1. Plērīque mortālēs studiō et glōriae saeculārī ināniter dēditi exinde perennem, ut putābant, memoriam nōminis suī quaesiērunt, sī vītās clārōrum virōrum stilō illustrāssent. 2. quae rēs utique nōn perennem quidem, sed aliquantulum tamen conceptae speī fructum afferēbat, quia et suam memoriam, licet incassum, prōpāgābant, et prōpositīs magnōrum virōrum exemplīs nōn parva aemulātio legentibus excitābātur. sed tamen nihil ad beātam illam aeternamque vītam haec eōrum cūra pertinuit. 3. quid enim aut ipsīs occāsūra cum saeculō scriptōrum suōrum glōria prōfuit? aut quid posteritās ēmolumentī tulit legendō Hectorem pugnantem aut Sōcraten philosophantem? cum eōs nōn sōlum imitārī stultitia sit, sed nōn ācerrimē etiam impugnāre dēmentia: quippe quī hūmānam vītam praesentibus tantum āctibus aestimantēs spēs suās fabulīs, animās sepulcrīs dederint: 4. sīquidem ad sōlam hominum memoriam sē perpetuandōs crēdidērunt, cum hominis officium sit, perennem potius vītam quam perennem memoriam quaerere, nōn scrībendō aut pugnāndō vel philosophandō, sed piē sānctē religiōsēque vīvendō. 5. quī quidem error hūmānus litterīs trāditus in tantum valuit, ut multōs plānē aemulōs vel inānis philosophiae vel stultae illius virtūtis invēnerit.
6. unde factūrus mihi operae pretium videor, sī vītam sānctissimī virī, exemplō aliīs mox futūram, perscrīpserō: quō utique ad vēram sapientiam et caelestem mīlitiam dīvīnamque virtūtem legentēs incitābuntur. in quō ita nostrī quoque rationem commodī dūcimus, ut nōn inānem ab hominibus memoriam, sed aeternum ā Deō praemium exspectēmus, quia etsi ipsī nōn ita vīximus, ut exemplō aliīs esse possīmus, dedimus tamen operam, nē is latēret quī esset imitandus. 7. igitur sānctī Martīnī vītam scrībere exordiar, ut sē vel ante epīscopātum vel in epīscopātū gesserit, quamvīs nēquāquam ad omnia illius potuerim pervenīre: adeo ea, in quibus ipse tantum sibi cōnscius fuit, nesciuntur, quia laudem ab hominibus nōn requīrēns, quantum in ipsō fuit, omnēs virtūtes suās latēre voluisset. 8. quamquam etiam ex hīs, quae comperta nobis erant, plūra omīsimus, quia sufficere crēdidimus, sī tantum excellentia notārentur: simul et legentibus cōnsulendum fuit, nē quod hīs pāreret cōpia congesta fastīdium. 9. obsecrō autem eōs quī lēctūrī sunt, ut fidem dīctīs adhibeant, neque mē quicquam nisi compertum et probātum scrīpsisse arbitrentur: aliōquīn tacēre quam falsa dīcere māluissem.
notes
vocabulary
saeculāris -e: worldy, temporal
ināniter: (adv.) vainly, uselessly
exindē: adv., thence
perennis -e: everlasting, perpetual, perennial
stilus -ī m.: a style
illūstrō -āre: light up, illuminate; explain, make famous
utique: (adv.) certainly, assuredly, undoubtedly
aliquantulus -a -um: little, small
incassum: (adv.) in vain, to no purpose
prōpāgō -āre: propagate; prolong, preserve
aemulātiō -ōnis f.: striving after, emulation
excitō -āre: call out or forth; excite, incite
posteritās -ātis f.: future time, posterity
ēmolumentum -ī n.: gain, profit, benefit
philosophor -ārī -ātus sum: philosophize
sōlum: (adv.) only, merely
imitor -āri: imitate
stultitia -ae f.: folly, foolishness
impūgnō -āre: attack, assail
āctus -ūs m.: act, deed
aestimō -āre: estimate, value
sīquidem: (adv.) if indeed; since indeed, since
perpetuō -āre: make perpetual, perpetuate
plānē: plainly, clearly, distinctly
aemulō -āre: emulate; rival
inānis -e: empty, void
philosophia -ae f.: philosophy
stultus -a -um: foolish, stupid
perscrībō -scrībere -scrīpsī -scrīptum: write out in full, report
incitō -citāre: set in rapid motion; incite, impel
commodum -ī n.: advantage, profit
lateō -ēre -uī: lie hid, be hidden
exordior -ordirī -orsus sum: begin, commence
nēquāquam: (adv.) in nowise, by no means, not at all
cōnscius -a -um: conscious (+ gen. or dat.)
requīro -quīrere -quīsīvi -quīsītum: seek again, search for; miss
omittō -mittere -mīsī -missum: pass over, say nothing of, omit
sufficiō -ficere -fēcī -fectum: supply, afford; be able
excellentia -ae f.: superiority, excellence, perfection
congestus -ūs m.: accumulation, a collecting
fastīdium -ī n.: dislike, aversion
obsecrō -āre: beseech, entreat, implore
probātus -a -um: tried, tested, proved
aliōquin: (adv.) otherwise