Mur. 15.1Atquī sī dīligenter quid Mithridātēs potuerit et quid effēcerit et quī vir fuerit cōnsīderāris, omnibus quibuscum populus Rōmānus bellum gessit hunc rēgem nīmīrum antepōnēs.And yet if you consider carefully what Mithridates was able to do and what he accomplished and what sort of man he was, you will surely rank this king above all those with whom the Roman people has waged war. Mur. 15.1Quem Sulla maximō et fortissimō exercitū, pugnāx et ācer et nōn rudis imperātor, ut aliud nihil dīcam, cum bellō invectum tōtam in Asiam cum pāce dīmīsit;He was the man whom Sulla, with a very large and very brave army, being himself a combative, keen and by no means inexperienced commander, to say nothing more, let go in peace after he had invaded the whole of Asia in war; Mur. 15.1quem Mūrēna, pater huiusce, vehementissimē vigilantissimēque vexātum repressum magnā ex parte, nōn oppressum relīquit;whom Murena, this man's father, after harrying him most vigorously and watchfully, left largely checked but not crushed; Mur. 15.1quī rēx sibi aliquot annīs sūmptīs ad cōnfirmandās ratiōnēs et cōpiās bellī tantum spē cōnātūque valuit ut sē Oceanum cum Pontō, Sertōrī cōpiās cum suīs coniūnctūrum putāret.a king who, taking some years for himself to strengthen his plans and his resources for war, became so strong in hope and enterprise that he thought he would join the Ocean to the Pontus, and the forces of Sertorius to his own.
Mur. 15.33Ad quod bellum duōbus cōnsulibus ita missīs ut alter Mithridātem persequerētur, alter Bīthȳniam tuērētur, alterīus rēs et terrā et marī calamitōsae vehementer et opēs rēgis et nōmen auxērunt;To this war two consuls were sent, so that one should pursue Mithridates and the other protect Bithynia; the disasters of the latter on land and sea greatly increased both the king's resources and his name; Mur. 15.33Lūcullī vērō rēs tantae exstitērunt ut neque maius bellum commemorārī possit neque maiōre cōnsiliō et virtūte gestum.but the achievements of Lucullus were so great that no greater war could be recalled, nor one waged with greater skill and valour. Mur. 15.33Nam cum tōtīus impetus bellī ad Cyzicēnōrum moenia cōnstitisset eamque urbem sibi Mithridātēs Asiae iānuam fore putāsset quā effrāctā et revolsā tōta patēret prōvincia, perfecta ā Lūcullō haec sunt omnia ut urbs fidēlissimōrum sociōrum dēfenderētur et omnēs cōpiae rēgis diūturnitāte obsessiōnis cōnsūmerentur.For when the whole onslaught of the war had come to rest at the walls of Cyzicus, and Mithridates had thought that city would be for him the gateway to Asia, so that once it was broken open and torn down the whole province would lie open, all this was accomplished by Lucullus: that the city of our most faithful allies was defended and all the king's forces were worn away by the length of the siege.
Mur. 15.33Quid?What? Mur. 15.33illam pugnam nāvālem ad Tenedum, cum contentō cursū ācerrimīs ducibus hostium classis Ītaliam spē atque animīs īnflāta peteret, mediocrī certāmine et parvā dīmicātiōne commissam arbitrāris?that naval battle off Tenedos, when the enemy's fleet, under the keenest commanders, was making for Italy at full speed, swollen with hope and pride, do you think it was fought with a moderate struggle and slight combat? Mur. 15.33Mittō proelia, praetereō oppugnātiōnēs oppidōrum;I pass over the battles, I leave aside the sieges of towns; Mur. 15.33expulsus regnō tandem aliquandō tantum tamen cōnsiliō atque auctōritāte valuit ut sē rēge Armeniōrum adiūnctō novīs opibus cōpiīsque renovārit.driven at last from his kingdom, he still had such strength in counsel and authority that, by allying himself with the king of the Armenians, he renewed himself with fresh resources and forces.