§12.25.1Liberalibus litteras accepi tuas quas mihi Cornificius altero vicesimo die, ut dicebat, reddidit.
On the Liberalia, I received your letter, which Cornificius delivered to me, as he said, on the twenty-first day.
eo die non fuit senatus neque postero.
On that day there was no senate, nor on the next.
Quinquatribus frequenti senatu causam tuam egi non invita Minerva; etenim eo ipso die senatus decrevit ut Minerva nostra, custos urbis, quam turbo deiecerat, restitueretur.
On the Quinquatrus, in a crowded senate, I pleaded your cause, not without the favor of Minerva; for indeed, on that very day, the senate decreed that our Minerva, the guardian of the city, whom a whirlwind had thrown down, should be restored.
Pansa tuas litteras recitavit.
Pansa read your letter aloud.
Magna senatus approbatio consecuta est cum summo gaudio et offensione Minotauri, id est Calvisi et Tauri; factum de te s. c. honorificum.
A great approval of the senate followed, with the greatest joy and to the annoyance of the Minotaur, that is, of Calvisius and Taurus; an honorable decree of the senate was made concerning you.
postulabatur ut etiam illi notarentur; sed Pansa clementior.
It was demanded that they also should be censured; but Pansa was more merciful.
§12.25.2ego, mi Cornifici, quo die primum in spem libertatis ingressus sum et cunctantibus ceteris a. d. xiii K. Ian. fundamenta ieci rei p. eo ipso die providi multum atque habui rationem dignitatis tuae; mihi enim est adsensus senatus de obtinendis provinciis.
I, my dear Cornificius, on the very day when I first entered into the hope of liberty and, while others hesitated, on the twentieth of December laid the foundations of the republic—on that very day I provided much and took account of your dignity; for the senate agreed with me concerning the retention of the provinces.
nec vero postea destiti labefactare eum qui summa cum tua iniuria contumeliaque rei p. provinciam absens obtinebat.
Nor indeed did I afterwards cease to undermine him who, with the greatest injustice to you and insult to the republic, was holding the province while absent.
itaque crebras vel potius cotidianas compellationes meas non tulit seque in urbem recepit invitus neque solum spe sed certa re iam et possessione deturbatus est meo iustissimo honestissimoque convicio.
Therefore, he could not bear my frequent, or rather daily, accusations, and withdrew into the city against his will, and was driven out not only from his hope but from a certain reality and possession by my most just and honorable denunciation.
te tuam dignitatem summa tua virtute tenuisse provinciaeque honoribus amplissimis adfectum vehementer gaudeo.
I rejoice exceedingly that you have maintained your dignity by your supreme virtue and have been treated with the most ample honors of your province.
§12.25.3quod te mihi de Sempronio purgas, accipio excusationem; fuit enim illud quoddam caecum tempus servitutis.
As for your clearing yourself to me regarding Sempronius, I accept your excuse; for that was a certain blind time of servitude.
ego tuorum consiliorum auctor dignitatisque fautor iratus temporibus in Graeciam desperata libertate rapiebar, cum me etesiae quasi boni cives relinquentem rem p. prosequi noluerunt austerque adversus maximo flatu me ad tribulis tuos Regium rettulit, atque inde ventis remis in patriam omni festinatione properavi postridieque in summa reliquorum servitute liber unus fui.
I, the adviser of your counsels and the supporter of your dignity, angry at the times and despairing of liberty, was being carried off to Greece, when the Etesian winds, like good citizens, refused to accompany me as I was abandoning the republic, and the contrary south wind, with its strongest blast, brought me back to your fellow-tribesmen at Regium; and from there, with winds and oars, I hastened to my homeland with all speed, and on the following day, amidst the absolute servitude of the rest, I was the only free man.
§12.25.4sic sum in Antonium invectus ut ille non ferret omnemque suum vinulentum furorem in me unum effunderet meque tum elicere vellet ad caedis causam tum temptaret insidiis.
I attacked Antony so fiercely that he could not bear it, and poured out all his drunken fury upon me alone, trying at one time to lure me out to afford an excuse for murder, and at another time laying snares for me.
quem ego ructantem et nauseantem conieci in Caesaris Octaviani plagas.
As he was belching and vomiting, I drove him into the nets of Caesar Octavian.
puer enim egregius praesidium sibi primum et nobis, deinde summae rei p. comparavit.
For that extraordinary boy prepared a defense first for himself and us, and then for the state as a whole.
qui nisi fuisset, Antoni reditus a Brundisio pestis patriae fuisset.
Had he not existed, Antony’s return from Brundisium would have been the ruin of our country.
quae deinceps acta sint scire te arbitror.
I think you know what was done next.
sed redeamus illuc unde devertimus.
But let us return to the point from which we digressed.
accipio excusationem tuam de Sempronio; neque enim statuti quid in tanta perturbatione habere potuisti.
I accept your excuse regarding Sempronius; for indeed you could not have any settled plan in such great confusion.
"
nunc hic dies aliam vitam defert, alios mores postulat,
"
ut ait Terentius.
"Now this day brings another life, demands other manners, "as Terence says.
quam ob rem, mi Quinte, conscende nobiscum et quidem ad puppim.
Therefore, my dear Quintus, embark with us, and indeed to the stern.
una navis est iam bonorum omnium, quam quidem nos damus operam ut rectam teneamus, utinam prospero cursu! sed, quicumque venti erunt, ars nostra certe non aberit.
There is now one ship for all good men, which indeed we are endeavoring to keep on a straight course; would that it be with a prosperous voyage! But, whatever winds there shall be, our skill will certainly not be lacking.
quid enim prae stare aliud virtus potest? tu fac ut magno animo sis et excelso cogitesque omnem dignitatem tuam cum re p. coniunctam esse debere.
For what else can virtue guarantee? Do see to it that you are of a great and lofty mind, and reflect that your entire dignity must be joined with the republic.