Sed quid si nil boni fecit?
But what if he didn't do any(thing) good?
De bonis licet loqui.
One can talk about his goods.
At si nulla bona reliquit?
But what if he left no goods?
De eo tacere decet:
One should keep quiet about that:
si neque bonum fecit nec bona acquisivit nil valet.
if he neither did good nor acquired goods, he is worthless.
Sed si bona reliquit in sermonem hominum semper venit;
But if he left property, people always talk about him;
vitia operta sunt;
his faults are concealed;
pecuniam fecit, illa quidem "non olet."
he made money, and it "doesn't smell".
Quem heredem instituit?
Whom did he name as heir?
Extraneis haec omnia livori proxima videntur.
To outsiders all these seem next door to envy.
Te autem si tu aut cognatione aut affinitate propinquus exspectatio tenet.
But you—if you are close, either by acquaintance or relationship, expectation grips you.
An mea interest? Si sic habet, quanti?
But does it concern me? If that's how it is, how much?
Suave est ex magno tollere acervo;
It's pleasant to receive a big heap;
ejus pecunia quid non facere possim?
with his money, what couldn't I do?
Siste, amice; aliquantulum cogita;
Stop, friend; think a little;
supersunt multi cognati;
there remain many friends;
fieri potest ut aut cum aliis bona partire debeas, aut exheredatus sis.
it may be that either you have to share the goods with others, or you are disinherited.
Gerrae! Sine dubio testamentum fecit:
Nonsense! Without a doubt he made a will:
et cum ratione constat me alicujus rei legatarium esse.
and it's reasonable to think I was left something.
Nemo enim magis eum fovit;
For nobody took better care of him;
alii omnes cognati asseclae; solus eum amavi.
all his other friends only cared about his money; I alone loved him.
Insipiens, inter os et offam multa intervenire possunt.
O fool, many things can come "between the mouth and the morsel"
[Latin idiom, like "many a slip between cup and lip"?]
Audi de gente Fulvia fabellam:
I've heard the story of the Fulvian people:
de multis mutato nomine narratur.
it is told of many, with the name changed.