Mur. 29.1Ego tuum cōnsilium, Catō, propter singulāre animī meī dē tuā virtūte iūdicium vituperāre nōn possum;I cannot find fault with your purpose, Cato, because of the singular opinion I hold of your virtue; Mur. 29.1nōn nūlla forsitan cōnfōrmāre et leviter ēmendāre possim.some things perhaps I could reshape and slightly correct. Mur. 29.1"Nōn multa peccās," inquit ille fortissimō virō senior magister, "sed peccās;'You do not err much,' said that elderly tutor to a most brave man, 'but you do err; Mur. 29.1tē regere possum."I can guide you.' Mur. 29.1At ego nōn tē;But I cannot guide you; Mur. 29.1vērissimē dīxerim peccāre tē nihil neque ūllā in rē tē esse huius modī ut corrigendus potius quam leviter īnflectendus esse videāre.I would say with complete truth that you do not err at all, and that in no matter are you such that you seem to need correcting rather than gentle bending. Mur. 29.1Finxit enim tē ipsa nātūra ad honestātem, gravitātem, temperantiam, magnitūdinem animī, iūstitiam, ad omnīs dēnique virtūtēs magnum hominem et excelsum.For nature herself has fashioned you a great and lofty man for honour, dignity, self-control, greatness of mind, justice, in short for all the virtues.
Mur. 29.1Accessit istūc doctrīna nōn moderāta nec mītis sed, ut mihi vidētur, paulō asperior et dūrior quam aut vēritās aut nātūra patitur.To this was added a doctrine that is neither moderate nor mild but, as it seems to me, somewhat harsher and sterner than either truth or nature allows. Mur. 29.61Et quoniam nōn est nōbīs haec ōrātiō habenda aut in imperītā multitūdine aut in aliquō conventū agrestium, audācius paulō dē studiīs hūmānitātis quae et mihi et vōbīs nota et iūcunda sunt disputābō.And since this speech is not to be made before an ignorant multitude or some gathering of rustics, I shall discuss somewhat boldly those liberal studies which are both familiar and pleasant to you and to me. Mur. 29.61In Catōne, iūdicēs, haec bona quae vidēmus dīvīna et ēgregia ipsīus scītōte esse propria;In Cato, judges, know that these divine and excellent qualities which we see are his very own; Mur. 29.61quae nōn numquam requīrimus, ea sunt omnia nōn ā nātūrā vērum ā magistrō.the things we sometimes find lacking all come not from nature but from his teacher. Mur. 29.61Fuit enim quīdam summō ingeniō vir, Zēnō, cuius inventōrum aemulī Stōicī nōminantur.For there was a man of the highest genius, Zeno, the followers of whose doctrines are called Stoics.
Mur. 29.61Huius sententiae sunt et praecepta eius modī.His opinions and precepts are of this kind. Mur. 29.61Sapientem grātiā numquam movērī, numquam cuiusquam dēlictō ignōscere;That the wise man is never moved by favour and never pardons anyone's fault; Mur. 29.61nēminem misericordem esse nisi stultum et levem;that no one is compassionate except a fool and a shallow man; Mur. 29.61virī nōn esse neque exōrārī neque plācārī;that it is not a man's part to be won over by entreaty or appeased; Mur. 29.61sōlōs sapientēs esse, sī distortissimī sint, fōrmōsōs, sī mendīcissimī, dīvitēs, sī servitūtem serviant, rēgēs;that the wise alone, though they be most misshapen, are handsome; though most beggarly, rich; though they be in slavery, kings; Mur. 29.61nōs autem quī sapientēs nōn sumus fugitīvōs, exsulēs, hostīs, īnsānōs dēnique esse dīcunt;while we who are not wise they call runaway slaves, exiles, enemies, in short madmen; Mur. 29.61omnia peccāta esse paria;that all faults are equal; Mur. 29.61omne dēlictum scelus esse nefārium, nec minus dēlinquere eum quī gallum gallīnāceum, cum opus nōn fuerit, quam eum quī patrem suffōcāverit;that every offence is an abominable crime, and that the man who has strangled a cockerel, when there was no need, does no less wrong than the man who has strangled his father; Mur. 29.61sapientem nihil opīnārī, nūllīus reī paenitēre, nūllā in rē fallī, sententiam mūtāre numquam.that the wise man never conjectures, regrets nothing, is deceived in nothing, never changes his opinion.