Chapter 9
Original Latin
21 P. Clodium meo consilio interfectum esse dixisti. quidnam homines putarent, si tum occisus esset cum tu illum in foro inspectante populo Romano gladio insecutus es negotiumque transegisses, nisi se ille in scalas tabernae librariae coniecisset eisque oppilatis impetum tuum compressisset? quod quidem ego favisse me tibi fateor, suasisse ne tu quidem dicis. at Miloni ne favere quidem potui; prius enim rem transegit quam quisquam eum facturum id suspicaretur. at ego suasi. scilicet is animus erat Milonis ut prodesse rei publicae sine suasore non posset. at laetatus sum. quid ergo? in tanta laetitia cunctae civitatis me unum tristem esse oportebat?
22 quamquam de morte Clodi fuit quaestio non satis prudenter illa quidem constituta— quid enim attinebat nova lege quaeri de eo qui hominem occidisset, cum esset legibus quaestio constituta?—quaesitum est tamen. quod igitur, cum res agebatur, nemo in me dixit, id tot annis post tu es inventus qui diceres?
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted Musean translation made directly from the Latin in separate source-only tasks; all 46 chapters and 119 sections retained. Source-language model review is recorded with the raw witness. Latin transcription: Perseus Project, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0; this adaptation uses the same license.
21 You attributed Publius Clodius’s killing to my counsel. What would people have thought if he had been killed when you pursued him with a sword in the Forum before the Roman people’s eyes? You would have finished the business had he not flung himself up a bookseller’s stairs and blocked them to stop your attack. I confess I wished you success then; even you do not say I advised you. But with Milo I could not even have wished him success beforehand: he finished the business before anyone suspected he would attempt it. Yet I advised him, you say. As though Milo lacked the spirit to serve the republic without someone prompting him! But I rejoiced. Well? Amid the entire city’s rejoicing, was I alone supposed to mourn?
22 There was, however, an inquiry into Clodius’s death, though not a wisely constituted one. What need was there for a new law to investigate a man who had killed another, when existing laws already provided an inquiry? Still, an inquiry was held. And the charge no one brought against me while the case was being tried has waited all these years for you to bring it?
Plain English translation
Complete machine-assisted Plain English translation made independently and directly from the Latin in separate source-only tasks, not from the Musean edition or a historical English translation; all 46 chapters and 119 sections retained. Latin transcription: Perseus Project, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0; this adaptation uses the same license.
21 You said Publius Clodius was killed on my advice. What would people think if he’d been killed that day? You chased him with a sword through the Forum. The Roman people watched. You would’ve finished him off, but he escaped up a bookseller’s stairs. He blocked them and stopped your attack. I admit I supported what you were doing. Even you don’t say I suggested it. But I couldn’t even support Milo beforehand. He finished the business before anyone suspected he would do it. Yet I advised him, you say. Apparently Milo lacked the spirit to help the republic without someone prompting him! But I was glad, you say. Well, then? The whole city was celebrating. Was I alone supposed to be sad?
22 There was, after all, an inquiry into Clodius’s death. It wasn’t set up very sensibly. Why investigate a killing under a new law? Existing laws already provided for an inquiry. Still, there was an inquiry. No one brought this charge against me during the hearing. Now, after all these years, you’ve turned up to do it?
About this section
Chapter 9 is part of Second Philippic by Marcus Tullius Cicero. This page sets the Latin original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is chapter 9 of 46 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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