§12.30.1itane? praeter litigatores nemo ad te meas litteras? multae istae quidem; tu enim perfecisti ut nemo sine litteris meis tibi se commendatum putaret;
Is it really so? No one brings you my letters except litigants? They are indeed many; for you have brought it about that no one thinks himself recommended to you without a letter from me.
sed quis umquam tuorum mihi dixit esse cui darem, quin dederim? aut quid mi iucundius quam, cum coram tecum loqui non possim, aut scribere ad te aut tuas legere litteras? illud magis mihi solet esse molestum, tantis me impediri occupationibus, ut ad te scribendi meo arbitratu facultas nulla detur.
But who of your people has ever told me there is someone to whom I might give a letter, without my having given it? Or what is more pleasant to me than, when I cannot speak with you in person, either to write to you or to read your letters? It is rather this that is usually troublesome to me, that I am hindered by such great occupations that no opportunity of writing to you at my own pleasure is given to me.
non enim te epistulis sed voluminibus lacesserem; quibus quidem me a te provocari oportebat.
For otherwise I should be challenging you not with letters, but with volumes; and indeed, it is by these that I ought to be provoked by you.
quamvis enim occupatus sis,' oti tamen plus habes; aut, si ne tu quidem vacas, noli impudens esse nec mihi molestiam exhibere et a me litteras crebriores, cum tu mihi raro mittas, flagitare.
For however busy you may be, yet you have more leisure; or, if you too have no spare time, do not be impudent, nor cause me trouble, and demand more frequent letters from me, when you yourself send them to me but rarely.
§12.30.2nam cum antea distinebar maximis occupationibus, propterea quod omnibus curis rem p. mihi tuendam putabam, tum hoc tempore multo distineor vehementius.
For while formerly I was distracted by the greatest occupations, because I thought that the republic ought to be defended by me with all my care, at this present time I am distracted much more violently.
ut enim gravius aegrotant ii qui, cum levati morbo videntur, in eum de integro inciderunt, sic vehementius nos laboramus, qui profligato bello ac paene sublato renovatum bellum gerere conamur.
For just as those fall more seriously ill who, when they seem to have been relieved of a disease, have fallen back into it afresh, so we labor more vehemently, who, when the war was defeated and almost ended, are attempting to wage a renewed war.
sed haec hactenus. .
But enough of this.
§12.30.3tu tibi, mi Cornifici, fac ut persuadeas non esse me tam imbecillo animo, ne dicam inhumano, ut a te vinci possim aut officiis aut amore.
Take care to convince yourself, my dear Cornificius, that I am not of so weak a mind, not to say unfeeling, as to be able to be surpassed by you either in duties or in love.
non dubitabam equidem, verum tamen multo mihi notiorem amorem tuum effecit Chaerippus.
I, for my part, did not doubt, but yet Chaerippus has made your love much better known to me.
O hominem semper illum quidem mihi aptum, nunc vero etiam suavem! vultus me hercule tuos mihi expressit omnis, non solum animum ac verba pertulit.
O what a man, always indeed well-suited to me, but now truly delightful also! By Hercules, he expressed to me all your looks, and did not only bring your feelings and words.
itaque noli vereri ne tibi suscensuerim, quod eodem exemplo ad me quo ad ceteros.
Therefore, do not fear that I am angry with you because you wrote to me in the same words as to the others.
requisivi equidem proprias ad me unum litteras, sed neque vehementer et amanter.
I did indeed ask for a letter written specially to me alone, but not vehemently, and in a loving spirit.
§12.30.4de sumptu, quem te in rem militarem facere et fecisse dicis, nihil sane possum tibi opitulari, propterea quod et orbus senatus consulibus amissis et incredibiles angustiae pecuniae publicae; quae conquiritur undique, ut optime meritis militibus promissa solvantur; quod quidem fieri sine tributo posse non arbitror.
Concerning the expense which you say you are incurring and have incurred for military purposes, I can indeed give you no help, because the senate is orphaned by the loss of the consuls, and there is an incredible scarcity of public money; which is being scraped together from all sides, so that the promised payments may be made to the soldiers who have deserved best; which indeed I do not think can be done without a property tax.
§12.30.5de Attio Dionysio nihil puto esse, quoniam mihi nihil dixit Tratorius.
Concerning Attius Dionysius, I think there is nothing in it, since Tratorius has said nothing to me.
de P. Lucceio nihil tibi concedo, quo studiosior tu sis quam ego sum; est enim nobis necessarius.
Concerning P. Lucceius, I yield nothing to you, as though you were more zealous than I am; for he is closely connected with us.
sed a magistris cum contenderem de praeterendo die, probarunt mihi sese quo minus id facerent et compromisso et iure iurando impediri.
But when I pleaded with the directors about passing over the day, they proved to me that they were prevented from doing so both by an arbitration agreement and by an oath.
qua re veniendum arbitror Lucceio; quamquam, si meis litteris obtemperavit, cum tu haec leges illum Romae esse oportebit.
Wherefore I think Lucceius must come; although, if he has obeyed my letter, he ought to be in Rome when you read this.
§12.30.6ceteris de rebus maximeque de pecunia, cum Pansae mortem ignorares, scripsisti quae per nos ab eo consequi te posse arbitrarere.
Concerning other matters, and especially concerning money, since you were ignorant of Pansa's death, you wrote what you thought you could obtain from him through us.
quae te non fefellissent, si viveret; nam te diligebat; post mortem autem eius quid fieri posset non videbamus.
These things would not have failed you, if he were alive; for he loved you; but after his death we did not see what could be done.
de Venuleio, Latino, Horatio valde laudo; illud non nimium probo, quod scribis, quo illi animo aequiore ferrent, te tuis etiam legatis lictores ademisse (honore enim cum ignominia dignis non erant comparandi), eosque, ex s. c. si non decedunt, cogendos ut decedant existimo.
Concerning Venuleius, Latinus, and Horatius, I highly praise you; but I do not too much approve of what you write, that you, in order that they might bear it with a more equable mind, also took away the lictors from your own legates (for those worthy of honor ought not to have been compared with those worthy of ignominy), and I think that they, if they do not depart according to the decree of the senate, must be compelled to depart.
haec fere ad eas litteras, quas eodem exemplo is binas accepi; de reliquo velim tibi persuadeas non esse mihi meam dignitatem tua cariorem.
These are roughly my answers to those letters of which I received two copies of the same pattern; for the rest, I would have you persuade yourself that my own dignity is not dearer to me than yours.