Cael. 17.1Dīcet aliquis: "Haec igitur est tua disciplīna?Someone will say: 'So this is your teaching? Cael. 17.1sīc tū īnstituis adulēscentīs?is this how you train young men? Cael. 17.1ob hanc causam tibi hunc puerum parēns commendāvit et trādidit, ut in amōre atque in voluptātibus adulēscentiam suam conlocāret, et ut hanc tū vītam atque haec studia dēfenderēs?"was it for this reason that his father entrusted this boy to you and handed him over, that he might spend his youth in love affairs and pleasures, and that you might defend this way of life and these pursuits?' Cael. 17.1Ego, sī quis, iūdicēs, hōc rōbore animī atque hāc indole virtūtis ac continentiae fuit ut respueret omnīs voluptātēs omnemque vītae suae cursum in labōre corporis atque in animī contentiōne cōnficeret, quem nōn quiēs, nōn remissiō, nōn aequālium studia, nōn lūdī, nōn convīvium dēlectāret, nihil in vītā expetendum putāret nisi quod esset cum laude et cum dignitāte coniūnctum, hunc meā sententiā dīvīnīs quibusdam bonīs īnstrūctum atque ōrnātum putō.For my part, judges, if anyone has had such strength of mind and such a nature of virtue and self-restraint that he spurned all pleasures and passed the whole course of his life in toil of body and in exertion of mind, a man whom neither rest, nor relaxation, nor the pursuits of his contemporaries, nor games, nor banquets delighted, who thought nothing in life worth seeking except what was joined with praise and with honour, that man, in my opinion, I consider equipped and adorned with blessings that are almost divine.
Cael. 17.1Ex hōc genere illōs fuisse arbitror Camillōs, Fabriciōs, Curiōs, omnīsque eōs quī haec ex minimīs tanta fēcērunt.Of this kind, I believe, were those men like Camillus, Fabricius and Curius, and all those who made these great things out of the very smallest. Cael. 17.40Vērum haec genera virtūtum nōn sōlum in mōribus nostrīs sed vix iam in librīs reperiuntur.But these kinds of virtue are found not only no longer in our way of life but scarcely even in books now. Cael. 17.40Chartae quoque quae illam prīstinam sevēritātem continēbant obsolēvērunt;The pages, too, which contained that old-time strictness have fallen out of use; Cael. 17.40neque sōlum apud nōs quī hanc sectam ratiōnemque vītae rē magis quam verbīs secūtī sumus sed etiam apud Graecōs, doctissimōs hominēs, quibus, cum facere nōn possent, loquī tamen et scrībere honestē et magnificē licēbat, alia quaedam mūtātīs Graeciae temporibus praecepta exstitērunt.and not only among us, who have followed this school and system of life in deed rather than in words, but also among the Greeks, most learned men, who, though they could not act, were still able to speak and write honourably and grandly, certain different precepts arose when the times of Greece had changed.
Cael. 17.41Itaque aliī voluptātis causā omnia sapientēs facere dīxērunt, neque ab hāc ōrātiōnis turpitūdine ērudītī hominēs refūgērunt;And so some said that wise men do everything for the sake of pleasure, and learned men did not shrink from this disgraceful doctrine; Cael. 17.41aliī cum voluptāte dignitātem coniungendam putāvērunt, ut rēs maximē inter sē repugnantīs dīcendī facultāte coniungerent;others thought that honour should be joined with pleasure, so that by their skill in speaking they might join things most opposed to each other; Cael. 17.41illud ūnum dērēctum iter ad laudem cum labōre quī probāvērunt, prope sōlī iam in scholīs sunt relictī.those who approved that one straight road to glory with toil are now left almost alone in their lecture-halls. Cael. 17.41Multa enim nōbīs blandīmenta nātūra ipsa genuit quibus sōpīta virtūs cōnīvēret interdum;For nature herself has produced for us many enticements, by which virtue may at times be lulled to sleep and close its eyes; Cael. 17.41multās viās adulēscentiae lūbricās ostendit quibus illa īnsistere aut ingredī sine cāsū aliquō ac prōlāpsiōne vix posset;she has shown youth many slippery paths, on which it could scarcely stand or walk without some fall or stumble; Cael. 17.41multārum rērum iūcundissimārum varietātem dedit quā nōn modo haec aetās sed etiam iam conrōborāta caperētur.she has given a variety of very many delightful things, by which not only this age but even one already hardened may be captured.
Cael. 17.42Quam ob rem sī quem forte invēneritis quī aspernētur oculīs pulchritūdinem rērum, nōn odōre ūllō, nōn tāctū, nōn sapōre capiātur, exclūdat auribus omnem suāvitātem, huic hominī ego fortasse et paucī deōs propitiōs, plērīque autem īrātōs putābunt.Therefore if you happen to find anyone who scorns with his eyes the beauty of things, who is captured by no scent, no touch, no taste, who shuts out all sweetness from his ears, I perhaps and a few others will think that this man has the gods on his side, but most will think them angry with him.