Laudator Temporis Acti

Livy 5.21.10 (tr. B.O. Foster):

But in matters of so great antiquity I should be content if things probable were to be received as true: this story, more fit to be displayed on the stage, that delights in wonders, than to be believed, it is worth while neither to affirm nor to refute.

sed in rebus tam antiquis si quae similia veri sint pro veris acci­piantur, satis habeam: haec ad ostentationem scaenae gaudentis miraculis aptiora quam ad fidem neque adfirmare neque refellere est operae pretium.

The same (tr. Aubrey de Sélincourt):

Personally I am content, as a historian, if in things which happened so many centuries ago probabilities are accepted as truth; this tale, which is too much like a romantic stage-play to be taken seriously, I feel is hardly worth attention either for affirmation or denial.

The same (tr. Valerie M. Warrior):

But in matters of such antiquity, I would be content if things that are like the truth are taken as being true. These events are more appropriate to be displayed on the stage, which rejoices in miracles, than to be believed. Nor is there any return for the effort of affirming or refuting them.