Clem. 1.25.1Crūdēlitās minimē hūmānum malum est indignumque tam mītī animō ;Cruelty is the least human of evils and unworthy of so gentle a mind; Clem. 1.25.1ferīna ista rabiēs est sanguine gaudēre ac vulneribus et abiectō homine in silvestre animal trānsīre.it is the madness of a beast to delight in blood and wounds and, casting off humanity, to change into a creature of the woods. Clem. 1.25.1Quid enim interest, ōrō tē, Alexander, leōnī Lysimachum obiciās an ipse lacerēs dentibus tuīs ?For what difference does it make, I ask you, Alexander, whether you throw Lysimachus to a lion or tear him with your own teeth? Clem. 1.25.1Tuum illud ōs est, tua illa feritās.That mouth is yours, that savagery is yours. Clem. 1.25.1Ō quam cuperēs tibi potius unguēs esse, tibi rictum illum edendōrum hominum capācem !Oh, how you would wish that you rather had the claws, you the gaping jaws able to devour men! Clem. 1.25.1Nōn exigimus ā tē, ut manus ista, exitium familiārium certissimum, ūllī salūtāris sit, ut iste animus ferōx, īnsatiābile gentium malum, citrā sanguinem caedemque satiētur ;We do not ask of you that that hand of yours, the surest destruction of your friends, should bring safety to anyone, or that that fierce spirit, the insatiable bane of nations, should be sated short of blood and slaughter; Clem. 1.25.1clēmentia iam vocātur, ad occīdendum amīcum cum carnifex inter hominēs ēligitur.it is now called clemency when, to kill a friend, an executioner is chosen from among men.
Clem. 1.25.2Hoc est, quārē vel maximē abōminanda sit saevitia, quod excēdit fīnēs prīmum solitōs, deinde hūmānōs, nova supplicia conquīrit, ingenium advocat ut īnstrūmenta excōgitet per quae variētur atque extendātur dolor, dēlectātur malīs hominum ;This is why savagery is to be abhorred above all, because it goes beyond first the usual bounds, then human ones, hunts out new punishments, summons ingenuity to devise instruments by which pain may be varied and prolonged, and delights in men's sufferings; Clem. 1.25.2tunc illī dīrus animī morbus ad īnsāniam pervēnit ultimam, cum crūdēlitās versa est in voluptātem et iam occīdere hominem iuvat.then that dreadful disease of the mind reaches the utmost insanity, when cruelty has turned into pleasure and to kill a man is now a delight. Clem. 1.25.3Mātūra tālem virum ā tergō sequitur āversiō, odia, venēna, gladiī;Soon such a man is pursued from behind by aversion, hatred, poison, swords; Clem. 1.25.3tam multīs perīculīs petitur, quam multōrum ipse perīculum est, prīvātīsque nōn numquam cōnsiliīs, aliās vērō cōnsternātiōne pūblicā circumvenītur.he is attacked by as many dangers as the many to whom he himself is a danger, and he is beset sometimes by private plots, at other times by public uprising.
Clem. 1.25.3Levis enim et prīvāta perniciēs nōn tōtās urbēs movet ;For slight and private harm does not stir whole cities; Clem. 1.25.3quod lātē furere coepit et omnēs appetit, undique cōnfīgitur.what has begun to rage far and wide and attacks everyone is pierced from every side. Clem. 1.25.4Serpentēs parvulae fallunt nec pūblicē conquīruntur ;Little snakes escape notice and are not hunted down by public effort; Clem. 1.25.4ubi aliqua solitam mēnsūram trānsit et in mōnstrum excrēvit, ubi fontēs spūtū īnficit et, sī adflāvit, dēūrit obteritque, quācumque incessit, ballistīs petitur.when one exceeds the usual size and has grown into a monster, when it poisons springs with its spittle and, if it breathes on anything, scorches and crushes it wherever it goes, it is attacked with ballistae. Clem. 1.25.4Possunt verba dare et ēvādere pusilla mala, ingentibus obviam itur.Petty evils can deceive us and escape; huge ones are met head-on. Clem. 1.25.5Sīc ūnus aeger nē domum quidem perturbat ;So one sick man does not even disturb a household; Clem. 1.25.5at ubi crēbrīs mortibus pestilentiam esse appāruit, conclāmātiō cīvitātis ac fuga est, et dīs ipsīs manūs intentantur.but when frequent deaths have shown that there is a plague, there is an outcry in the city and flight, and fists are shaken at the gods themselves.
Clem. 1.25.5Sub ūnō aliquō tēctō flamma appāruit : familia vīcīnīque aquam ingerunt ;A flame has appeared under some single roof: the household and the neighbours pour on water; Clem. 1.25.5at incendium vāstum et multās iam domōs dēpāstum parte urbis obruitur.but a vast conflagration that has already devoured many houses is smothered with part of the city.