Nam postero die quam Curiatius Maternus Catonem recitaverat, cum offendisse potentium animos diceretur, tamquam in eo tragoediae argumento sui oblitus tantum Catonem cogitasset, eaque de re per urbem frequens sermo haberetur, venerunt ad eum Marcus Aper et Iulius Secundus, celeberrima tum ingenia fori nostri, quos ego utrosque non modo in iudiciis studiose audiebam, sed domi quoque et in publico adsectabar mira studiorum cupiditate et quodam ardore iuvenili, ut fabulas quoque eorum et disputationes et arcana semotae dictionis penitus. exciperem, quamvis maligne plerique opinarentur nec Secundo promptum esse sermonem et Aprum ingenio potius et vi naturae quam institutione et  litteris famam eloquentiae consecutum
It was the day following that on which Curiatius Maternus had given a reading of his Cato, when court circles were said to have taken umbrage at the way in which he had thrown himself in the play heart and soul into the role of Cato, with never a thought of himself. The thing was the talk of the town, and Maternus had a call from Marcus Aper and Julius Secundus, then the leading lights of the bar at Rome. Of both of them I can say that'being passionately fond of rhetorical studies, and fired with youthful enthusiasm'I made a practice not only of listening attentively to their pleadings in court, but also of attaching myself to them at their homes and attending them out of doors. I wanted to drink in their casual talk as well, and their discussions, and the confidences of their esoteric discourse, notwithstanding the many spiteful critics who held that Secundus was not a ready speaker, and that Apers title to oratorical renown was based on ability and inborn talent rather than on any literary training.
final_alignments\Tacitus_Dialogus.json