CICERO, Traditional Values Flashcards
accusator esses ridiculus, si illis temporibus natus esses cum ab aratro arcessebantur qui consules fierent.
You would be a ridiculous prosecutor, if you had been born in those times when men were summoned from the plough to become consuls.
tu enim, qui praesse agro colendo flagitium putes, profecto ilium Atilium, quem sua manu semen spargentem illi qui missi erant convenerunt, hominem turpissimum atque inhonestissimum iudicares.
For you, who consider it a disgrace to be responsible for cultivating a farm, would certainly judge Atilius, whom those who had been sent came across sowing seed with his own hand, to be a most shameful and low-class fellow.
at hercule maiores nostri longe aliter et de illo et de ceteris talibus viris existimabant itaque ex minima tenuissimaque re publica maximam et florentissimam nobis reliquerent.
But, by Hercules, our ancestors thought differently both concerning him and concerning other such men, and so from a tiny and quite insignificant state they left us one that is very large and highly prosperous.
suos enim agros studiose colebant, non alienos cupide appetebant; sic et agris et urbibus et nationibus rem publicam atque hoc imperium et populi Romani nomen auxerunt.
They certainly cultivated their own farms intently, not greedily laying claim to those of others; in this way they expanded the state, this empire and the reputation of the Roman people with land and cities and whole nations.
et simul tibi in mentem veniat quem ad modum vitam huiusce depinxeris - hunc hominem ferum atque agrestem fuisse, numquam cum homine quoquam conloctum esse, numquam in oppido constitisse.
It should also come to your attention how you have depicted the life of this man here - saying that he was rough and uncouth, that he never spoke to another person, never stayed in a town.
sed in rusticis moribus, in victu arido, in hac horrida incultaque vita maleficia istius modi gigni non solent. ut non omnem frugem neque arborem in omni agro reperire possis, sic non omne facinus in omni vita nascitur.
But in country ways, in a simple lifestyle, in such a rough and uncivilised existence crimes of that kind are not usually committed. Just as you would not be able to find every crop or every tree in every field, so not every crime occurs in every mode of life.
in urbe luxuries creatur, ex luxuria exsistat avaritia necesse est, ex avaritia erumpat audacia, inde omnia scelera ac maleficia gignuntur. vita autem haec rustica quam tu agrestem vocas parsimoniae, diligentiae, iustitiae magistra est.
In the city extravagance is created, from extravagance it is natural for greed to emerge, from greed for violent behaviour to burst out, and from that all kinds of crimes and misdeeds are produced. This country life, on the other hand, which you call uncouth, is the teacher of thrift, hard work, and good conduct.
