Hist. 1.38.1"Quis ad vōs prōcesserim commīlitōnēs, dīcere nōn possum, quia nec prīvātum mē vocāre sustineō prīnceps ā vōbīs nōminātus, nec prīncipem aliō imperante.'In what character I have come before you, comrades, I cannot say, for I cannot bear to call myself a private citizen, named emperor as I am by you, nor emperor while another reigns. Hist. 1.38.1Vestrum quoque nōmen in incertō erit dōnec dubitābitur imperātōrem populī Rōmānī in castrīs an hostem habeātis.Your own title too will remain uncertain so long as it is in doubt whether you have in your camp the emperor of the Roman people or its enemy. Hist. 1.38.1Audītisne ut poena mea et supplicium vestrum simul postulentur?Do you hear how my punishment and your execution are being demanded together? Hist. 1.38.1Adeō manifestum est neque perīre nōs neque salvōs esse nisi ūnā posse;So plain is it that we can neither perish nor be saved except together; Hist. 1.38.1et cuius lēnitātis est Galba, iam fortasse prōmīsit, ut quī nūllō exposcente tot mīlia innocentissimōrum mīlitum trucīdāverit.and, merciful as Galba is, he has perhaps already promised it, he who, without anyone demanding it, butchered so many thousands of wholly innocent soldiers.
Hist. 1.38.1Horror animum subit quotiēns recordor fērālem introitum et hanc sōlam Galbae victōriam, cum in oculīs urbis decimārī dēditōs iubēret, quōs dēprecantīs in fidem accēperat.Horror comes over my mind whenever I recall that deadly entry and Galba's only victory, when before the eyes of the city he ordered men who had surrendered to be decimated, men whom he had received into his protection at their entreaty. Hist. 1.38.1Hīs auspiciīs urbem ingressus, quam glōriam ad prīncipātum attulit nisi occīsī Obultroniī Sabīnī et Cornēliī Mārcellī in Hispāniā, Betuī Cilōnis in Galliā, Fontēī Capitōnis in Germāniā, Clōdiī Macrī in Āfricā, Cingōniī in viā, Turpiliānī in urbe, Nymphidiī in castrīs?Having entered the city under these auspices, what glory has he brought to the principate, except the murders of Obultronius Sabinus and Cornelius Marcellus in Spain, of Betuus Cilo in Gaul, of Fonteius Capito in Germany, of Clodius Macer in Africa, of Cingonius on the road, of Turpilianus in the city, of Nymphidius in the camp? Hist. 1.38.1Quae usquam prōvincia, quae castra sunt nisi cruenta et maculāta aut, ut ipse praedicat, ēmendāta et corrēcta?What province anywhere, what camp is there that is not bloodstained and polluted, or, as he himself proclaims, reformed and corrected?
Hist. 1.38.1Nam quae aliī scelera, hic remedia vocat, dum falsīs nōminibus sevēritātem prō saevitiā, parsimōniam prō avāritiā, supplicia et contumēliās vestrās disciplīnam appellat.For what others call crimes he calls remedies, while under false names he calls cruelty severity, avarice thrift, and your punishments and humiliations discipline. Hist. 1.38.1Septem ā Nerōnis fīne mēnsēs sunt, et iam plūs rapuit Icelus quam quod Polyclītī et Vatīniī et Aegialī perdidērunt.It is seven months since Nero's end, and already Icelus has seized more than the Polyclituses and Vatiniuses and Aegialuses squandered. Hist. 1.38.1Minōre avāritiā ac licentiā grassātus esset T. Vīnius sī ipse imperāsset: nunc et subiectōs nōs habuit tamquam suōs et vīlīs ut aliēnōs.Titus Vinius would have plundered with less greed and licence if he had been emperor himself: as it is, he has treated us both as subjects, as though we were his own, and as worthless, as though we were another's. Hist. 1.38.1Ūna illa domus sufficit dōnātīvō quod vōbīs numquam datur et cōtīdiē exprobrātur."That one house would be enough for the donative which is never given to you and is thrown in your face every day.'