In the struggle between those seeking power there is no middle course. |
Liberty is given by nature even to mute animals.
[Lat., Liberatem natura etiam mutis animalibus datam.] |
Such being the happiness of the times, that you may think as you wish, and speak as you think.
[Lat., Rara temporum felicitate, ubi sentire quae velis, et quae sentias dicere licet.] |
The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws. |
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges. (The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.) |
It is the rare fortune of these days that one may think what one likes and say what one thinks. |
Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws. |
The lust for power in dominating others inflames the heart more than any other passion. |
The lust for power, for dominating others, inflames the heart more than any other passion. |
So, as you go into battle, remember your ancestors and remember your descendants. |
[That form of] eloquence, the foster-child of licence, which fools call liberty.
[Lat., Eloquentia, alumna licentiae, quam stulti libertatem vocabant.] |
We are corrupted by prosperity. And when the state is corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied. |
