Philippiques Passage 69

me quidem miseret parietum ipsorum atque tectorum. quid enim umquam domus illa viderat nisi pudicum, quid nisi ex optimo more et sanctissima disciplina? fuit enim ille vir, patres conscripti, sicuti scitis, cum foris clarus tum domi admirandus, neque rebus externis magis laudandus quam institutis domesticis. huius in sedibus pro cubiculis stabula, pro conclavibus popinae sunt. etsi iam negat. nolite quaerere; frugi factus est: illam suam suas res sibi habere iussit, ex duodecim tabulis clavis ademit, exegit. quam porro spectatus civis, quam probatus! cuius ex omni vita nihil est honestius quam quod cum mima fecit divortium.

For my part, I pity the very walls and roofs. What had that house ever seen except chastity, except conduct formed by the finest custom and the holiest discipline? For that man, conscript fathers, as you know, was illustrious abroad and admirable at home, no more worthy of praise for his public achievements than for his domestic arrangements. In his dwelling there are now stables instead of bedrooms and taverns instead of private rooms. Although he now denies it. Do not inquire; he has become thrifty. He ordered that woman to keep her own things, took away her keys under the Twelve Tables, and expelled her. What a tried and approved citizen he now is! Nothing in his whole life is more honorable than his divorce from an actress.

Pour ma part, j’ai pitié des murs et des toits eux-mêmes. Qu’avait jamais vu cette maison qui ne fût chaste, conforme aux meilleures mœurs et à la discipline la plus sainte? Cet homme, pères conscrits, comme vous le savez, fut aussi admirable dans sa maison qu’illustre au-dehors, et ses institutions domestiques ne méritaient pas moins d’éloges que ses actions publiques. Dans sa demeure, les chambres sont maintenant des étables et les salles des tavernes. Pourtant, il le nie désormais. Ne cherchez pas davantage: il est devenu économe. Il a ordonné à cette femme de garder ses affaires à elle; conformément aux Douze Tables, il lui a repris les clefs et l’a chassée. Quel citoyen éprouvé, quel homme estimé! Dans sa vie entière, rien n’est plus honorable que son divorce avec une mime.