Mur. 14.1Duae sint artēs igitur quae possint locāre hominēs in amplissimō gradū dignitātis, ūna imperātōris, altera ōrātōris bonī.Let there be, then, two skills which can place men in the highest rank of dignity, one that of a general, the other that of a good orator. Mur. 14.1Ab hōc enim pācis ōrnāmenta retinentur, ab illō bellī perīcula repelluntur.For by the latter the ornaments of peace are preserved, by the former the dangers of war are driven back. Mur. 14.1Cēterae tamen virtūtēs ipsae per sē multum valent, iūstitia, fidēs, pudor, temperantia;Still, the other virtues in themselves count for much, justice, good faith, modesty, self-restraint; Mur. 14.1quibus tē, Servī, excellere omnēs intellegunt.and in these, Servius, everyone understands that you excel. Mur. 14.1Sed nunc dē studiīs ad honōrem appositīs, nōn dē īnsitā cuiusque virtūte disputō.But I am now discussing pursuits suited to winning office, not each man's innate virtue. Mur. 14.1Omnia ista nōbīs studia dē manibus excutiuntur, simul atque aliquī mōtus novus bellicum canere coepit.All those pursuits of ours are knocked out of our hands as soon as some new commotion has begun to sound the call to war.
Mur. 14.1Etenim, ut ait ingeniōsus poēta et auctor valdē bonus, "proeliīs prōmulgātīs pellitur ē mediō" nōn sōlum ista vestra verbōsa simulātiō prūdentiae sed etiam ipsa illa domina rērum, "sapientia;Indeed, as a clever poet and a very good authority says, 'when battles are proclaimed, driven from the midst' is not only that verbose pretence of wisdom of yours, but even that mistress of affairs herself, 'wisdom; Mur. 14.1vī geritur rēs, spernitur ōrātor" nōn sōlum odiōsus in dīcendō ac loquāx vērum etiam "bonus;matters are conducted by force, the orator is spurned,' not only the tiresome and talkative one in speaking, but even 'the good one; Mur. 14.1horridus mīles amātur," vestrum vērō studium tōtum iacet.the rough soldier is loved,' while your pursuit lies utterly prostrate. Mur. 14.1"Nōn ex iūre manum cōnsertum, sed magē ferrō" inquit "rem repetunt."'Not by joining hands in lawful contest, but rather with the sword,' he says, 'they seek redress.' Mur. 14.1Quod sī ita est, cēdat, opīnor, Sulpicī, forum castrīs, ōtium mīlitiae, stilus gladiō, umbra sōlī;But if this is so, let the forum, I think, Sulpicius, give way to the camp, leisure to military service, the pen to the sword, the shade to the sun; Mur. 14.1sit dēnique in cīvitāte ea prīma rēs propter quam ipsa est cīvitās omnium prīnceps.let that, in short, be first in the state on account of which the state itself is the first of all.
Mur. 14.31Vērum haec Catō nimium nōs nostrīs verbīs magna facere dēmōnstrat et oblītōs esse bellum illud omne Mithridāticum cum mulierculīs esse gestum.But Cato argues that we make these things too great with our words, and that we have forgotten that the whole of that Mithridatic war was waged against mere women. Mur. 14.31Quod ego longē secus exīstimō, iūdicēs;I think far otherwise, judges; Mur. 14.31dēque eō pauca disseram;and on this point I shall say a few words; Mur. 14.31neque enim causa in hōc continētur.for the case does not rest on it. Mur. 14.31Nam sī omnia bella quae cum Graecīs gessimus contemnenda sunt, dērīdeātur dē rēge Pyrrhō triumphus Curī, dē Philippō Flāminīnī, dē Aetōlīs Fulvī, dē rēge Persē Paulī, dē Pseudophilippō Metellī, dē Corinthiīs Mummī.For if all the wars we have waged with the Greeks are to be despised, then let ridicule be poured on the triumph of Curius over King Pyrrhus, of Flamininus over Philip, of Fulvius over the Aetolians, of Paulus over King Perses, of Metellus over the false Philip, of Mummius over the Corinthians. Mur. 14.31Sīn haec bella gravissima victōriaeque eōrum bellōrum grātissimae fuērunt, cūr Asiāticae nātiōnēs atque ille ā tē hostis contemnitur?But if these wars were most serious and the victories in them most welcome, why are the Asiatic nations and that enemy despised by you?
Mur. 14.31Atquī ex veterum rērum monumentīs vel maximum bellum populum Rōmānum cum Antiochō gessisse videō;And yet from the records of past events I see that the Roman people waged perhaps its greatest war with Antiochus; Mur. 14.31cuius bellī victor Scīpiō aequā partā cum P. frātre glōriā, quam laudem ille Āfricā oppressā cognōmine ipsō prae sē ferēbat, eandem hic sibi ex Asiae nōmine adsūmpsit.the victor in that war, Scipio, having won glory equal to that of his brother Publius, took for himself from the name of Asia the same distinction which his brother displayed in his very surname after crushing Africa. Mur. 14.32Quō quidem in bellō virtūs ēnituit ēgregia Catōnis, proavī tuī;In that war indeed the outstanding valour of Cato, your great-grandfather, shone forth; Mur. 14.32quō ille, cum esset, ut ego mihi statuō, tālis quālem tē esse videō, numquam cum Scīpiōne esset profectus, sī cum mulierculīs bellandum arbitrārētur.and he, since he was, as I judge, such a man as I see you to be, would never have set out with Scipio, if he had thought that war was to be waged with mere women. Mur. 14.32Neque vērō cum Āfricānō senātus ēgisset ut lēgātus frātrī proficīscerētur, cum ipse paulō ante Hannibale ex Ītaliā expulsō, ex Āfricā ēiectō, Carthāgine oppressā maximīs perīculīs rem pūblicam līberāsset, nisi illud grave bellum et vehemēns putārētur.Nor would the senate have prevailed on Africanus to go out as legate to his brother, when he himself shortly before, having driven Hannibal out of Italy, expelled him from Africa and crushed Carthage, had freed the state from the greatest dangers, unless that war were thought serious and fierce.