Clem. 1.26.1Crūdēlitātem prīvātōrum quoque servīlēs manūs sub certō crucis perīculō ultae sunt ;Even the cruelty of private men has been avenged by the hands of slaves, despite the certain danger of the cross; Clem. 1.26.1tyrannōrum gentēs populīque et, quōrum erat malum, et eī, quibus inminēbat, exscindere adgressī sunt.that of tyrants nations and peoples, both those to whom it was an evil and those over whom it hung, have set out to root out. Clem. 1.26.1Aliquandō sua praesidia in ipsōs cōnsurrēxērunt perfidiamque et impietātem et feritātem et, quidquid ab illīs didicerant, in ipsōs exercuērunt.At times their own guards have risen against them, and have practised on them the treachery, impiety and savagery, and whatever else they had learned from them. Clem. 1.26.1Quid enim potest quisquam ab eō spērāre, quem malum esse docuit ?For what can anyone hope from one whom he has taught to be wicked? Clem. 1.26.1Nōn diū nēquitia appāret nec, quantum iubētur, peccat.Wickedness does not stay obedient long, nor sin only as much as it is ordered. Clem. 1.26.2Sed putā esse tūtam crūdēlitātem, quāle eius regnum est ?But suppose cruelty were safe: what is its reign like?
Clem. 1.26.2Nōn aliud quam captārum urbium fōrma et terribilēs faciēs pūblicī metūs.Nothing other than the appearance of captured cities and the terrible faces of public fear. Clem. 1.26.2Omnia maesta, trepida, cōnfūsa ;Everything is gloomy, fearful, confused; Clem. 1.26.2voluptātēs ipsae timentur;pleasures themselves are feared; Clem. 1.26.2nōn convīvia sēcūrī ineunt, in quibus lingua sollicitē etiam ēbriīs custōdienda est, nōn spectācula, ex quibus māteria crīminis ac perīculī quaeritur.men do not go to banquets free of care, where even the drunk must guard their tongues anxiously, nor to shows, from which material for charges and danger is sought. Clem. 1.26.2Apparentur licet magnā impēnsā et rēgiīs opibus et artificum exquīsītīs nōminibus, quem tamen lūdī in carcere iuvent ?Though they be furnished at great expense, with royal wealth and with artists of choice renown, whom yet would games in prison delight? Clem. 1.26.3Quod istud, dī bonī, malum est occīdere, saevīre, dēlectārī sonō catēnārum et cīvium capita dēcidere, quōcumque ventum est, multum sanguinis fundere, aspectū suō terrēre ac fugāre ?What evil is this, good gods, to kill, to rage, to delight in the clank of chains and to cut off the heads of citizens, to shed much blood wherever one goes, to terrify and put to flight by one's very appearance?
Clem. 1.26.3Quae alia vīta esset, sī leōnēs ursīque regnārent, sī serpentibus in nōs ac noxiōsissimō cuique animālī darētur potestās- testas ?What other life would there be if lions and bears reigned, if power over us were given to serpents and to every most harmful animal? Clem. 1.26.4Illa ratiōnis expertia et ā nōbīs immānitātis crīmine damnāta abstinent suīs, et tūta est etiam inter ferās similitūdō ;Those creatures, devoid of reason and condemned by us on the charge of savagery, spare their own kind, and likeness is a safeguard even among wild beasts; Clem. 1.26.4hōrum nē ā necessāriīs quidem sibi rabiēs temperat, sed externa suaque in aequō habet, quō plūs sē exercitat, eō incitātior.but the madness of these men does not hold back even from their nearest, but holds strangers and their own as equal, more inflamed the more it exercises itself. Clem. 1.26.4Ā singulōrum deinde caedibus in exitia gentium serpit, et inicere tēctīs ignem, arātrum vetustīs urbibus indūcere potentiam putat ;From the slaughter of individuals it then creeps on to the destruction of nations, and thinks it power to set roofs on fire and drive the plough over ancient cities; Clem. 1.26.4et ūnum occīdī iubēre aut alterum parum imperātōrium crēdit;and it thinks it too little like a ruler to order one or two to be killed; Clem. 1.26.4nisi eōdem tempore grex miserōrum sub ictū stetit, crūdēlitātem suam in ōrdinem coāctam putat.unless at the same moment a herd of wretches has stood beneath the blow, it thinks its cruelty has been reduced to the ranks.
Clem. 1.26.5Fēlīcitās illa multīs salūtem dare et ad vītam ab ipsā morte revocāre et merērī clēmentiā cīvicam.True happiness is to give safety to many, to call them back to life from death itself, and to earn the civic crown by clemency. Clem. 1.26.5Nūllum ōrnāmentum prīncipis fastīgiō dignius pulchriusque est quam illa corōna ob cīvēs servātōs, nōn hostīlia arma dētrācta victīs, nōn currūs barbarōrum sanguine cruentī, nōn parta bellō spolia.No ornament is more worthy of a prince's eminence or more beautiful than that crown for saving citizens; not enemy arms stripped from the vanquished, not chariots stained with barbarian blood, not spoils won in war. Clem. 1.26.5Haec dīvīna potentia est gregātim ac pūblicē servāre;This is godlike power, to save men in throngs and on a public scale; Clem. 1.26.5multōs quidem occīdere et indiscrētōs incendiī ac ruīnae potentia est.but to kill many indiscriminately is the power of fire and collapse.