Sen. 4.1Ego Q. Maximum, eum quī Tarentum recēpit, senem adulēscēns ita dīlēxī, ut aequālem.When I was a young man I loved Quintus Maximus, the one who recaptured Tarentum, though he was old, as though he were my own age. Sen. 4.1Erat enim in illō virō cōmitāte condita gravitās, nec senectūs mōrēs mūtāverat.For in that man there was dignity seasoned with courtesy, nor had old age changed his character. Sen. 4.1Quamquam eum colere coepī nōn admodum grandem nātū, sed tamen iam aetāte prōvectum.And yet when I began to attach myself to him he was not very old, but still already advanced in years. Sen. 4.1Annō enim post cōnsul prīmum fuerat quam ego nātus sum, cumque eō quārtum cōnsule adulēscentulus mīles ad Capuam profectus sum quīntōque annō post ad Tarentum.For he had been consul for the first time the year after I was born, and when he was consul for the fourth time I set out with him as a very young soldier for Capua, and in the fifth year after that for Tarentum. Sen. 4.1Quaestor deinde quadrienniō post factus sum, quem magistrātum gessī cōnsulibus Tuditānō et Cethēgō, cum quidem ille admodum senex suāsor lēgis Cinciae dē dōnīs et mūneribus fuit.Then four years later I was made quaestor, an office I held in the consulship of Tuditanus and Cethegus, at the very time when he, a very old man, spoke in favour of the Cincian law on gifts and fees.
Sen. 4.1Hic et bella gerēbat ut adulēscēns, cum plānē grandis esset, et Hannibalem iuvenīliter exsultantem patientiā suā molliēbat;He both waged wars like a young man when he was plainly old, and by his patience wore down Hannibal as he leapt about in youthful exuberance; Sen. 4.1dē quō praeclārē familiāris noster Ennius: " ūnus homō nōbīs cūnctandō restituit rem;of whom our friend Ennius finely says: 'One man by delaying restored our state for us; Sen. 4.1noenum rūmōrēs pōnēbat ante salūtem;he did not set rumours before safety; Sen. 4.1ergō plūsque magisque virī nunc glōria clāret.therefore now the man's glory shines brighter and ever brighter.' Sen. 4.1" Tarentum vērō quā vigilantiā, quō cōnsiliō recēpit!And Tarentum — with what vigilance, with what judgement he recaptured it! Sen. 4.11Cum quidem mē audiente Salinātōrī, quī āmissō oppidō fūgerat in arcem, glōriantī atque ita dīcentī, "meā operā, Q. Fabī, Tarentum recēpistī";Indeed, in my hearing, when Salinator, who had lost the town and fled into the citadel, was boasting and speaking thus, 'It was by my efforts, Quintus Fabius, that you recaptured Tarentum'; Sen. 4.11"certē," inquit rīdēns, "nam nisi tū āmīsissēs, numquam recēpissem."'Certainly,' he said, laughing, 'for if you had not lost it, I should never have recaptured it.' Sen. 4.11Nec vērō in armīs praestantior quam in togā;Nor indeed was he more outstanding in arms than in the toga; Sen. 4.11quī cōnsul iterum, Sp. Carvīliō collēgā quiēscente, C. Flāminiō tribūnō plēbis, quoad potuit, restitit agrum Picentem et Gallicum virītim contrā senātūs auctōritātem dīvidentī;for when consul for the second time, while his colleague Spurius Carvilius kept quiet, he resisted as far as he could Gaius Flaminius, tribune of the plebs, who was dividing the Picene and Gallic land among individuals against the authority of the senate; Sen. 4.11augurque cum esset, dīcere ausus est optimīs auspiciīs ea gerī, quae prō reī pūblicae salūte gererentur;and when he was augur, he dared to say that those things were done under the best auspices which were done for the safety of the state; Sen. 4.11quae contrā rem pūblicam ferrentur, contrā auspicia ferrī.and that those which were proposed against the state were proposed against the auspices.
Sen. 4.12Multa in eō virō praeclāra cognōvī, sed nihil admīrābilius quam quō modō ille mortem fīlī tulit, clārī virī et cōnsulāris.I came to know many outstanding things in that man, but nothing more admirable than the way he bore the death of his son, a distinguished man and a former consul. Sen. 4.12Est in manibus laudātiō, quam cum legimus, quem philosophum nōn contemnimus?His funeral eulogy is in our hands, and when we read it, what philosopher do we not despise? Sen. 4.12Nec vērō ille in lūce modo atque in oculīs cīvium magnus, sed intus domīque praestantior.Nor indeed was he great only in public and before the eyes of the citizens, but more outstanding still within doors and at home. Sen. 4.12Quī sermō, quae praecepta!What conversation, what precepts! Sen. 4.12Quanta nōtitia antīquitātis, scientia iūris augurī!What knowledge of antiquity, what learning in augural law! Sen. 4.12Multae etiam, ut in homine Rōmānō, litterae: omnia memoriā tenēbat nōn domestica sōlum, sed etiam externa bella.He had, too, much literature, for a Roman: he held everything in his memory, not only wars at home but also those abroad. Sen. 4.12Cuius sermōne ita tum cupidē fruēbar, quasi iam dīvīnārem, id quod ēvēnit, illō exstīnctō fore unde discerem nēminem.I enjoyed his conversation so eagerly at that time, as if I already foresaw what came to pass, that when he was gone there would be no one from whom I could learn.