Mur. 13.1Itaque, ut dīxī, dignitās in istā scientia cōnsulāris numquam fuit, quae tōta ex rēbus fictīs commentīciīsque cōnstāret, grātiae vērō multō etiam minus.So, as I said, there was never any consular dignity in that science of yours, which consisted wholly of things fictitious and invented, and still less any power to win favour. Mur. 13.1Quod enim omnibus patet et aequē promptum est mihi et adversāriō meō, id esse grātum nūllō pactō potest.For what is open to everyone, and equally available to me and to my opponent, can in no way earn gratitude. Mur. 13.1Itaque nōn modo beneficī conlocandī spem sed etiam illud quod aliquamdiū fuit "Licet cōnsulere?"So you have lost not only the hope of conferring a favour, but even that which for some time existed, 'May I consult you?' Mur. 13.1iam perdidistis.— you have lost it already. Mur. 13.1Sapiēns exīstimārī nēmō potest in eā prūdentiā quae neque extrā Rōmam usquam neque Rōmae rēbus prōlātīs quicquam valet.No one can be thought wise in that knowledge which is worth nothing anywhere outside Rome, nor at Rome when the courts are adjourned. Mur. 13.1Perītus ideō habērī nēmō potest quod in eō quod sciunt omnēs nūllō modō possunt inter sē discrepāre.No one can be considered expert in it, because in what everyone knows they can in no way differ from one another.
Mur. 13.1Difficilis autem rēs ideō nōn putātur quod et perpaucīs et minimē obscūrīs litterīs continētur.Nor is the matter thought difficult, because it is contained in very few and by no means obscure documents. Mur. 13.1Itaque sī mihi, hominī vehementer occupātō, stomachum mōveritis, trīduō mē iūris cōnsultum esse profitēbor.So if you provoke my temper, busy man as I am, in three days I shall declare myself a jurisconsult. Mur. 13.1Etenim quae dē scrīptō aguntur, scrīpta sunt omnia, neque tamen quicquam tam angustē scrīptum est quō ego nōn possim "quā dē rē agitur" addere;Indeed, for matters dealt with in writing, everything is already written down, and yet nothing is written so narrowly that I cannot add 'in the matter in question'; Mur. 13.1quae cōnsuluntur autem, minimō perīculō respondentur.while questions on which you are consulted are answered at very little risk. Mur. 13.1Sī id quod oportet responderīs, idem videāre respondisse quod Servius;If you give the proper answer, you will seem to have given the same answer as Servius; Mur. 13.1sīn aliter, etiam contrōversum iūs nōsse et trāctāre videāre.if otherwise, you will seem to know and handle disputed law as well.
Mur. 13.29Quāpropter nōn sōlum illa glōria mīlitāris vestrīs fōrmulīs atque āctiōnibus antepōnenda est vērum etiam dīcendī cōnsuētūdō longē et multum istī vestrae exercitātiōnī ad honōrem antecellit.Therefore not only is that military glory to be preferred to your formulas and actions, but also the practice of speaking far and greatly surpasses that exercise of yours in winning office. Mur. 13.29Itaque mihi videntur plērīque initiō multō hoc māluisse, post, cum id adsequī nōn potuissent, istūc potissimum sunt dēlapsī.So it seems to me that most men at first much preferred this, and afterwards, when they had been unable to achieve it, slipped down to that in particular. Mur. 13.29Vt aiunt in Graecīs artificibus eōs aulōedōs esse quī citharoedī fierī nōn potuerint, sīc nōs vidēmus, quī ōrātōrēs ēvādere nōn potuerint, eōs ad iūris studium dēvenīre.Just as they say that among Greek performers those become singers to the pipe who could not become singers to the lyre, so we see that those who could not turn out orators end up in the study of law. Mur. 13.29Magnus dīcendī labor, magna rēs, magna dignitās, summa autem grātia.Great is the labour of speaking, great the task, great the dignity, and the influence it brings is the highest.
Mur. 13.29Etenim ā vōbīs salūbritās quaedam, ab eīs quī dīcunt salūs ipsa petitur.Indeed, from you people seek a sort of soundness, from those who speak they seek salvation itself. Mur. 13.29Deinde vestra respōnsa atque dēcrēta et ēvertuntur saepe dīcendō et sine dēfēnsiōne ōrātiōnis firma esse nōn possunt.Then too, your opinions and rulings are often overturned by speaking, and cannot stand firm without the defence of oratory. Mur. 13.29In quā sī satis prōfēcissem, parcius dē eius laude dīcerem;If I had made sufficient progress in it, I would speak more sparingly in its praise; Mur. 13.29nunc nihil dē mē dīcō, sed dē eīs quī in dīcendō magnī sunt aut fuērunt.as it is, I say nothing about myself, but about those who are or have been great in speaking.