Pro Archia 10

Arch. 10.1Ergō illum quī haec fēcerat, Rudīnum hominem, maiōrēs nostrī in cīvitātem recēpērunt;

So our ancestors took into the citizenship the man who had done these things, a man from Rudiae;

Note. Rudīnum hominem: Ennius came from Rudiae in Calabria; he received Roman citizenship through Fulvius Nobilior's son in 184 B.C.

Arch. 10.1nōs hunc Hēraclīēnsem multīs cīvitātibus expetītum, in hāc autem lēgibus cōnstitūtum dē nostrā cīvitāte ēiciāmus?

shall we throw out of our citizenship this man of Heraclea, sought after by many states and established in this one by law?

Note. Hēraclīēnsem: Archias was a citizen of Heraclea in southern Italy, a city with a treaty with Rome; this was the legal basis of his claim (see the first part of the speech). ēiciāmus: deliberative subjunctive in an indignant question.

Arch. 10.23Nam sī quis minōrem glōriae frūctum putat ex Graecīs versibus percipī quam ex Latīnīs, vehementer errat, proptereā quod Graeca leguntur in omnibus ferē gentibus, Latīna suīs fīnibus exiguīs sānē continentur.

For if anyone thinks that a smaller reward of glory is gained from Greek verses than from Latin, he is badly mistaken, because Greek is read among almost all peoples, while Latin is confined within its own boundaries, narrow ones indeed.

Note. propterea quod: 'because'. Graeca … Latīna: neuter plurals, 'Greek writings … Latin writings'. Cicero's point: a Greek poet like Archias can spread Rome's fame further than a Latin one.

Arch. 10.23Quā rē, sī rēs eae quās gessimus orbis terrae regiōnibus dēfīniuntur, cupere dēbēmus, quō hominum nostrōrum tēla pervēnerint, eōdem glōriam fāmamque penetrāre, quod cum ipsīs populīs dē quōrum rēbus scrībitur haec ampla sunt, tum eīs certē quī dē vītā glōriae causā dīmicant hoc maximum et perīculōrum incitāmentum est et labōrum.

So, if the deeds we have done are bounded only by the regions of the world, we ought to want our glory and fame to reach wherever the weapons of our men have reached, because, just as these things are a fine thing for the peoples about whose deeds the writing is done, so for those who fight for their lives for the sake of glory this is the greatest spur both to dangers and to labours.

Note. cupere dēbēmus … penetrāre: 'we ought to wish (our glory) to penetrate'. quō … eōdem: 'to where … to the same place'. cum … tum: 'both … and especially'. incitāmentum: 'spur, incentive'.

Arch. 10.24Quam multōs scrīptōrēs rērum suārum magnus ille Alexander sēcum habuisse dīcitur!

How many writers of his deeds is the great Alexander said to have had with him!

Note. Quam multōs …!: an exclamation, 'how many …!'. Alexander the Great took historians with him on his campaigns.

Arch. 10.24Atque is tamen, cum in Sīgēō ad Achillis tumulum astitisset: "ō fortūnāte," inquit, "adulēscēns, quī tuae virtūtis Homērum praecōnem invēnerīs!"

And yet, when he had stood by Achilles' tomb at Sigeum, he said: "Fortunate young man, to have found Homer to herald your valour!"

Note. The story of Alexander at Achilles' tomb near Troy (334 B.C.). ō fortūnāte … adulēscēns: vocatives. quī … invēnerīs: a causal relative clause with the subjunctive, 'in that you found'. praecōnem: 'herald', in apposition to Homērum.

Arch. 10.24Et vērē.

And truly so.

Arch. 10.24Nam, nisi Īlias illa exstitisset, īdem tumulus quī corpus eius contēxerat nōmen etiam obruisset.

For if that Iliad had not existed, the same mound that had covered his body would also have buried his name.

Note. Past contrary-to-fact condition: nisi … exstitisset, … obruisset. idem tumulus: 'the same mound', i.e. the tomb.

Arch. 10.24Quid?

What?

Arch. 10.24Noster hic Magnus quī cum virtūte fortūnam adaequāvit, nōnne Theophanem Mytilēnaeum, scrīptōrem rērum suārum, in cōntiōne mīlitum cīvitāte dōnāvit, et nostrī illī fortēs virī, sed rūsticī ac mīlitēs, dulcēdine quādam glōriae commōtī quasi participēs eiusdem laudis magnō illud clāmōre approbāvērunt?

Did not this Magnus of ours, who matched his fortune with his valour, present Theophanes of Mytilene, the writer of his deeds, with citizenship at an assembly of the soldiers, and did not those brave men of ours, countrymen and soldiers though they were, moved by a certain sweetness of glory as if they shared the same praise, approve it with a great shout?

Note. Magnus: Pompey the Great, who gave citizenship to his historian Theophanes of Mytilene in 62 B.C. nōnne expects the answer 'yes'. quasi participēs: 'as if sharing'. illud: the grant, object of approbāvērunt.

Arch. 10.25Itaque, crēdō, sī cīvis Rōmānus Archiās lēgibus nōn esset, ut ab aliquō imperātōre cīvitāte dōnārētur perficere nōn potuit.

So, I suppose, if Archias were not a Roman citizen by law, he could not have managed to be presented with citizenship by some general.

Note. Irony: crēdō, 'I suppose'. Cicero means the opposite: Archias could easily have got citizenship from a general if he had not already had it by law.

Arch. 10.25Sulla cum Hispānōs et Gallōs dōnāret, crēdō, hunc petentem repudiāsset;

Sulla, when he was giving citizenship to Spaniards and Gauls, would, I suppose, have refused this man's request;

Note. Sulla gave citizenship to individuals who had served him. repudiāsset: shortened pluperfect subjunctive (= repudiāvisset), in a contrary-to-fact apodosis.

Arch. 10.25quem nōs vīdimus, cum eī libellum malus poēta dē populō subiēcisset, quod epigramma in eum fēcisset tantum modo alternīs versibus longiusculīs, statim ex eīs rēbus quās tum vēndēbat iubēre eī praemium tribuī, sed eā condiciōne nē quid posteā scrīberet.

Sulla, whom we saw, when a bad poet from the crowd had handed him a little book because he had written an epigram on him, merely in alternate lines rather on the long side, order a reward to be given him at once from the goods he was then selling, but on the condition that he should never write anything again.

Note. A comic story: Sulla rewarded a bad poet on condition that he never wrote again. quem nōs vīdimus … iubēre: 'whom we saw ordering'. alternīs versibus longiusculīs: elegiac couplets (alternating longer and shorter lines), here sneered at as 'a bit too long'. ex eīs rēbus quās tum vēndēbat: goods of the proscribed, which Sulla sold at auction. nē quid: 'that … not anything'.

Arch. 10.25Quī sēdulitātem malī poētae dūxerit aliquō tamen praemiō dignam, huius ingenium et virtūtem in scrībendō et cōpiam nōn expetīsset?

Would a man who thought the zeal of a bad poet worthy of some reward all the same not have sought out this man's talent and skill in writing and his fluency?

Note. Quī … dūxerit: a causal relative, 'a man who considered'. huius … nōn expetīsset?: 'would he not have sought out this man's …?'.

Arch. 10.26Quid?

What?

Arch. 10.26Ā Q. Metellō Piō, familiārissimō suō, quī cīvitāte multōs dōnāvit, neque per sē neque per Lūcullōs impetrāvisset?

Would he not have obtained it from Quintus Metellus Pius, his close friend, who gave citizenship to many, either on his own account or through the Luculli?

Note. Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, consul 80 B.C., who fought Sertorius in Spain and gave citizenship to many there. per Lūcullōs: through the brothers Lucullus, Archias' patrons.

Arch. 10.26Quī praesertim usque eō dē suīs rēbus scrībī cuperet ut etiam Cordubae nātīs poētīs pingue quiddam sonantibus atque peregrīnum tamen aurīs suās dēderet.

Especially as Metellus was so eager to have his deeds written about that he lent his ears even to poets born at Corduba, whose verse sounded rather thick and foreign.

Note. Cordubae: locative, 'at Corduba' in Spain. pingue quiddam sonantibus atque peregrīnum: 'who made a rather fat and foreign sound', i.e. provincial verse. dēderet: 'he would lend', in a result clause after usque eō … ut.