Brutus, or On Eminent Orators Passage 147

etsi satis, inquit , mihi videbar habere cognitum Scaevolam ex eis rebus quas audiebam saepe ex C. Rutilio, quo utebar propter familiaritatem Scaevolae nostri, tamen ista mihi eius dicendi tanta laus nota non erat; itaque cepi voluptatem tam ornatum virum tamque excellens ingenium fuisse in nostra re publica.

"Although I thought I knew Scaevola sufficiently from what I often heard from Gaius Rutilius, whose company I enjoyed because of his intimacy with our Scaevola, this great reputation of his for speaking was nevertheless unknown to me. I am therefore pleased that our republic possessed so accomplished a man and so outstanding an intellect."

«Bien que je crusse connaître assez bien Scaevola d’après ce que Caius Rutilius m’en disait souvent, car je fréquentais celui-ci en raison de son intimité avec notre Scaevola, je ne savais pourtant pas que son éloquence méritât de si grands éloges. J’ai donc éprouvé du plaisir à apprendre que notre république avait possédé un homme si accompli et un esprit si remarquable.»