Cicero: ORATORIA

[1] Si quid est in me ingeni, iudices, quod sentio quam sit exiguum, aut si qua exercitatio dicendi, in qua me non infitior mediocriter esse versatum, aut si huiusce rei ratio aliqua ab optimarum artium studiis ac disciplina profecta, a qua ego nullum confiteor aetatis meae tempus abhorruisse, earum rerum omnium vel in primis hic A. Licinius fructum a me repetere prope suo iure debet. Nam quoad longissime potest mens mea respicere spatium praeteriti temporis, et pueritiae memoriam recordari ultimam, inde usque repetens hunc video mihi principem et ad suscipiendam et ad ingrediendam rationem horum studiorum exstitisse. Quod si haec vox, huius hortatu praeceptisque conformata, non nullis aliquando saluti fuit, a quo id accepimus quo ceteris opitulari et alios servare possemus, huic profecto ipsi, quantum est situm in nobis, et opem et salutem ferre debemus.

[1] If there is in me any ingenium, judges—which I perceive how small it is—or if there is any exercitatio of speaking, in which I do not deny that I have been moderately practiced, or if there is any method of this matter proceeding from the studies and disciplina of the best arts, from which I confess that no time of my life has turned away, of all these things this A. Licinius above all ought almost by his own right to claim the fruit from me. For as far as my mind can look back over the span of past time and recall the furthest memory of boyhood, tracing back from then I see that this man stood as the first for me both to undertake and to enter upon the method of these studies. And if this voice, shaped by his encouragement and precepts, has at some time been a salvation to not a few, from him from whom I received that by which I could help others and save others, to this man himself indeed, so far as lies in us, we ought to bring both aid and salvation.

[2] Ac ne quis a nobis hoc ita dici forte miretur, quod alia quaedam in hoc facultas sit ingeni, neque haec dicendi ratio aut disciplina, ne nos quidem huic uni studio penitus umquam dediti fuimus. Etenim omnes artes, quae ad humanitatem pertinent, habent quoddam commune vinculum, et quasi cognatione quadam inter se continentur.

[2] And lest anyone perhaps wonder that this is said by us thus, because there is in him a certain other faculty of genius, and not this method or discipline of speaking, not even we indeed have ever been wholly devoted to this one study. For all the arts which pertain to humanity have a certain common bond, and are, as it were, held together among themselves by a certain cognation.

[3] Sed ne cui vestrum mirum esse videatur me in quaestione legitima et in iudicio publico--cum res agatur apud praetorem populi Romani, lectissimum virum, et apud severissimos iudices, tanto conventu hominum ac frequentia--hoc uti genere dicendi, quod non modo a consuetudine iudiciorum, verum etiam a forensi sermone abhorreat; quaeso a vobis, ut in hac causa mihi detis hanc veniam, adcommodatam huic reo, vobis (quem ad modum spero) non molestam, ut me pro summo poeta atque eruditissimo homine dicentem, hoc concursu hominum literatissimorum, hac vestra humanitate, hoc denique praetore exercente iudicium, patiamini de studiis humanitatis ac litterarum paulo loqui liberius, et in eius modi persona, quae propter otium ac studium minime in iudiciis periculisque tractata est, uti prope novo quodam et inusitato genere dicendi.

[3] But lest it seem strange to any of you that I, in a legitimate inquiry and in a public judgment—since the case is being conducted before the praetor of the Roman people, a most select man, and before most severe judges, with so great an assembly and throng of men—use this kind of speaking, which recoils not only from the custom of trials but even from the forensic idiom; I ask from you that in this case you grant me this indulgence, accommodated to this defendant, and (as I hope) not burdensome to you, that, as I speak on behalf of a consummate poet and most erudite man, in this concourse of most lettered men, with this your humanity, with this praetor, finally, conducting the judgment, you allow me to speak a little more freely about the studies of humanity and letters, and, in a person of such a kind, who, on account of leisure and study, has been least handled in trials and dangers, to employ an almost new and unwonted kind of speaking.

[4] Quod si mihi a vobis tribui concedique sentiam, perficiam profecto ut hunc A. Licinium non modo non segregandum, cum sit civis, a numero civium, verum etiam si non esset, putetis asciscendum fuisse. Nam ut primum ex pueris excessit Archias, atque ab eis artibus quibus aetas puerilis ad humanitatem informari solet se ad scribendi studium contulit, primum Antiochiae--nam ibi natus est loco nobili--celebri quondam urbe et copiosa, atque eruditissimis hominibus liberalissimisque studiis adfluenti, celeriter antecellere omnibus ingeni gloria contigit. Post in ceteris Asiae partibus cunctaeque Graeciae sic eius adventus celebrabantur, ut famam ingeni exspectatio hominis, exspectationem ipsius adventus admiratioque superaret.

[4] But if I perceive that this is granted and conceded to me by you, I shall surely bring it to pass that you think this Aulus Licinius not only not to be segregated, since he is a citizen, from the number of citizens, but even, if he were not, that he ought to have been enrolled. For as soon as Archias passed out of boyhood, and from those arts by which the boyish age is wont to be formed to humanity he devoted himself to the study of writing, first at Antioch— for there he was born in a noble place— a city once celebrated and affluent, and overflowing with most erudite men and with the most liberal studies, it befell him quickly to excel all in the glory of talent. Afterwards in the other parts of Asia and in all Greece his advents were so celebrated that the expectation of the man surpassed the fame of his genius, and admiration at his very advent surpassed the expectation itself.

[5] Erat Italia tunc plena Graecarum artium ac disciplinarum, studiaque haec et in Latio vehementius tum colebantur quam nunc eisdem in oppidis, et hic Romae propter tranquillitatem rei publicae non neglegebantur. Itaque hunc et Tarentini et Regini et Neopolitani civitate ceterisque praemiis donarunt; et omnes, qui aliquid de ingeniis poterant iudicare, cognitione atque hospitio dignum existimarunt. Hac tanta celebritate famae cum esset iam absentibus notus, Romam venit Mario consule et Catulo.

[5] Italy was then full of Greek arts and disciplines, and these pursuits were being cultivated in Latium more vehemently than now in those same towns, and here at Rome, on account of the tranquility of the commonwealth, they were not neglected. And so the Tarentines and the Rhegians and the Neapolitans bestowed upon this man citizenship and other rewards; and all who were able to judge anything about talents considered him worthy of acquaintance and of guest-friendship. With such great celebrity of fame, although he was already known to those absent, he came to Rome with Marius and Catulus as consuls.

Nactus est primum consules eos, quorum alter res ad scribendum maximas, alter cum res gestas tum etiam studium atque auris adhibere posset. Statim Luculli, cum praetextatus etiam tum Archias esset, eum domum suam receperunt. Sic etiam hoc non solum ingeni ac litterarum, verum etiam naturae atque virtutis, ut domus, quae huius adulescentiae prima fuit, eadem esset familiarissima senectuti.

He first found as consuls those men, of whom the one could furnish the greatest matters for writing, the other could lend not only his deeds but also his zeal and ears. Immediately the Luculli, when Archias was still wearing the toga praetexta, received him into their house. Thus even in this there was not only a sign of talent and letters, but also of nature and virtue: that the house which was first to his adolescence was the very same most familiar to his old age.

[6] Erat temporibus illis iucundus Metello illi Numidico et eius Pio filio; audiebatur a M. Aemilio; vivebat cum Q. Catulo et patre et filio; a L. Crasso colebatur; Lucullos vero et Drusum et Octavios et Catonem et totam Hortensiorum domum devinctam consuetudine cum teneret, adficiebatur summo honore, quod eum non solum colebant qui aliquid percipere atque audire studebant, verum etiam si qui forte simulabant. Interim satis longo intervallo, cum esset cum M. Lucullo in Siciliam profectus, et cum ex ea provincia cum eodem Lucullo decederet, venit Heracliam: quae cum esset civitas aequissimo iure ac foedere, ascribi se in eam civitatem voluit; idque, cum ipse per se dignus putaretur, tum auctoritate et gratia Luculli ab Heracliensibus impetravit.

[6] In those times he was agreeable to that Metellus Numidicus and to his son Pius; he was listened to by M. Aemilius; he lived on terms with Q. Catulus, both father and son; he was cultivated by L. Crassus; indeed, as he held the Luculli and Drusus and the Octavii and Cato and the whole house of the Hortensii bound to him by familiarity, he was treated with the highest honor, because not only did those revere him who were eager to perceive and to hear something, but even those who perchance were merely pretending. Meanwhile, after a quite long interval, when he had set out with M. Lucullus to Sicily, and when he was departing from that province with the same Lucullus, he came to Heraclea: and since it was a community with a most equitable right and treaty, he wished to enroll himself in that citizenship; and this he obtained from the Heracleans, both because he was thought worthy in himself, and by the authority and favor of Lucullus.

[7] Data est civitas Silvani lege et Carbonis: "Si qui foederatis civitatibus ascripti fuissent; si tum, cum lex ferebatur, in Italia domicilium habuissent; et si sexaginta diebus apud praetorem essent professi." Cum hic domicilium Romae multos iam annos haberet, professus est apud praetorem Q. Metellum familiarissimum suum.

[7] Citizenship was conferred by the law of Silvanus and Carbo: "If any had been ascribed to federate communities; if then, when the law was being carried, they had a domicile in Italy; and if within 60 days they had made a declaration before the praetor." Since he had had a domicile at Rome for many years already, he made his declaration before the praetor Q. Metellus, his most intimate friend.

[8] Si nihil aliud nisi de civitate ac lege dicimus, nihil dico amplius: causa dicta est. Quid enim horum infirmari, Grati, potest? Heracliaene esse tum ascriptum negabis?

[8] If we say nothing else save about citizenship and the law, I say nothing further: the case has been pleaded. For which of these things, Grattius, can be invalidated? Will you deny that he was then ascribed at Heraclea?

Adest vir summa auctoritate et religione et fide, M. Lucullus, qui se non opinari sed scire non audisse sed vidisse, non interfuisse sed egisse dicit. Adsunt Heraclienses legati, nobilissimi homines: huius iudici causa cum mandatis et cum publico testimonio [venerunt]; qui hunc ascriptum Heracliensem dicunt. His tu tabulas desideras Heracliensium publicas: quas Italico bello incenso tabulario interisse scimus omnis.

There is present a man of the highest authority and religion and faith, M. Lucullus, who says that he does not opine but knows, not that he has heard but that he has seen, not that he was merely present but that he acted. Present, too, are the Heraclean legates, most noble men: for the sake of this judgment [they have come] with mandates and with public testimony; they say that this man was enrolled as a Heraclean. From these you demand the public tablets of the Heracleans: which we all know have perished, when the record-office was burned, in the Italian War.

Est ridiculum ad ea quae habemus nihil dicere, quaerere quae habere non possumus; et de hominum memoria tacere, litterarum memoriam flagitare; et, cum habeas amplissimi viri religionem, integerrimi municipi ius iurandum fidemque, ea quae depravari nullo modo possunt repudiare, tabulas, quas idem dicis solere corrumpi, desiderare.

It is ridiculous to say nothing to the things which we have, to seek the things which we cannot have; and to be silent about the memory of men, to demand the memory of letters; and, when you have the religion of a most distinguished man and the sworn oath and good faith of a most upright municipium, to repudiate those things which can in no way be distorted, and to desire the tablets, which you yourself say are wont to be corrupted.

[9] An domicilium Romae non habuit is, qui tot annis ante civitatem datam sedem omnium rerum ac fortunarum suarum Romae conlocavit? At non est professus. Immo vero eis tabulis professus, quae solae ex illa professione conlegioque praetorum obtinent publicarum tabularum auctoritatem.

[9] Did he not have his domicile at Rome, he who so many years before citizenship was granted placed at Rome the seat of all his affairs and fortunes? But he did not profess. Nay rather, he professed in those tablets which alone, by virtue of that profession and of the college of the praetors, possess the authority of public records.

Nam--cum Appi tabulae neglegentius adservatae dicerentur; Gabini, quam diu incolumis fuit, levitas, post damnationem calamitas omnem tabularum fidem resignasset--Metellus, homo sanctissimus modestissimusque omnium, tanta diligentia fuit, ut ad L. Lentulum praetorem et ad iudices venerit, et unius nominis litura se commotum esse dixerit. In his igitur tabulis nullam lituram in nomine A. Licini videtis.

For—since Appius’s tablets were said to have been kept rather negligently; the levity of Gabinius, so long as he was unscathed, and, after his condemnation, his calamity had cancelled all the credit of his tablets—Metellus, a man most holy and most modest of all, showed such diligence that he came to L. Lentulus the praetor and to the judges, and said that he had been moved by the erasure of a single name. In these tablets, therefore, you see no erasure in the name of A. Licinius.

[10] Quae cum ita sunt, quid est quod de eius civitate dubitetis, praesertim cum aliis quoque in civitatibus fuerit ascriptus? Etenim cum mediocribus multis et aut nulla aut humili aliqua arte praeditis gratuito civitatem in Graecia homines impertiebant, Reginos credo aut Locrensis aut Neapolitanos aut Tarentinos, quod scenicis artificibus largiri solebant, id huic summa ingeni praedito gloria noluisse! Quid?

[10] Since these things are so, what is there for you to doubt about his citizenship, especially since he was also enrolled in other cities? For indeed, when men in Greece were imparting citizenship gratis to many of middling rank and endowed with either no art at all or with some humble art, do you suppose the Rhegines or the Locrians or the Neapolitans or the Tarentines—because they were accustomed to lavish it upon scenic artists—would have been unwilling to grant it to this man endowed with the highest renown of genius? What?

cum ceteri non modo post civitatem datam, sed etiam post legem Papiam aliquo modo in eorum municipiorum tabulas inrepserunt, hic, qui ne utitur quidem illis in quibus est scriptus, quod semper se Heracliensem esse voluit, reicietur?

when others not only after citizenship was granted, but even after the Papian law, somehow crept into the registers of their municipalities, will this man—who does not even make use of those records in which he is inscribed, because he has always wished to be a Heraclean—be rejected?

[11] Census nostros requiris 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. Sed--quoniam census non ius civitatis confirmat, ac tantum modo indicat eum qui sit census [ita] se iam tum gessisse pro cive--eis temporibus quibus 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.

[11] You ask for our censuses, forsooth. For is it obscure that, at the time of the most recent censors, this man was with the most illustrious commander L. Lucullus with the army; at the earlier, he was in Asia with that same man as quaestor; at the first, under Julius and Crassus, no part of the people was recorded in the census? But—since the census does not confirm the right of citizenship, and only indicates that he who has been enrolled [thus] already then conducted himself as a citizen—at the very times which you charge that he was not even, in his own judgment, engaged in the right of Roman citizens, he both often made a testament under our laws, and entered upon inheritances of Roman citizens, and was entered among the benefactions to the treasury by L. Lucullus, as proconsul.

[12] Quaere argumenta, si qua potes: numquam enim his neque suo neque amicorum iudicio revincetur. Quaeres a nobis, Grati, cur tanto opere hoc homine delectemur. Quia suppeditat nobis ubi et animus ex hoc forensi strepitu reficiatur, et aures convicio defessae conquiescant.

[12] Seek arguments, if you can find any: for by these he will never be refuted, neither by his own judgment nor by that of his friends. You will ask of us, Gratius, why we are so greatly delighted with this man. Because he supplies to us a place where both the mind may be refreshed from this forensic din, and the ears, wearied by invective, may come to 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: ceteros pudeat, si qui se ita 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 retardit?

Or do you suppose either that there can be supplied to us something to say daily amid so great a variety of matters, unless we cultivate our minds by learning; or that our spirits can bear so great a tension, unless we relax them by that same learning? I for my part confess that I am devoted to these studies: let others be ashamed, if there are any who have so secluded themselves in letters that they can bring nothing from them either to the common fruit, or to bring forth into sight and light: but what should I be ashamed of, I who for so many years live thus, judges, that at no time has another’s schedule or convenience, or my own leisure, dragged me away, nor has pleasure called me aside, nor, finally, has sleep delayed me?

[13] Qua 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 hoc ideo mihi concedendum est magis, quod ex his studiis haec quoque crescit oratio et facultas; quae, quantacumque in me est, numquam amicorum periculis defuit. Quae si cui levior videtur, illa quidem certe, quae summa sunt, ex quo fonte hauriam sentio.

[13] Wherefore who, pray, would reprehend me, or who would with right be angry at me, if, as much of time as is conceded to others for attending to their own affairs, as much as for celebrating the festal days of the games, as much as for other pleasures and for the very repose of mind and body, as much as others allot to timely banquets, as much, finally, to the dice-box, as much to the ball, so much I myself should take for recollecting these studies? And this is therefore to be conceded to me the more, because from these studies this oration and faculty also grows; which, of whatever quantity it is in me, has never failed my friends in their dangers. Which, if to anyone it seems rather light, yet I assuredly perceive from what fount I draw those things which are highest.

[14] Nam 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. Sed pleni omnes sunt libri, plenae sapientium voces, plena exemplorum vetustas: quae iacerent in tenebris omnia, nisi litterarum lumen accederet. Quam multas nobis imagines--non solum ad intuendum, verum etiam ad imitandum--fortissimorum virorum expressas scriptores et Graeci et Latini reliquerunt?

[14] For unless by the precepts of many and by many letters I had from adolescence persuaded myself that nothing in life is to be earnestly sought except praise and honesty, and that in pursuing this, all torments of the body, all dangers of death and of exile are to be accounted as of little moment, I would never have thrown myself for your safety into so many and so great engagements and into these daily assaults of profligate men. But all books are full, the voices of the wise are full, antiquity is full of examples: which would all lie in darkness, unless the light of literature were to be added. How many images for us—not only for looking upon, but even for imitating—of the bravest men, fashioned in sharp relief, have writers both Greek and Latin left behind?

Quas ego mihi semper in administranda re publica proponens animum et mentem meam ipsa cognitatione hominum excellentium conformabam.

Which I, always proposing to myself in administering the republic, was conforming my spirit and my mind by the very cogitation of excellent men.

[15] Quaeret 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 certe quod respondeam. Ego multos homines excellenti animo ac virtute fuisse, et sine doctrina 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.

[15] Someone will inquire: "What? Those very highest men, whose virtues have been handed down by letters, were they made erudite by that doctrine which you exalt with praises?" It is difficult to confirm this of all, yet nevertheless there is certainly something I can respond. I acknowledge that many men have been of excellent spirit and virtue, and, without doctrine, by the very habit of nature—well‑nigh divine—have of themselves appeared both moderate and grave, I confess: I also add this, that more often for praise and virtue nature without doctrine has prevailed than doctrine without nature.

Atque idem ego contendo, cum ad naturam eximiam atque inlustrem accesserit ratio quaedam conformatioque doctrinae, tum illud nescio quid praeclarum ac singulare solere exsistere.

And I likewise contend that, when to an exceptional and illustrious nature there has been added a certain ratio and conformation of doctrine, then that I-know-not-what, preeminent and singular, is wont to come into being.

[16] Ex hoc esse hunc numero, quem patres nostri viderunt, divinum hominem Africanum; ex hoc C. Laelium, L. Furium, moderatissimos homines et continentissimos; ex hoc fortissimum virum et illis temporibus doctissimum, M. Catonem illum senem: qui profecto si nihil ad percipiendam [colendam] virtutem litteris adiuvarentur, numquam se ad earum studium contulissent. Quod si non his tantus fructus ostenderetur, et si ex his studiis delectatio sola peteretur, tamen (ut opinor) hanc animi adversionem humanissimam ac liberalissimam iudicaretis. Nam ceterae neque temporum sunt neque aetatum omnium neque locorum: haec studia adulescentiam alunt, senectutem oblectant, secundas res ornant, adversis perfugium ac solacium praebent, delectant domi, non impediunt foris, pernoctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur.

[16] From this there is, in that number whom our fathers saw, the divine man Africanus; from this, C. Laelius, L. Furius, most moderate men and most continent; from this, the bravest man and in those times the most learned, that old M. Cato: who assuredly, if they were in no way aided by letters toward perceiving [cultivating] virtue, would never have devoted themselves to the study of them. But even if so great a fruit were not shown by these, and if from these studies delight alone were sought, nevertheless (as I suppose) you would judge this diversion of the mind the most humane and most liberal. For other pursuits are not for all times, nor for all ages, nor for all places: these studies nourish adolescence, delight old age, adorn prosperous circumstances, in adversities they provide a refuge and solace, they delight at home, they do not hinder outside, they pass the night with us, they peregrinate, they rusticate.

[17] Quod si ipsi haec neque attingere neque sensu nostro gustare possemus, tamen ea mirari deberemus, etiam cum in aliis videremus. Quis nostrum tam animo agresti ac duro fuit, ut Rosci morte nuper non commoveretur? qui cum esset senex mortuus, tamen propter excellentem artem ac venustatem videbatur omnino mori non debuisse.

[17] And if we ourselves were neither able to touch these things nor to taste them with our own sense, nevertheless we ought to admire them, even when we saw them in others. Who of us was so rustic and hard of spirit that he was not moved, recently, by the death of Roscius? who, although he died an old man, nevertheless on account of his excellent art and venusty seemed altogether not to have ought to die.

Ergo ille corporis motu tantum amorem sibi conciliarat a nobis omnibus: nos animorum incredibilis motus celeritatemque ingeniorum neglegemus?

Therefore that man, by the movement of the body, had won to himself so great love from us all: shall we neglect the incredible motions of souls and the celerity of wits?

[18] Quotiens ego hunc Archiam vidi, iudices, --utar enim vestra benignitate, quoniam me in hoc novo genere dicendi tam diligenter attenditis,--quotiens ego hunc vidi, cum litteram scripsisset nullam, magnum numerum optimorum versuum de eis ipsis rebus quae tum agerentur dicere ex tempore! Quotiens revocatum eandem rem dicere, commutatis verbis atque sententiis! Quae vero adcurate cogitateque scripsisset, ea sic vidi probari, ut ad veterum scriptorum laudem perveniret.

[18] How many times have I seen this Archias, judges,--for I will use your kindness, since you attend to me so diligently in this new kind of speaking,--how many times have I seen him, when he had written not a single letter, recite ex tempore a great number of excellent verses on those very matters that were then being transacted! How many times, when called back, to say the same matter again, with the words and the sentences changed! And the things which he had written accurately and thoughtfully I saw so approved that he attained to the praise of the writers of old.

Hunc ego non diligam? non admirer? non omni ratione defendendum putem!

Should I not love this man? not admire him? not think him to be defended by every reason!

Atque sic a summis hominibus eruditissimisque accepimus, ceterarum rerum studia et doctrina et praeceptis et arte constare: poetam natura ipsa valere, et mentis viribus excitari, et quasi divino quodam spiritu inflari. Qua re suo iure noster ille Ennius sanctos appellat poetas, quod quasi deorum aliquo dono atque munere commendati nobis esse videantur.

And thus we have received from the highest and most erudite men that the pursuits of other matters rest upon learning, doctrine, precepts, and art; that the poet is strong by nature itself, is aroused by the powers of the mind, and is, as it were, inspired by a certain divine spirit. For which reason, with good right, that Ennius of ours calls poets sacred, because they seem to be commended to us as though by some gift and boon of the gods.

[19] Sit igitur, iudices, sanctum apud vos, humanissimos homines, hoc poetae nomen, quod nulla umquam barbaria violavit. Saxa et solitudines voci repondent, bestiae saepe immanes cantu flectuntur atque consistunt: nos, instituti rebus optimis, non poetarum voce moveamur? Homerum Colophonii civem esse dicunt suum, Chii suum vindicant, Salaminii repetunt, Smyrnaei vero suum esse confirmant, itaque etiam delubrum eius in oppido dedicaverunt: permulti alii praeterea pugnant inter se atque contendunt.

[19] Let it therefore be sacred, judges, among you—most humane men—this name of “poet,” which no barbarity has ever violated. Rocks and solitudes answer to a voice; beasts, often savage, are bent by song and come to a halt: shall we, trained in the best things, not be moved by the voice of poets? The Colophonians say that Homer is their own citizen, the Chians claim him as theirs, the Salaminians demand him back, the Smyrnaeans indeed affirm that he is theirs, and thus they even dedicated his shrine in their town: very many others besides fight among themselves and contend.

Ergo illi alienum, quia poeta fuit, post mortem etiam expetunt: nos hunc vivum, qui et voluntate et legibus noster est, repudiabimus? praesertim cum omne olim studium atque omne ingenium contulerit Archias ad populi Romani gloriam laudemque celebrandam? Nam et Cimbricas res adulescens attigit, et ipsi illi C. Mario, qui durior ad haec studia videbatur, iucundus fuit.

Therefore they seek, even after death, one alien, because he was a poet: shall we repudiate this man alive, who both by will and by laws is ours? especially since Archias long ago devoted all his zeal and all his genius to celebrating the glory and praise of the Roman people? For as a youth he touched upon the Cimbrian affairs, and he was pleasing even to Gaius Marius himself, who seemed more hard toward these studies.

[20] Neque enim quisquam est tam aversus a Musis, qui non mandari versibus aeternum suorum laborum facile praeconium patiatur. Themistoclem illum, summum Athenis virum, dixisse aiunt, cum ex eo quaereretur, quod acroama aut cuius vocem libentissime audiret: "Eius, a quo sua virtus optime praedicaretur." Itaque ille Marius item eximie L. Plotium dilexit, cuius ingenio putabat ea quae gesserat posse celebrari.

[20] For there is no one so averse to the Muses that he does not readily allow an eternal proclamation of his labors to be entrusted to verses. They say that that Themistocles, a foremost man at Athens, said, when he was asked what performance or whose voice he would most gladly hear: "That of the one by whom his virtue would be best proclaimed." And so that Marius likewise exceptionally cherished L. Plotius, whose genius he thought could celebrate the things he had done.

[21] Mithridaticum vero bellum, magnum atque difficile et in multa varietate terra marique versatum, totum ab hoc expressum est: qui libri non modo L. Lucullum, fortissimum et clarissimum virum, verum etiam populi Romani nomen inlustrant. Populus enim Romanus aperuit Lucullo imperante Pontum, et regiis quondam opibus et ipsa natura et regione vallatum: populi Romani exercitus, eodem duce, non maxima manu innumerabilis Armeniorum copias fudit: populi Romani laus est urbem amicissimam Cyzicenorum eiusdem consilio ex omni impetu regio atque totius belli ore ac faucibus ereptam esse atque servatam: nostra semper feretur et praedicabitur L. Lucullo dimicante, cum interfectis ducibus depressa hostium classis, et incredibilis apud Tenedum pugna illa navalis: nostra sunt tropaea, nostra monimenta, nostri triumphi. Quae quorum ingeniis efferuntur, ab eis populi Romani fama celebratur.

[21] But the Mithridatic war, great and difficult and conducted with much variety by land and sea, has been set forth entire by this man: which books not only illustrate L. Lucullus, a most brave and most renowned man, but also the name of the Roman people. For the Roman people, with Lucullus commanding, opened up Pontus, once walled round by royal resources and by nature itself and by its situation: the army of the Roman people, under the same leader, with no very great force routed the innumerable forces of the Armenians: it is the credit of the Roman people that, by that same man’s counsel, the very friendly city of the Cyzicenes was snatched and preserved from every royal onslaught and from the very mouth and jaws of the whole war: our own it will always be reported and proclaimed, with L. Lucullus fighting, that, the commanders having been slain, the enemy fleet was sunk, and that incredible naval battle near Tenedos: our trophies are ours, our monuments, our triumphs. The men by whose talents these things are exalted—by them the fame of the Roman people is celebrated.

[22] Carus fuit Africano superiori noster Ennius, itaque etiam in sepulcro Scipionum putatur is esse constitutus ex marmore. At eis laudibus certe non solum ipse qui laudatur, sed etiam populi Romani nomen ornatur. In caelum huius proavus Cato tollitur: magnus honos populi Romani rebus adiungitur.

[22] Our Ennius was dear to Africanus the elder, and so he is even thought to have been set up in marble in the sepulcher of the Scipios. But by these praises certainly not only he himself who is praised is adorned, but also the name of the Roman People. Into heaven this one’s great-grandfather Cato is lifted: a great honor is adjoined to the affairs of the Roman People.

Omnes denique illi Maximi, Marcelli, Fulvii, non sine communi omnium nostrum laude decorantur. Ergo illum, qui haec fecerat, Rudinum hominem, maiores nostri in civitatem receperunt: nos hunc Heracliensem, multis civitatibus expetitum, in hac autem legibus constitutum, de nostra civitate eiciemus?

All, finally, those Maximi, Marcelli, Fulvii, are adorned not without the common praise of us all. Therefore that man, who had done these things, a Rudian man, our ancestors received into the state: shall we eject this Heraclean, desired by many cities, yet in this one constituted by laws, from our citizenship?

[23] Nam si quis minorem gloriae fructum putat ex Graecis versibus percipi quam ex Latinis, vehementer errat: propterea quod Graeca leguntur in omnibus fere gentibus, Latina suis finibus, exiguis sane, continentur. Qua re si res eae quas gessimus orbis terrae regionibus definiuntur, cupere debemus, quo manuum nostrarum tela pervenerint, eodem gloriam famamque penetrare: quod cum ipsis populis de quorum rebus scribitur, haec ampla sunt, tum eis certe, qui de vita gloriae causa dimicant, hoc maximum et periculorum incitamentum est et laborum.

[23] For if anyone thinks that a lesser fruit of glory is to be reaped from Greek verses than from Latin, he is vehemently in error: for the Greek are read in almost all nations, the Latin are confined within their own borders—indeed, narrow ones. Wherefore, if the deeds which we have performed are bounded by the regions of the orb of the earth, we ought to desire that, to wherever the missiles of our hands have reached, there likewise glory and fame should penetrate: which, while it is a great thing for the peoples themselves about whose affairs one writes, yet certainly for those who contend for life for the sake of glory, this is the greatest incitement both to dangers and to labors.

[24] Quam multos scriptores rerum suarum magnus ille Alexander secum habuisse dicitur! Atque is tamen, cum in Sigeo ad Achillis tumulum astitisset: "O fortunate" inquit "adulescens, qui tuae virtutis Homerum praeconem inveneris!" Et vere. Nam nisi Illias illa exstitisset, idem tumulus, qui corpus eius contexerat, nomen etiam obruisset.

[24] How many writers of his deeds that great Alexander is said to have had with him! And yet he, when he had stood on Sigeum at the tomb of Achilles: "O fortunate" he said "young man, who have found Homer as the herald of your virtue!" And truly. For if that Iliad had not existed, the same mound which had covered his body would also have buried his name.

Quid? noster hic Magnus, qui cum virtute fortunam adaequavit, nonne Theophanem Mytilenaeum, scriptorem rerum suarum, in contione militum civitate donavit; et nostri illi fortes viri, sed rustici ac milites, dulcedine quadam gloriae commoti, quasi participes eiusdem laudis, magno illud clamore approbaverunt?

What? Our Magnus here, who equated fortune with virtue, did he not endow Theophanes of Mytilene, the writer of his deeds, with citizenship in an assembly of the soldiers; and did not those brave men of ours—though rustic and soldiers—moved by a certain sweetness of glory, as if participants in the same praise, approve that with great clamor?

[25] Itaque, credo, si civis Romanus Archias legibus non esset, ut ab aliquo imperatore civitate donaretur perficere non potuit. Sulla cum Hispanos donaret et Gallos, credo hunc petentem repudiasset: quem nos in contione vidimus, cum ei libellum malus poeta de populo subiecisset, quod epigramma in eum fecisset, tantummodo alternis versibus longiusculis, statim ex eis rebus quas tunc vendebat iubere ei praemium tribui, sed ea condicione, ne quid postea scriberet. Qui sedulitatem mali poetae duxerit aliquo tamen praemio dignam, huius ingenium et virtutem in scribendo et copiam non expetisset?

[25] Therefore, I suppose, if Archias were not a Roman citizen by the laws, he could not have managed to be presented with citizenship by some general. When Sulla was granting it to Spaniards and Gauls, I suppose he would have rejected this man if he had petitioned; we saw him, in a public assembly, when a bad poet from the crowd had slipped a little booklet to him, because he had made an epigram on him—only in somewhat long alternate verses—immediately order that a reward be given to him out of the goods which he was then selling, but on this condition, that he write nothing thereafter. He who deemed the assiduity of a bad poet worthy of some reward—would he not have sought after this man’s talent and excellence in writing, and his copiousness?

[26] Quid? a Q. Metello Pio, familiarissimo suo, qui civitate multos donavit, neque per se neque per Lucullos impetravisset? qui praesertim usque eo de suis rebus scribi cuperet, ut etiam Cordubae natis poetis, pingue quiddam sonantibus atque peregrinum, tamen auris suas dederet.

[26] What? From Q. Metellus Pius, his most familiar friend, who conferred citizenship upon many, would he not have obtained it, either by himself or through the Luculli? He, especially, was so desirous that his own affairs be written, that even to poets born at Corduba—sounding something thick and peregrine—he nevertheless lent his ears.

Neque enim est hoc dissimulandum (quod obscurari non potest) sed prae nobis ferendum: trahimur omnes studio laudis, et optimus quisque maxime gloria ducitur. Ipsi illi philosophi, etiam in eis libellis quos de contemnenda gloria scribunt, nomen suum inscribunt: in eo ipso, in quo praedicationem nobilitatemque despiciunt, praedicari de se ac nominari volunt.

Nor indeed is this to be dissimulated (since it cannot be obscured), but to be borne openly before us: we are all drawn by zeal for praise, and each of the best is led most by glory. Those very philosophers, even in those little books which they write about despising glory, inscribe their own name: in that very thing in which they look down on proclamation and nobility, they want to have themselves proclaimed and to be named.

[27] Decimus quidem Brutus, summus vir et imperator, Acci, amicissimi sui, carminibus templorum ac monumentorum aditus exornavit suorum. iam vero ille, qui cum Aetolis Ennio comite bellavit, Fulvius, non dubitavit Martis manubias Musis consecrare. Qua re in qua urbe imperatores prope armati poetarum nomen et Musarum delubra coluerunt, in ea non debent togati iudices a Musarum honore et a poetarum salute abhorrere.

[27] Decimus Brutus, indeed, a most eminent man and imperator, adorned the entrances of his own temples and monuments with the poems of Accius, his dearest friend. and in truth that Fulvius—the one who warred with the Aetolians, with Ennius as companion—did not hesitate to consecrate the spoils of Mars to the Muses. Wherefore, in that city in which imperators, almost in arms, have cultivated the name of poets and the shrines of the Muses, in that city the toga-clad judges ought not to abhor the honor of the Muses and the safety of poets.

[28] Atque ut id libentius faciatis, iam me vobis, iudices, indicabo, et de meo quodam amore gloriae, nimis acri fortasse verum tamen honesto vobis, confitebor. Nam quas res nos in consulatu nostro vobiscum simul pro salute huiusce imperi et pro vita civium proque universa re publica gessimus, attigit hic versibus atque inchoavit: quibus auditis, quod mihi magna res et iucunda visa est, hunc ad perficiendum adornavi. Nullam enim virtus aliam mercedem laborum periculorumque desiderat, praeter hanc laudis et gloriae: qua quidem detracta, iudices, quid est quod in hoc tam exiguo vitae curriculo [et tam brevi] tantis nos in laboribus exerceamus?

[28] And that you may do this more willingly, now I will disclose myself to you, judges, and I will confess to you about a certain love of glory of mine—perhaps too keen, yet honorable. For the things which in our consulship we together carried out with you for the safety of this empire, and for the life of the citizens, and for the whole commonwealth, he has touched upon in verses and has begun; on hearing which, because it seemed to me a matter great and pleasing, I equipped him for bringing it to completion. For virtue desires no other meed of labors and dangers than this of praise and glory; with which, if it be taken away, judges, what is there for which, in this so scant course of life [and so brief], we should exercise ourselves in such great labors?

[29] Certe si nihil animus praesentiret in posterum, et si quibus regionibus vitae spatium circumscriptum est, eisdem omnis cogitationes terminaret suas; nec tantis se laboribus frangeret, neque tot curis vigiliisque angeretur, nec totiens de ipsa vita dimicaret. Nunc insidet quaedam in optimo quoque virtus quae noctis ac dies animum gloriae stimulis concitat, atque admonet non cum vitae tempore esse dimittendam commemorationem nominis nostri, sed cum omni posteritate adaequandam.

[29] Certainly, if the mind had no presentiment toward the future, and if it were to terminate all its thoughts by the same bounds by which the span of life is circumscribed, it would neither break itself with such labors, nor be vexed by so many cares and vigils, nor so often fight about life itself. Now there sits in every best man a certain virtue which rouses the spirit night and day with the goads of glory, and admonishes that the commemoration of our name is not to be dismissed with the time of life, but to be made equal with all posterity.

[30] An vero tam parvi animi videamur esse omnes, qui in re publica atque in his vitae periculis laboribusque versamur, ut, cum usque ad extremum spatium nullum tranquillum atque otiosum spiritum duxerimus, nobiscum simul moritura omnia arbitremur? An statuas et imagines, non animorum simulacra sed corporum, studiose multi summi homines reliquerunt; consiliorum relinquere ac virtutum nostrarum effigiem nonne multo malle debemus, summis ingeniis expressam et politam? Ego vero omnia quae gerebam, iam tum in gerendo spargere me ac disseminare arbitrabar in orbis terrae memoriam sempiternam.

[30] Or truly do we all seem to be of such little spirit, we who are engaged in the Republic and in these perils and labors of life, that, since up to the utmost span we have drawn no tranquil and at‑leisure breath, we suppose that all things are to die together with us? Or have many most eminent men zealously left statues and images—likenesses not of souls but of bodies—while we ought much rather to wish to leave the effigy of our counsels and of our virtues, expressed and polished by the highest talents? I for my part thought that everything I was doing, even then in the very doing, I was scattering and disseminating into the everlasting memory of the whole world.

Haec vero sive a meo sensu post mortem afutura est sive--ut sapientissimi homines putaverunt--ad aliquam mei partem pertinebit, nunc quidem certe cogitatione quadam speque delector.

This indeed, whether it will be absent from my sensation after death or--as the most sapient men thought--will pertain to some part of me, now at least I am delighted by a certain cogitation and by hope.

[31] Qua re conservate, iudices, hominem pudore eo, quem amicorum videtis comprobari cum dignitate tum etiam vetustate; ingenio autem tanto, quantum id convenit existimari, quod summorum hominum ingeniis expetitum esse videatis; causa vero eius modi, quae beneficio legis, auctoritate municipi, testimonio Luculli, tabulis Metelli comprobetur. Quae cum ita sint, petimus a vobis, iudices, si qua non modo humana, verum etiam divina in tantis ingeniis commendatio debet esse, ut eum qui vos, qui vestros imperatores, qui populi Romani res gestas semper ornavit, qui etiam his recentibus nostris vestrisque domesticis periculis aeternum se testimonium laudis daturum esse profitetur, estque ex eo numero qui semper apud omnis sancti sunt habiti itaque dicti, sic in vestram accipiatis fidem, ut humanitate vestra levatus potius quam acerbitate violatus esse videatur.

[31] Wherefore preserve, judges, the man for that sense of honor, which you see to be approved by his friends both by dignity and also by long-standing; and for a genius so great as it is fitting to esteem that which you see to have been sought by the geniuses of the highest men; and a case indeed of such a sort as is established by the provision of the law, by the authority of his municipality, by the testimony of Lucullus, and by the records of Metellus. Since these things are so, we ask from you, judges—if there ought to be any commendation not only human but even divine for such great talents—that you receive him, who has always adorned you, your commanders, and the achievements of the Roman people; who even in these recent domestic dangers of ours and yours professes that he will give an eternal testimony of praise; and who is of that number who among all have always been held sacred and thus called, into your protection, so that he may seem to have been relieved by your humanity rather than violated by harshness.

[32] Quae de causa pro mea consuetudine breviter simpliciterque dixi, iudices, ea confido probata esse omnibus. Quae autem remota a mea iudicialique consuetudine, et de hominis ingenio et communiter de ipsius studio locutus sum, ea, iudices, a vobis spero esse in bonam partem accepta; ab eo qui iudicium exercet, certo scio.

[32] The things which, on this cause, I have said briefly and simply, according to my custom, judges, I trust have been approved by all. But those matters which, removed from my judicial custom, I have spoken both about the man’s ingenuity and, more generally, about his study, these, judges, I hope have been received by you in good part; by him who conducts the trial, I know it for certain.