§10.1.1et afui proficiscens in Graeciam et, postea quam de medio cursu rei p. sum voce revocatus, numquam per M. Antonium quietus fui; cuius tanta est non insolentia (nam id quidem vulgare vitium est) sed immanitas, non modo ut vocem sed ne vultum quidem liberum possit ferre cuiusquam.
I was both away, setting out for Greece, and, after I was recalled from the middle of my journey by the voice of the republic, I was never left in peace because of Marcus Antonius; whose non-insolence indeed (for that is a common vice), but monstrous cruelty is so great, that he cannot bear not only the voice but not even the free look of anyone.
itaque mihi maximae curae est non de mea quidem vita cui satis feci vel aetate vel factis vel, si quid etiam hoc ad rem pertinet, gloria, sed me patria sollicitat in primisque, mi Plance, exspectatio consulatus tui, quae ita longa est, ut optandum sit ut possimus ad id tempus rei p. spiritum ducere.
Therefore, my greatest concern is not indeed for my own life, which I have satisfied either by age, or by deeds, or, if this too belongs to the matter, by glory; but my country troubles me, and especially, my dear Plancus, the expectation of your consulship, which is so far off, that we must pray that we may be able to draw the breath of the republic until that time.
quae potest enim spes esse in ea re p. , in qua hominis impotentissimi atque intemperantissimi armis oppressa sunt omnia, et in qua nec senatus nec populus vim habet ullam nec leges ullae sunt nec iudicia nec omnino simulacrum aliquod ac vestigium civitatis?
For what hope can there be in that republic, in which all things have been oppressed by the arms of a most powerless and self-indulgent man, and in which neither the senate nor the people has any power, nor are there any laws, nor judgments, nor any likeness or trace of a state at all?
§10.1.2sed quoniam acta omnia mitti ad te arbitrabar, nihil erat quod singulis de rebus scriberem; illud autem erat amoris mei, quem a tua pueritia susceptum non servavi solum sed etiam auxi, monere te atque hortari ut in rem p. omni. cogitatione curaque incumberes.
But since I believed that all public acts were being sent to you, there was no reason why I should write about individual matters; but it was a duty of my love, which, conceived from your youth, I have not only preserved but also increased, to warn and exhort you to apply yourself with all thought and care to the republic.
quae si ad tuum tempus perducitur, facilis gubernatio est ut perducatur autem magnae cum diligentiae est tum etiam fortunae.
If it is preserved up to your time, its governance is easy; but that it should be preserved is a matter not only of great diligence but also of fortune.
§10.1.3sed et te aliquanto ante, ut spero, habebimus et, praeterquam quod rei p. consulere debemus, tamen tuae dignitati ita favemus, ut omne nostrum consilium, studium, officium, operam, laborem, diligentiam ad amplitudinem tuam conferamus.
But we shall have you, as I hope, some time before; and, besides that we ought to consult for the republic, yet we so favor your dignity that we devote all our counsel, zeal, duty, effort, labor, and diligence to your greatness.
ita facillime et rei p. , quae mihi carissima est, et amicitiae nostrae, quam sanctissime nobis colendam puto, me intellego satis facturum.
Thus I understand that I shall most easily satisfy both the republic, which is most dear to me, and our friendship, which I think we must cultivate most sacredly.
§10.1.4Furnium nostrum tanti a te fieri, quantum ipsius humanitas et dignitas postulat, nec miror et gaudeo teque hoc existimare volo, quicquid in eum iudici officique contuleris, id it a me accipere, ut in me ipsum te putem contulisse.
That our friend Furnius is made of so much account by you as his own humanity and dignity demand, I neither wonder and I rejoice; and I wish you to think this, that whatever judgment and duty you bestow upon him, I receive it in such a way that I think you have bestowed it upon myself.