Pro Archia 12

Arch. 12.1An vērō tam parvī animī videāmur esse omnēs quī in rē pūblicā atque in hīs vītae perīculīs labōribusque versāmur ut, cum usque ad extrēmum spatium nūllum tranquillum atque ōtiōsum spīritum dūxerīmus, nōbīscum simul moritūra omnia arbitrēmur?

Or are we all who are engaged in public life and in these dangers and labours to seem so small of soul that, when we have not drawn a single quiet and peaceful breath right up to the very end, we should think that everything will die with us?

Note. An … videāmur …?: 'Or are we to seem …?'. parvī animī: genitive of description. moritūra (esse): future infinitive in indirect statement, 'that all things will die with us'.

Arch. 12.1An statuās et imāginēs, nōn animōrum simulācra, sed corporum, studiōsē multī summī hominēs relīquērunt;

Have many great men taken pains to leave statues and portraits, likenesses not of their minds but of their bodies,

Note. statuās et imāginēs: statues and wax portrait masks of ancestors, displayed in Roman houses.

Arch. 12.1cōnsiliōrum relinquere ac virtūtum nostrārum effigiem nōnne multō mālle dēbēmus summīs ingeniīs expressam et polītam?

and ought we not much rather to want to leave an image of our plans and virtues, shaped and polished by the greatest talents?

Note. multō mālle: 'much rather prefer'. expressam et polītam: words from sculpture, 'modelled and polished', applied to literature.

Arch. 12.1Ego vērō omnia quae gerēbam iam tum in gerendō spargere mē ac dissēmināre arbitrābar in orbis terrae memoriam sempiternam.

For my part, even as I was doing all the things I did, I thought that in the very act I was scattering and sowing them into the everlasting memory of the world.

Note. in gerendō: 'in the very doing'. spargere … ac dissēmināre: a farming metaphor, 'scatter and sow'.

Arch. 12.1Haec vērō sīve ā meō sēnsū post mortem āfutūra est, sīve, ut sapientissimī hominēs putāvērunt, ad aliquam animī meī partem pertinēbit, nunc quidem certē cōgitātiōne quādam spēque dēlector.

And whether this memory will be absent from my awareness after death, or whether, as the wisest men have thought, it will reach some part of my soul, at any rate I take delight in the thought and hope of it now.

Note. Cicero leaves open whether the soul survives death (as 'the wisest men', Plato and others, thought). āfutūra est: future participle of absum with est, 'will be absent'. sīve … sīve: 'whether … or'.

Arch. 12.31Quā rē cōnservāte, iūdicēs, hominem pudōre eō quem amīcōrum vidētis comprobārī cum dignitāte, tum etiam vetustāte, ingeniō autem tantō quantum id convenit exīstimārī, quod summōrum hominum iūdiciīs expetītum esse videātis, causā vērō eius modī quae beneficiō lēgis, auctōritāte mūnicipī, testimōniō Lūcullī, tabulīs Metellī comprobētur.

So, gentlemen of the jury, save a man of such modesty as you see vouched for both by the standing and by the long friendship of his friends, of such talent as it is right to think it, since you see it sought after by the judgement of the greatest men, and with a case of the kind that is supported by the benefit of the law, the authority of his town, the testimony of Lucullus and the records of Metellus.

Note. The peroration (closing appeal). Three ablatives of description sum up the case: pudōre eō … ingeniō tantō … causā eius modī. tabulīs Metellī: the census lists of the praetor Q. Metellus Pius, in which Archias was registered. mūnicipī: of Heraclea.

Arch. 12.31Quae cum ita sint, petimus ā vōbīs, iūdicēs, sī qua nōn modo hūmāna vērum etiam dīvīna in tantīs ingeniīs commendātiō dēbet esse, ut eum quī vōs, quī vestrōs imperātōrēs, quī populī Rōmānī rēs gestās semper ōrnāvit, quī etiam hīs recentibus nostrīs vestrīsque domesticīs perīculīs aeternum sē testimōnium laudis datūrum esse profitētur, quīque est ex eō numerō quī semper apud omnīs sānctī sunt habitī itaque dictī, sīc in vestram accipiātis fidem ut hūmānitāte vestrā levātus potius quam acerbitāte violātus esse videātur.

Since this is so, we ask you, gentlemen of the jury, if in such talents there ought to be any recommendation, not only human but divine, to receive into your protection a man who has always honoured you, your generals and the deeds of the Roman people, who even promises to give an everlasting testimony of praise to these recent dangers of ours and yours at home, and who is of that number who have always been held holy by all people and so called, in such a way that he may seem to have been relieved by your kindness rather than injured by your harshness.

Note. One long period: petimus … ut … accipiātis … ut … videātur. quīque est ex eō numerō: 'and who is of that number', i.e. poets, called holy (sānctī) as Ennius said. levātus … violātus: 'relieved … injured'.

Arch. 12.32Quae dē causā prō meā cōnsuētūdine breviter simpliciterque dīxī, iūdicēs, ea cōnfīdō probāta esse omnibus;

What I have said about the case, briefly and simply as is my custom, gentlemen of the jury, I trust has won the approval of all;

Note. Cicero closes with a modest summary. prō meā cōnsuētūdine: 'as is my custom'. probāta esse: perfect passive infinitive.

Arch. 12.32quae ā forō aliēna iūdiciālīque cōnsuētūdine et dē hominis ingeniō et commūniter dē ipsō studiō locūtus sum, ea, iūdicēs, ā vōbīs spērō esse in bonam partem accepta, ab eō quī iūdicium exercet certō sciō.

what I have said that departs from the forum and from the custom of the courts, both about the man's talent and about the study itself in general, I hope you have taken in good part, gentlemen of the jury; I know for certain that the man presiding over the court has.

Note. ab eō quī iūdicium exercet: the presiding praetor, probably Cicero's brother Quintus. certō sciō: 'I know for sure'. The speech won: Archias kept his citizenship.