Nec me gestorum paenitet aut gravis flagitii recordatio stringit, vel cum in umbram et angustias amendarer, vel post principatum susceptum, animum tamquam a cognatione caelitum defluentem, immaculatum (ut existimo) conservavi et civilia moderatius regens, et examinatis rationibus, bella inferens et repellens, tametsi prosperitas simul utilitasque consultorum non ubique concordent, quoniam coeptorum eventus superae sibi vindicant potestates.
I do not regret what I have done, nor does the recollection of any grave misdeed torment me; either when I was consigned to the shade and obscurity, or after I attained the principate, I have preserved my soul, as taking its origin from relationship with the gods, stainless (in my opinion), conducting civil affairs with moderation, and making and repelling wars only after mature deliberation. And yet success and well-laid plans do not always go hand in hand, since higher powers claim for themselves the outcome of all enterprises.
final_alignments\Ammianus_Marcellinus_Book25.json