Pro Archia 1

Arch. 1.1Sī quid est in mē ingenī, iūdicēs, quod sentiō quam sit exiguum, aut sī qua exercitātiō dīcendī, in quā mē nōn īnfitior mediocriter esse versātum, aut sī huiusce reī ratiō aliqua ab optimārum artium studiīs ac disciplīnā profecta, ā quā ego nūllum cōnfiteor aetātis meae tempus abhorruisse, eārum rērum omnium vel in prīmīs hic A. Licinius frūctum ā mē repetere prope suō iūre dēbet.

If there is any talent in me, gentlemen of the jury, and I know how slight it is; or if I have any practice in speaking, in which I do not deny that I have been moderately well trained; or if I have any method in this field drawn from the study and discipline of the liberal arts, from which I admit that no part of my life has ever been a stranger; then, of all these things, this man here, Aulus Licinius, has almost a right of his own to claim the fruit from me before anyone else.

Note. Cicero spoke for the poet Archias in 62 B.C. The opening is one long period: three sī-clauses (sī quid … ingenī, sī qua exercitātiō, sī … ratiō aliqua) build up before the main clause arrives at the end: hic A. Licinius frūctum … repetere … dēbet. iūdicēs: vocative, 'gentlemen of the jury', Cicero's usual address in court. ingenī: contracted genitive of ingenium. quod sentiō quam sit exiguum: 'which I feel how small it is', an indirect question (sit) inside a relative clause. sī qua: after sī, the indefinite quis/qua. me … versātum: 'that I have been engaged', from the deponent versor.

Arch. 1.1Nam quoad longissimē potest mēns mea respicere spatium praeteritī temporis et pueritiae memoriam recordārī ultimam, inde usque repetēns hunc videō mihi prīncipem et ad suscipiendam et ad ingrediendam ratiōnem hōrum studiōrum exstitisse.

For as far back as my mind can look over the space of time gone by and recall the earliest memory of my boyhood, retracing it all the way from there, I see that this man was the first to lead me both to take up and to enter upon the course of these studies.

Note. quoad: 'as far as'. inde usque repetēns: 'tracing it back all the way from there'. hunc … prīncipem … exstitisse: indirect statement after videō, 'I see that he was the first'. ad suscipiendam et ad ingrediendam ratiōnem: gerundives with ad expressing purpose, 'for taking up and entering upon the course'.

Arch. 1.1Quod sī haec vōx huius hortātū praeceptīsque cōnfōrmāta nōn nūllīs aliquandō salūtī fuit, ā quō id accēpimus quō cēterīs opitulārī et aliōs servāre possēmus, huic profectō ipsī, quantum est situm in nōbīs, et opem et salūtem ferre dēbēmus.

And if this voice of mine, shaped by his encouragement and his teaching, has at times brought safety to some, then surely, as far as it lies in our power, we ought to bring both help and safety to the very man from whom we received the means of aiding others and saving some.

Note. Quod sī: 'but if', a connecting quod. nōn nūllīs: 'to some' (litotes, 'not none'). salūtī fuit: dative of purpose, 'was a source of safety'. ā quō id accēpimus quō … possēmus: 'from whom we received that by which we might…', the second quō is a relative of means with a subjunctive of purpose. quantum est situm in nōbīs: 'as far as lies in us'.

Arch. 1.2Ac nē quis ā nōbīs hoc ita dīcī forte mīrētur, quod alia quaedam in hōc facultās sit ingenī neque haec dīcendī ratiō aut disciplīna, nē nōs quidem huic ūnī studiō penitus umquam dēditī fuimus.

And so that no one may be surprised to hear me say this, on the grounds that he has a different kind of talent and not this method and discipline of speaking: not even I have ever been devoted wholly to this one pursuit alone.

Note. nē quis … mīrētur: purpose clause with the indefinite quis after nē. quod … sit: subjunctive because it gives a reason Cicero imagines others giving ('on the grounds that'). nē nōs quidem: 'not even I', with the 'royal we'.

Arch. 1.2Etenim omnēs artēs quae ad hūmānitātem pertinent habent quoddam commūne vinclum et quasi cognātiōne quādam inter sē continentur.

For all the arts that belong to a civilised life share a common bond and are held together by a kind of kinship with one another.

Note. One of the great sentences of the speech: all the arts of a cultured life (hūmānitās) are related. vinclum: older, shorter spelling of vinculum. quasi: softens the metaphor, 'a sort of kinship'.