Section 30
Original Latin
Chapter 12
an vero tam parvi animi videamur esse omnes qui in re publica atque in his vitae periculis laboribusque versamur ut, cum usque ad extremum spatium nullum tranquillum atque otiosum spiritum duxerimus, nobiscum simul moritura omnia arbitremur? an statuas et imagines, non animorum simulacra, sed corporum, studiose multi summi homines reliquerunt; consiliorum relinquere ac virtutum nostrarum effigiem nonne multo malle debemus summis ingeniis expressam et politam? ego vero omnia quae gerebam iam tum in gerendo spargere me ac disseminare arbitrabar in orbis terrae memoriam sempiternam. haec vero sive a meo sensu post mortem afutura est, sive, ut sapientissimi homines putaverunt, ad aliquam animi mei partem pertinebit, nunc quidem certe cogitatione quadam speque delector.
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.
Chapter 12
Are all of us who work in public affairs, amid these dangers and labors of life, really to seem so small-minded that, although we have never drawn a peaceful, idle breath to the very end, we believe everything will die with us? Many great men have eagerly left behind statues and portraits, likenesses not of their minds but of their bodies. Should we not much prefer to leave an image of our purposes and virtues, shaped and polished by the finest talents? For my part, even as I acted, I believed that everything I did was being scattered like seed into the everlasting memory of the world. Whether after death I shall have no awareness of that memory, or whether, as the wisest men have thought, it will touch some part of my spirit, at least for now I find delight in the thought and hope of it.
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.
Chapter 12
Are all of us who work in public life, facing its dangers and hardships, to seem so small-minded that, after never drawing a peaceful or idle breath to the very end of our lives, we suppose that everything will die with us? Many great men have taken care to leave statues and portraits behind them, likenesses not of their minds but of their bodies. Should we not much prefer to leave an image of our plans and virtues, shaped and polished by the finest talents? For my part, even while I was doing everything I did, I believed I was scattering and spreading it abroad to live forever in the memory of the world. Whether that memory will be beyond my awareness after death or, as the wisest men have believed, will concern some part of my soul, I certainly take pleasure in thinking and hoping about it now.
About this section
Section 30 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 30 of 32 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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