Latin Cicero Prose Set Text (I)

egreditur in Centuripina quadriremi Cleomenes e portu; sequitur Segestana navis, Tyndaritana, Herbitensis, Heracliensis, Apolloniensis, Haluntina, praeclara classis in speciem,

Cleomenes left the port in a Centuripan quadrireme. One ship each from Segesta, Tyndaris, Herbita, Heraclia, Apollonia and Haluntium followed - a fleet outstanding in appearance,

sed inops et infirma propter dimissionem propugnatorum atque remigum.

but helpless and powerless because of the dismissal of the marines and rowers.

tam diu in imperio suo classem iste praetor diligens vidit, quam diu convivium eius flagitiosissimum praetervecta est;

In the course of his power, that careful praetor only saw his fleet for the length of time it took for it to sail past his most scandalous banquet;

ipse autem, qui visus multis diebus non esset,

Verres himself, though he had not been seen for many days,

tum se tamen in conspectum nautis paulisper dedit.

nevertheless at that moment briefly offered himself to the sailors' gaze.

stetit soleatus praetor populi Romani cum pallio purpureo tunicaque talari muliercula nixus in litore.

There he stood in his slippers, a praetor of the Roman people, with a purple cloak and ankle-length tunic leaning on his prostitute on the shore.

iam hoc istum vestitu Siculi civesque Romani permulti saepe viderant.

Now very many Sicilians and Roman citizens had often seen him in this outfit.

posteaquam paulum provecta classis est et Pachynum quinto die denique adpulsa, nautae coacti fame

After the fleet had sailed forth a little way, and eventually landed at Pachynus on the fifth day, the sailors, compelled by hunger,

radices palmarum agrestium, quarum erat in illis locis, sicuti in magna parte Siciliae, multitudo, colligebant

collected the roots of wild palms of which there was a large number in that region, as in a large part of Sicily,

et iis miseri perditique alebantur;

and the wretched, desperate men sustained themselves with these roots;

Cleomenes autem, qui alterum se Verrem cum luxurie ac nequitia tum etiam imperio putaret,

meanwhile Cleomenes, since he considered himself a second Verres both in riotous living and wickedness and even in supreme command,

similiter totos dies in litore tabernaculo posito perpotabat.

having pitched camp on the shore, in similar fashion to Verres, drank his way through whole days.

ecce autem repente ebrio Cleomene esurientibus ceteris nuntiatur piratarum esse navis in portu Odysseae; nam ita is locus nominator;

But, look! Suddenly, while Cleomenes was drunk and the rest were starving, it was announced that a pirate ship was in the harbour of Odyssea: for that's how the place was called;

nostra autem classis erat in portu Pachyni. Cleomenes autem, quod erat terrestre praesidium non re sed nomine,

meanwhile, our fleet was in the harbour of Pachynus. Cleomenes, indeed, because it was a land garrison in name only and not in reality,

speravit iis militibus quos ex eo loco deduxisset explere se numerum nautarum et remigum posse.

hoped that he could make up the number of sailors and rowers with those soldiers whom he had withdrawn from that place.

reperta est eadem istius hominis avarissimi ratio in praesidiis quae in classibus; nam erant perpauci reliqui, ceteri dimissi.

That very greedy fellow's method was found to be the same in the case of garrisons as it had been with fleets; for those left are very few, as the rest had been exempt from serving.

procedit iste repente e praetorio inflammatus scelere furore crudelitate;

Verres came forth suddenly from the praetor's headquarters, inflamed with crime, madness and cruelty;

in forum venit, nauarchos vocari iubet.

he came into the forum and ordered the ships' captains to be summoned.

qui nihil metuerent, nihil suspicarentur, statim accurrunt.

They ran up immediately since they did not fear or suspect anything.

iste hominibus miseris innocentibus inici catenas imperat.

That fellow ordered chains to be put upon the wretched, innocent men.

implorare illi fidem praetoris, et quare id faceret rogare.

They called upon the protection of the praetor and asked why he was doing this.

tum iste hoc causae dicit, quod classem praedonibus prodidissent

Then that man said that this was the reason, that they had betrayed the fleet to the pirates.

fit clamor et admiratio populi tantam esse in homine impudentiam atque audaciam

Shouting and amazement arose from the people that there was such great shamelessness and boldness in the man

ut aut aliis causam calamitatis attribueret

as either to attribute to others the cause of the calamity

quae omnis propter avaritiam ipsius accidisset,

which had happened entirely because of his own greed,

aut, cum ipse praedonum socius arbitraretur, aliis proditionis crimen inferret;

or, since he himself was thought to be the ally of the pirates, to charge others with treason;

deinde hoc quinto decimo die crimen esse natum postquam classis esset amissa.

furthermore, that this charge had originated on the fifteenth day after the fleet had been lost.

includuntur in carcerem condemnati; supplicium constituitur in illos, sumitur de miseris parentibus nauarchorum;

The condemned men are shut in prison; the death penalty is settled upon for those men, agony is exacted from the wretched parents of the ships captains.

prohibentur adire ad filios, prohibentur liberis suis cibum vestitumque ferre.

They were prevented from approaching their sons, and prevented from bringing food and clothing for their children.

patres hi quos videtis iacebant in limine, matresque miserae pernoctabant ad ostium carceris ab extremo conspectus liberum exclusae;

These fathers, whom you see, were lying in the doorway, and the wretched mothers lay awake all night at the entrance to the prison, cut off from the very last sight of their children;

quae nihil aliud orabant nisi ut filiorum suorum postremum spiritum ore excipere liceret.

the mothers asked for nothing else but that they might be allowed to catch in their mouths the dying breath of their sons.

aderat ianitor carceris, carnifex praetoris, mors terrorque sociorum et civium Romanorum,

Nearby was the doorkeeper of the prison, the praetor's executioner, the death-bringer and the terror of allies and Roman citizens alike,

lictor Sextius, cui ex omni gemitu doloreque certa merces comparabatur.

the lictor Sextius, for whose benefit a fixed price was arranged out of every groan and grief.

'ut adeas, tantum dabis, ut cibum tibi intro ferre liceat, tantum.'

'You will give so much in order to approach (the prisoner), so much to be allowed to bring food inside (the prison).'

nemo recusabat. 'quid? ut uno ictu securis adferam mortem filio tuo, quid dabis?

No one refused. 'Well, what will you give for me to kill your son with a single blow of the axe?

ne diu crucietur, ne saepius feriatur, ne cum sensu doloris aliquo spiritus auferatur?'

(What will you give) to avoid him being tortured for a long time, being beaten more often, for his spirit to be taken away without any feeling of pain?'

etiam ob hanc causam pecunia lictori dabatur.

Even for this reason money was given to the lictor.

o magnum atque intolerandum dolorem! o gravem acerbamque fortunam!

O great and unbearable grief! O grievous and bitter fortune!

non vitam liberum, sed mortis celeritatem pretio redimere cogebantur parentes.

The parents were compelled to purchase for a fee not the life of their children but their speedy death.

atque ipsi etiam adulescentes cum Sextio suo de plaga et de uno illo ictu loquebantur,

And so even the young men themselves used to talk with their Sextius about the (death) blow and that one strike,

idque postremum parentes suos liberi orabant, ut levandi cruciatus sui causa lictori pecunia daretur.

and the children made this final request to their parents that money be given to the lictor in order to relieve their torture.

multi et graves dolores inventi parentibus et propinquis,

Many grievous pains were devised for the parents and close relatives,

multi; verum tamen mors sit extremum.

many; but nevertheless let death be the end.

non erit.

It will not be so.

estne aliquid ultra quo crudelitas progredi possit?

Is there anything further to which cruelty could go?

reperietur; nam illorum, cum erunt securi percussi ac necati, corpora feris obicientur.

It will be found; for when they are struck by the axe and killed, their bodies will be thrown to the wild beasts.

hoc si luctuosum est parentibus, redimant pretio sepeliendi potestatem…

If this is grievous to the parents, let them purchase the opportunity to bury them for a fee…

quis tam fuit illo tempore ferreus, quis tam inhumanus praeter unum te,

Who was so hard-hearted at that time, who so barbaric, apart from you alone,

qui non illorum aetate nobilitate miseria commoveretur?

who could not be moved by their youth, noble birth and wretchedness?

ecquis fuit quin lacrimaret, quin ita calamitatem illam putaret illorum ut fortunam tamen non alienam, periculum autem commune arbitraretur?

Was there anyone who did not weep, who did not think about that disaster in such a way as to consider it not however as the bad luck of others, but as a danger shared by all?

feriuntur securi.

They were struck by the axe.

laetaris tu in omnium gemitu et triumphas;

You were happy amid the general groaning and felt triumphant;

testes avaritiae tuae gaudes esse sublatos.

you rejoiced that the witnesses of your greed had been eliminated.

errabas, Verres, et vehementer errabas, cum te maculas furtorum

You were wrong, Verres, and grievously wrong, when you thought that you were washing away the stains of your thefts

et flagitiorum tuorum sociorum innocentium sanguine eluere arbitrabare.

and disgraceful acts with the blood of innocent allies.