§10.4.1gratissimae mihi tuae litterae fuerunt, quas ex Furni sermone te scripsisse animadverti.
Your letter was most welcome to me, which I noticed you wrote from Furnius's talk.
ego autem praeteriti temporis excusationem adfero, quod te profectum audieram nec multo ante redisse scii quam ex epistula tua cognovi.
But for my part, I offer an excuse for the past time, because I had heard that you had set out, and I did not know that you had returned until shortly before I learned it from your letter.
nullum enim in te officium ne minimum quidem sine maxima culpa videor posse praeterire, in quo tuendo habeo causas plurimas vel paternae necessitudinis vel meae a pueritia observantiae vel tui erga me. . mutui amoris.
For I seem unable to pass over any duty toward you, not even the smallest, without the greatest fault; in maintaining which I have very many reasons, whether of paternal connection, or of my respect from childhood, or of your... mutual love toward me.
§10.4.2qua re, mi Cicero, quod mea tuaque patitur aetas, persuade tibi te unum esse in quo ego colendo patriam mihi constituerim sanctitatem.
Therefore, my dear Cicero, as far as my age and yours allow, persuade yourself that you are the sole person in honoring whom I have established for myself a devotion equal to that for our country.
omnia igitur tua consilia mihi non magis prudentiae plena, quae summa est, videntur quam fidelitatis, quam ego ex mea conscientia metior.
Therefore, all your counsels seem to me not more full of wisdom, which is supreme, than of loyalty, which I measure by my own conscience.
qua re, si aut aliter sentirem, certe admonitio tua me reprimere aut, si dubitarem, hortatio impellere posset ut id sequerer, quod tu optimum putares; nunc vero quid est quid me in aliam partem trahere possit? quaecumque in me bona sunt aut fortunae beneficio tributa aut meo labore parta, etsi a te propter amorem carius sunt aestimata, tamen vel inimicissimi iudicio tanta sunt ut praeter bonam famam nihil desiderare videantur.
Therefore, if I either felt otherwise, certainly your admonition could restrain me, or, if I were doubting, your encouragement could impel me to follow what you thought best; but now, what is there that could drag me in another direction? Whatever good things are in me, whether granted by the favor of fortune or acquired by my own labor, although they are valued more dearly by you because of your love, yet even in the judgment of my greatest enemy they are so great that they seem to need nothing besides a good reputation.
§10.4.3qua re hoc unum tibi persuade, quantum viribus eniti, consilio providere, auctoritate monere potuero, hoc omne rei p. semper futurum.
Therefore, persuade yourself of this one thing: as much as I shall be able to strive with my strength, provide with counsel, and advise with authority, all of this will always belong to the republic.
non est ignotus mihi sensus tuus.
Your feeling is not unknown to me.
neque si facultas optabilis mihi quidem tui praesentis esset, umquam a tuis consiliis discreparem nec nunc committam ut ullum meum factum reprehendere iure possis.
And even if the opportunity, desirable indeed to me, of your presence were available, I would never differ from your counsels, nor shall I now allow that you could justly blame any action of mine.
§10.4.4sum in exspectatione omnium rerum, quid in Gallia citeriore, quid in urbe mense Ianuario geratur, ut sciam.
I am in expectation of all things, in order to know what is being done in Nearer Gaul and what in the city in the month of January.
interim maximam hic sollicitudinem curamque sustineo, ne inter aliena vitia hae gentes nostra mala suam putent occasionem.
Meanwhile, I bear the greatest anxiety and care here, lest, amid the vices of others, these tribes should think our troubles to be their opportunity.
quod si proinde ut ipse mereor mihi successerit, certe et tibi, cui maxime cupio, et omnibus viris bonis satis faciam.
And if it turns out for me just as I myself deserve, I shall certainly satisfy both you, whom I most of all wish to please, and all good men.
fac valeas meque mutuo diligas. .
Farewell, and love me in return.