I knew both things well: that you would remember our shared request, and that you would set to work — being noble yourself, from noble stock, and mindful of where you come from. You have added honor to honor: to the deeds accomplished there on our behalf, you have now added a letter to us.
I predict you will do many such things, using the divination of rhetoricians. This does not mean watching birds or slaughtering lambs or heeding omens — rather, the ability to conjecture well places us near Amphiaraos [the mythical seer].
I reflect on how pleasantly you once told me about the portrait that revealed your ancestor would govern us — for you said the man in it was sacrificing to Kalliope, the Muse who presides over us. From those words and that pleasure, I am convinced you will say much and do much, some of it preserving, some of it enlarging this city.
In return, you will depart with what sufficed for Romans of old: a good reputation, abundant praise, and the prayer of future governors that they not fall short of you.
I knew both things well: that you would remember our shared request, and that you would set to work — being noble yourself, from noble stock, and mindful of where you come from. You have added honor to honor: to the deeds accomplished there on our behalf, you have now added a letter to us.
I predict you will do many such things, using the divination of rhetoricians. This does not mean watching birds or slaughtering lambs or heeding omens — rather, the ability to conjecture well places us near Amphiaraos [the mythical seer].
I reflect on how pleasantly you once told me about the portrait that revealed your ancestor would govern us — for you said the man in it was sacrificing to Kalliope, the Muse who presides over us. From those words and that pleasure, I am convinced you will say much and do much, some of it preserving, some of it enlarging this city.
In return, you will depart with what sufficed for Romans of old: a good reputation, abundant praise, and the prayer of future governors that they not fall short of you.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.