Bloggus Sum

Now, enrolled fathers, that I might dispel and avert certain, almost justified, complaints from myself from the country - listen, I pray, closely to what I say and fix these things deeply in your hearts and minds. Indeed, if to me the country, which is to me far dearer than my life, if all Italy, the whole of the republic - thus asked:

Marcus Tullus - what are you doing? Then him, whom you know to be an enemy, whom you recognise as a future leader of war, whom you feel is expected as leader in the camp of the enemy, author of crime, first among conspirators, evoker of slavery and civil war - then he will you allow to leave, that it will seem he were not sent forth from the city away from you, but invited into the city? Do you not order him lead away in chains, snatched for death, slaughtered with the highest penalty? What thus delays you? Custom of ancestors? But often, even in private, in this republic they punished troublesome citizens by death. Or laws, which were proposed for the punishment of Roman citizens? But never in this city have those who desecrated the republic held the status of citizens. Or fear of future retribution? You give fine return indeed to the Roman People who raised you, a man known on your own merits, without recommendation of ancestors, "so quickly through all grades of office to supreme command", if on account of prejudice and fear of some other danger you neglect the safety of your citizens. But, if there is any fear of vengeance, courageous sternness ought to feear no hatred more vehemently than guilty inaction. Or, when war lays waste to Italy, storms the cities, burns roofs, then do you not think you will be destroyed by burning hatred?

Because I spent about four days juggling words and clauses (see previous post on translating Cicero), I actually get most of it right as soon as I put it on paper. I confess, I took a sneak peak at this page to untangle the bits still hurting my head, and one part I so thoroughly screwed up I had to quote directly.

Two words to learn
maiorum
I took this to mean "majority" throughout - it actually referrs to ancestors.

supplicium
Guessed correctly that this meant a request, a petition, a humble bowing down - but it comes to mean "punishment".

Technical terms in this passage

conscriptus, i (m) - enrolled, elected i.e. the Senate. patres conscripti is the formal way of addressing the Senate.

civis, is (m and f) - citizen
civitas, atis (f) - condition of being a citizen or member of the community, state

coniuratio, onis, (f) - an oath, union, alliance - but in Cicero, always a conspiracy or conspirator.

ius, iuris (n) - duty, law, justice, legal rights. Here it means "rights as a citizen". My dictionary rather nicely describes it as "that which is binding", which aptly covers all its little meanings.

rogo, are, atus, atum - in first year, "to ask", from whence it turns into "beg, implore, solicit". In public life it can mean "ask opinion", or "propose for election, nominate", and when talking about laws, it means "propose, introduce or question concerning". It can also mean "invite", and partiularly talking of military men, "bind by oath"

honorum gradus
Should have got this one without help - doh. It means the same as cursus honorum, the literal equivalent of our "career ladder" referring to the series of posts a Roman gent would hold on his way up.

This page has a brief commentary:
http://www.uah.edu/student_life/organizations/SAL/texts/latin/classical/cicero/index.html