Ep. 9.19.1Significās lēgisse tē in quādam epistulā meā iussisse Verginium Rūfum īnscrībī sepulcrō suō: Hīc situs est Rūfus, pulsō quī Vindice quondam imperium asseruit nōn sibi sed patriae.You indicate that you read in one of my letters that Verginius Rufus ordered this to be inscribed on his tomb: 'Here lies Rufus, who once, when Vindex was routed, claimed the empire not for himself but for his country.' Ep. 9.19.1Reprehendis quod iusserit, addis etiam melius rēctiusque Frontīnum, quod vetuerit omnīnō monumentum sibi fierī, mēque ad extrēmum quid dē utrōque sentiam cōnsulis.You criticise him for ordering it, and add that Frontinus acted better and more rightly in forbidding any monument at all to be made for him, and finally you ask me what I think about each. Ep. 9.19.2Utrumque dīlēxī, mīrātus sum magis quem tū reprehendis, atque ita mīrātus ut nōn putārem satis umquam posse laudārī, cuius nunc mihi subeunda dēfēnsiō est.I loved them both, but admired more the one you criticise, and admired him so much that I did not think he could ever be praised enough — the man whose defence I must now undertake.
Ep. 9.19.3Omnēs ego quī magnum aliquid memorandumque fēcērunt, nōn modo veniā vērum etiam laude dignissimōs iūdicō, sī immortālitātem quam meruēre sectantur, vīctūrīque nōminis fāmam suprēmīs etiam titulīs prōrogāre nītuntur.All those who have done something great and memorable I judge most worthy not merely of pardon but even of praise, if they pursue the immortality they have earned, and strive to prolong the fame of a name that will live on even through their epitaphs. Ep. 9.19.4Nec facile quemquam nisi Verginium inveniō, cuius tanta in praedicandō verēcundia quanta glōria ex factō.Nor do I easily find anyone except Verginius whose modesty in speaking of his deed was as great as the glory he won from it. Ep. 9.19.5Ipse sum testis, familiāriter ab eō dīlēctus probātusque, semel omnīnō mē audiente prōvectum, ut dē rēbus suīs hoc ūnum referret, ita sēcum aliquandō Cluvium locūtum: "Scīs, Verginī, quae historiae fidēs dēbeātur;I myself am a witness — for he loved and approved of me as an intimate — that only once in my hearing did he go so far as to relate this one thing about his own achievements: that Cluvius had once spoken to him thus: 'You know, Verginius, what faithfulness is owed to history; Ep. 9.19.5proinde sī quid in historiīs meīs legis aliter ac velīs rogō ignōscās."so if you read anything in my histories other than you would wish, I beg you to forgive me.' Ep. 9.19.5Ad hoc ille: "Tūne ignōrās, Cluvī, ideō mē fēcisse quod fēcī, ut esset līberum vōbīs scrībere quae libuīsset?"To this he replied: 'Do you not know, Cluvius, that I did what I did precisely so that you should all be free to write what you pleased?' Ep. 9.19.6Age dum, hunc ipsum Frontīnum in hōc ipsō, in quō tibi parcior vidētur et pressior, comparēmus.Come now, let us compare this very Frontinus in this very matter in which he seems to you more sparing and restrained.
Ep. 9.19.6Vetuit exstruī monumentum, sed quibus verbīs?He forbade a monument to be built, but in what words? Ep. 9.19.6"Impēnsa monumentī supervacua est;'The expense of a monument is superfluous; Ep. 9.19.6memoria nostrī dūrābit, sī vītā meruimus."my memory will endure if my life has deserved it.' Ep. 9.19.6An restrictius arbitrāris per orbem terrārum legendum dare dūrātūram memoriam suam quam ūnō in locō duōbus versiculīs signāre quod fēcerīs?Or do you think it more restrained to give out for the whole world to read that one's memory will endure than to record in one place, in two short lines, what one has done? Ep. 9.19.7Quamquam nōn habeō prōpositum illum reprehendendī, sed hunc tuendī;However, my purpose is not to criticise him but to defend the other; Ep. 9.19.7cuius quae potest apud tē iūstior esse dēfēnsiō, quam ex collātiōne eius quem praetulistī?and what defence of him can be more just in your eyes than one drawn from comparison with the man you preferred? Ep. 9.19.8Meō quidem iūdiciō neuter culpandus, quōrum uterque ad glōriam parī cupiditāte, dīversō itinere contendit, alter dum expetit dēbitōs titulōs, alter dum māvult vidērī contempsisse.In my judgement, at any rate, neither is to be blamed, since both strove for glory with equal desire but by different roads, the one by seeking the inscription that was his due, the other by preferring to seem to have despised it.
Ep. 9.19.8Valē.Farewell.