtārī;my hopes all rest in myself, and I must guard them by courage and integrity; Iug. 85.4nam alia īnfirma sunt.for all else is weak. Iug. 85.5Et illud intellegō, Quirītēs, omnium ōra in mē convorsa esse, aequōs bonōsque favēre — quippe mea bene facta reī pūblicae prōcēdunt —, nōbilitātem locum invādundī quaerere.And this too I understand, citizens: that the eyes of all are turned on me, that fair-minded and good men favour me — since my good deeds benefit the commonwealth — and that the nobility is seeking an opening to attack. Iug. 85.6Quō mihi ācrius adnītundum est, utī neque vōs capiāminī et illī frūstrā sint.So I must strive all the harder, so that you are not deceived and they are thwarted.
Iug. 85.7Ita ad hoc aetātis ā pueritiā fuī, utī omnīs labōrēs et perīcula cōnsuēta habeam.I have lived from boyhood to this time of life in such a way that I am accustomed to every toil and danger. Iug. 85.8Quae ante vostra beneficia grātuītō faciēbam, ea utī acceptā mercēde dēseram, nōn est cōnsilium, Quirītēs.What I did without reward before your favours, I have no intention, citizens, of abandoning now that I have received my pay. Iug. 85.9Illīs difficile est in potestātibus temperāre, quī per ambitiōnem sēsē probōs simulāvēre;For those men it is hard to show restraint in power who have pretended to be honest for the sake of canvassing; Iug. 85.9mihi, quī omnem aetātem in optumīs artibus ēgī, bene facere iam ex cōnsuētūdine in nātūram vortit.for me, who have spent my whole life in the best pursuits, doing good has through habit now turned into nature. Iug. 85.10Bellum mē gerere cum Iugurthā iussistis, quam rem nōbilitās aegērrumē tulit.You ordered me to wage war with Jugurtha, a thing the nobility took very badly. Iug. 85.10Quaesō, reputāte cum animīs vostrīs, num id mūtāre melius sit, sī quem ex illō globō nōbilitātis ad hoc aut aliud tāle negōtium mittātis, hominem veteris prōsapiae ac multārum imāginum et nūllīus stīpendī: scīlicet ut in tantā rē ignārus omnium trepidet, festīnet, sūmat aliquem ex populō monitōrem officī suī.Consider, I beg you, in your own minds, whether it would be better to change this, if you were to send on this or some other such task one of that clique of the nobility, a man of ancient lineage and many ancestral portraits, and of no campaigns: so that, of course, ignorant of everything in so great an affair, he may panic and hurry about, and take someone from the people as adviser in his duty.
Iug. 85.11Ita plērumque ēvenit, ut, quem vōs imperāre iussistis, is sibi imperātōrem alium quaerat.So it usually happens that the man you ordered to command looks for another commander for himself. Iug. 85.12Atque ego sciō, Quirītēs, quī, postquam cōnsulēs factī sunt, et ācta maiōrum et Graecōrum mīlitāria praecepta legere coeperint: praeposterī hominēs, nam gerere quam fierī tempore posterius, rē atque ūsū prius est.And I know men, citizens, who after they were made consuls began to read both the deeds of their ancestors and the military precepts of the Greeks: preposterous men, for to act comes later in time than to be elected, but in substance and practice it comes first. Iug. 85.13Conparāte nunc, Quirītēs, cum illōrum superbiā mē hominem novom.Compare now, citizens, me, a new man, with the arrogance of those men. Iug. 85.13Quae illī audīre aut legere solent, eōrum partem vīdī, alia egomet gessī;What they are accustomed to hear of or read, some of it I have seen, the rest I have done myself; Iug. 85.13quae illī litterīs, ea ego mīlitandō didicī.what they have learned from books, I have learned by soldiering.
Iug. 85.14Nunc vōs existumāte, facta an dicta plūris sint.Now judge for yourselves whether deeds or words are worth more. Iug. 85.14Contemnunt novitātem meam, ego illōrum ignāviam;They despise my newness, I their idleness; Iug. 85.14mihi fortūna, illīs probra obiectantur.against me my fortune is cast in my teeth, against them their disgraces. Iug. 85.15Quamquam ego nātūram ūnam et commūnem omnium existumō, sed fortissumum quemque generōsissumum.And yet I think that nature is one and common to all, but that the bravest man is the most nobly born. Iug. 85.16Ac sī iam ex patribus Albīnī aut Bēstiae quaerī posset, mēne an illōs ex sē gignī māluerint, quid respōnsūrōs crēditis nisi sēsē līberōs quam optumōs voluisse?And if the fathers of Albinus or Bestia could now be asked whether they would rather have had me or those men as their sons, what do you believe they would answer, except that they wanted their children to be as good as possible? Iug. 85.17Quod sī iūre mē dēspiciunt, faciant item maiōribus suīs, quibus, utī mihi, ex virtūte nōbilitās coepit.But if they rightly look down on me, let them do the same to their own ancestors, whose nobility, like mine, began with merit.
Iug. 85.18Invident honōrī meō: ergō invideant labōrī, innocentiae, perīculīs etiam meīs, quoniam per haec illum cēpī.They envy me my office: then let them envy my toil, my integrity, my dangers too, since it was through these that I won it. Iug. 85.19Vērum hominēs corruptī superbiā ita aetātem agunt, quasi vostrōs honōrēs contemnant;But men corrupted by arrogance pass their lives as if they despised your honours; Iug. 85.19ita hōs petunt, quasi honestē vīxerint.they seek them as if they had lived honourably. Iug. 85.20Nē illī falsī sunt, quī dīvorsissumās rēs pariter expectant, ignāviae voluptātem et praemia virtūtis.Truly they are mistaken who expect at once things utterly different, the pleasure of idleness and the rewards of merit. Iug. 85.21Atque etiam, quod apud vōs aut in senātū verba faciunt, plēraque ōrātiōne maiōrēs suōs extollunt: eōrum fortia facta memorandō clāriōrēs sēsē putant.And moreover, when they make speeches before you or in the senate, they spend most of their oratory extolling their ancestors: by recounting their brave deeds they think themselves more illustrious. Iug. 85.22Quod contrā est.The opposite is true. Iug. 85.22Nam quantō vīta illōrum praeclārior, tantō hōrum sōcordia flāgitiōsior.For the more glorious the life of those men was, the more shameful is the sloth of these.
Iug. 85.23Et profectō ita sē rēs habet: maiōrum glōria posterīs quasi lūmen est, neque bona neque mala eōrum in occultō patitur.And truly the case is this: the glory of ancestors is like a light to their descendants, and lets neither their good nor their bad deeds stay hidden. Iug. 85.24Huiusce reī ego inopiam fateor, Quirītēs, vērum, id quod multō praeclārius est, meamet facta mihi dīcere licet.Of this I confess my lack, citizens, but — what is far more glorious — I may speak of my own deeds. Iug. 85.25Nunc vidēte, quam inīquī sint.Now see how unfair they are. Iug. 85.25Quod ex aliēnā virtūte sibi adrogant, id mihi ex meā nōn concēdunt, scīlicet quia imāginēs nōn habeō et quia mihi nova nōbilitās est, quam certē peperisse melius est quam acceptam corrūpisse.What they claim for themselves on the strength of another's merit, they do not grant to me on the strength of my own, because, of course, I have no ancestral portraits and because my nobility is new — which it is surely better to have created than to have corrupted when inherited. Iug. 85.26Equidem ego nōn ignōrō, sī iam mihi respondēre velint, abundē illīs fācundam et conpositam ōrātiōnem fore.I am well aware, indeed, that if they chose to answer me now, they would have speech in abundance, eloquent and well arranged.
Iug. 85.26Sed in maxumō vostrō beneficiō quom omnibus locīs mēque vōsque maledictīs lacerent, nōn placuit reticēre, nē quis modestiam in cōnscientiam dūceret.But since, after this very great favour of yours, they tear both me and you to pieces with abuse in every place, I did not see fit to keep silent, lest anyone should take my restraint for a guilty conscience. Iug. 85.26Nam mē quidem ex animī meī sententiā nūlla ōrātiō laedere potest: quippe vēra necesse est bene praedicent, falsa vīta mōrēsque meī superant.For no speech, in my own heartfelt opinion, can hurt me: if it is true, it must speak well of me; if false, my life and character refute it. Iug. 85.28Sed quoniam Vostra cōnsilia accūsantur, quī mihi summum honōrem et maxumum negōtium inposuistis, etiam atque etiam reputāte, num eōrum paenitendum sit.But since it is your judgement that is being attacked, who laid upon me the highest office and the greatest task, consider again and again whether you ought to regret it. Iug. 85.29Nōn possum fideī causā imāginēs neque triumphōs aut cōnsulātūs maiōrum meōrum ostentāre, at, sī rēs postulet, hastās, vēxillum, phalerās, alia mīlitāria dōna, praetereā cicātrīcēs advorsō corpore.I cannot, to win your trust, display the portraits or the triumphs or consulships of my ancestors, but, if the matter should require it, I can show spears, a banner, medals, other military decorations, and besides, scars on the front of my body.
Iug. 85.30Hae sunt meae imāginēs, haec nōbilitās, nōn hērēditāte relicta, ut illa illīs, sed quae ego meīs plūrumīs labōribus et perīculīs quaesīvī.These are my portraits, this my nobility, not left me by inheritance, as theirs was to them, but won by my own countless toils and dangers. Iug. 85.31Nōn sunt conpositā verba mea: parvī id faciō.My words are not well arranged: I care little for that. Iug. 85.32Ipsa sē virtūs satis ostendit;Merit shows itself well enough; Iug. 85.32illīs artificiō opus est, ut turpia facta ōrātiōne tegant, neque litterās Graecās didicī: parum placēbat eās discere, quippe quae ad virtūtem doctōribus nihil prōfuerant.it is they who need artifice, to cover shameful deeds with oratory, nor have I learned Greek letters: I had little wish to learn them, since they had done nothing for the virtue of their teachers. Iug. 85.33At illa multō optumā reī pūblicae doctus sum: hostem ferīre, praesidia agitāre, nihil metuere nisi turpem fāmam, hiemem et aestātem iūxtā patī, humī requiēscere, eōdem tempore inopiam et labōrem tolerāre.But I have been taught those things which are by far the best for the commonwealth: to strike the enemy, to keep watch at outposts, to fear nothing but disgrace, to endure winter and summer alike, to sleep on the ground, to bear want and toil at the same time.
Iug. 85.34Hīs ego praeceptīs mīlitēs hortābor, neque illōs arte colam, mē opulenter, neque glōriam meam, labōrem illōrum faciam.With these precepts I shall encourage the soldiers, and I shall not treat them stingily and myself lavishly, nor make their toil my glory. Iug. 85.35Hoc est ūtile, hoc cīvīle imperium.This is useful command, this is command fit for citizens. Iug. 85.35Namque quom tūte per mollitiem agās, exercitum suppliciō cōgere, id est dominum, nōn imperātōrem esse.For when you yourself live in softness, to coerce an army with punishment is to be a master, not a commander. Iug. 85.36Haec atque alia tālia maiōrēs vostrī faciundō sēque remque pūblicam celebrāvēre.By doing these things and others like them your ancestors brought renown to themselves and to the commonwealth. Iug. 85.37Quīs nōbilitās frēta, ipse dissimilis mōribus, nōs illōrum aemulōs contemnit et omnīs honōrēs nōn ex meritō sed quasi dēbitōs ā vōbīs repetit.Relying on them, the nobility, though itself unlike them in character, despises us who emulate them, and demands every office from you not on merit but as if it were owed. Iug. 85.38Cēterum hominēs superbissumī procul errant.But these most arrogant of men are far astray.
Iug. 85.38Maiōrēs eōrum omnia quae licēbat illīs relīquēre: dīvitiās, imāginēs, memoriam suī praeclāram;Their ancestors left them all that they could: wealth, portraits, a glorious memory of themselves; Iug. 85.38virtūtem nōn relīquēre, neque poterant: ea sōla neque datur dōnō neque accipitur.merit they did not leave them, nor could they: it alone is neither given as a gift nor received as one. Iug. 85.39Sordidum mē et incultīs mōribus aiunt, quia parum scītē convīvium exōrnō neque histriōnem ūllum neque plūris pretī coquom quam vīlicum habeō.They call me vulgar and uncouth in my manners, because I furnish a dinner party with too little taste and keep no actor, nor a cook who cost more than my farm manager. Iug. 85.40Quae mihi lubet cōnfitērī, Quirītēs.This I am glad to admit, citizens. Iug. 85.40Nam ex parente meō et ex aliīs sānctīs virīs ita accēpī, munditiās mulieribus, virīs labōrem convenīre, omnibusque bonīs oportēre plūs glōriae quam dīvitiārum esse;For from my father and other upright men I learned that elegance suits women, toil suits men, and that all good men ought to have more glory than riches; Iug. 85.40arma, nōn supellectilem decorī esse.that arms, not furniture, are an honour.
Iug. 85.41Quīn ergō, quod iuvat, quod cārum aestumant, id semper faciant: ament, pōtent;Well then, let them always do what pleases them, what they hold dear: let them love, let them drink; Iug. 85.41ubi adulēscentiam habuēre, ibi senectūtem agant, in convīviīs, dēditī ventrī et turpissumae partī corporis;where they spent their youth, there let them spend their old age, at dinner parties, given over to their belly and the most shameful part of the body; Iug. 85.41sūdōrem, pulverem et alia tālia relinquant nōbīs, quibus illa epulīs iūcundiōra sunt.let them leave sweat, dust and other such things to us, for whom these are more delightful than feasts. Iug. 85.42Vērum nōn ita est.But it is not so. Iug. 85.42Nam ubi sē flāgitiīs dēdecorāvēre turpissumī virī, bonōrum praemia ēreptum eunt.For when these most shameful men have disgraced themselves with their vices, they go to snatch away the rewards of the good. Iug. 85.43Ita iniūstissumē luxuria et ignāvia, pessumae artēs, illīs, quī coluēre eās, nihil officiunt, reī pūblicae innoxiae clādī sunt.Thus, most unjustly, luxury and idleness, the worst of practices, do no harm to those who have cultivated them, but bring ruin on the innocent commonwealth.
Iug. 85.44Nunc quoniam illīs, quantum meī mōrēs, nōn illōrum flāgitia poscēbant, respondī, pauca dē rē pūblicā loquar.Now, since I have answered them as far as my own character, not their disgraces, demanded, I shall say a few words about public affairs. Iug. 85.45Prīmum omnium dē Numidiā bonum habēte animum, Quirītēs.First of all, citizens, be of good heart about Numidia. Iug. 85.45Nam quae ad hoc tempus Iugurtham tūtāta sunt, omnia remōvistis: avāritiam, inperītiam atque superbiam;For you have removed everything that has protected Jugurtha up to this time: greed, inexperience and arrogance; Iug. 85.45deinde exercitus ibi est locōrum sciēns, sed mehercule magis strēnuōs quam fēlīx, nam magna pars eius avāritiā aut temeritāte ducum adtrīta est.next, there is an army there that knows the country, but, by Hercules, more vigorous than fortunate, for a great part of it has been worn down by the greed or rashness of its commanders. Iug. 85.47Quam ob rem vōs, quibus mīlitāris aetās est, adnītiminī mēcum et capessite rem pūblicam, neque quemquam ex calamitāte aliōrum aut imperātōrum superbiā metus cēperit.Therefore you who are of military age, strive with me and take up the cause of the commonwealth, and let no fear seize anyone because of the disaster of others or the arrogance of commanders.
Iug. 85.47Egomet in agmine aut in proeliō cōnsultor īdem et socius perīculī vōbīscum aderō, mēque vōsque in omnibus rēbus iūxtā geram.I myself, on the march or in battle, shall be at your side, both your adviser and the sharer of your danger, and I shall treat you and myself alike in all things. Iug. 85.48Et profectō dīs iuvantibus omnia mātūra sunt: victōria, praeda, laus.And truly, with the help of the gods, everything is ripe: victory, booty, glory. Iug. 85.48Quae sī dubia aut procul essent, tamen omnīs bonōs reī pūblicae subvenīre decēbat.Even if these were doubtful or far off, it would still befit all good men to come to the aid of the commonwealth. Iug. 85.49Etenim nēmō ignāviā inmortālīs factus est, neque quisquam parēns līberīs, utī aeternī forent, optāvit, magis utī bonī honestīque vītam exigerent.For no one has become immortal through cowardice, nor has any parent prayed that his children should live for ever, but rather that they should pass their lives as good and honourable men. Iug. 85.50Plūra dīcerem, Quirītēs, sī timidīs virtūtem verba adderent;I would say more, citizens, if words added courage to the timid; Iug. 85.50nam strēnuīs abundē dictum putō."for to the brave I think enough has been said.'