Brutus, or On Eminent Orators Passage 207

his enim scriptis etiam ipse interfui, cum essem apud Aelium adulescens eumque audire perstudiose solerem. Cottam autem miror summum ipsum oratorem minimeque ineptum Aelianas levis oratiunculas voluisse existimari suas. his duobus eiusdem aetatis adnumerabatur nemo tertius, sed mihi placebat Pomponius maxime, vel dicam, minime displicebat. Locus erat omnino in maximis causis praeter eos de quibus supra dixi nemini, propterea quod Antonius, qui maxime expetebatur, facilis in causis recipiendis erat; fastidiosior Crassus, sed tamen recipiebat. Horum qui neutrum habebat, confugiebat ad Philippum fere aut ad Caesarem; †Cotta† Sulpicius expetebantur . Ita ab his sex patronis causae inlustres agebantur; neque tam multa quam nostra aetate iudicia fiebant, neque hoc quod nunc fit, ut causae singulae defenderentur a pluribus, quo nihil est vitiosius.

I myself took part in composing these writings when, as a young man, I attended Aelius and used to listen to him with the greatest eagerness. But I am surprised that Cotta, himself a supreme orator and by no means lacking judgment, wished Aelius' slight little speeches to be regarded as his own. No third man of their age was ranked with these two, but I particularly liked Pomponius, or let me say that I disliked him least. In the most important cases no one besides those I mentioned above had any place at all. Antonius, who was most sought after, readily accepted cases; Crassus was more fastidious, but nevertheless accepted them. A man who had neither would generally resort to Philippus or Caesar; †Cotta† and Sulpicius were sought after. Thus celebrated cases were conducted by these six advocates. There were not as many trials as in our age, nor did what happens now occur, with individual cases defended by several men, than which nothing is more defective.

J’ai moi-même assisté à la rédaction de ces discours, lorsque, jeune encore, je fréquentais Aelius et l’écoutais avec une extrême assiduité. Mais je m’étonne que Cotta, lui-même très grand orateur et nullement dépourvu de jugement, ait voulu faire passer pour siennes les petites harangues légères d’Aelius. À ces deux hommes du même âge, on n’en ajoutait aucun troisième; pourtant Pomponius était celui qui me plaisait le plus, ou, pour mieux dire, me déplaisait le moins. Dans les causes les plus importantes, en dehors des hommes cités plus haut, personne ne trouvait véritablement place. Antoine, le plus recherché, acceptait facilement les causes; Crassus était plus difficile, mais en acceptait néanmoins. Quiconque ne pouvait avoir ni l’un ni l’autre se réfugiait d’ordinaire auprès de Philippus ou de Caesar; †Cotta† et Sulpicius étaient recherchés. Ainsi, les causes célèbres étaient plaidées par ces six avocats. Il y avait moins de procès que de notre temps et l’on ne voyait pas, comme aujourd’hui, plusieurs avocats défendre chacun une même cause, pratique on ne peut plus vicieuse.