Iug. 95.1Cēterum, dum ea rēs geritur, L. Sulla quaestor cum magnō equitātū in castra vēnit, quōs utī ex Latiō et ā sociīs cōgeret, Rōmae relictus erat.Meanwhile, while this was going on, the quaestor Lucius Sulla came into the camp with a large body of cavalry, which he had been left behind at Rome to raise from Latium and the allies. Iug. 95.2Sed quoniam nōs tantī virī rēs admonuit, idōneum vīsum est dē nātūrā cultūque eius paucīs dīcere.But since the matter has reminded us of so great a man, it has seemed fitting to speak in a few words of his character and way of life. Iug. 95.2Neque enim aliō locō dē Sullae rēbus dictūrī sumus et L. Sisenna, optume et dīligentissumē omnium, quī eās rēs dīxēre, persecūtus, parum mihi līberō ōre locūtus vidētur.For we shall not speak of Sulla's affairs in any other place, and Lucius Sisenna, who treated them best and most carefully of all who have written of them, seems to me to have spoken with too little freedom. Iug. 95.3Igitur Sulla gentis patriciae nōbilis fuit, familiā prope iam extīnctā maiōrum ignāviā, litterīs Graecīs atque Latīnīs iūxtā ērudītus, animō ingentī, cupidus voluptātum sed glōriae cupidior;Sulla, then, was a noble of patrician family, of a house by then almost extinct through the indolence of his forebears, learned in Greek and Latin letters alike, of great spirit, eager for pleasures but more eager for glory; Iug. 95.3ōtiō luxuriōsō esse, tamen ab negōtiīs numquam voluptās remorāta, nisi quod dē uxōre potuit honestius cōnsulī;he lived in luxurious leisure, yet pleasure never kept him from business, except that he could have acted more honourably in regard to his wife; Iug. 95.3fācundus, callidus et amīcitiā facilis, ad simulanda negōtia altitūdō ingenī incrēdibilis, multārum rērum ac māxumē pecūniae largītor.he was eloquent, shrewd and ready in friendship, of incredible depth of mind in disguising his intentions, and lavish with many things, above all with money.
Iug. 95.4Atque illī fēlīcissumō omnium ante cīvīlem victōriam numquam super industriam fortūna fuit, multīque dubitāvēre, fortior an fēlīcior esset.And though he was the most fortunate of all men before his victory in the civil war, his fortune was never greater than his industry, and many have doubted whether he was braver or luckier. Iug. 95.4Nam posteā quae fēcerit, incertum habeō pudeat an pigeat magis disserere.For as to what he did afterwards, I am uncertain whether it would cause me more shame or more distaste to discuss it.