Lettres à Atticus Passage 4

hic ut quaeque res ad consilium primis postulationibus referebatur, incredibilis erat severitas nulla varietate sententiarum. nihil impetrarat reus; plus accusatori dabatur quam postulabat; triumphabat (quid quaeris?) Hortensius se vidisse tantum; nemo erat qui illum reum ac non miliens condemnatum arbitraretur. me vero teste producto credo te ex acclamatione Clodi advocatorum audisse quae consurrectio iudicum facta sit, ut me circumsteterint, ut aperte iugula sua pro meo capite P. Clodio ostentarint. quae mihi res multo honorificentior visa est quam aut illa, cum iurare tui cives Xenocratem testimonium dicentem prohibuerunt, aut cum tabulas Metelli Numidici, cum eae ut mos est circumferrentur, nostri iudices aspicere noluerunt.

At first, whenever any matter was referred to the panel upon an application, its severity was incredible, with no divergence of opinion. The defendant obtained nothing, while the prosecutor was granted more than he requested. Hortensius was triumphant. What more do you ask? He alone had foreseen it. There was no one who did not think Clodius not merely a defendant but already condemned a thousand times. When I was brought forward as a witness, I think you heard from the acclamations of Clodius's advocates how the jurors rose, surrounded me, and openly offered their throats against P. Clodius in defense of my life. This seemed to me much more honorable than either the occasion when your fellow citizens prevented Xenocrates from swearing before giving evidence, or when our jurors refused to look at the records of Metellus Numidicus as they were passed around in the customary manner.

Au début, chaque fois qu’une demande était soumise au conseil, la sévérité était incroyable et les opinions parfaitement unanimes. L’accusé n’obtenait rien; on accordait à l’accusateur davantage qu’il ne demandait. Hortensius triomphait, que veux-tu de plus? d’avoir été seul à prévoir l’issue. Personne ne croyait voir en Clodius un accusé plutôt qu’un homme déjà condamné mille fois. Lorsque je fus produit comme témoin, je pense que les acclamations des défenseurs de Clodius t’ont appris comment les juges se levèrent, comment ils m’entourèrent, comment ils offrirent ouvertement leur gorge à P. Clodius en échange de ma tête. Cela m’a paru beaucoup plus honorable que lorsque tes concitoyens empêchèrent Xénocrate de témoigner sous serment, ou lorsque nos juges refusèrent de regarder les registres de Metellus Numidicus qu’on faisait circuler selon l’usage.