Brutus, or On Eminent Orators Passage 293

quia primum, inquit, ita laudavisti quosdam oratores ut imperitos posses in errorem inducere. Equidem in quibusdam risum vix tenebam, cum Attico Lysiae Catonem nostrum comparabas, magnum me hercule hominem vel potius summum et singularem virum - nemo dicet secus - ; sed oratorem? sed etiam Lysiae similem? quo nihil potest esse pictius. Bella ironia, si iocaremur; sin adseveramus, vide ne religio nobis tam adhibenda sit quam si testimonium diceremus .

“Because, first,” he said, “you praised certain orators in such a way that you could lead the inexperienced into error. For my part, I could scarcely restrain my laughter in some cases, as when you compared our Cato with the Attic Lysias. By Hercules, Cato was a great man, or rather the greatest and a unique man, and no one will say otherwise. But an orator? And even like Lysias? Nothing could be more artfully drawn than that. Fine irony, if we were joking; but if we speak in earnest, take care that we do not owe the same scruple as if we were giving testimony.”

« D’abord, répondit-il, tu as loué certains orateurs de manière à pouvoir induire les ignorants en erreur. Pour ma part, j’avais parfois peine à retenir mon rire lorsque tu comparais notre Caton à l’attique Lysias. Grand homme, par Hercule, ou plutôt homme suprême et unique, personne ne dira le contraire. Mais orateur ? Et même semblable à Lysias ? Rien ne saurait être plus plaisamment dépeint. Belle ironie si nous plaisantions ; mais si nous parlons sérieusement, prends garde qu’il ne nous faille observer autant de scrupule que si nous rendions témoignage. »