Brutus, or On Eminent Orators Passage 305

reliqui qui tum principes numerabantur in magistratibus erant cottidieque fere a nobis in contionibus audiebantur. Erat enim tribunus plebis tum C. Curio, quamquam is quidem silebat, ut erat semel a contione universa relictus; Q. Metellus Celer non ille quidem orator, sed tamen non infans; diserti autem Q. Varius C. Carbo Cn. Pomponius, et hi quidem habitabant in rostris; C. etiam Iulius aedilis curulis cottidie fere accuratas contiones habebat. Sed me cupidissimum audiendi primus dolor percussit, Cotta cum est expulsus. Reliquos frequenter audiens acerrimo studio tenebar cottidieque et scribens et legens et commentans oratoriis tantum exercitationibus contentus non eram. Iam consequente anno Q. Varius sua lege damnatus excesserat;

The others then counted among the foremost were holding magistracies and were heard by us almost daily at public meetings. Gaius Curio was then tribune of the plebs, although he kept silent after an entire meeting once abandoned him. There was Quintus Metellus Celer, not an orator, certainly, but not speechless either. The eloquent men were Quintus Varius, Gaius Carbo, and Gnaeus Pomponius, who indeed lived upon the rostra. Gaius Julius, the curule aedile, also delivered carefully prepared public addresses almost daily. But the first grief to strike me in my eagerness to listen came when Cotta was expelled. Hearing the others frequently, I was possessed by the keenest zeal, and every day I wrote, read, and practiced, not content with oratorical exercises alone. By the following year Quintus Varius had been condemned under his own law and departed.

Les autres qui comptaient alors parmi les premiers exerçaient des magistratures et nous les entendions presque chaque jour dans les assemblées. C. Curio était alors tribun de la plèbe, bien qu’il se tût, après avoir été une fois abandonné par l’assemblée tout entière ; Q. Metellus Celer n’était pas un orateur, mais il n’était pourtant pas incapable de parler. Q. Varius, C. Carbo et Cn. Pomponius étaient éloquents et, pour leur part, habitaient à la tribune. C. Julius, édile curule, prononçait lui aussi presque chaque jour des harangues soigneusement travaillées. Mais la première douleur qui me frappa dans mon immense désir d’entendre fut l’exil de Cotta. J’écoutais souvent les autres avec la plus ardente passion et ne me contentais pas des seuls exercices oratoires, écrivant, lisant et travaillant chaque jour. Dès l’année suivante, Q. Varius, condamné en vertu de sa propre loi, avait quitté Rome ;