C. Sallustius Crispus, Bellum Catilinae 8.1–5

Sallust reflects that Fortune rules all things, elevating or obscuring them by whim rather than truth; the Athenians' deeds were admirable but somewhat less great than their reputation suggests, inflated by the brilliant writers their city produced. The Romans, by contrast, never had such a wealth of writers because their wisest men were always the most occupied with action — every outstanding Roman preferred doing to talking, and would rather have his deeds praised by others than narrate the deeds of others himself.

 

Tier 1

Profecto Fortuna dominatur omnes; Fortuna res omnes celebrat et obscurat ex libidine sua saepius quam vero.

Ut ego aestimo, res gestae Atheniensium fuerunt satis magnae et magnificae, sed verum est minus quam fama narrat.

Sed facta Atheniensium celebrantur toties quia sunt multi scriptores magni Athenarum.

Ita virtus virorum Atheniensium, qui aliquid fecerunt, tanta narratur quia sunt multi scriptores famosi qui facta eorum verbis extollere potuerunt.

Sed numquam copia scriptorum fuit populo Romano, quia omnes Romani prudentissimi sine otiis erant:

Nemo Romanorum exercebat mentem sine corpore, et omnes optimi faciebant quam dicebant, volebant sua facta bene laudari ab aliis magis quam ipsi narrare facta aliorum.

Written by Robert Amstutz