Nam neque Pompeius, ut primum ad rem publicam adgressus est, quemquam omnino parem tulit, et in quibus rebus primus esse debebat, solus esse cupiebat (neque eo viro quisquam aut alia omnia minus aut gloriam magis concupiit, in adpetendis honoribus inmodicus, in gerendis verecundissimus, ut qui eos ut libentissime iniret, ita finiret aequo animo, et quod cupisset, arbitrio suo sumeret, alieno deponeret) et Lucullus, summus alioqui vir, profusae huius in aedificiis convictibusque et apparatibus luxuriae primus auctor fuit, quem ob iniectas moles mari et receptum suffossis montibus in terras mare haud infacete Magnus Pompeius Xerxen togatum vocare adsueverat.
In fact Pompey, from the time when he first took part in public life, could not brook an equal at all. In undertakings in which he should have been merely the first he wished to be the only one. No one was ever more indifferent to other things or possessed a greater craving for glory; he knew no restraint in his quest for office, though he was moderate to a degree in the exercise of his powers. Entering upon each new office with the utmost eagerness, he would lay them aside with unconcern, and, although he consulted his own wishes in attaining what he desired, he yielded to the wishes of others in resigning it. As for Lucullus, who was otherwise a great man, he was the first to set the example for our present lavish extravagance in building, in banquets, and in furnishings. Because of the massive piles which he built in the sea, and of his letting the sea in upon the land by digging through mountains, Pompey used to call him, and not without point, the Roman Xerxes
final_alignments\Velleius_Paterculus_Compendium.json