De la République Passage 35

Tum ille: Non possum equidem dicere me ulla in cogitatione acrius aut diligentius solere versari quam in ista ipsa, quae mihi, Laeli, a te proponitur. Etenim cum in suo quemque opere artificem, qui quidem excellat, nihil aliud cogitare, meditari, curare videam, nisi quo sit in illo genere melior, ego, cum mihi sit unum opus hoc a parentibus maioribusque meis relictum, procuratio atque administratio rei publicae, non me inertiorem esse confitear quam opificem quemquam, si minus in maxima arte, quam illi in minimis, operae consumpserim?

Then Scipio said: “I certainly cannot say that I am accustomed to engage in any reflection more intensely or diligently than this very question you set before me, Laelius. For when I see that every craftsman who excels in his own work thinks, studies, and cares about nothing except how to become better in that field, and since this single task, the care and administration of the state, was left to me by my parents and ancestors, would I not confess myself more indolent than any artisan if I spent less effort on the greatest art than they spend on the smallest?”

Scipion dit alors: «Je ne puis certes affirmer que j’aie coutume de m’appliquer à quelque réflexion avec plus d’ardeur ou de soin qu’à celle même que tu me proposes, Laelius. Je vois en effet que tout artisan excellent dans son ouvrage ne pense, ne médite et ne veille à rien d’autre qu’à devenir meilleur en son art. Dès lors, puisque l’unique tâche que m’ont laissée mes parents et mes ancêtres est le soin et l’administration de la république, pourrais-je reconnaître que je suis plus paresseux que n’importe quel artisan, si j’ai consacré moins d’efforts au plus grand des arts qu’eux aux plus petits?»