Section 12
Original Latin
quaeres a nobis, Gratti, cur tanto opere hoc homine delectemur. quia suppeditat nobis ubi et animus ex hoc forensi strepitu reficiatur et aures convicio defessae conquiescant. an tu existimas aut suppetere nobis posse quod cotidie dicamus in tanta varietate rerum, nisi animos nostros doctrina excolamus, aut ferre animos tantam posse contentionem, nisi eos doctrina eadem relaxemus? ego vero fateor me his studiis esse deditum. ceteros pudeat, si qui ita se litteris abdiderunt ut nihil possint ex eis neque ad communem adferre fructum neque in aspectum lucemque proferre; me autem quid pudeat qui tot annos ita vivo, iudices, ut a nullius umquam me tempore aut commodo aut otium meum abstraxerit aut voluptas avocarit aut denique somnus retardarit?
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted Musean translation made directly from the Latin in Clark’s 1911 edition; source-language model review recorded. Perseus transcription: CC BY-SA 4.0, credited to the Perseus Project, Tufts University.
You will ask me, Grattius, why I take such delight in this man. Because he provides a place where my mind can recover from this clamor of the courts, and my ears, exhausted by angry shouting, can find rest. Do you suppose I could find enough to say every day on so great a variety of matters unless I cultivated my mind through learning? Or that my mind could endure such strain unless I also relaxed it through that same learning? For my part, I admit my devotion to these studies. Let others feel ashamed, if they have buried themselves in literature so completely that they can bring nothing from it to the common benefit, nothing into the light of public view. But why should I feel ashamed, judges, when for so many years I have lived in such a way that my leisure has never drawn me away from anyone’s need or interests, pleasure has never called me aside, and even sleep has never held me back?
Plain English translation
Complete machine-assisted Plain English translation made independently and directly from the Latin, not from the Musean edition; source-language model review recorded. Perseus transcription: CC BY-SA 4.0, credited to the Perseus Project, Tufts University.
You will ask me, Grattius, why I take such pleasure in this man’s company. It is because he gives my mind a place to recover from the uproar of the courts, and my ears a rest from the shouting that wears them out.
Do you think I could find something to say every day on so many different subjects without developing my mind through learning? Or could my mind bear so much strain unless I also used learning to relax it?
I freely admit that I am devoted to these studies. Others should be ashamed if they have buried their lives in books so deeply that they can offer nothing to the public good and bring nothing out into the light of day. But why should I be ashamed? Throughout these years, judges, I have never let my own free time keep me from helping anyone in a crisis or serving someone’s interests. Pleasure has never distracted me from them. Even sleep has never held me back.
About this section
Section 12 is part of For Archias the Poet by Marcus Tullius Cicero. This page sets the Latin original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is section 12 of 32 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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