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.