Section 22
Original Latin
carus fuit Africano superiori noster Ennius, itaque etiam in sepulcro Scipionum putatur is esse constitutus ex marmore. at eis laudibus certe non solum ipse qui laudatur sed etiam populi Romani nomen ornatur. in caelum huius proavus Cato tollitur; magnus honos populi Romani rebus adiungitur. omnes denique illi maximi, Marcelli, Fulvii non sine communi omnium nostrum laude decorantur.
Chapter 10
ergo illum qui haec fecerat, Rudinum hominem, maiores nostri in civitatem receperunt; nos hunc Heracliensem multis civitatibus expetitum, in hac autem legibus constitutum de nostra civitate eiciamus?
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.
Our Ennius was dear to the elder Africanus, and a marble statue of him is even believed to stand in the tomb of the Scipios. Yet such praises certainly honor not only the man praised but also the name of the Roman people. Cato, the great-grandfather of the man here before us, is raised to the skies: great honor is added to the achievements of the Roman people. In short, all those great men—the Marcelli, the Fulvii—are adorned with praise that all of us share.
Chapter 10
Our ancestors, then, admitted to citizenship the man who had done these things, a man from Rudiae. Are we to expel from our citizenship this man from Heraclea, whom many cities have sought as their own, but whose place in this one is established by law?
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.
Our own Ennius was dear to the elder Africanus. A marble statue of him is even thought to have been placed in the tomb of the Scipios. When someone is praised in this way, he is certainly not the only one honored. The Roman people’s name gains honor too. Cato, this man’s great-grandfather, is praised to the skies. That brings great distinction to what Rome’s people have done. In short, the honors given to all those great men, the Marcelli and the Fulvii, bring credit to us all.
Chapter 10
Our ancestors therefore granted citizenship to the man who had done this, a man from Rudiae. Are we to strip this man from Heraclea of our citizenship? Many cities have wanted to claim him, and the laws have established his place in ours.
About this section
Section 22 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 22 of 32 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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