Rosc. Am. 16.1At enim, cum duōs fīliōs habēret, alterum ā sē nōn dīmittēbat, alterum rūrī esse patiēbātur.But, you say, when he had two sons, he would not let the one leave his side, while he allowed the other to be in the country. Rosc. Am. 16.1Quaesō, Erucī, ut hoc in bonam partem accipiās;I ask you, Erucius, to take this in good part; Rosc. Am. 16.1nōn enim exprobrandī causā sed commonendī grātiā dīcam.for I shall say it not by way of reproach but as a reminder. Rosc. Am. 16.46Sī tibi fortūna nōn dedit ut patre certō nāscerēre ex quō intellegere possēs quī animus patrius in līberōs esset, at nātūra certē dedit ut hūmānitātis nōn parum habērēs;If fortune did not grant you to be born of a known father, from whom you could understand what a father's feeling towards his children is, at least nature surely granted you no small share of humanity; Rosc. Am. 16.46eō accessit studium doctrīnae ut nē ā litterīs quidem aliēnus essēs.to this was added a love of learning, so that you are not a stranger even to literature. Rosc. Am. 16.46Ecquid tandem tibi vidētur, ut ad fābulās veniāmus, senex ille Caeciliānus minōris facere Eutychum, fīlium rūsticum, quam illum alterum, Chaerestratum?Does it really seem to you, to turn to the plays, that the old man in Caecilius values Eutychus, his son in the country, any less than the other, Chaerestratus?
Rosc. Am. 16.46— nam, ut opīnor, hōc nōmine est — alterum in urbe sēcum honōris causā habēre, alterum rūs supplicī causā relēgāsse?— for, I believe, that is his name — that he keeps the one with him in the city as an honour, and has banished the other to the country as a punishment? Rosc. Am. 16.47"Quid ad istās ineptiās abīs?"'Why do you stray off to such absurdities?' Rosc. Am. 16.47inquiēs.you will say. Rosc. Am. 16.47Quasi vērō mihi difficile sit quamvīs multōs nōminātim prōferre, nē longius abeam, vel tribulīs vel vīcīnōs meōs quī suōs līberōs quōs plūrimī faciunt agricolās adsiduōs esse cupiunt.As if it were difficult for me to bring forward by name as many as you like, not to go further afield, of either my fellow tribesmen or my neighbours, who want the children they value most highly to be diligent farmers. Rosc. Am. 16.47Vērum hominēs notōs sūmere odiōsum est, cum et illud incertum sit velintne eī sēsē nōminārī, et nēmō vōbīs magis notus futūrus sit quam est hic Eutychus, et certē ad rem nihil intersit utrum hunc ego cōmicum adulēscentem an aliquem ex agrō Vēientī nōminem.But it is invidious to take well-known people, since it is uncertain whether they would wish to be named, and no one will be better known to you than this Eutychus is, and surely it makes no difference to the matter whether I name this young man from comedy or someone from the territory of Veii.
Rosc. Am. 16.47Etenim haec cōnficta arbitror esse ā poētīs ut effictōs nostrōs mōrēs in aliēnīs persōnīs expressamque imāginem vītae cōtīdiānae vidērēmus.For I think these things were invented by the poets so that we might see our own manners portrayed in other characters and a vivid image of everyday life. Rosc. Am. 16.48Age nunc, refer animum sīs ad vēritātem et cōnsīderā nōn modo in Umbriā atque in eā vīcīnitāte sed in hīs veteribus mūnicipiīs quae studia ā patribus familiās maximē laudentur;Come now, turn your mind, if you please, to reality, and consider, not only in Umbria and that neighbourhood but in these old towns, what pursuits are most praised by fathers of families; Rosc. Am. 16.48iam profectō tē intellegēs inopiā crīminum summam laudem Sex. Rosciō vitiō et culpae dedisse.then surely you will realise that, for lack of charges, you have made what is the highest praise of Sextus Roscius into a vice and a fault.