Rosc. Am. 18.1Nē tū, Erucī, accūsātor essēs rīdiculus, sī illīs temporibus nātus essēs cum ab arātrō arcessēbantur quī cōnsulēs fierent.Truly, Erucius, you would be a ridiculous accuser if you had been born in those times when men were summoned from the plough to be made consuls. Rosc. Am. 18.1Etenim quī praeesse agrō colendō flāgitium putēs, profectō illum Atīlium quem suā manū spargentem sēmen quī missī erant convēnērunt hominem turpissimum atque inhonestissimum iūdicārēs.For since you think it a disgrace to oversee the cultivation of land, you would surely judge that famous Atilius, whom those who had been sent found sowing seed with his own hand, a most base and dishonourable man. Rosc. Am. 18.1At herculē maiōrēs nostrī longē aliter et dē illō et dē cēterīs tālibus virīs exīstimābant itaque ex minimā tenuissimāque rē pūblicā maximam et flōrentissimam nōbīs relīquērunt.But, by Hercules, our ancestors thought very differently both of him and of other such men, and so from a very small and humble state they left us one that is very great and flourishing. Rosc. Am. 18.1Suōs enim agrōs studiōsē colēbant, nōn aliēnōs cupidē appetēbant;For they zealously cultivated their own lands and did not greedily covet those of others; Rosc. Am. 18.1quibus rēbus et agrīs et urbibus et nātiōnibus rem pūblicam atque hoc imperium et populī Rōmānī nōmen auxērunt.and by these means they increased the state, this empire and the name of the Roman people with lands, cities and nations.
Rosc. Am. 18.51Neque ego haec eō prōferō quō cōnferenda sint cum hīsce dē quibus nunc quaerimus, sed ut illud intellegātur, cum apud maiōrēs nostrōs summī virī clārissimīque hominēs quī omnī tempore ad gubernācula reī pūblicae sedēre dēbēbant tamen in agrīs quoque colendīs aliquantum operae temporisque cōnsūmpserint, ignōscī oportēre eī hominī quī sē fateātur esse rūsticum, cum rūrī adsiduus semper vīxerit, cum praesertim nihil esset quod aut patrī grātius aut sibi iūcundius aut rē vērā honestius facere posset.Nor do I bring these things forward to compare them with those we are now inquiring into, but so that this may be understood: that since among our ancestors the greatest and most illustrious men, who ought at all times to have sat at the helm of the state, nevertheless spent a good deal of effort and time on cultivating their fields too, a man ought to be pardoned who admits that he is a countryman, since he has always lived constantly in the country, especially since there was nothing he could do that was more pleasing to his father or more agreeable to himself or in truth more honourable.
Rosc. Am. 18.52Odium igitur ācerrimum patris in fīlium ex hōc, opīnor, ostenditur, Erucī, quod hunc rūrī esse patiēbātur.So the father's bitter hatred for his son is shown, I suppose, Erucius, by the fact that he allowed him to be in the country. Rosc. Am. 18.52Numquid est aliud?Is there anything else? Rosc. Am. 18.52"Immō vērō" inquit "est;'Yes, indeed there is,' he says; Rosc. Am. 18.52nam istum exhērēdāre in animō habēbat."'for he had it in mind to disinherit him.' Rosc. Am. 18.52Audiō;I hear you; Rosc. Am. 18.52nunc dīcis aliquid quod ad rem pertineat;now you are saying something relevant to the matter; Rosc. Am. 18.52nam illa, opīnor, tū quoque concēdis levia esse atque inepta: "Convīvia cum patre nōn inībat."for those other points, I think, you too admit are trivial and silly: 'He did not go to banquets with his father.' Rosc. Am. 18.52Quippe, quī nē in oppidum quidem nisi perrārō venīret.Naturally, since he did not come even into the town except very rarely. Rosc. Am. 18.52"Domum suam istum nōn ferē quisquam vocābat."'Hardly anyone used to invite him to his house.' Rosc. Am. 18.52Nec mīrum, quī neque in urbe vīveret neque revocātūrus esset.No wonder, since he neither lived in the city nor was going to return the invitation.