Mur. 31.1Hōs ad magistrōs sī qua tē fortūna, Catō, cum istā nātūrā dētulisset, nōn tū quidem vir melior essēs nec fortior nec temperantior nec iūstior — neque enim esse potes — sed paulō ad lēnitātem prōpēnsior.If some chance had brought you, Cato, with that nature of yours, to these teachers, you would not indeed be a better man, nor braver, nor more self-controlled, nor more just — for you cannot be — but somewhat more inclined to mildness. Mur. 31.1Nōn accūsārēs nūllīs adductus inimīcitiīs, nūllā lacessītus iniūriā, pudentissimum hominem summā dignitāte atque honestāte praeditum;You would not be prosecuting, when led by no enmity and provoked by no wrong, a most modest man endowed with the highest standing and honour; Mur. 31.1putārēs, cum in eiusdem annī custōdiā tē atque Mūrēnam fortūna posuisset, aliquō tē cum hōc reī pūblicae vinculō esse coniūnctum;you would think that, since fortune had placed you and Murena on guard over the same year, you were joined with him by some bond of public service; Mur. 31.1quod atrōciter in senātū dīxistī, aut nōn dīxissēs aut, sī potuissēs, mītiōrem in partem interpretārēre.what you said so fiercely in the senate you would either not have said or, if you could, you would put a milder interpretation on it.
Mur. 31.1Ac tē ipsum, quantum ego opīniōne auguror, nunc et animī quōdam impetū concitātum et vī nātūrae atque ingenī ēlātum et recentibus praeceptōrum studiīs flagrantem iam ūsus flectet, diēs lēniet, aetās mītigābit.And you yourself, as far as I can divine by my own judgement, now stirred by a certain impulse of spirit, carried away by the force of your nature and talent and burning with your recent study of those precepts, will be bent by experience, softened by time, mellowed by age. Mur. 31.65Etenim istī ipsī mihi videntur vestrī praeceptōrēs et virtūtis magistrī fīnīs officiōrum paulō longius quam nātūra vellet protulisse ut, cum ad ultimum animō contendissēmus, ibi tamen ubi oportēret cōnsisterēmus.For these very preceptors and masters of virtue of yours seem to me to have extended the limits of duty somewhat further than nature would wish, so that, when we had strained in mind towards the furthest point, we might nonetheless halt where we ought. Mur. 31.65"Nihil ignōverīs."'Pardon nothing.' Mur. 31.65Immō aliquid, nōn omnia.No, rather pardon something, but not everything. Mur. 31.65"Nihil grātiae causā fēcerīs."'Do nothing for the sake of favour.' Mur. 31.65Immō resistitō grātiae, cum officium et fidēs postulābit.No, rather resist favour when duty and good faith demand it.
Mur. 31.65"Misericordiā commōtus nē sīs."'Do not be moved by pity.' Mur. 31.65Etiam, in dissolvendā sevēritāte;Certainly, when it comes to relaxing severity; Mur. 31.65sed tamen est laus aliqua hūmānitātis.but still there is some credit in humanity. Mur. 31.65"In sententiā permanētō."'Stand by your opinion.' Mur. 31.65Vērō, nisi sententiam sententia alia vīcerit melior.Indeed, unless some other, better opinion has overcome that opinion. Mur. 31.66Huiusce modī Scīpiō ille fuit quem nōn paenitēbat facere idem quod tū, habēre ērudītissimum hominem Panaetium domī;Of this kind was the great Scipio, who did not regret doing as you do, to keep a most learned man, Panaetius, in his house; Mur. 31.66cuius ōrātiōne et praeceptīs, quamquam erant eadem ista quae tē dēlectant, tamen asperior nōn est factus sed, ut accēpī ā senibus, lēnissimus.by whose discourse and precepts, although they were the same as those which delight you, he was nevertheless made not harsher but, as I have heard from old men, most gentle. Mur. 31.66Quis vērō Laeliō cōmior fuit, quis iūcundior eōdem ex studiō istō, quis illō gravior, sapientior?Who indeed was more affable than Laelius, who more agreeable, though from that same school of yours, who more weighty, more wise than he?
Mur. 31.66Possum dē Philō, dē Gallō dīcere haec eadem, sed tē domum iam dēdūcam tuam.I could say these same things of Philus and of Gallus, but I shall now take you home to your own house. Mur. 31.66Quemquamne exīstimās Catōne, proavō tuō, commodiōrem, commūniōrem, moderātiōrem fuisse ad omnem ratiōnem hūmānitātis?Do you think anyone was more obliging, more sociable, more moderate in every aspect of humanity than Cato, your great-grandfather? Mur. 31.66Dē cuius praestantī virtūte cum vērē graviterque dīcerēs, domesticum tē habēre dīxistī exemplum ad imitandum.When you were speaking truly and weightily of his outstanding virtue, you said that you had a domestic example to imitate. Mur. 31.66Est illud quidem exemplum tibi prōpositum domī, sed tamen nātūrae similitūdō illīus ad tē magis quī ab illō ortus es quam ad ūnum quemque nostrum pervenīre potuit, ad imitandum vērō tam mihi prōpositum exemplar illud est quam tibi.That example is indeed set before you at home, but still the likeness of his nature could pass down to you, who are descended from him, more than to each of us; as a model to imitate, however, it is set before me just as much as before you.
Mur. 31.66Sed sī illīus cōmitātem et facilitātem tuae gravitātī sevēritātīque asperseris, nōn ista quidem erunt meliōra, quae nunc sunt optima, sed certē condita iūcundius.But if you sprinkle his affability and approachability over your dignity and severity, these qualities of yours will not indeed be better, since they are now the best, but they will certainly be more pleasantly seasoned.