Clem. 1.21.1Ultiō duās praestāre rēs solet : aut sōlācium adfert eī, quī accēpit iniūriam, aut in reliquum sēcūritātem.Vengeance usually achieves one of two things: either it brings solace to the one who has received the injury, or security for the future. Clem. 1.21.1Prīncipis maior est fortūna, quam ut sōlāciō egeat, manifestiorque vīs, quam ut aliēnō malō opīniōnem sibi vīrium quaerat.A prince's fortune is too great to need solace, and his power too evident to seek a reputation for strength through another's harm. Clem. 1.21.1Hoc dīcō, cum ab īnferiōribus petītus violātusque est ;I say this when he has been attacked and violated by inferiors; Clem. 1.21.1nam sī, quōs parēs aliquandō habuit, īnfrā sē videt, satis vindicātus est.for if he sees beneath him those whom he once had as equals, he is avenged enough. Clem. 1.21.1Rēgem et servus occīdit et serpēns et sagitta ;A slave has killed a king, and a serpent, and an arrow; Clem. 1.21.1servāvit quidem nēmō nisi maior eō, quem servābat.but no one has ever saved one except a man greater than the one he saved. Clem. 1.21.2Ūtī itaque animōsē dēbet tantō mūnere deōrum dandī auferendīque vītam potēns.So one who has power to give and take away life ought to use so great a gift of the gods in a lofty spirit.
Clem. 1.21.2In iīs praesertim, quōs scit aliquandō sibi pār fastīgium obtinuisse, hoc arbitrium adeptus ultiōnem implēvit perfēcitque, quantum vērae poenae satis erat ;Especially in the case of those whom he knows to have once held a pinnacle equal to his own, once he has gained this power over them he has fulfilled and completed his vengeance, as far as was enough for true punishment; Clem. 1.21.2perdidit enim vītam, quī dēbet, et, quisquis ex altō ad inimīcī pedēs abiectus aliēnam dē capite regnōque sententiam expectāvit, in servātōris suī glōriam vīvit plūsque eius nōminī cōnfert incolumis, quam sī ex oculīs ablātus esset.for he has lost his life who owes it, and whoever, cast down from on high at his enemy's feet, has awaited another's sentence on his life and throne lives on to the glory of his preserver, and contributes more to his name by being unharmed than if he had been removed from sight. Clem. 1.21.2Adsiduum enim spectāculum aliēnae virtūtis est ;For he is a lasting spectacle of another's virtue; Clem. 1.21.2in triumphō citō trānsīsset.in a triumph he would quickly have passed by.
Clem. 1.21.3Sī vērō regnum quoque suum tūtō relinquī apud eum potuit repōnīque eō, unde dēciderat, ingentī incrēmentō surgit laus eius, quī contentus fuit ex rēge victō nihil praeter glōriam sūmere.But if his kingdom too could safely be left with him and he be restored to the place from which he had fallen, the praise of the man who was content to take nothing from a conquered king but glory rises with a vast increase. Clem. 1.21.3Hoc est etiam ex victōriā suā triumphāre testārīque nihil sē, quod dignum esset victōre, apud victōs invēnisse.This is to triumph even over one's own victory, and to bear witness that one has found nothing among the conquered worthy of the conqueror. Clem. 1.21.4Cum cīvibus et ignōtīs atque humilibus eō moderātius agendum est, quō minōris est adflīxisse eōs.With citizens, and with the unknown and humble, one must act with all the more moderation, the less it counts to have crushed them. Clem. 1.21.4Quibusdam libenter parcās, ā quibusdam tē vindicāre fastīdiās et nōn aliter quam ab animālibus parvīs sed obterentem inquinantibus redūcenda manus est;Some you may gladly spare; from others you may disdain to avenge yourself, and the hand must be drawn back just as from small creatures that soil the one who crushes them; Clem. 1.21.4at in iīs, quī in ōre cīvitātis servātī pūnītīque erunt, occāsiōne notae clēmentiae ūtendum est.but in the case of those who will be spared or punished before the eyes of the state, the opportunity for a conspicuous clemency must be used.