Quotes from Cicero's Pro M. Marcello

Finding himself on the losing side of Caesar's civil war, Cicero makes a cringeworthy speech before the Senate. Delivered 46 B.C.

The Latin quotes are selected for interest (int), language (lan), and beauty (bea), and are translated into English. The line numbers are from the Loeb edition, and start counting from line 1 of the section. All translations are by Gus Wiseman (Nafindix), with the exception of any contributions from other users. The public domain sources of the Latin quotes are:


 * Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, vol. XIV, 1931; Latin text with facing English translation by N. H. Watts.
 * Pro M. Marcello. Cicero. M. Tulli Ciceronis Orationes, Vol. VI. Clark, Albert Curtis, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1918. https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi032.perseus-lat2:1-5/ or http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi032.perseus-lat1:1

1.1 lan/bea
Diuturni silenti, patres conscripti, quo eram his temporibus usus, non timore aliquo, sed partim dolore, partim verecundia, finem hodiernus dies attulit, idemque initium quae vellem quaeque sentirem meo pristino more dicendi: tantam enim mansuetudinem, tam inusitatam inauditamque clementiam, tantum in summa potestate rerum omnium modum, tam denique incredibilem sapientiam ac paene divinam tacitus praeterire nullo modo possum.

Today has ended my lasting silence, Conscript Fathers, not on account of any particular fear, but because I have been sad and dumb for long enough, and this speech marks the resumption my former custom of saying what I will and what I think. For I can no longer pass over in silence such gentleness, such unusual and uncommon mercy, such moderation in one who has attained supreme power, and indeed such incredible and godlike wisdom.

2.1 int/bea
M. enim Marcello vobis, patres conscripti, reique publicae reddito, non illius solum sed etiam meam vocem et auctoritatem et vobis et rei publicae conservatam ac restitutam puto.

With Marcus Marcellus, Conscript Fathers, returned to you and the state, I think that not only his, but also my own voice and authority have been spared and revived for you and the state.

7.1 int/bea
At vero huius gloriae, C. Caesar, quam es paulo ante adeptus, socium habes neminem: totum hoc, quantumcumque est, quod certe maximum est, totum est, inquam, tuum.

In truth, Gaius Caesar, you have no partner in your recently acquired glory; however exceedingly great it may be, still it is, I would say, entirely your own.

9.1 int/bea
Itaque, C. Caesar, bellicae tuae laudes celebrabuntur illae quidem non solum nostris, sed paene omnium gentium litteris atque linguis, nec ulla umquam aetas de tuis laudibus conticescet; sed tamen eius modi res nescio quo modo etiam cum leguntur, obstrepi clamore militum videntur et tubarum sono: at vero cum aliquid clementer, mansuete, iuste, moderate, sapienter factum, in iracundia praesertim, quae est inimica consilio, et in victoria, quae natura insolens et superba est, audimus aut legimus, quo studio incendimur, non modo in gestis rebus, sed etiam in fictis, ut eos saepe quos numquam vidimus diligamus!

Therefore, Gaius Caesar, your war-gained honors will be celebrated not only in our own but in the words of nearly all peoples, nor will any age be deaf to your praise; yet somehow the reading of such things seems to be obscured by the clamor of soldiers and the sound of the trumpet. But when we hear or read of something done mercifully, gently, rightly, moderately, or wisely, especially in anger, which is the enemy of deliberation, or in victory, which by nature is insolent and overbearing, with what affection do we burn, not only for actual deeds but even those imagined, so that we often adore those whom we have never seen!

10.10 lan
Equidem cum C. Marcelli, viri optimi et commemorabili pietate praediti lacrimas modo vobiscum viderem, omnium Marcellorum meum pectus memoria obfudit, quibus tu etiam mortuis M. Marcello conservato dignitatem suam reddidisti nobilissimamque familiam iam ad paucos redactam paene ab interitu vindicasti.

As we were all watching the tears of Gaius Marcellus, a man endowed with remarkable loyalty, the memory of his whole family filled my heart. With the rescue of his brother, you have restored dignity to all of them, dead or alive, and saved from near extinction a most noble house now reduced to few.

14.1 lan
Quo quidem in bello semper de pace audiendum putavi semperque dolui non modo pacem sed etiam orationem civium pacem flagitantium repudiari; neque enim ego illa nec ulla umquam secutus sum arma civilia semperque mea consilia pacis et togae socia, non belli atque armorum fuerunt.

In that war I always thought peace should be heard of, and I mourned that not only peace but even the speech of citizens encouraging peace was repudiated; for I never joined in that or any other civil war, and my plans were always aligned with peace and the toga, not with war and arms.

15.4 int/lan/bea
Ex quo nemo iam erit tam iniustus existimator rerum qui dubitet quae Caesaris de bello voluntas fuerit, cum pacis auctores conservandos statim censuerit, ceteris fuerit iratior.

No one will now be such an unjust critic of affairs as to doubt what Caesar thought of war, seeing as supporters of peace he pardoned immediately, and with others he was angrier.

15.7 int
Atque id minus mirum fortasse tum, cum esset incertus exitus et anceps fortuna belli: qui vero victor pacis auctores diligit, is profecto declarat se maluisse non dimicare quam vincere.

That decision was perhaps less surprising when the outcome of the war was uncertain and fortune indecisive. But if a victor allies himself with the forces of peace after the battle is won, surely he demonstrates that he would prefer not to have fought than to have won.

17.7 lan
Alterius vero partis nihil amplius dicam quam, id quod omnes verebamur, nimis iracundam futuram fuisse victoriam.

Of the other side I will say only that, as we all feared, theirs would have been an exceedingly vindictive victory.

18.1 int/lan
Quidam enim non modo armatis sed interdum etiam otiosis minabantur, nec quid quisque sensisset, sed ubi fuisset cogitandum esse dicebant; ut mihi quidem videantur di immortales, etiam si poenas a populo Romano ob aliquod delictum expetiverunt, qui civile bellum tantum et tam luctuosum excitaverunt, vel placati iam vel satiati aliquando omnem spem salutis ad clementiam victoris et sapientiam contulisse.

Certain men, who said that it was not what we thought but where we had been that mattered, were threatening not only the military but also civilians, making it seem to me as if the gods, after they had demanded misery from the Roman people (for some offense) and excited such a great and grievous civil war, they, either placated now or satisfied at length, have discharged all hope of safety to the merciful tolerance of the victor.

19.1 int/lan
Qua re gaude tuo isto tam excellenti bono, et fruere cum fortuna et gloria tum etiam natura et moribus tuis; ex quo quidem maximus est fructus iucunditasque sapienti.

So rejoice in your exceptional good, and profit from your fortune, your fame, and also your native character; for in these things a wise man finds his greatest enjoyment and satisfaction.

20.1 int/lan/bea
Noli igitur in conservandis viris bonis defetigari, non cupiditate praesertim aliqua aut pravitate lapsis, sed opinione offici stulta fortasse, certe non improba, et specie quadam rei publicae; non enim tua ulla culpa est, si te aliqui timuerunt, contraque summa laus, quod minime timendum fuisse senserunt.

Refuse to be exhausted in the preservation of good men, especially those fallen out of favor, not by greed or depravity, but by a sense of duty, foolish perhaps, but certainly not wrong, and by a certain image of the state; for you are not to be blamed for some who have feared you— on the contrary, you are to be lauded for all who did not.

21.1 int
Nunc venio ad gravissimam querellam et atrocissimam suspicionem tuam, quae non tibi ipsi magis quam cum omnibus civibus, tum maxime nobis, qui a te conservati sumus, providenda est: quam etsi spero falsam esse, tamen numquam extenuabo verbis.

Now I come to your most serious complaint and your most bloody suspicions, to be attended to not more by yourself than by all citizens, especially those of us owing to you our preservation.

21.8 int
''Sed quisnam est iste tam demens? de tuisne?—tametsi qui magis sunt tui quam quibus tu salutem insperantibus reddidisti?''

But who is this crazy assassin of yours? Surely not one of your own friends. But who are more your friends than all we lucky people you have restored?

21.11 int/lan/bea
Non est credibilis tantus in ullo furor, ut quo duce omnia summa sit adeptus, huius vitam non anteponat suae.

Such rage is unbelievable in anyone who, having attained everything optimal under a certain general, will count his own life for less.

21.15 int/bea
Omnes enim, qui fuerunt, aut sua pertinacia vitam amiserunt aut tua misericordia retinuerunt, ut aut nulli supersint de inimicis aut qui fuerunt sint amicissimi.

All who were your enemies have either lost their lives by their own obstinacy, or by your mercy retained them, so that either none of your foes remain, or those who were are now your best friends.

22.1 int
Sed tamen cum in animis hominum tantae latebrae sint et tanti recessus, augeamus sane suspitionem tuam: simul enim augebimus diligentiam.

Since such great mazes and recesses reside deeply within the minds of men, let us inflate your suspicions; for thereby we shall evoke your careful attention.

22.4 bea
Nam quis est omnium tam ignarus rerum, tam rudis in re publica, tam nihil umquam nec de sua nec de communi salute cogitans, qui non intellegat tua salute contineri suam et ex unius tua vita pendere omnium?

For who is so ignorant of all things, who so inept at politics, and who so reliably thinking neither of his own nor of the common welfare, as not to understand that his own well-being is contained in yours, and that on your life alone hang the lives of all?

25.5 int/bea
Qua re omitte istam, quaeso, doctorum hominum in contemnenda morte prudentiam: noli nostro periculo esse sapiens.

Please let go of the wisdom of philosophers denouncing death, and do not be wise at our expense.

25.14 int
''Hic tu modum vitae tuae non salute rei publicae, sed aequitate animi definies? Quid, si istud ne gloriae quidem satis est? Cuius te esse avidissimum, quamvis sis sapiens, non negabis.''

Will you define the limit of your life not by the safety of the state, but by the peacefulness of your own mind? What if that is not enough for glory, which, in spite of your intelligence, you will not deny is your deepest obsession?

26.2 int/lan
Quicquid est enim, quamvis amplum sit, id est parum tum cum est aliquid amplius.

Whatever it is, however great, as soon as there is something greater, it is not enough.

26.4 bea
Quod si rerum tuarum immortalium, C. Caesar, hic exitus futurus fuit, ut devictis adversariis rem publicam in eo statu relinqueres, in quo nunc est, vide, quaeso, ne tua divina virtus admirationis plus sit habitura quam gloriae; si quidem gloria est inlustris et pervagata magnorum vel in suos vel in patriam vel in omne genus hominum fama meritorum.

If it was going to be the end of your immortal manifestations, Gaius Caesar, that you would leave the state in the status it is now, please take care that your divine virtue does not earn you less glory than admiration, if indeed glory be a bright and wide-ranging respect for great services conferred upon one's friends, one's fatherland, and all people of the world.

29.10 int
Servi igitur eis etiam iudicibus, qui multis post saeculis de te iudicabunt et quidem haud scio an incorruptius quam nos; nam et sine amore et sine cupiditate et rursus sine odio et sine invidia iudicabunt.

Attend even to those reviewers who will pass verdict upon you from many ages to come; indeed, they will do so less corruptly than we, being without fondness or passion or hatred or spite.

30.1 bea
Id autem etiam si tum ad te, ut quidam falso putant, non pertinebit, nunc certe pertinet esse te talem, ut tuas laudes obscuratura nulla umquam sit oblivio.

Even if it will never pertain to you in the future, as certain people falsely think, still it certainly matters right now that you be such as no oblivion will ever obscure your glory.

34.8 lan/bea
Itaque, C. Caesar, sic tibi gratias ago ut omnibus me rebus a te non conservato solum, sed etiam ornato, tamen ad tua in me unum innumerabilia merita, quod fieri iam posse non arbitrabar, maximus hoc tuo facto cumulus accesserit.

Therefore, Gaius Caesar, not only do you get my thanks for preserving and even enriching me in all respects, but your present action adds a glorious crown to your countless services toward me, which I did not think was possible.