On Friendship Passage 37

tiberium quidem Gracchum rem publicam vexantem a Q. Tuberone aequalibusque amicis derelictum videbamus. At C. Blossius Cumanus, hospes familiae vestrae, Scaevola, cum ad me, quod aderam Laenati et Rupilio consulibus in consilio, deprecatum venisset, hanc ut sibi ignoscerem causam afferebat, quod tanti Tib. Gracchum fecisset, ut quidquid ille vellet sibi faciendum putaret. tum ego, etiamne, inquam, si te in Capitolium faces ferre vellet? numquam voluisset id quidem, sed, si voluisset, paruissem. videtis , quam nefaria vox. et hercule ita fecit, vel plus etiam quam dixit; non enim paruit ille Tib. Gracchi temeritati, sed praefuit, nec se comitem illius furoris, sed ducem praebuit. itaque hac amentia, quaestione nova perterritus, in Asiam profugit, ad hostis se contulit, poenas rei publicae gravis iustasque persolvit. nulla est igitur excusatio peccati, si amici causa peccaveris; nam, cum conciliatrix amicitiae virtutis opinio fuerit, difficile est amicitiam manere, si a virtute defeceris.

As to Tiberius Gracchus, when he began to stir up revolution against the republic, we saw him utterly deserted by Quintus Tubero and by the friends of his own age. And yet Gaius Blossius of Cumae, a protégé of your family, Scaevola, came to me to plead for leniency, because I was present as adviser to the consuls, Laenas and Rupilius, and offered, as a reason for my pardoning him, the fact that his esteem for Tiberius Gracchus was so great he thought it was his duty to do anything that Tiberius requested him to do. Thereupon I inquired, Even if he requested you to set fire to the Capitol? He never would have requested me to do that, of course, said he, but if he had I should have obeyed. You see what an impious remark that was! And, by heavens! he did all that he said he would do, or rather even more; for he did not follow, but he directed, the infatuation of Tiberius Gracchus, and he did not offer himself as the comrade in the latter’s fury, but as the leader. And so, as a result of his madness, being in fear of the special court of inquiry, he fled into Asia, joined our enemies, and paid a heavy and righteous penalty for his crimes against the Republic. Therefore it is no justification whatever of your sin to have sinned in behalf of a friend; for, since his belief in your virtue induced the friendship, it is hard for that friendship to remain if you have forsaken virtue.

Lorsque Tiberius Gracchus commença à susciter une révolution contre la république, nous le vîmes entièrement abandonné par Quintus Tubero et par les amis de son âge. Pourtant Gaius Blossius de Cumes, un protégé de ta famille, Scaevola, vint me demander l’indulgence, parce que j’assistais comme conseiller les consuls Laenas et Rupilius. Pour justifier mon pardon, il alléguait que son estime pour Tiberius Gracchus était si grande qu’il croyait devoir faire tout ce que Tiberius lui demandait. Je lui demandai alors : « Même s’il t’avait demandé d’incendier le Capitole ? » « Il ne me l’aurait bien sûr jamais demandé, répondit-il, mais, s’il l’avait fait, j’aurais obéi. » Vous voyez quelle parole impie c’était ! Et, par les dieux, il fit tout ce qu’il avait dit qu’il ferait, ou plutôt davantage encore. Car il ne suivit pas l’égarement de Tiberius Gracchus, il le dirigea. Il ne s’offrit pas comme compagnon de sa fureur, mais comme chef. Aussi, dans sa folie, craignant la commission judiciaire extraordinaire, s’enfuit-il en Asie, rejoignit-il nos ennemis et paya-t-il un lourd et juste châtiment pour ses crimes contre la République. Avoir péché au nom d’un ami ne justifie donc nullement votre faute. Puisque la confiance de cet ami dans votre vertu fit naître l’amitié, il est difficile que celle-ci subsiste si vous avez abandonné la vertu.