Quocirca si reditum in hunc locum desperaueris, in quo omnia sunt magnis et praestantibus uiris, quanti tandem est ista hominum gloria, quae pertinere uix ad unius anni partem exiguam potest? igitur alte spectare SI VOLES atque hanc sedem et aeternam domum contueri, neque te sermonibus uulgi dedideris nec in praemiis humanis spem posueris rerum tuarum; suis te oportet inlecebris ipsa uirtus trahat ad uerum decus, quid de te alli loquantur, ipsi uideant, sed loquentur tamen. sermo autem omnis ille et angustiis cingitur iis regionum, quas uides, nec umquam de ullo perennis fuit et obruitur hominum interitu et obliuione posteritatis extinguitur.
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Consequently, if you despair of ever returning to this place, where eminent and excellent men find their true reward, of how little value, indeed, is your fame among men, which can hardly endure for the small part of a single year? Therefore, if you will only look on high and contemplate this eternal home and resting place, you will no longer attend to the gossip of the vulgar herd or put your trust in human rewards for your exploits. Virtue herself, by her own charms, should lead you on to true glory. Let what others say of you be their own concern; whatever it is, they will say it in any case. But all their talk is limited to those narrow regions which you look upon, nor will any man's reputation endure very long, for what men say dies with them and is blotted out with the forgetfulness of posterity.
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Marcus Tullius Cicero, De Republica, Livro VI: XXIII, trad. Clinton Walker Keyes.
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