Ep. 2.14.1Vērum opīnāris: distringor centumvirālibus causīs, quae mē exercent magis quam dēlectant.You are right: I am kept busy with cases in the Centumviral court, which exercise me more than they delight me. Ep. 2.14.1Sunt enim plēraeque parvae et exīlēs;For most of them are petty and slight; Ep. 2.14.1rārō incidit vel persōnārum clāritāte vel negōtiī magnitūdine īnsignis.rarely does one occur that is notable either for the distinction of the persons or for the importance of the matter. Ep. 2.14.2Ad hoc paucī cum quibus iuvet dīcere;Besides, there are few with whom it is a pleasure to speak; Ep. 2.14.2cēterī audācēs atque etiam magnā ex parte adulēscentulī obscūrī ad dēclāmandum hūc trānsiērunt, tam irreverenter et temerē, ut mihi Atīlius noster expressē dīxisse videātur, sīc in forō puerōs ā centumvirālibus causīs auspicārī, ut ab Homērō in scholīs.the rest are bold, and for the most part obscure youths who have come over here to declaim, so disrespectfully and rashly that my friend Atilius seems to me to have put it exactly when he said that boys make their start in the forum with Centumviral cases, as they do in school with Homer.
Ep. 2.14.2Nam hīc quoque ut illīc prīmum coepit esse quod maximum est.For here too, as there, they have begun with what is greatest. Ep. 2.14.3At herculē ante memoriam meam - ita maiōrēs nātū solent dīcere -, nē nōbilissimīs quidem adulēscentibus locus erat nisi aliquō cōnsulārī prōdūcente: tantā venerātiōne pulcherrimum opus colēbātur.But, by Hercules, before my time – so older men usually say –, not even young men of the noblest birth had a place unless some ex-consul introduced them: with such veneration was this finest of occupations held in honour. Ep. 2.14.4Nunc refrāctīs pudōris et reverentiae claustrīs, omnia patent omnibus, nec indūcuntur sed irrumpunt.Now that the bars of modesty and respect have been broken, everything lies open to everybody, and they are not introduced but burst in. Ep. 2.14.4Sequuntur audītōrēs āctōribus similēs, conductī et redēmptī.Audiences follow them who are like the performers, hired and bought. Ep. 2.14.4Manceps convenītur;A contractor is approached; Ep. 2.14.4in mediā basilicā tam palam sportulae quam in triclīniō dantur;in the middle of the basilica handouts are given as openly as in a dining room; Ep. 2.14.4ex iūdiciō in iūdicium parī mercēde trānsitur.they pass from court to court for the same pay.
Ep. 2.14.5Inde iam nōn inurbānē vocantur īsdem Latīnum nōmen impositum est Laudicēnī, isdem Latinum nomen impositum est Laudiceni;Hence, not without wit, they are called Sophocleses, from sophos, 'bravo', and kaleisthai, 'to be called', and the Latin name Laudiceni, 'Praise-diners', has been given to the same men; Ep. 2.14.6et tamen crēscit in diēs foeditās utrāque linguā notāta.and yet the disgrace branded in both languages grows day by day. Ep. 2.14.6Herī duo nōmenclātōrēs meī - habent sānē aetātem eōrum quī nūper togās sūmpserint - ternīs dēnāriīs ad laudandum trahēbantur.Yesterday two of my name-callers – they are indeed of the age of those who have just put on the toga – were being dragged off to applaud at three denarii each. Ep. 2.14.6Tantī cōnstat ut sīs disertissimus.That is what it costs to be most eloquent. Ep. 2.14.6Hōc pretiō quamlibet numerōsa subsellia implentur, hōc ingēns corōna colligitur, hōc īnfīnītī clamōrēs commoventur, cum mesochorus dedit signum.At this price benches however numerous are filled, at this a huge ring of listeners is gathered, at this endless shouts are raised, when the chorus-leader has given the signal.
Ep. 2.14.7Opus est enim signō apud nōn intellegentēs, nē audientēs quidem;For a signal is needed among men who do not understand, who do not even listen; Ep. 2.14.8nam plērīque nōn audiunt, nec ūllī magis laudant.for most of them do not listen, and none applaud more. Ep. 2.14.8Sī quandō trānsībis per basilicam et volēs scīre, quō modō quisque dīcat, nihil est quod tribūnal ascendās, nihil quod praebeās aurem;If ever you pass through the basilica and want to know how each man is speaking, there is no need to climb onto the tribunal, no need to lend an ear; Ep. 2.14.8facilis dīvīnātiō: scītō eum pessimē dīcere, quī laudābitur maximē.the guessing is easy: know that the man who is most applauded speaks worst. Ep. 2.14.9Prīmus hunc audiendī mōrem indūxit Larcius Licinus, hāctenus tamen ut audītōrēs corrogāret.Larcius Licinus was the first to introduce this way of listening, though only to the extent of rounding up an audience. Ep. 2.14.9Ita certē ex Quīntiliānō praeceptōre meō audīsse mē meminī.So at least I remember hearing from Quintilian, my teacher. Ep. 2.14.10Narrābat ille: "Assectābar Domitium Āfrum.He used to tell this story: 'I was attending Domitius Afer.
Ep. 2.14.10Cum apud centumvirōs dīceret graviter et lentē - hoc enim illī āctiōnis genus erat -, audit ex proximō immodicum īnsolitumque clamōrem.When he was speaking before the Centumviri, weightily and slowly – for this was his style of delivery –, he heard from close by an immoderate and unusual shout. Ep. 2.14.10Admīrātus reticuit;Surprised, he fell silent; Ep. 2.14.10ubi silentium factum est, repetit quod abrūperat.when silence had fallen, he resumed what he had broken off. Ep. 2.14.11Iterum clamor, iterum reticuit, et post silentium coepit.Again a shout, again he fell silent, and after the silence began again. Ep. 2.14.11Idem tertiō.The same a third time. Ep. 2.14.11Novissimē quis dīceret quaesiit.Finally he asked who was speaking. Ep. 2.14.11Respōnsum est: "Licinus."The answer came: "Licinus." Ep. 2.14.11Tum intermissā causā "Centumvirī," inquit, "hoc artificium periit."" Quod aliōquī perīre incipiēbat cum perīsse Afrō vidērētur, nunc vērō prope funditus exstīnctum et ēversum est.Then, breaking off the case, he said: "Centumviri, this art is dead."' And indeed it was in any case beginning to die when it seemed to Afer to have died, but now it is almost utterly extinguished and overthrown.
Ep. 2.14.12Pudet referre quae quam frāctā prōnūntiātiōne dīcantur, quibus quam tenerīs clamōribus excipiantur.I am ashamed to relate what things are said, and with what effeminate delivery, and with what feeble shouts they are received. Ep. 2.14.13Plausus tantum ac potius sōla cymbala et tympana illīs canticīs dēsunt: ululātūs quidem - neque enim aliō vocābulō potest exprimī theātrīs quoque indecōra laudātiō - lārgē supersunt.Only clapping, or rather only cymbals and drums, are missing from those sing-songs: howls, indeed – for by no other word can that praise, unseemly even in theatres, be expressed – are present in plenty. Ep. 2.14.14Nōs tamen adhūc et ūtilitās amīcōrum et ratiō aetātis morātur ac retinet;Still, the interests of my friends and the consideration of my age delay and hold me back for now; Ep. 2.14.14verēmur enim nē forte nōn hās indignitātēs relīquisse, sed labōrem fūgisse videāmur.for I fear that I may perhaps seem not to have left these indignities behind but to have run away from work. Ep. 2.14.14Sumus tamen solitō rāriōrēs, quod initium est gradātim dēsinendī.Yet I appear less often than usual, which is the beginning of ceasing by degrees.
Ep. 2.14.14Valē.Farewell.