Pro Murena 10

Military prowess above legal learning

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Mur. 10.1Ac nīmīrum — dīcendum est enim quod sentiō — reī mīlitāris virtūs praestat cēterīs omnibus.And of course — for I must say what I think — the merit of military achievement surpasses all others. Mur. 10.1Haec nōmen populō Rōmānō, haec huic urbī aeternam glōriam peperit, haec orbem terrārum pārēre huic imperiō coēgit;This has won a name for the Roman people, this has won eternal glory for this city, this has compelled the world to obey this empire; Mur. 10.1omnēs urbānae rēs, omnia haec nostra praeclāra studia et haec forēnsis laus et industria latet in tūtēlā ac praesidiō bellicae virtūtis.all the business of the city, all these splendid pursuits of ours, and this fame and industry in the forum, lie hidden under the guardianship and protection of martial prowess. Mur. 10.1Simul atque increpuit suspīciō tumultūs, artēs īlicō nostrae conticīscunt.As soon as the suspicion of an uprising has sounded, our arts at once fall silent. Mur. 10.23Et quoniam mihi vidēris istam scientiam iūris tamquam fīliolam ōsculārī tuam, nōn patiar tē in tantō errōre versārī ut istud nesciō quid quod tantō opere didicistī praeclārum aliquid esse arbitrēre.And since you seem to me to kiss that knowledge of the law as if it were your own little daughter, I shall not let you remain in so great an error as to think that this something-or-other which you have learnt with such effort is anything splendid.

Mur. 10.23Aliīs ego tē virtūtibus, continentiae, gravitātis, iūstitiae, fideī, cēterīs omnibus, cōnsulātū et omnī honōre semper dignissimum iūdicāvī;For other virtues, self-control, gravity, justice, good faith and all the rest, I have always judged you most worthy of the consulship and of every honour; Mur. 10.23quod quidem iūs cīvīle didicistī, nōn dīcam operam perdidistī, sed illud dīcam, nūllam esse in istā disciplīnā mūnītam ad cōnsulātum viam.as for your having learnt civil law, I shall not say you have wasted your effort, but I shall say this: that in that discipline there is no road paved to the consulship. Mur. 10.23Omnēs enim artēs, quae nōbīs populī Rōmānī studia concilient, et admīrābilem dignitātem et pergrātam ūtilitātem dēbent habēre.For all skills which are to win us the goodwill of the Roman people ought to possess both admirable dignity and very welcome usefulness.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, indirect statement ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (99 words)

atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
nīmīrum (adv.)	of course, no doubt, evidently (often ironic)
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
enim, conj.	for
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsus	perceive, feel
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
mīlitāris, -e	military, warlike; rēs mīlitāris, art of war, warfare
virtūs, -tūtis, f.	manliness, courage, bravery
praestō, -stāre, -stitī, -stitus	stand in front; show
cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	the other, the remaining, the rest of
omnis, -e	all, every
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
nōmen, -minis, n.	name (that by which one is known)
populus, -ī m.	people, nation
Rōmānus, -a, -um	Roman
urbs, urbis, f.	city
aeternus, -a, -um	everlasting, eternal
glōria, -ae, f.	glory
pariō, -ere, peperī, partus	bring forth; win, gain
orbis, -is, m.	circle; orbis terrae or terrārum, circle of the earth or lands, earth, world
terra, -ae, f.	land, earth
pāreō, -ēre, -uī	obey
imperium, -ī, n.	command; sway, rule
cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus	drive together, collect; compel
urbānus, -a, -um	of the city (Rome), urban
noster, -tra, -trum	our
praeclārus, -clāra, -clārum	very bright; splendid, remarkable, famous
studium, -ī, n.	eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
forēnsis, -e	of the forum, of public business and the law courts
laus, laudis f.	praise, glory
industria, -ae f.	diligence, hard work
lateō, -ēre, -uī	lie hid, be concealed
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
tūtēla, -ae f.	protection, guardianship, care
praesidium, -ī, n.	protection; guard, escort
bellicus, -a, -um	of war, military
simul, adv.	at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
increpō, -āre, -uī, -itus	make a noise, rattle; rebuke
suspīciō, -ōnis, f.	suspicion
tumultus, -ūs m.	uproar, uprising
ars, artis, f.	art
īlicō (adv.)	on the spot, immediately
conticēscō (conticīscō), -ere, -ticuī	fall silent, become still
quoniam, conj.	since now, since
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
iste, ista, istud, dem. pron.	that of yours, that
scientia, -ae, f.	knowledge, skill
iūs, iūris, n.	right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath
tamquam (adv., conj.)	as, just as; as if
fīliola, -ae f.	little daughter
ōsculor, -ārī, -ātus sum	kiss
tuus, -a, -um	thy, thine, your
nōn, adv.	not
patior, patī, passus, bear	suffer, allow
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
error, -ōris m.	wandering; mistake, error
versor, -ārī, -ātus	keep turning, be busy or employed, be
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
nesciō, -scīre, -scīvī	not know, be ignorant; nesciō quis, I know not who, some one or other (nesciō is thus used with other interrogative words also)
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
opus, operis, n.	work, task
discō, discere, didicī	learn
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.	someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
arbitror, -ārī, -ātus	consider, think, judge
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
continentia, -ae f.	self-restraint, self-control
gravitās, -ātis f.	weight, heaviness; dignity, seriousness
iūstitia, -ae f.	justice, fairness
fidēs, -eī f.	faith, trust; pledge
cōnsulātus, -ūs m.	consulship
honor, -ōris, m.	honor
semper, adv.	always
dignus, -a, -um (+ abl.)	worthy (of), deserving
iūdicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	judge, decide
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
cīvīlis, -e	of citizens; bellum cīvīle: civil war
opera, -ae, f.	effort, work, labor
perdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	destroy, ruin; lose, waste
sed, conj.	but
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
disciplīna, -ae f.	training, discipline
mūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	fortify
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
via, -ae, f.	road, way
nōs	plur. of ego
conciliō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	win over; win, obtain
admīrābilis, -e	wonderful, admirable
dignitās, -ātis f.	rank, standing, prestige
pergrātus, -a, -um	very welcome, very pleasing
ūtilitās, -ātis f.	usefulness, advantage
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	owe; with infin., ought
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider

Cicero, Pro Murena. Latin text: A. C. Clark, M. Tulli Ciceronis Orationes I (Oxford, 1908), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.