§1.7.1legi tuas litteras, quibus ad me scribis gratum tibi esse, quod crebro certior per me fias de omnibus rebus et meam erga te benevolentiam facile perspicias; quorum alterum mihi, ut te plurimum diligam, facere necesse est, si volo is esse, quem tu me esse voluisti; alterum facio libenter, ut, quoniam intervallo locorum et temporum diiuncti sumus, per litteras tecum quam saepissime conloquar.
I read your letter, in which you write to me that it is pleasing to you that you are frequently informed by me about all matters and that you easily perceive my goodwill towards you; of which two things, the one—if I wish to be the man you wanted me to be—it is necessary for me to do by loving you most highly; the other I do willingly, so that, since we are separated by an interval of space and time, I may converse with you by letter as often as possible.
quod si rarius fiet quam tu exspectabis, id erit causae, quod non eius generis meae litterae sunt, ut eas audeam temere committere; quotiens mihi certorum hominum potestas erit, quibus recte dem, non praetermittam.
But if this happens more rarely than you expect, the reason will be that my letters are not of such a kind that I dare to entrust them blindly; whenever I have the opportunity of reliable men to whom I may safely give them, I shall not pass it by.
§1.7.2quod scire vis, qua quisque in te fide sit et voluntate, difficile dictu est de singulis; unum illud audeo, quod antea tibi saepe significavi, nunc quoque re perspecta et cognita scribere, vehementer quosdam homines et eos maxime, quite et maxime debuerunt et plurimum iuvare potuerunt, invidisse dignitati tuae, simillimamque in re dissimili tui temporis nunc et nostri quondam fuisse rationem, ut, quos tu rei publicae causa laeseras, palam te oppugnarent, quorum auctoritatem, dignitatem voluntatemque defenderas, non tam memores essent virtutis tuae quam laudis inimici.
As for your wanting to know what loyalty and goodwill each person has towards you, it is difficult to say concerning individuals; this one thing I dare to write, which I have often indicated to you before, and now also write after the matter has been thoroughly seen and known: that certain men, and those especially who both ought most to have helped you and were most able to help you, have vehemently envied your dignity, and that the character of your situation now and of ours once was very similar in a dissimilar matter, so that those whom you had offended for the sake of the republic attacked you openly, while those whose authority, dignity, and goodwill you had defended were not so much mindful of your virtue as they were enemies of your praise.
quo quidem tempore, ut perscripsi ad te antea, cognovi Hortensium percupidum tui studiosum Lucullum, ex magistratibus antem L. Racilium et fide et animo singulari; nam nostra propugnatio ac defensio dignitatis tuae propter magnitudinem benefici tui fortasse plerisque offici maiorem auctoritatem habere videatur quam sententiae.
At which time indeed, as I wrote to you in detail before, I recognized that Hortensius was very eager for you, Lucullus zealous, and among the magistrates L. Racilius was of singular loyalty and spirit; for our championship and defense of your dignity, because of the magnitude of your favor, might perhaps seem to most people to have the greater authority of an obligation than of an independent opinion.
§1.7.3praeterea quidem de consularibus nemini possum aut studi erga te aut offici aut amici animi esse testis; etenim Pompeium, qui mecum saepissime non solum a me provocatus, sed etiam sua sponte de te communicare solet, scis temporibus illis non saepe in senatu fuisse; cui quidem litterae tuae, quas proxime miseras, quod facile intellexerim, periucundae fuerunt.
Besides, indeed, among the consulars I can be a witness to no one's zeal towards you, nor duty, nor friendly spirit; for indeed you know that Pompey, who is accustomed to communicate with me very frequently about you, not only when prompted by me but also of his own accord, was not often in the senate in those times; to whom indeed your letter, which you had sent most recently, as I could easily perceive, was very pleasing.
mihi quidem humanitas tua vel summa potius sapientia non incunda solum, sed etiam admirabilis visa est; virum enim excellentem et tibi tua praestanti in eum liberalitate devinctum non nihil suspicantem propter aliquorum opinionem suae cupiditatis te ab se abalienatum illa epistula retinuisti; qui mihi cum semper tuae laudi favere visus est, etiam ipso suspiciosissimo tempore Caniniano, tum vero lectis tuis litteris perspectus est a me toto animo de te ac de tuis ornamentis et commodis cogitare.
To me indeed, your kindliness, or rather your supreme wisdom, seemed not only pleasing, but even admirable; for by that letter you retained an excellent man, who was bound to you by your outstanding generosity towards him, but who was not a little suspicious, because of some people's opinion of his ambition, that you had been alienated from him; who, while he always seemed to me to favor your praise, even in the very suspicious Caninian period itself, was then truly seen by me, after your letter was read, to be thinking with his whole heart about you and about your honors and advantages.