Lettres à Atticus Passage 5

ille autem non simulat sed plane tribunus pl. fieri cupit. qua de re quom in senatu ageretur, fregi hominem et inconstantiam eius reprehendi qui Romae tribunatum pl. peteret cum in Sicilia hereditatem se petere dictitasset, neque magno opere dixi esse nobis laborandum, quod nihilo magis ei liciturum esset plebeio rem publicam perdere quam similibus eius me consule patriciis esset licitum. iam cum se ille septimo die venisse a freto neque sibi obviam quemquam prodire potuisse et noctu se introisse dixisset in eoque se in contione iactasset, nihil ei novi dixi accidisse. ex Sicilia septimo die Romam; ante tribus horis Roma Interamnam. noctu introisti; idem ante. non est itum obviam; ne tum quidem quom iri maxime debuit. quid quaeris? hominem petulantem modestum reddo non solum perpetua gravitate orationis sed etiam hoc genere dictorum. itaque iam familiariter cum ipso cavillor ac iocor; quin etiam cum candidatum deduceremus, quaerit ex me num consuessem Siculis locum gladiatoribus dare. negavi . at ego inquit novus patronus instituam; sed soror, quae tantum habeat consularis loci, unum mihi solum pedem dat noli , inquam de uno pede sororis queri; licet etiam alterum tollas. non consulare inquies dictum. fateor ; sed ego illam odi male consularem. ea est enim seditiosa, ea cum viro bellum gerit neque solum cum Metello sed etiam cum Fabio, quod eos †esse in hoc esse† moleste fert.

But that fellow is not pretending. He plainly wants to become tribune of the plebs. When the matter was discussed in the Senate, I broke the man and censured his inconsistency in seeking the plebeian tribunate at Rome after repeatedly declaring that he was seeking an inheritance in Sicily. I said there was no great need for us to exert ourselves, since, as a plebeian, he would be no more permitted to ruin the Republic than patricians like him had been permitted to do when I was consul. Again, when he said that he had come from the strait in seven days, that no one had been able to come out to meet him, and that he had entered by night, and boasted of this before the assembly, I told him that nothing new had happened to him. From Sicily to Rome in seven days; once before, from Rome to Interamna in three hours. You entered by night; the same before. No one came to meet you; nor did they then, when above all they ought to have done so. What more need I say? I am making the insolent fellow modest, not only by the sustained gravity of my speech but also by quips of this kind. And so I now banter and joke familiarly with him. Indeed, when we were escorting a candidate, he asked me whether I was accustomed to give the Sicilians seats at gladiatorial shows. I said no. ‘But I,’ he said, ‘as their new patron, shall establish the practice. Yet my sister, who controls so much space reserved for consulars, gives me only one foot.’ ‘Do not,’ I said, ‘complain about one foot of your sister. You may lift the other as well.’ You will say that was not a consular remark. I admit it. But I hate that badly consular woman. She is seditious, she wages war against her husband, and not only against Metellus but also against Fabius, because she resents that they †are in this are†.

Lui, en revanche, ne feint pas: il désire ouvertement devenir tribun de la plèbe. Lorsque la question fut débattue au Sénat, je brisai l’homme et blâmai son inconséquence: il sollicitait à Rome le tribunat de la plèbe après avoir répété qu’il réclamait un héritage en Sicile. J’ajoutai que nous n’avions pas à nous donner beaucoup de peine, puisqu’il ne lui serait pas davantage permis, une fois plébéien, de détruire la République qu’il ne l’avait été, sous mon consulat, aux patriciens de son espèce. Comme il avait raconté être arrivé du détroit en sept jours, n’avoir trouvé personne pour venir à sa rencontre et être entré de nuit, et qu’il s’en était vanté devant l’assemblée, je lui dis que rien de nouveau ne lui était arrivé. De Sicile à Rome en sept jours; auparavant, de Rome à Interamna en trois heures. Tu es entré de nuit; déjà auparavant. Personne n’est venu à ta rencontre; pas même alors, quand il aurait surtout fallu le faire. Que veux-tu? Je rends cet insolent modeste, non seulement par la gravité constante de mon discours, mais encore par ce genre de traits. Aussi plaisanté-je et badiné-je désormais familièrement avec lui. Un jour même, tandis que nous accompagnions un candidat, il me demanda si j’avais coutume de réserver aux Siciliens des places aux combats de gladiateurs. Je répondis que non. «Moi, dit-il, nouveau patron, j’établirai cet usage; mais ma sœur, qui dispose de tant de places consulaires, ne me donne qu’un seul pied.» «Ne te plains pas, lui dis-je, d’un seul pied de ta sœur; tu peux aussi lever l’autre.» Tu diras que ce propos n’est pas consulaire. Je l’avoue; mais je hais cette femme, si mauvaise épouse de consul. C’est elle qui fomente les troubles; elle fait la guerre à son mari, et non seulement à Métellus, mais aussi à Fabius, parce qu’elle supporte mal qu’ils †soient en cela être†.