Brutus, or On Eminent Orators Passage 212

Quid Crassum, inquam, ilium censes, istius Liciniae filium, Crassi testamento qui fuit adoptatus? Summo iste quidem dicitur ingenio fuisse, inquit; et vero hic Scipio, conlega meus, mihi sane bene et loqui videtur et dicere. Recte, inquam, iudicas, Brute. Etenim istius genus est ex ipsius sapientiae stirpe generatum. Nam et de duobus avis iam diximus, Scipione et Crasso, et de tribus proavis, Q. Metello, cuius quattuor illi filii , P. Scipione, qui ex dominatu Ti. Gracchi privatus in libertatem rem publicam vindicavit, Q. Scaevola augure, qui peritissimus iuris idemque percomis est habitus. Iam duorum abavorum quam est inlustre nomen,

"What do you think," I asked, "of that Crassus, the son of this Licinia, who was adopted by the will of Crassus?" "He is said to have possessed the highest talent," he replied. "And this Scipio, my colleague, also seems to me to speak both conversationally and formally quite well." "You judge correctly, Brutus," I said. "For that man's family has sprung from the very stock of wisdom. We have already spoken of his two grandfathers, Scipio and Crassus, and of his three great-grandfathers: Quintus Metellus, whose sons were those four; Publius Scipio, who as a private citizen rescued the republic from the tyranny of Tiberius Gracchus and restored it to freedom; and Quintus Scaevola the augur, who was considered both highly skilled in law and exceedingly affable. And how illustrious are the names of his two great-great-grandfathers,"

«Et que penses-tu, demandai-je, de ce Crassus, fils de cette Licinia, que Crassus adopta par testament?» «On dit qu’il avait un talent éminent, répondit-il; et ce Scipion, mon collègue, me paraît vraiment bien parler et bien discourir.» «Ton jugement est juste, Brutus, dis-je. Sa lignée est en effet issue de la souche même de la sagesse. Nous avons déjà parlé de ses deux grands-pères, Scipion et Crassus, et de ses trois arrière-grands-pères: Quintus Metellus, qui eut ces quatre fils; Publius Scipion, qui, simple particulier, arracha la république à la domination de Tiberius Gracchus et lui rendit la liberté; Quintus Scaevola l’augure, tenu à la fois pour extrêmement versé dans le droit et plein d’affabilité. Quant à ses deux trisaïeuls, combien leur nom est illustre: