Man. 1.1Quamquam mihi semper frequēns cōnspectus vester multō iūcundissimus, hic autem locus ad agendum amplissimus, ad dīcendum ōrnātissimus est vīsus, Quirītēs, tamen hōc aditū laudis quī semper optimō cuique maximē patuit nōn mea mē voluntās adhūc sed vītae meae ratiōnēs ab ineunte aetāte susceptae prohibuērunt.Although the sight of you thronging here has always seemed to me by far the most delightful of sights, citizens, and this place the most dignified for public business and the most distinguished for speaking, nevertheless it is not my own wish but the plan of life I adopted from my early youth that has so far kept me from this path to renown, which has always lain most open to every man of merit. Man. 1.1Nam cum anteā nōndum huius auctōritātem locī attingere audērem statueremque nihil hūc nisi perfectum ingeniō, ēlabōrātum industriā adferrī oportēre, omne meum tempus amīcōrum temporibus trānsmittendum putāvī.For since previously I did not yet dare to lay claim to the authority of this place, and had decided that nothing should be brought here that was not perfected by talent and worked out by diligence, I thought that all my time should be given over to the needs of my friends.
Man. 1.2Ita neque hic locus vacuus fuit umquam ab eīs quī vestram causam dēfenderent et meus labor in prīvātōrum perīculīs castē integrēque versātus ex vestrō iūdiciō frūctum est amplissimum cōnsecūtus.Thus this place has never been empty of men to defend your cause, and my labour, spent honestly and with integrity on the perils of private individuals, has won the fullest reward from your judgement. Man. 1.2Nam cum propter dīlātiōnem comitiōrum ter praetor prīmus centuriīs cūnctīs renūntiātus sum, facile intellēxī, Quirītēs, et quid dē mē iūdicārētis et quid aliīs praescrīberētis.For when, because of the postponement of the elections, I was three times declared first praetor by all the centuries, I easily understood, citizens, both what you judged of me and what you prescribed for others. Man. 1.2Nunc cum et auctōritātis in mē tantum sit quantum vōs honōribus mandandīs esse voluistis, et ad agendum facultātis tantum quantum hominī vigilantī ex forēnsī ūsū prope cōtīdiāna dīcendī exercitātiō potuit adferre, certē et, sī quid auctōritātis in mē est, apud eōs ūtar quī eam mihi dedērunt et, sī quid in dīcendō cōnsequī possum, eīs ostendam potissimum quī eī quoque reī frūctum suō iūdiciō tribuendum esse dūxērunt.Now, since I have as much authority as you wished me to have in entrusting me with offices, and as much capacity for public business as almost daily practice in speaking, drawn from experience in the forum, could give a watchful man, I shall certainly use whatever authority I have before those who gave it to me, and, if I can achieve anything in speaking, I shall display it above all to those who judged that this skill too deserved to be rewarded by their verdict.
Man. 1.3Atque illud in prīmīs mihi laetandum iūre esse videō quod in hāc īnsolitā mihi ex hōc locō ratiōne dīcendī causa tālis oblāta est in quā ōrātiō dēesse nēminī possit.And I see that I have every right to rejoice in this above all, that in this method of speaking from this place, unfamiliar to me, a case has been offered me of such a kind that no one could be at a loss for words. Man. 1.3Dīcendum est enim dē Cn. Pompēī singulārī eximiāque virtūte;For I have to speak of the singular and outstanding merit of Gnaeus Pompey; Man. 1.3huius autem ōrātiōnis difficilius est exitum quam prīncipium invenīre.and it is harder to find an end to this speech than a beginning. Man. 1.3Ita mihi nōn tam cōpia quam modus in dīcendō quaerendus est.So what I must look for in speaking is not so much abundance as measure.