§11census nostros requiris.
You require our census.
scilicet; est enim obscurum proximis censoribus hunc cum clarissimo imperatore L. Lucullo apud exercitum fuisse, superioribus cum eodem quaestore fuisse in Asia, primis Iulio et Crasso nullam populi partem esse censam.
To be sure; for it is obscure that at the time of the last censors this man was with the army under the most illustrious commander L. Lucullus, that under the previous ones he was in Asia with the same man as quaestor, and that under the first ones, Julius and Crassus, no part of the people was assessed.
sed, quoniam census non ius civitatis confirmat ac tantum modo indicat eum qui sit census ita se iam tum gessisse, pro cive, eis temporibus is quem tu criminaris ne ipsius quidem iudicio in civium Romanorum iure esse versatum et testamentum saepe fecit nostris legibus, et adiit hereditates civium Romanorum, et in beneficiis ad aerarium delatus est a L. Lucullo pro consule.
But, since the census does not confirm the right of citizenship, but merely indicates that he who was assessed conducted himself at that time as a citizen, during those times this man, whom you accuse, was so far from not being engaged in the law of Roman citizens, even in his own judgment, that he both frequently made a testament according to our laws, and succeeded to the inheritances of Roman citizens, and was reported to the treasury among the beneficiaries by L. Lucullus as proconsul.
quaere argumenta, si quae potes; numquam enim hic neque suo neque amicorum iudicio revincetur.
Seek arguments, if you can; for this man will never be refuted, either by his own judgment or by that of his friends.
§12quaeres a nobis, Gratti, cur tanto opere hoc homine delectemur.
You will ask of us, Grattius, why we are delighted so much with this man.
quia suppeditat nobis ubi et animus ex hoc forensi strepitu reficiatur et aures convicio defessae conquiescant.
Because he supplies us with a place where both our mind may be refreshed from this noise of the forum, and our ears, fatigued with brawling, may find rest.
an tu existimas aut suppetere nobis posse quod cotidie dicamus in tanta varietate rerum, nisi animos nostros doctrina excolamus, aut ferre animos tantam posse contentionem, nisi eos doctrina eadem relaxemus? ego vero fateor me his studiis esse deditum.
Or do you think that what we say daily in such a variety of matters could be supplied to us, unless we cultivated our minds with learning, or that our minds could bear such great tension, unless we relaxed them with that same learning? I indeed confess that I am devoted to these studies.
ceteros pudeat, si qui ita se litteris abdiderunt ut nihil possint ex eis neque ad communem adferre fructum neque in aspectum lucemque proferre; me autem quid pudeat qui tot annos ita vivo, iudices, ut a nullius umquam me tempore aut commodo aut otium meum abstraxerit aut voluptas avocarit aut denique somnus retardarit?
Let others be ashamed, if any have so buried themselves in books that they can bring nothing out of them for the common benefit, nor produce anything into the sight and light of day; but why should I be ashamed, I who for so many years have lived in such a way, judges, that my leisure has never withdrawn me, nor pleasure called me away, nor indeed sleep retarded me, from the time or advantage of anyone?
§13qua re quis tandem me reprehendat, aut quis mihi iure suscenseat, si, quantum ceteris ad suas res obeundas, quantum ad festos dies ludorum celebrandos, quantum ad alias voluptates et ad ipsam requiem animi et corporis conceditur temporum, quantum alii tribuunt tempestivis conviviis, quantum denique alveolo, quantum pilae, tantum mihi egomet ad haec studia recolenda sumpsero? atque id eo mihi concedendum est magis quod ex his studiis haec quoque crescit oratio et facultas quae, quantacumque est in me, numquam amicorum periculis defuit.
Wherefore, who indeed could blame me, or who could justly be angry with me, if, as much time as is granted to others for managing their own affairs, as much for celebrating festive days of games, as much for other pleasures and for the very rest of mind and body, as much as others bestow upon early banquets, and finally as much as to the dice-box, and to the ball, so much I myself shall have taken for cultivating these studies? And this must be granted to me the more, because from these studies this power of speaking and this faculty also grow, which, however great it is in me, has never failed the dangers of my friends.
quae si cui levior videtur, illa quidem certe quae summa sunt ex quo fonte hauriam sentio.
And if this seems somewhat light to anyone, I certainly perceive from what source I draw those things which are of the highest importance.
§14nam nisi multorum praeceptis multisque litteris mihi ab adulescentia suasissem nihil esse in vita magno opere expetendum nisi laudem atque honestatem, in ea autem persequenda omnis cruciatus corporis, omnia pericula mortis atque exsili parvi esse ducenda, numquam me pro salute vestra in tot ac tantas dimicationes atque in hos profligatorum hominum cotidianos impetus obiecissem.
For unless by the precepts of many and by much literature I had persuaded myself from my youth that nothing in life was to be greatly desired except praise and honor, and that in pursuing that, all torments of the body, all dangers of death and exile, were to be held of little account, I would never have thrown myself, for the sake of your safety, into so many and so great conflicts, and into these daily attacks of profligate men.
sed pleni omnes sunt libri, plenae sapientium voces, plena exemplorum vetustas; quae iacerent in tenebris omnia, nisi litterarum lumen accederet.
But all books are full of them, the voices of the wise are full of them, antiquity is full of examples; all of which would lie in darkness, unless the light of literature were applied to them.
quam multas nobis imagines non solum ad intuendum verum etiam ad imitandum fortissimorum virorum expressas scriptores et Graeci et Latini reliquerunt! quas ego mihi semper in administranda re publica proponens animum et mentem meam ipsa cogitatione hominum excellentium conformabam.
How many images of the bravest men, expressed not only for us to look upon but also to imitate, have both Greek and Latin writers left us! These I, always placing before myself in governing the commonwealth, shaped my mind and intellect by the very contemplation of excellent men.
§15quaeret quispiam: 'quid? illi ipsi summi viri quorum virtutes litteris proditae sunt istane doctrina quam tu effers laudibus eruditi fuerunt?' difficile est hoc de omnibus confirmare, sed tamen est certum quid respondeam.
Someone will ask: 'What? Were those very supreme men, whose virtues have been recorded in literature, educated in that learning which you extol with praises?' It is difficult to confirm this of all of them, but yet it is certain what I should answer.
ego multos homines excellenti animo ac virtute fuisse sine doctrina, et naturae ipsius habitu prope divino per se ipsos et moderatos et gravis exstitisse fateor; etiam illud adiungo, saepius ad laudem atque virtutem naturam sine doctrina quam sine natura valuisse doctrinam.
I confess that many men have been of excellent mind and virtue without learning, and by the almost divine habit of nature itself have stood out as both moderate and grave by themselves; I also add this, that nature without learning has more often been powerful for praise and virtue than learning without nature.
atque idem ego hoc contendo, cum ad naturam eximiam et inlustrem accesserit ratio quaedam conformatioque doctrinae, tum illud nescio quid praeclarum ac singulare solere exsistere.
And I, the same man, contend this, that when to an extraordinary and illustrious nature some method and shaping of learning have been added, then that certain remarkable and singular thing is accustomed to arise.