Laudator Temporis Acti

Cicero, In Defence of Murena 22 (tr. C. Macdonald):

In truth there is no doubt—for I must speak my mind—that success in a military career counts for more than any other. It is this which has won renown for the people of Rome and eternal glory for their city, which has compelled the world to obey our rule. All the activities of this city, all this noble profession of ours, our hard work and recognition here at the Bar lurk in obscurity under the care and protection of prowess in war. The moment that there is a distant rumble of warfare, our arts immediately fall silent.

ac nimirum—dicendum est enim quod sentio—rei militaris virtus praestat ceteris omnibus. haec nomen populo Romano, haec huic urbi aeternam gloriam peperit, haec orbem terrarum parere huic imperio coegit; omnes urbanae res, omnia haec nostra praeclara studia et haec forensis laus et industria latet in tutela ac praesidio bellicae virtutis. simul atque increpuit suspicio tumultus, artes ilico nostrae conticiscunt.

Id. 30:

All those activities of yours are dashed from our hands the moment any fresh disturbance sounds the call to arms. In the words of a poet of genius [Ennius] and a very reliable authority, at the declaration of war "there is banished" not only your wordy pretence of wisdom but also that mistress of the world "good sense; force is in control, the orator is rejected" whether he is tiresome and long-winded or whether he is "a good speaker; the rough soldier is courted," but your profession lies abandoned. "They do not go from court to join issue, but rather," he says, "they seek redress with the sword." If this is so, Sulpicius, in my view, let the Forum give way to the camp, peace to war, the pen to the sword, shade to the heat of the sun; in short, concede first place in the State to that profession which has given the State dominion over the world.

omnia ista nobis studia de manibus excutiuntur, simul atque aliqui motus novus bellicum canere coepit. etenim, ut ait ingeniosus poeta et auctor valde bonus, proeliis promulgatis "pellitur e medio" non solum ista vestra verbosa simulatio prudentiae sed etiam ipsa illa domina rerum, "sapientia; vi geritur res, spernitur orator" non solum odiosus in dicendo ac loquax verum etiam "bonus; horridus miles amatur," vestrum vero studium totum iacet. "non ex iure manum consertum, sed mage ferro" inquit "rem repetunt." quod si ita est, cedat, opinor, Sulpici, forum castris, otium militiae, stilus gladio, umbra soli; sit denique in civitate ea prima res propter quam ipsa est civitas omnium princeps.

The quotations are from Ennius' Annals 248–253 Skutsch (tr. Sander M. Goldberg and Gesine Manuwald):

good sense is driven from view, by force are affairs managed,
the honest advocate is spurned, the uncouth soldier loved,
not striving with learned speech nor with insulting speech
do they contend among themselves, stirring up hatred;
not to lay claim by law, but rather by the sword—
they press claims and seek mastery—they rush on with force unchecked

pellitur e medio sapientia, vi geritur res;
spernitur orator bonus, horridus miles amatur;
haud doctis dictis certantes, nec maledictis
miscent inter sese inimicitiam agitantes;
non ex iure manum consertum, sed magis ferro—
rem repetunt regnumque petunt—vadunt solida vi.