Philippics Passage 11

illa vero dissipatio pecuniae publicae ferenda nullo modo est per quam sestertium septiens miliens falsis perscriptionibus donationibusque avertit , ut portenti simile videatur tantam pecuniam populi Romani tam brevi tempore perire potuisse . quid ? illi tot immanes quaestus ferendine quos M. Antoni exhausit domus? decreta falsa vendebat, regna, civitates, immunitates in aes accepta pecunia iubebat incidi. haec se ex commentariis C. Caesaris , quorum ipse auctor erat, agere dicebat. calebant in interiore aedium parte totius rei publicae nundinae; mulier sibi felicior quam viris auctionem provinciarum regnorumque faciebat; restituebantur exsules quasi lege sine lege; quae nisi auctoritate senatus rescinduntur, quoniam ingressi in spem rei publicae recuperandae sumus, imago nulla liberae civitatis relinquetur.

That dissipation of public money is utterly intolerable. Through false drafts and gifts he diverted seven hundred million sesterces, so that it seems almost monstrous that so much money belonging to the Roman people could disappear in so short a time. And are those many monstrous profits which Marcus Antonius's household swallowed to be endured? He sold false decrees, kingdoms, citizenships, and exemptions, and after receiving payment ordered them engraved on bronze. He said that he was acting from Gaius Caesar's memoranda, of which he himself was the author. In the inner part of the house the market of the entire republic was bustling. A woman, more fortunate for herself than for her husbands, held an auction of provinces and kingdoms. Exiles were restored purportedly by law but without a law. Unless these things are rescinded by the Senate's authority now that we have entered upon the hope of recovering the republic, not even the semblance of a free state will remain.

Mais cette dissipation des deniers publics est absolument intolérable: par de fausses écritures et des donations, il a détourné sept milliards de sesterces, si bien qu’il paraît prodigieux qu’une somme aussi grande appartenant au peuple romain ait pu disparaître en si peu de temps. Et ces profits énormes qu’a engloutis la maison de M. Antoine sont-ils supportables? Il vendait de faux décrets et, après avoir reçu de l’argent, faisait graver sur le bronze des royaumes, des droits de cité et des exemptions. Il disait accomplir tout cela d’après les registres de C. César, dont il était lui-même l’auteur. Au fond de sa maison se tenait un marché animé de toute la république; une femme, plus heureuse pour elle-même que pour ses maris, mettait aux enchères provinces et royaumes; des exilés étaient rétablis comme en vertu d’une loi, mais sans loi. Si l’autorité du Sénat n’annule pas ces actes, maintenant que nous avons conçu l’espoir de recouvrer la république, il ne restera aucune apparence de cité libre.