Clem. 1.1.1Scrībere dē clēmentiā, Nerō Caesar, īnstituī, ut quōdam modō speculī vice fungerer et tē tibi ostenderem perventūrum ad voluptātem maximam omnium.I have undertaken to write on clemency, Nero Caesar, so that I might in some way serve as a mirror and show you to yourself as one about to attain the greatest of all pleasures. Clem. 1.1.1Quamvīs enim rēctē factōrum vērus frūctus sit fēcisse nec ūllum virtūtum pretium dignum illīs extrā ipsās sit, iuvat īnspicere et circumīre bonam cōnscientiam, tum immittere oculōs in hanc immēnsam multitūdinem discordem, sēditiōsam, impotentem, in perniciem aliēnam suamque pariter exultātūram sī hoc iugum frēgerit, et ita loquī sēcum: " Egone ex omnibus mortālibus placuī ēlēctusque sum, quī in terrīs deōrum vice fungerer ?For although the true reward of right actions lies in having done them, and there is no prize worthy of the virtues outside themselves, it is pleasant to examine and go round a good conscience, then to cast one's eyes upon this immense multitude, quarrelsome, seditious, unruly, ready to run riot alike to the ruin of others and its own if it should break this yoke, and to speak thus with oneself: 'Have I, of all mortals, found favour and been chosen to act on earth in the place of the gods?
Clem. 1.1.2Ego vītae necisque gentibus arbiter;I am the arbiter of life and death for the nations; Clem. 1.1.2quālem quisque sortem statumque habeat, in meā manū positum est ;what lot and station each man has is placed in my hand; Clem. 1.1.2quid cuique mortālium fortūna datum velit, meō ōre prōnūntiat ;what fortune wishes to be granted to each mortal, she pronounces through my mouth; Clem. 1.1.2ex nostrō respōnsō laetitiae causās populī urbēsque concipiunt ;from our answer peoples and cities conceive their reasons for joy; Clem. 1.1.2nūlla pars usquam nisi volente propitiōque mē flōret;no region anywhere flourishes except by my will and favour; Clem. 1.1.2haec tot mīlia gladiōrum, quae pāx mea comprimit, ad nūtum meum stringentur ;these many thousands of swords, which my peace holds in check, will be drawn at my nod; Clem. 1.1.2quās nātiōnēs funditus excīdī, quās trānsportārī, quibus lībertātem darī, quibus ēripī, quōs rēgēs mancipia fierī quōrumque capitī rēgium circumdarī decus oporteat, quae ruant urbēs, quae oriantur, mea iūris dictiō est.which nations should be utterly destroyed, which transplanted, which given liberty, which robbed of it, which kings should become slaves and whose heads should be crowned with royal honour, which cities should fall and which should rise: this is mine to decree.
Clem. 1.1.3In hāc tantā facultāte rērum nōn īra mē ad inīqua supplicia compulit, nōn iuvenīlis impetus, nōn temeritās hominum et contumācia, quae saepe tranquillissimīs quoque pectoribus patientiam extersit, nōn ipsa ostentandae per terrōrēs potentiae dīra, sed frequēns magnīs imperiīs glōria.In this great power over affairs, it is not anger that has driven me to unjust punishments, nor youthful impulse, nor the rashness and defiance of men, which has often wrung patience even from the calmest breasts, nor that glory of displaying power through terror, dreadful yet common in great empires. Clem. 1.1.3Conditum, immō cōnstrātum apud mē ferrum est, summa parsimōnia etiam vīlissimī sanguinis ;With me the sword is sheathed, nay, laid away, and I am supremely sparing even of the meanest blood; Clem. 1.1.3nēmō nōn, cui alia dēsunt, hominis nōmine apud mē grātiōsus est.there is no one who, though he lacks all else, does not find favour with me by the name of man. Clem. 1.1.4Sevēritātem abditam, at clēmentiam in procinctū habeō ;Severity I keep hidden, but clemency girt and ready; Clem. 1.1.4sīc mē custōdiō, tamquam lēgibus, quās ex sitū ac tenebrīs in lūcem ēvocāvī, ratiōnem redditūrus sim.I guard myself as though I were to render account to the laws which I have called out of neglect and darkness into the light.
Clem. 1.1.4Alterīus aetāte prīmā mōtus sum, alterīus ultimā ;I have been moved by one man's early youth, by another's old age; Clem. 1.1.4alium dignitātī dōnāvī, alium humilitātī;one I have pardoned for his rank, another for his lowliness; Clem. 1.1.4quotiēns nūllam invēneram misericordiae causam, mihi pepercī.whenever I had found no reason for pity, I have spared myself. Clem. 1.1.4Hodiē dīs inmortālibus, sī ā mē ratiōnem repetant, adnumerāre genus hūmānum parātus sum."Today, if the immortal gods should ask me for an account, I am ready to number the human race back to them in full.' Clem. 1.1.5Potes hoc, Caesar, audācter praedicāre omnia, quae in fidem tūtēlamque tuam vēnērunt, tūta habērī, nihil per tē neque vī neque clam adimī reī pūblicae.You can boldly proclaim this, Caesar: that everything which has come into your trust and protection is kept safe, and that nothing is taken from the state through you, either by force or by stealth. Clem. 1.1.5Rārissimam laudem et nūllī adhūc prīncipum- concessam concupīstī innocentiam innocentiam.You have set your heart on a most rare distinction, granted as yet to no prince: innocence.
Clem. 1.1.5Nōn perdit operam nec bonitās ista tua singulāris ingrātōs aut malignōs aestimātōrēs nancta est.Your labour is not lost, nor has that singular goodness of yours met with ungrateful or spiteful judges. Clem. 1.1.5Refertur tibi grātia ;Gratitude is returned to you; Clem. 1.1.5nēmō ūnus homō ūnī hominī tam cārus umquam fuit, quam tū populō Rōmānō, magnum longumque eius bonum.no single man was ever so dear to another as you are to the Roman people, its great and lasting blessing. Clem. 1.1.5Sed ingēns tibi onus imposuistī;But you have laid a huge burden on yourself; Clem. 1.1.5nēmō iam dīvum Augustum nec Ti. Caesaris prīma tempora loquitur nec, quod tē imitārī velit, exemplar extrā tē quaerit ;no one now speaks of the deified Augustus or the early years of Tiberius Caesar, or seeks outside you a model he would have you imitate; Clem. 1.1.6prīncipātus tuus ad gustum exigitur.your principate is held to the standard of its first taste. Clem. 1.1.6Difficile hoc fuisset, sī nōn nātūrālis tibi ista bonitās esset, sed ad tempus sūmpta.This would have been hard, if that goodness of yours were not natural but assumed for the moment. Clem. 1.1.6Nēmō enim potest persōnam diū ferre, ficta citō in nātūram suam recidunt ;For no one can wear a mask for long; things feigned soon fall back into their own nature; Clem. 1.1.6quibus vēritās subest quaeque, ut ita dīcam, ex solidō ēnāscuntur, tempore ipsō in maius meliusque prōcēdunt.those which have truth beneath them, and which grow, so to speak, out of solid ground, advance with time itself into something greater and better.
Clem. 1.1.7Magnam adībat āleam populus Rōmānus, cum incertum esset, quō sē ista tua nōbilis indolēs daret ;The Roman people was running a great risk while it was uncertain which way that noble disposition of yours would turn; Clem. 1.1.7iam vōta pūblica in tūtō sunt ;now the public prayers are secure; Clem. 1.1.7nec enim perīculum est, nē tē subita tuī capiat oblīviō.for there is no danger that a sudden forgetfulness of yourself will seize you. Clem. 1.1.7Facit quidem avidōs nimia fēlīcitās, nec tam temperātae cupiditātēs sunt umquam, ut in eō, quod contigit, dēsinant ;Excessive good fortune does indeed make men greedy, and desires are never so moderate that they stop at what has been attained; Clem. 1.1.7gradus ā magnīs ad maiōra fit, et spēs improbissimās complectuntur īnspērāta adsecūtī;the step is from great things to greater, and those who have gained what they never hoped for embrace the most extravagant hopes; Clem. 1.1.7omnibus tamen nunc cīvibus tuīs et haec cōnfessiō exprimitur esse fēlīcēs et illa nihil iam hīs accēdere bonīs posse, nisi ut perpetua sint.yet now from all your citizens this admission is wrung, that they are happy, and this too, that nothing more can now be added to these blessings, except that they should last for ever.
Clem. 1.1.8Multa illōs cōgunt ad hanc cōnfessiōnem- quā, nūlla in homine tardior est sēcūritās : alta adfluēns, iūs, suprā omnem iniūriam positum positum ;Many things drive them to this admission, than which none comes more slowly to a man: a deep and abundant security, and justice set above every injury; Clem. 1.1.8obversātur oculīs laetissima fōrma reī pūblicae, cui ad summam lībertātem nihil dēest nisi pereundī licentia.before their eyes hovers the most joyful form of commonwealth, which lacks nothing for the fullest liberty except the licence to destroy itself. Clem. 1.1.9Praecipuē tamen aequālis ad maximōs īmōsque pervenit clēmentiae tuae admīrātiō ;Above all, however, admiration for your clemency reaches the highest and the lowest alike; Clem. 1.1.9cētera enim bona prō portiōne fortūnae suae quisque sentit aut expectat maiōra minōraque, ex clēmentiā omnēs idem spērant ;for the other blessings each man feels or expects in greater or lesser measure in proportion to his own fortune, but from clemency all hope for the same; Clem. 1.1.9nec est quisquam, cui tam valdē innocentia sua placeat, ut nōn stāre in cōnspectū clēmentiam parātam hūmānīs errōribus gaudeat.nor is there anyone so well pleased with his own innocence as not to rejoice that clemency stands in view, ready for human errors.