Cael. 18.1Ergō haec dēserta via et inculta atque interclūsa iam frondibus et virgultīs relinquātur.So let this road be abandoned, deserted and untended and now blocked with leaves and brushwood. Cael. 18.1Dētur aliquī lūdus aetātī;Let some play be granted to youth; Cael. 18.1sit adulēscentia līberior;let young manhood be freer; Cael. 18.1nōn omnia voluptātibus dēnegentur;let not everything be denied to pleasures; Cael. 18.1nōn semper superet vēra illa et dērēcta ratiō;let not that true and straight reason always prevail; Cael. 18.1vincat aliquandō cupiditās voluptāsque ratiōnem, dum modo illa in hōc genere praescrīptiō moderātiōque teneātur.let desire and pleasure sometimes overcome reason, provided only that this rule and restraint is kept in such matters. Cael. 18.1Parcat iuventūs pudīcitiae suae, nē spoliet aliēnam, nē effundat patrimōnium, nē faenore trucīdētur, nē incurrat in alterīus domum atque familiam, nē probrum castīs, lābem integrīs, īnfāmiam bonīs īnferat, nē quem vī terreat, nē intersit īnsidiīs, scelere careat.Let youth spare its own chastity, let it not despoil another's, let it not squander its inheritance, let it not be butchered by interest, let it not assail another man's house and household, let it not bring disgrace on the chaste, stain on the upright, infamy on the good, let it terrify no one by force, let it take no part in plots, let it keep clear of crime.
Cael. 18.1Postrēmō cum pāruerit voluptātibus, dederit aliquid temporis ad lūdum aetātis atque ad inānīs hāsce adulēscentiae cupiditātēs, revocet sē aliquandō ad cūram reī domesticae, reī forēnsis reīque pūblicae, ut ea quae ratiōne anteā nōn perspexerat satietāte abiēcisse et experiendō contempsisse videātur.Finally, when it has given way to pleasures and devoted some time to the amusements of its age and to these empty desires of youth, let it at some point call itself back to the care of household affairs, of the forum, and of the state, so that what it had not seen through by reason before, it may seem to have cast aside through satiety and to have come to despise through experience. Cael. 18.43Ac multī quidem et nostrā et patrum maiōrumque memoriā, iūdicēs, summī hominēs et clārissimī cīvēs fuērunt quōrum, cum adulēscentiae cupiditātēs dēfervissent, eximiae virtūtēs firmātā iam aetāte exstitērunt.And many indeed, judges, both within our own memory and that of our fathers and ancestors, have been very great men and most distinguished citizens whose outstanding virtues, once the desires of youth had cooled, came to light when their age was now settled.
Cael. 18.43Ex quibus nēminem mihi libet nōmināre;Of these I do not care to name anyone; Cael. 18.43vōsmet vōbīscum recordāminī.call them to mind among yourselves. Cael. 18.43Nōlō enim cuiusquam fortis atque inlūstris virī nē minimum quidem errātum cum maximā laude coniungere.For I do not wish to join even the smallest lapse of any brave and illustrious man with his very great glory. Cael. 18.43Quod sī facere vellem, multī ā mē summī atque ōrnātissimī virī praedicārentur quōrum partim nimia lībertās in adulēscentiā, partim profūsa luxuriēs, magnitūdō aeris aliēnī, sūmptūs, libīdinēs nōminārentur, quae multīs posteā virtūtibus obtēcta adulēscentiae quī vellet excūsātiōne dēfenderet.But if I wished to do so, many very great and highly honoured men would be cited by me, of whom some had excessive licence in their youth, others lavish extravagance, a mass of debt, expenditure and lusts would be named, things which, covered afterwards by many virtues, anyone who wished might defend with the excuse of youth.