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Cicero

Brutus, or On Eminent Orators Passage 45

Passage 45 of 334

Canonical reference 45

Latin

perseus-cicero-brutus-lat

haec igitur aetas prima Athenis oratorem prope perfectum tulit. Nec enim in constituentibus rem publicam nec in bella gerentibus nec in impeditis ac regum dominatione devinctis nasci cupiditas dicendi solet. Pacis est comes otique socia et iam bene constitutae civitatis quasi alumna quaedam eloquentia.

English AI-generated translation, non-official

Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11

"This age, then, first produced at Athens an almost perfect orator. For the desire to speak does not ordinarily arise among those establishing a state, waging wars, or hampered and bound under the domination of kings. Eloquence is the companion of peace, the partner of leisure, and, as it were, the foster child of a state already well established."

French AI-generated translation, non-official

Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11

«Cette époque fut donc la première qui produisit à Athènes un orateur presque parfait. Car le goût de l'éloquence ne naît d'ordinaire ni chez ceux qui fondent un État, ni chez ceux qui font la guerre, ni parmi des hommes entravés et enchaînés par la domination des rois. L'éloquence est la compagne de la paix, l'associée du loisir et, pour ainsi dire, la nourrisson d'une cité déjà bien constituée.»

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