De la République Passage 7

salvam esse consulatu abiens in contione populo Romano idem iurante iuravissem, facile iniuriarum omnium compensarem curam et molestiam. Quamquam nostri casus plus honoris habuerunt quam laboris neque tantum molestiae, quantum gloriae, maioremque laetitiam ex desiderio bonorum percepimus quam ex laetitia improborum dolorem. Sed si aliter, ut dixi, accidisset, qui possem queri? cum mihi nihil inproviso nec gravius, quam exspectavissem, pro tantis meis factis evenisset. Is enim fueram, cui cum liceret aut maiores ex otio fructus capere quam ceteris propter variam suavitatem studiorum, in quibus a pueritia vixeram, aut si quid accideret acerbius universis, non praecipuam, sed parem cum ceteris fortunae condicionem subire, non dubitaverim me gravissimis tempestatibus ac paene fulminibus ipsis obvium ferre conservandorum civium causa meisque propriis periculis parere commune reliquis otium.

when, on leaving the consulship, I had sworn before the Roman people in an assembly, with the people swearing the same oath, that the state had been saved, I could easily offset the care and distress of every injury. Yet my misfortunes contained more honor than hardship, and not so much vexation as glory; I gained greater joy from the longing of good men than pain from the rejoicing of the wicked. But if events had turned out otherwise, as I said, how could I complain, since nothing unforeseen or more grievous than I had expected befell me in return for my great deeds? I was a man who could either have gained richer fruits from leisure than others, because of the varied delight of the studies in which I had lived from boyhood, or, if some general calamity occurred, could have accepted not a special but an equal share of fortune with the rest. Yet I did not hesitate to expose myself to the fiercest storms and almost to the thunderbolts themselves for the sake of preserving my fellow citizens, and by my personal dangers to secure peaceful leisure for everyone else.

que, quittant le consulat, j’avais juré devant le peuple romain assemblé, qui prêtait le même serment, que la république était sauve, je compenserais aisément le souci et le tourment de toutes les injustices. Au reste, nos revers comportèrent plus d’honneur que de peine, moins de contrariété que de gloire, et le regret des gens de bien nous procura plus de joie que l’allégresse des méchants ne nous causa de douleur. Mais si les choses s’étaient passées autrement, comme je l’ai dit, comment pourrais-je me plaindre? Rien ne m’était arrivé d’imprévu ni de plus pénible que ce que j’avais attendu en échange de si grandes actions. J’étais en effet un homme qui, alors qu’il m’était permis soit de recueillir du loisir des fruits plus abondants que les autres, grâce au charme varié des études au milieu desquelles j’avais vécu depuis l’enfance, soit, si quelque malheur plus cruel frappait tous les citoyens, de subir non une condition particulière, mais le sort commun, n’aurait pas hésité à s’exposer aux tempêtes les plus violentes et presque aux foudres elles-mêmes pour sauver ses concitoyens et à procurer aux autres un repos commun au prix de ses propres périls.