11.
For this should not be concerned, which cannot possibly be kept in the dark, but it might be
avowed openly: we are all influenced by a desire of praise, and the best men are the most
especially attracted by glory. Those very philosophers even in the books which they write
about despising glory, put their own names on the title-page. In the very act of recording
their contempt for renown and notoriety, they desire to have their own names known and talked
of.
[27]
Decimus Brutus, that most excellent citizen and
consummate general, adorned the approaches to his temples and monuments with the verses of
Attius. And lately that great man Fulvius, who fought with the Aetolians, having Ennius for
his companion, did not hesitate to devote the spoils of Mars to the Muses. Wherefore, in a
city in which generals, almost in arms, have paid respect to the name of poets and to the
temples of the Muses, these judges in the garb of peace ought not to act in a manner
inconsistent with the honour of the Muses and the safety of poets.
[28]
And that you may do that the more willingly, I will now reveal my own feelings to you, O
judges, and I will make a confession to you of my own love of glory,—too eager
perhaps, but still honourable. For this man has in his verses touched upon and begun the
celebration of the deeds which we in our consulship did in union with you, for the safety of
this city and empire, and in defence of the life of the citizens and of the whole republic.
And when I had heard his commencement because it appeared to me to be a great subject and at
the same time an agreeable one, I encouraged him to complete his work. For virtue seeks no
other reward for its labours and its dangers beyond that of praise and renown; and if that be
denied to it, what reason is there, O judges, why in so small and brief a course of life as is
allotted to us, we should impose such labours on ourselves?
[29]
Certainly, if the mind had no anticipations of posterity, and if it were to confine all its
thoughts within the same limits as those by which the space of our lives is bounded, it would
neither break itself with such severe labours, nor would it be tormented with such cares and
sleepless anxiety, nor would it so often have to fight for its very life. At present there is
a certain virtue in every good man, which night and day stirs up the mind with the stimulus of
glory, and reminds it that all mention of our name will not cease at the same time with our
lives, but that our fame will endure to all posterity.
This text is part of:
Search the Perseus Catalog for:
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.