hannibal Flashcards
Nōn dubitō fore plērōsque, Attice, quī hoc genus scrīptūrae leve et nōn satis dīgnum summōrum virōrum persōnīs iūdicent, cum relātum legent, quis mūsicam docuerit Epamīnōndam, aut in ēius virtūtibus commemorārī saltāsse eum commodē scienterque tībiīs cantāsse.
I do not doubt that there will be very many people, Atticus, who judge this kind of writing as unimportant and not worthy enough of the characters of the highest men, when they will read that it reported, he who taught music to Epaminondas, or among the many virtues of him, that he danced well and that he sang with knowledge to the flute.
Sed hī erunt ferē, quī expertēs litterārum Graecārum nihil rēctum, nisi quod ipsōrum mōribus conveniat, putābunt.
But there will be these people for the most part, those who without the writings of the Greeks, will think nothing correct except that which agrees with their own customs.
Hī sī didicerint nōn eadem omnibus esse honesta atque turpia, sed omnia maiōrum īnstitūtīs iūdicārī, nōn admīrābuntur nōs in Grāiōrum virtūtibus expōnendīs mōrēs eōrum secūtōs.
If these people had learned that these same things are not honorable or shameful to all, but all things are judged by the customs of the ancestors, they will not be surprised that we have followed their customs in setting forth the excellences of the Greeks.
Neque enim Cīmōnī fuit turpe, Athēniēnsium summō virō, sorōrem germānam habēre in mātrimōniō, quippe cum cīvēs ēius eōdem ūterentur īnstitūtō. At id quidem nostrīs mōribus nefās habētur. Laudī in Crētā dūcitur adulēscentulīs quam plūrimōs habuisse amātōrēs. Nūlla Lacedaemonī vidua tam est nōbilis, quae nōn †ad cēnam† eat mercēde conducta.
Neither is it shameful for Cimon, the highest man of the Athenians, to have a sister in matrimony, since his fellow citizens use the same institutions. But it is indeed held taboo by our customs. It is considered honorable in Crete for young men to have as many lovers as possible. There is no widow of the sort in Sparta who is so noble who doesn’t go to dinner hired for a fee.
Magnīs in laudibus tōtā ferē fuit Graeciā victōrem Olympiae citārī; in scaenam vērō prōdīre ac populō esse spectāculō nēminī in eīsdem gentibus fuit turpitūdinī. Quae omnia apud nōs partim īnfāmia, partim humilia atque ab honestāte remōta pōnuntur.
To be announced as a champion at Olympia was in great praises in almost all of Greece; certainly, to appear in public on stage, to be a source of spectacle for the people, was a source of disgrace for none in the same races. All of these things among us which are considered partly dishonorable, partly low and placed removed from honor.
Contrā ea plēraque nostrīs mōribus sunt decōra, quae apud illōs turpia putantur. Quem enim Rōmānōrum pudet uxōrem dūcere in convīvium? Aut cuius nōn māter familiās prīmum locum tenet aedium atque in celēbritāte versātur?
In opposition to these things, many things are proper to our customs, which among them are considered shameful. For whom of the Romans is it shameful to lead your wife to the banquet? Or whose matriarch doesn’t hold first place in the house and comes and goes frequently into society?
Quod multō fit aliter in Graeciā. Nam neque in convīvium adhibētur nisi propinquōrum, neque sedet nisi in interiōre parte aedium, quae gynaecōnītis appellātur; quō nēmō accēdit nisi propinquā cognātiōne coniūnctus.
A thing which happens by much otherwise in Greece. For neither is she invited to a banquet except among relatives, nor does she sit except in inner parts of the house, which is called the women’s apartment; where no one approaches unless related by close kinship.
Sed hīc plūra persequī cum magnitūdō volūminis prohibet tum festīnātiō, ut ea explicem, quae exōrsus sum. Quārē ad prōpositum veniēmus et in hōc expōnēmus librō dē vītā excellentium imperātōrum.
But at this point both the greatness of the volume prohibits recounting more things, and my haste to explain these things which I have begun. And so we will come to the point and in this book will set forth the life of distinguished commanders.
