§13.29.1non dubito quin scias in iis necessariis, qui tibi a patre relicti sunt, me tibi esse vel coniunctissimum non iis modo causis, quae speciem habent magnae coniunctionis, sed iis etiam, quae familiaritate et consuetudine tenentur, quam scis mihi iucundissimam cum patre tuo et summam fuisse.
I do not doubt that you know that, among those close friends who were left to you by your father, I am most closely bound to you, not only for those reasons which have the appearance of a great connection, but also for those which are maintained by familiarity and intimacy, which you know was most pleasant and greatest between your father and me.
ab his initiis noster in te amor profectus auxit paternam necessitudinem, et eo magis, quod intellexi, ut primum per aetatem iudicium facere potueris quanti quisque tibi faciendus esset, me a te in primis coeptum esse observari, coli, diligi.
From these beginnings, my love for you has proceeded and increased our paternal relationship, and all the more because I understood that, as soon as you were old enough to make a judgment as to how much each person should be valued by you, I began to be especially respected, courted, and loved by you.
accedebat non mediocre vinculum cum studio. rum, quod ipsum est per se grave, tum eorum studiorum earumque artium, quae per se ipsae eos qui voluntate eadem sunt etiam familiaritate devinciunt. §13.29.2exspectare te arbitror haec tam longe repetita principia quo spectent.
There was added no small bond of studies, which in itself is important, and of those studies and arts which, by their own nature, bind together by intimacy those who share the same inclinations. I think you are waiting to see where these preambles, traced so far back, are tending.
id primum ergo habeto, non sine magna iustaque causa hanc a me commemorationem esse factam.
Therefore, let this be your first point: that it is not without a great and just cause that this recollection has been made by me.
C. Ateio Capitone utor familiarissime.
I am on terms of the greatest intimacy with C. Ateius Capito.
notae tibi sunt varietates meorum temporum.
The changes of my fortunes are well known to you.
in omni genere et honorum et laborum meorum et animus et opera et auctoritas et gratia, etiam res familiaris C. Capitonis praesto fuit et paruit et temporibus et fortunae meae. §13.29.3huius propinquus fuit T. Antistius.
In every kind of both my honors and my troubles, the mind, assistance, authority, influence, and even the private property of C. Capito have been at my service and have submitted to both my circumstances and my fortune. His relative was T. Antistius.
qui cum sorte quaestor Macedoniam obtineret neque ei successum esset, Pompeius in eam provinciam cum exercitu venit.
When he was holding Macedonia as quaestor by lot, and no successor had been appointed for him, Pompey came into that province with an army.
facere Antistius nihil potuit; nam si potuisset, nihil ei fuisset antiquius quam ad Capitonem, quem ut parentem diligebat, reverti, praesertim cum sciret quanti is Caesarem faceret semperque fecisset.
Antistius could do nothing; for if he had been able to do anything, nothing would have been more important to him than to return to Capito, whom he loved as a parent, especially since he knew how much Capito valued Caesar and had always valued him.
sed oppressus tantum attigit negoti quantum recusare non potuit. §13.29.4Cum signaretur argentum Apolloniae, non possum dicere eum praefuisse neque possum negare adfuisse, sed non plus duobus aut tribus mensibus.
But being overwhelmed, he touched only so much of the business as he could not refuse. When money was being coined at Apollonia, I cannot say that he was in charge of it, nor can I deny that he was present, but for no more than two or three months.
deinde afuit a castris; fugit omne negotium.
Then he was absent from the camp; he fled from all business.
hoc mihi ut testi velim credas; meam enim ille maestitiam in illo bello videbat, mecum omnia communicabat.
I would wish you to believe this, with me as a witness; for he saw my sadness in that war and communicated everything to me.
itaque abdidit se in intimam Macedoniam, quo potuit longissime a castris, non modo ut non praeesset ulli negotio sed etiam ut ne interesset quidem.
Therefore he hid himself in the interior of Macedonia, as far as possible from the camp, not only so that he might not be in charge of any business, but also that he might not even be involved.
is post proelium se ad hominem necessarium, A. Plautium, in Bithyniam contulit.
After the battle, he betook himself to his close friend, A. Plautius, in Bithynia.
ibi eum Caesar cum vidisset, nihil aspere, nihil acerbe dixit, Romam iussit venire.
When Caesar saw him there, he said nothing harsh or bitter, but ordered him to come to Rome.
ille in morbum continuo incidit, ex quo non convaluit.
He immediately fell into an illness from which he did not recover.
aeger Corcyram venit ibi est mortuus.
While ill, he came to Corcyra and died there.
testamento, quod Romae Paulo et Marcello consulibus fecerat, heres ex parte dimidia et tertia est Capito; in sextante sunt ii quorum pars sine ulla cuiusquam querela publica potest esse ea est ad HS X_X_X_.
By his will, which he had made at Rome when Paulus and Marcellus were consuls, Capito is heir to a half and a third part; in the sixth part are those whose share can be made public property without any complaint from anyone; that share is about three million sesterces.
sed de hoc Caesar viderit. §13.29.5te, mi Plance, pro paterna necessitudine, pro nostro amore, pro studiis et omni cursu nostro totius vitae simillimo rogo et a te ita peto, ut maiore cura, maiore studio nullam possim, ut hanc rem suscipias, meam putes esse, enitare, contendas, efficias ut mea commendatione, tuo studio, Caesaris beneficio hereditatem propinqui sui C. Capito obtineat.
But about this Caesar will see. My Plancus, I ask you by our paternal relationship, by our love, by our studies, and by the very similar course of our whole lives, and I request of you in such a way that I could not ask anything else with greater care or greater zeal: that you undertake this matter, think of it as mine, strive, contend, and bring it about that by my recommendation, your zeal, and Caesar's favor, C. Capito may obtain the inheritance of his relative.
omnia quae potui in hac summa tua gratia ac potentia a te impetrare, si petissem, ultro te ad me detulisse putabo, si hanc rem impetravero. §13.29.6illud fore tibi adiumento spero, cuius ipse Caesar optimus esse iudex potest: semper Caesarem Capito coluit et dilexit.
If I obtain this request, I shall consider that you have voluntarily offered me everything that I could have obtained from you in this supreme favor and power of yours, if I had asked for it. I hope that this will be a help to you, of which Caesar himself can be the best judge: Capito has always courted and loved Caesar.
sed ipse huius rei testis est; novi hominis memoriam.
But Caesar himself is a witness to this; I know the man's memory.
itaque nihil te doceo; tantum tibi sumito pro Capitone apud Caesarem quantum ipsum meminisse senties. §13.29.7ego, quod in me ipso experiri potui, ad te deferam; in eo quantum sit ponderis tu videbis.
Therefore I teach you nothing; only claim for Capito before Caesar as much as you perceive that Caesar himself remembers. As for what I was able to experience in my own case, I will relate it to you; you will see how much weight there is in it.
quam partem in re p. causamque defenderim, per quos homines ordinesque steterim quibusque munitus fuerim non ignoras.
You are not ignorant of what party and cause I defended in the state, through what men and classes I stood, and by whom I was protected.
hoc mihi velim credas, si quid fecerim hoc ipso in bello minus ex Caesaris voluntate (quod intellexi scire ipsum Caesarem me invitissimum fecisse), id fecisse aliorum consilio, hortatu, auctoritate; quod fuerim moderatior temperatiorque quam in ea parte. quisquam, id me fecisse maxime auctoritate Capitonis; cuius similis si reliquos necessarios habuissem, rei p. fortasse non nihil, mihi certe plurimum profuissem. §13.29.8hanc rem, mi Plance, si effeceris, meam de tua erga me benevolentia spem confirmaveris, ipsum Capitonem, gratissimum, officiosissimum, optimum virum, ad tuam necessitudinem tuo summo beneficio adiunxeris.
I would wish you to believe this: if I did anything in this very war less according to Caesar's wishes (which I understood Caesar himself knew that I did most reluctantly), I did it by the advice, encouragement, and authority of others; but that I was more moderate and temperate than anyone in that party, I did so especially by the authority of Capito; if I had had the rest of my close friends like him, I would have been of no small service to the state perhaps, and certainly of the greatest service to myself. My Plancus, if you accomplish this matter, you will have confirmed my hope of your goodwill toward me, and you will have attached Capito himself, a most grateful, dutiful, and excellent man, to your friendship by your supreme favor.