Philippiques Passage 14

quid ? nos a patribus num aliter accepimus? ergo is tibi civis , si temporibus illis fuisses, non probaretur, quia non omnis salvos esse voluisset. quod L. Opimius consul verba fecit de re publica, de ea re ita censuerunt uti L. Opimius consul rem publicam defenderet. senatus haec verbis, Opimius armis. num igitur eum, si tum esses, temerarium civem aut crudelem putares, aut Q. Metellum , cuius quattuor filii consulares, P. Lentulum, principem senatus , compluris alios summos viros qui cum Opimio consule armati Gracchum in Aventinum persecuti sunt? quo in proelio Lentulus grave volnus accepit, interfectus est Gracchus et M. Fulvius consularis , eiusque duo adulescentuli filii. illi igitur viri vituperandi: non enim omnis civis salvos esse voluerunt.

What? Have we received a different tradition from our fathers? If you had lived in those times, then, you would not have approved that citizen because he did not wish every citizen safe. When the consul Lucius Opimius addressed the Senate concerning the Republic, they resolved that the consul Lucius Opimius should defend the Republic. The Senate did so with words, Opimius with arms. If you had lived then, would you therefore have considered him a rash or cruel citizen? Would you have so regarded Quintus Metellus, whose four sons became consuls; Publius Lentulus, chief of the Senate; and several other eminent men who, armed under the consul Opimius, pursued Gracchus onto the Aventine? In that battle Lentulus received a severe wound; Gracchus and the former consul Marcus Fulvius were killed, as were Fulvius' two youthful sons. Those men, then, deserve censure, because they did not wish every citizen safe.

Quoi donc ? Avons-nous reçu de nos pères un autre enseignement ? Ainsi, si tu avais vécu en ce temps-là, ce citoyen n'aurait pas obtenu ton approbation, parce qu'il n'aurait pas voulu sauver tous les citoyens. Lorsque le consul Lucius Opimius parla de la République, le Sénat décida que le consul Lucius Opimius la défendrait. Le Sénat le fit par ses paroles, Opimius par les armes. Si tu avais alors vécu, aurais-tu tenu pour un citoyen téméraire ou cruel Opimius, ou Quintus Metellus, dont quatre fils furent consuls, ou Publius Lentulus, prince du Sénat, ou plusieurs autres personnages éminents qui, armés aux côtés du consul Opimius, poursuivirent Gracchus sur l'Aventin ? Dans ce combat, Lentulus reçut une grave blessure ; Gracchus fut tué, ainsi que l'ancien consul Marcus Fulvius et ses deux jeunes fils. Ces hommes doivent donc être blâmés, puisqu'ils n'ont pas voulu sauver tous les citoyens.