Pro Caelio 63

Events at the baths

atque equidem vehementer exspectabam quinam isti viri boni testes huius manifesto deprehensi veneni dicerentur;

And I certainly have been anxiously waiting [to hear] who on earth those good men of hers are, said to be witnesses of this poison seized on the spot;

nulli enim sunt adhuc nominati.

for none have yet been named.

sed non dubito quin sint pergraves, qui primum sint talis feminae familiares, deinde eam provinciam susceperint ut in balneas contruderentur,

But I do not doubt that they are very serious men, who firstly are close friends of such a lady, and secondly they undertook this ‘official business’ to shove themselves into the baths,

quod illa nisi a viris honestissimis ac plenissimis dignitatis, quam velit sit potens, numquam impetravisset.

something she, however powerful she might wish to be, could never have asked of them, unless it was asked of men most honourable and overflowing with generosity.

sed quid ego de dignitate istorum testium loquor?

But why am I speaking about the dignity of those witnesses of hers?

virtutem eorum diligentiamque cognoscite.

Learn for yourselves of their character and diligence.

'in balneis delituerunt.' Testis egregios!

‘They hid themselves in the baths.’ Outstanding witnesses!

'dein temere prosiluerunt.' homines temperantis!

‘Then they jumped out by mistake.’ People with self-control!

sic enim fingitis, cum Licinius venisset, pyxidem teneret in manu, conaretur tradere, nondum tradidisset,

For you contrive it like this that, when Licinius came, [and] he was holding in his hand a box, [and] he was trying to hand it over, [and] he had not yet handed it over,

tum repente evolasse istos praeclaros testis sine nomine;

then all of a sudden those most eminent witness of yours without name flew out;

Licinium autem, cum iam manum ad tradendam pyxidem porrexisset, retraxisse atque ex illo repentino hominum impetu se in fugam coniecisse.

that Licinius, however, since he had already held out his hand to pass the box over, had withdrawn it and, because of that sudden attack of [your] men, had taken himself off in escape.

O magnam vim veritatis, quae contra hominum ingenia, calliditatem, sollertiam contraque fictas omnium insidias facile se per se ipsa defendat!

O great force of truth, which by itself easily defends itself against human ingenuity, craftiness, cunning, and against the lies and plots of all!