Clem. 1.9.1Hoc quam vērum sit, admonēre tē exemplō domesticō volō.How true this is I wish to remind you by an example from your own family. Clem. 1.9.1Dīvus Augustus fuit mītis prīnceps, sī quis illum ā prīncipātū suō aestimāre incipiat ;The deified Augustus was a mild prince, if one begins to judge him from the time of his principate; Clem. 1.9.1in commūnī quidem reī pūblicae gladium mōvit.in the time when the commonwealth was shared, indeed, he wielded the sword. Clem. 1.9.1Cum hoc aetātis esset, quod tū nunc es, duodēvīcēnsimum ēgressus annum, iam pugiōnēs in sinum amīcōrum absconderat, iam īnsidiīs M. Antōniī cōnsulis latus petierat, iam fuerat collēga prōscrīptiōnis.When he was the age you are now, just past his eighteenth year, he had already buried daggers in the breasts of friends, already sought the side of the consul Mark Antony by treachery, already been a partner in the proscription. Clem. 1.9.2Sed cum annum quadrāgēnsimum trānsīsset et in Galliā morārētur, dēlātum est ad eum indicium L. Cinnam, stolidī ingeniī virum, īnsidiās eī struere ;But when he had passed his fortieth year and was staying in Gaul, information was brought to him that Lucius Cinna, a man of dull wit, was plotting against him; Clem. 1.9.2dictum est, et ubi et quandō et quemadmodum adgredī vellet;he was told where and when and how Cinna meant to attack him; Clem. 1.9.2ūnus ex cōnsciīs dēferēbat.one of the accomplices was the informer.
Clem. 1.9.3Cōnstituit sē ab eō vindicāre et cōnsilium amīcōrum advocārī iussit.He resolved to avenge himself on him, and ordered a council of his friends to be summoned. Clem. 1.9.3Nox illī inquiēta erat, cum cōgitāret adulēscentem nōbilem, hōc dētrāctō integrum.He spent a restless night, reflecting that a young man of noble birth, blameless apart from this. Clem. 1.9.3Cn. Pompēī nepōtem, damnandum ;the grandson of Gnaeus Pompey, must be condemned; Clem. 1.9.3iam ūnum hominem occīdere nōn poterat, cui M. Antōnius prōscrīptiōnis ēdictum inter cēnam dictārat.now he could not kill one man, he to whom Mark Antony had dictated the edict of proscription at dinner. Clem. 1.9.4Gemēns subinde vōcēs variās ēmittēbat et inter sē contrāriās : " Quid ergō ?Groaning, he uttered from time to time various words that contradicted one another: 'What then? Clem. 1.9.4Ego percussōrem meum sēcūrum ambulāre patiar mē sollicitō ?Shall I let my assassin walk about free from care while I am anxious? Clem. 1.9.4Ergō nōn dabit poenās, quī tot cīvīlibus bellīs frūstrā petītum caput, tot nāvālibus, tot pedestribus proeliīs incolume, postquam terrā marīque pāx parāta est, nōn occīdere cōnstituat, sed immolāre ?Shall he then not pay the penalty who resolves, not to kill, but to sacrifice, a head sought in vain in so many civil wars, unharmed in so many battles by sea and so many on land, now that peace has been established on land and sea?
Clem. 1.9.4" (nam sacrificantem placuerat adorīrī).' (for they had decided to attack him while he was sacrificing). Clem. 1.9.5Rūrsus silentiō interpositō maiōre multō vōce sibi quam Cinnae īrāscēbātur : " Quid vīvis, sī perīre tē tam multōrum interest ?Again, after a pause, in a much louder voice he raged at himself more than at Cinna: 'Why do you live, if it matters to so many that you should die? Clem. 1.9.5Quis fīnis erit suppliciōrum ?What end will there be to punishments? Clem. 1.9.5Quis sanguinis ?What end to bloodshed? Clem. 1.9.5Ego sum nōbilibus adulēscentulīs expositum caput, in quod mūcrōnēs acuant ;I am the head exposed to noble young men, on which they may sharpen their swords; Clem. 1.9.5nōn est tantī vīta, sī, ut ego nōn peream, tam multa perdenda sunt.life is not worth so much if, so that I may not perish, so much must be destroyed. Clem. 1.9.6" Interpellāvit tandem illum Līvia uxor et : " Admittis," inquit, " muliebre cōnsilium ?' At last his wife Livia interrupted him and said: 'Will you admit a woman's advice? Clem. 1.9.6Fac, quod medicī solent, quī, ubi ūsitāta remedia nōn prōcēdunt, temptant contrāria.Do what doctors usually do, who, when the usual remedies do not succeed, try their opposites.
Clem. 1.9.6Sevēritāte nihil adhūc prōfēcistī;By severity you have achieved nothing so far; Clem. 1.9.6Salvidiēnum Lepidus secūtus est.Lepidus followed Salvidienus. Clem. 1.9.6Lepidum Mūrēna, Mūrēnam Caepiō, Caepiōnem Egnātius, ut aliōs taceam, quōs tantum ausōs pudet.Murena followed Lepidus, Caepio Murena, Egnatius Caepio, not to mention others whose daring so much is a disgrace. Clem. 1.9.6Nunc temptā, quōmodo tibi cēdat clēmentia;Now try how clemency turns out for you; Clem. 1.9.6ignōsce L. Cinnae.pardon Lucius Cinna. Clem. 1.9.6Dēprēnsus est;He has been caught; Clem. 1.9.6iam nocēre tibi nōn potest, prōdesse fāmae tuae potest.he can no longer harm you; he can benefit your reputation. Clem. 1.9.7" Gāvīsus, sibi quod advocātum invēnerat, uxōrī quidem grātiās ēgit, renūntiārī autem extemplō amīcīs, quōs in cōnsilium rogāverat, imperāvit et Cinnam ūnum ad sē accersit dīmissīsque omnibus ē cubiculō, cum alteram Cinnae pōnī cathedram iussisset : " Hoc," inquit, " prīmum ā tē petō, nē mē loquentem interpellēs, nē mediō sermōne meō prōclāmēs ;' Delighted to have found an advocate, he thanked his wife, and at once ordered word to be sent to the friends he had asked to the council that it was cancelled, and summoned Cinna alone to him; and having sent everyone out of the room and ordered a second chair to be set for Cinna, he said: 'This I ask of you first, that you do not interrupt me as I speak, that you do not cry out in the middle of my speech; Clem. 1.9.7dabitur tibi loquendī līberum tempus.you will be given free time to speak.
Clem. 1.9.8Ego tē, Cinna, cum in hostium castrīs invēnissem, nōn factum tantum mihi inimīcum sed nātum, servāvī, patrimōnium tibi omne concessī.Cinna, when I had found you in the enemy's camp, not merely made my enemy but born one, I saved you and granted you your entire inheritance. Clem. 1.9.8Hodiē tam fēlīx et tam dīves es, ut victō victōrēs invideant.Today you are so fortunate and so rich that the victors envy the vanquished. Clem. 1.9.8Sacerdōtium tibi petentī praeteritīs complūribus, quōrum parentēs mēcum mīlitāverant, dedī ;When you sought a priesthood, I passed over several whose parents had served with me, and gave it to you; Clem. 1.9.8cum sīc dē tē meruerim, occīdere mē cōnstituistī.though I have deserved so well of you, you have resolved to kill me. Clem. 1.9.9" Cum ad hanc vōcem exclāmāsset procul hanc ab sē abesse dēmentiam : " Nōn praestās," inquit, " fidem, Cinna ;' When at this word Cinna cried out that such madness was far from him, he said: 'You are not keeping faith, Cinna; Clem. 1.9.9convēnerat, nē interloquerēris.it was agreed that you would not interrupt. Clem. 1.9.9Occīdere, inquam, mē parās " ;You are preparing, I say, to kill me'; Clem. 1.9.9adiēcit locum, sociōs, diem, ōrdinem īnsidiārum, cui commissum esset ferrum.he added the place, the accomplices, the day, the plan of the plot, and to whom the sword had been entrusted.
Clem. 1.9.10Et cum dēfīxum vidēret nec ex conventiōne iam, sed ex cōnscientiā tacentem : " Quō," inquit, " hōc animō facis ?And when he saw him with eyes fixed on the ground, silent now not because of their agreement but from guilt, he said: 'With what purpose are you doing this? Clem. 1.9.10Ut ipse sīs prīnceps ?That you may be prince yourself? Clem. 1.9.10Male mehercules cum populō Rōmānō agitur, sī tibi ad imperandum- nihil praeter mē obstat obstat.By Hercules, it goes badly with the Roman people if nothing but I stands in the way of your ruling. Clem. 1.9.10Domum tuērī tuam nōn potes, nūper lībertīnī hominis grātiā in prīvātō iūdiciō superātus es ;You cannot look after your own house; recently you were beaten in a private suit by the influence of a freedman; Clem. 1.9.10adeō nihil facilius potes quam contrā Caesarem advocāre.so true is it that nothing comes easier to you than to bring a case against Caesar. Clem. 1.9.10Cēdō, sī spēs tuās sōlus impediō, Paulusne tē et Fabius Maximus et Cossī et Servīliī ferent tantumque agmen nōbilium nōn inānia nōmina praeferentium, sed eōrum, quī imāginibus- suīs decorī sint sint ?Tell me, if I alone hinder your hopes, will Paulus put up with you, and Fabius Maximus, and the Cossi and the Servilii, and so great a column of nobles, not those who display empty names but those who bring honour to their ancestral portraits?
Clem. 1.9.10" Nē tōtam eius ōrātiōnem repetendō magnam partem volūminis occupem (diūtius enim quam duābus hōrīs locūtum esse cōnstat, eum hanc poenam, quā sōlā erat contentus futūrus, extenderet) : " Vītam," inquit, " tibi, Cinna, iterum dō, prius hostī, nunc īnsidiātōrī ac parricīdae.' Not to fill a large part of this volume by repeating his whole speech (for it is agreed that he spoke for more than two hours, drawing out this punishment, the only one with which he meant to be content), he said: 'Cinna, I give you life a second time, first to an enemy, now to a plotter and parricide. Clem. 1.9.11Ex hodiernō diē inter nōs amīcitia incipiat ;From this day let friendship begin between us; Clem. 1.9.11contendāmus, utrum ego meliōre fidē tibi vītam dederim an tū dēbeās."let us contend whether I have given you life in better faith, or you owe it.' Clem. 1.9.11Post hoc dētulit ultrō cōnsulātum questus, quod nōn audēret petere.After this he offered him the consulship unasked, complaining that Cinna did not dare to stand for it. Clem. 1.9.11Amīcissimum fidēlissimumque habuit, hērēs sōlus illī fuit.He found him his most devoted and faithful friend, and was his sole heir.
Clem. 1.9.11Nūllīs amplius īnsidiīs ab ūllō petītus est.He was never again the target of any plot by anyone.