Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 09
General
Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 09
Literature -- Collections
numbers, routed the countless hosts of the Armenians. It is the glory of
the Roman people that by the wisdom of that same general, the city of
the Cyzicenes, most friendly to us, was delivered and preserved from all
the attacks of the kind, and from the very jaws as it were of the whole
war. Ours is the glory which will be for ever celebrated, which is
derived from the fleet of the enemy which was sunk after its admirals
had been slain, and from the marvelous naval battle off Tenedos: those
trophies belong to us, those monuments are ours, those triumphs are
ours. Therefore I say that the men by whose genius these exploits are
celebrated make illustrious at the same time the glory of the Roman
people. Our countryman Ennius was dear to the elder Africanus; and even
on the tomb of the Scipios his effigy is believed to be visible, carved
in the marble. But undoubtedly it is not only the men who are themselves
praised who are done honor to by those praises, but the name of the
Roman people also is adorned by them. Cato, the ancestor of this Cato,
is extolled to the skies. Great honor is paid to the exploits of the
Roman people. Lastly, all those great men, the Maximi, the Marcelli, and
the Fulvii, are done honor to, not without all of us having also a share
in the panegyric....
Certainly, if the mind had no anticipations of posterity, and if it were
to confine all its thoughts within the same limits as those by which the
space of our lives is bounded, it would neither break itself with such
severe labors, nor would it be tormented with such cares and sleepless
anxiety, nor would it so often have to fight for its very life. At
present there is a certain virtue in every good man, which night and day
stirs up the mind with the stimulus of glory, and reminds it that all
mention of our name will not cease at the same time with our lives, but
that our fame will endure to all posterity.
Do we all who are occupied in the affairs of the State, and who are
surrounded by such perils and dangers in life, appear to be so
narrow-minded as, though to the last moment of our lives we have never
passed one tranquil or easy moment, to think that everything will perish
at the same time as ourselves? Ought we not, when many most illustrious
men have with great care collected and left behind them statues and
images, representations not of their minds but of their bodies, much
more to desire to leave behind us a copy of our counsels and of our
virtues, wrought and elaborated by the greatest genius? I thought, at
the very moment of performing them, that I was scattering and
disseminating all the deeds which I was performing, all over the world
for the eternal recollection of nations. And whether that delight is to
be denied to my soul after death, or whether, as the wisest men have
thought, it will affect some portion of my spirit, at all events I am at
present delighted with some such idea and hope.
HONORS PROPOSED FOR THE DEAD STATESMAN SULPICIUS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account