Philippics Passage 39

quid enim, o di immortales! admirabilius omnibus gentibus, quid optatius populo Romano accidere potuit quam, cum bellum civile maximum esset, cuius belli exitum omnes timeremus, sapientia et misericordia id potius exstingui quam armis et ferro rem in discrimen adducere ? quod si eadem ratio Caesaris fuisset in illo taetro miseroque bello, ut omittam patrem, duos Cn. Pompei, summi et singularis viri, filios incolumis haberemus: quibus certe pietas fraudi esse non debuit. Vtinam omnis M. Lepidus servare potuisset! facturum fuisse declaravit in eo quod potuit, cum Sex. Pompeium restituit civitati, maximum ornamentum rei publicae, clarissimum monumentum clementiae suae. gravis illa fortuna populi Romani, grave fatum. Pompeio enim patre, quod imperi populi Romani lumen fuit, exstincto interfectus est patris simillimus filius.

For what, immortal gods, more admirable to every nation, what more desirable for the Roman people, could have happened than that, when a very great civil war existed and all feared its outcome, it should be extinguished by wisdom and compassion rather than that the issue be brought to decision by arms and steel? If Caesar had employed the same policy in that foul and wretched war, to say nothing of their father, we would still have the two sons of Gnaeus Pompeius, that supreme and extraordinary man, safe among us. Surely their filial devotion should not have harmed them. If only Marcus Lepidus could have saved them all! By restoring Sextus Pompeius to citizenship, a great ornament of the republic and a most illustrious monument to his clemency, he showed that he would have done so where he had the power. Heavy was that fortune of the Roman people, heavy that fate. After Pompeius the father, who was the light of the Roman people's empire, was extinguished, the son most like his father was killed.

Quoi donc, dieux immortels! Qu’aurait-il pu arriver de plus admirable aux yeux de toutes les nations, de plus désirable pour le peuple romain, que de voir, au milieu d’une immense guerre civile dont nous redoutions tous l’issue, la sagesse et la compassion l’éteindre, au lieu de laisser les armes et le fer mettre la situation en péril? Si César avait suivi la même conduite dans cette guerre hideuse et misérable, sans parler du père, nous posséderions encore sains et saufs les deux fils de Cn. Pompée, homme suprême et incomparable, auxquels leur piété filiale n’aurait assurément pas dû nuire. Plût aux dieux que M. Lepidus eût pu les sauver tous! Il montra ce qu’il aurait fait dans ce qui dépendait de lui lorsqu’il rendit Sex. Pompée à la cité, grand ornement de la république et témoignage éclatant de sa clémence. Cruelle fortune du peuple romain, cruel destin! Après la disparition de Pompée le père, qui fut la lumière de la puissance du peuple romain, le fils le plus semblable à son père fut tué.