Clem. 1.3.1Sed haec suō melius locō dīcentur.But these things will be better said in their own place. Clem. 1.3.1Nunc in trēs partēs omnem hanc māteriam dīvidam.Now I shall divide this whole subject into three parts. Clem. 1.3.1Prīma erit manūmissiōnis ;The first will be on remission; Clem. 1.3.1secunda, quae nātūram clēmentiae habitumque dēmōnstret : nam cum sint vitia quaedam virtūtēs imitantia, nōn possunt sēcernī, nisi signa, quibus dīnōscantur, impresseris ;the second, one that will show the nature and character of clemency: for since there are certain vices that imitate virtues, they cannot be told apart unless you have stamped on them marks by which they may be distinguished; Clem. 1.3.1tertiō locō quaerēmus, quōmodo ad hanc virtūtem perdūcātur- animus quōmodo, cōnfirmet eam et ūsū suam faciat faciat.in the third place we shall ask how the mind may be led to this virtue, how it may strengthen it and by practice make it its own. Clem. 1.3.2Nūllam ex omnibus virtūtibus hominī magis convenīre, cum sit nūlla hūmānior, cōnstet necesse est nōn sōlum inter nōs, quī hominem sociāle animal commūnī bonō genitum vidērī volumus, sed etiam inter illōs, quī hominem voluptātī dōnant, quōrum omnia dicta factaque ad ūtilitātēs suās spectant ;That no virtue of them all is more fitting for a human being, since none is more humane, must be agreed not only among us, who wish man to be regarded as a social animal born for the common good, but also among those who give man over to pleasure, whose every word and deed looks to their own advantage; Clem. 1.3.2nam sī quiētem petit et ōtium, hanc virtūtem nātūrae suae nanctus est, quae pācem amat et manūs retinet.for if he seeks quiet and leisure, he has found in this virtue one suited to his nature, which loves peace and restrains the hand.
Clem. 1.3.3Nūllum tamen clēmentia ex omnibus magis quam rēgem aut prīncipem decet.Yet clemency befits no one of all more than a king or a prince. Clem. 1.3.3Ita enim magnae vīrēs decorī glōriaeque sunt, sī illīs salūtāris potentia est ;For great strength is an honour and a glory only if its power is beneficial; Clem. 1.3.3nam pestifera vīs est valēre ad nocendum.for it is a pestilent strength that is strong for harm. Clem. 1.3.3Illīus dēmum magnitūdō stabilis fundātaque est, quem omnēs tam suprā sē esse quam prō sē sciunt, cuius cūram excubāre prō salūte singulōrum atque ūniversōrum cottīdiē experiuntur, quō prōcēdente nōn, tamquam malum aliquod aut noxium animal ē cubīlī prōsilierit, diffugiunt, sed tamquam ad clārum ac beneficum sīdus certātim advolant.His greatness alone is stable and well founded whom all know to be as much for them as above them, whose care they find every day keeping watch for the safety of each and all, at whose approach they do not scatter, as though some evil or harmful animal had sprung from its lair, but fly eagerly to him as to a bright and beneficent star. Clem. 1.3.3Obicere sē prō illō mūcrōnibus īnsidiantium parātissimī et substernere corpora sua, sī per strāgem illī hūmānam iter ad salūtem struendum sit, somnum eius nocturnīs excubiīs mūniunt, latera obiectī circumfūsīque dēfendunt, incurrentibus perīculīs sē oppōnunt.Most ready to throw themselves in his defence against the daggers of plotters, and to lay down their bodies beneath him if his road to safety must be built through human slaughter, they guard his sleep with night watches, defend his flanks by standing before and around him, and set themselves against the dangers that rush upon him.
Clem. 1.3.4Nōn est hic sine ratiōne populīs urbibusque cōnsēnsus sīc prōtegendī amandīque rēgēs et sē suaque iactandī, quōcumque dēsīderāvit imperantis salūs ;Not without reason is there this agreement among peoples and cities to protect and love their kings in this way, and to fling themselves and all they have wherever the safety of their ruler has required it; Clem. 1.3.4nec haec vīlitās suī est aut dēmentia prō ūnō capite tot mīlia excipere ferrum ac multīs mortibus ūnam animam redimere nōnnumquam senis et invalidī.nor is it cheapness of self or madness for so many thousands to meet the sword for one head, and with many deaths to ransom a single life, sometimes that of an old and feeble man. Clem. 1.3.5Quemadmodum tōtum corpus animō dēservit et, cum hoc tantō maius tantōque speciōsius sit, ille in occultō maneat tenuis et in quā sēde latitet incertus, tamen manūs, pedēs, oculī negōtium illī gerunt, illum haec cutis mūnit, illīus iussū iacēmus aut inquiētī- discurrimus cum, ille imperāvit sīve, avārus dominus est mare, lucrī causā scrūtāmur sīve, ambitiōsus iam, dūdum dextram flammīs obiēcimus aut voluntāriī terram subsiluimus sīc, haec immēnsa multitūdō ūnīus animae circumdata illīus spīritū regitur illīus, ratiōne flectitur pressūra sē ac frāctūra vīribus suīs nisi, cōnsiliō sustinērētur sustineretur.Just as the whole body serves the mind, and although the body is so much larger and so much more splendid, while the mind remains hidden, slight, and uncertain in what seat it lurks, yet hands, feet and eyes do its business, this skin protects it, at its command we lie still or run restlessly about, and when it has given the order, if it is a greedy master, we search the sea for gain, if an ambitious one, we have long since thrust our right hand into the flames or leapt willingly into the earth; so this immense multitude, surrounding a single life, is ruled by his breath and guided by his reason, and would crush and shatter itself by its own strength were it not upheld by his wisdom.