Alc. 11.1Hunc īnfāmātum ā plērīsque trēs gravissimī historicī summīs laudibus extulērunt: Thūcȳdidēs, quī eiusdem aetātis fuit, Theopompus, post aliquantō nātus, et Timaeus: quī quidem duo maledīcentissimī nesciō quō modō in illō ūnō laudandō cōnsentiunt.Though he was defamed by most, three very weighty historians have extolled him with the highest praise: Thucydides, who was of his own time, Theopompus, born somewhat later, and Timaeus; and these two, most abusive as they are, somehow agree in praising him alone. Alc. 11.2Namque ea, quae suprā scrīpsimus, dē eō praedicārunt atque hoc amplius: cum Athēnīs, splendidissimā cīvitāte, nātus esset, omnēs splendōre ac dignitāte superāsse vītae;For they told of him what we have written above, and more besides: that, though born at Athens, a most splendid state, he surpassed everyone in the splendour and dignity of his life; Alc. 11.3postquam inde expulsus Thēbās vēnerit, adeō studiīs eōrum īnservīsse, ut nēmō eum labōre corporisque vīribus posset aequiperāre (omnēs enim Boeōtī magis firmitātī corporis quam ingeniī acūminī serviunt);that after he had been driven out from there and come to Thebes, he devoted himself to their pursuits so thoroughly that no one could equal him in toil and bodily strength (for all Boeotians pay more attention to strength of body than to sharpness of mind); Alc. 11.4eundem apud Lacedaemoniōs, quōrum mōribus summa virtūs in patientiā pōnēbātur, sīc dūritiae sē dedisse, ut parsimōniā vīctūs atque cultūs omnēs Lacedaemoniōs vinceret;that among the Spartans, by whose customs the highest virtue was placed in endurance, he gave himself up to hardship so thoroughly that he outdid all the Spartans in the frugality of his food and dress; Alc. 11.4fuisse apud Thraecas, hominēs vīnolentōs rēbusque veneriīs dēditōs: hōs quoque in hīs rēbus antecessisse;that he lived among the Thracians, men given to drink and to the pleasures of love: these too he surpassed in such things; Alc. 11.5vēnisse ad Persās, apud quōs summa laus esset fortiter vēnārī, luxuriōsē vīvere: hōrum sīc imitātum cōnsuētūdinem, ut illī ipsī eum in hīs maximē admīrārentur.that he came to the Persians, among whom the highest praise was to hunt bravely and live luxuriously: he so imitated their way of life that they themselves admired him above all in these things.
Alc. 11.6Quibus rēbus effēcisse ut, apud quōscumque esset, prīnceps pōnerētur habērēturque cārissimus.By these means he brought it about that, among whatever people he was, he was ranked first and held most dear. Alc. 11.6Sed satis dē hōc: reliquōs ordiāmur.But enough of him: let us begin on the rest.