[4]
And honour, dignity, my rank and order, and, above all, your kindness,
although they at all times appeared to me most splendid possessions, yet, now that they are
recovered, after having been lost, they appear more bright than if they had never been hidden
from my sight. And as for my country, O ye immortal gods, it is scarcely possible to express
how dear, how delightful it is to me. How great is the beauty of Italy! how renowned are its
cities! how varied are the enchantments of its scenery! What lands, what crops are here! How
noble is the splendour of this city, and the civilization of its citizens, and the dignity of
the republic, and your majesty, O people of Rome! Even of old, no one took greater delight in
all those things than I did. But as good health is more welcome to those who are just
recovered from a severe illness than to those who have never been sick, so all those things,
now that they have been once missed, delight me more than they did when enjoyed without
interruption.
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M. Tullius Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge, B. A. London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1856.
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