§5.17.1non oblivione amicitiae nostrae neque intermissione consuetudinis meae superioribus temporibus ad te nullas litteras misi, sed quod priora tempora in ruinis rei p. nostrisque iacuerunt, posteriora autem me a scribendo tuis iniustissimis atque acerbissimis incommodis retardarunt.
It was not from any forgetfulness of our friendship, nor from any intermission of my habit of writing, that I sent you no letters in the preceding period, but because the earlier times lay prostrate in the ruins of the commonwealth and of our own fortunes, while the later times, owing to your most unjust and bitter misfortunes, retarded me from writing.
Cum vero et intervallum iam satis longum fuisset et tuam virtutem animique magnitudinem diligentius essem mecum recordatus, non putavi esse alienum institutis meis haec ad te scribere.
But when a sufficiently long interval had now elapsed, and I had more carefully recalled to my mind your virtue and greatness of soul, I did not think it foreign to my practice to write these things to you.
§5.17.2ego te, P. Sitti, et primis temporibus illis, quibus in invidiam absens et in crimen vocabare, defendi et, cum in tui familiarissimi iudicio ac periculo tuum crimen coniungeretur, ut potui accuratissime te tuamque causam tutatus sum et proxime recenti adventu meo, cum rem aliter institutam offendissem ac mihi placuisset, si adfuissem, tamen nulla re saluti tuae defui;
For my part, P. Sittius, I defended you in those first times when, in your absence, you were brought into unpopularity and accused; and when your accusation was joined with the trial and peril of your most intimate friend, I protected you and your cause as diligently as I could; and most recently, upon my recent arrival, although I found matters established otherwise than would have pleased me had I been present, yet I did not fail your safety in any respect.
cumque eo tempore invidia annonae, inimici non solum tui, verum etiam amicorum tuorum, iniquitas totius iudici multaque alia rei p. vitia plus quam causa ipsa veritasque valuissent, Publio tuo neque opera neque consilio neque labore neque gratia neque testimonio defui.
And when at that time the unpopularity regarding the grain supply, the enemies not only of yourself but also of your friends, the injustice of the entire trial, and many other vices of the commonwealth had prevailed more than the cause itself and the truth, I did not fail your Publius either in effort, counsel, labor, influence, or testimony.
§5.17.3quam ob rem omnibus officiis amicitiae diligenter a me sancteque servatis ne hoc quidem praetermittendum esse duxi, te ut hortarer rogaremque, ut et hominem te et virum esse meminisses, id est ut et communem incertumque casum, quem neque vitare quisquam nostrum nec praestare ullo pacto potest, sapienter ferres et dolori fortiter ac fortunae resisteres cogitaresque et in nostra civitate et in ceteris, quae rerum potitae sunt multis fortissimis atque optimis viris iniustis iudiciis talis casus incidisse.
For which reason, since all the duties of friendship have been diligently and sacredly observed by me, I thought that I ought not to omit even this: namely, to encourage and entreat you to remember that you are both a human being and a man—that is, that you should bear wisely that common and uncertain fortune which none of us can avoid or in any way guarantee against, and that you should bravely resist pain and fortune, and reflect that both in our state and in others which have held dominion, such a misfortune has fallen upon many most brave and excellent men through unjust trials.
illud utinam ne vere scriberem, ea te re p. carere, in qua neminem prudentem hominem res ulla delectet!
Would that I were not writing this with truth: namely, that you are deprived of that commonwealth in which nothing can delight any prudent man!
§5.17.4de tuo autem filio, vereor ne, si nihil ad te scripserim, debitum eius virtuti videar testimonium non dedisse, sin autem omnia, quae sentio, perscripserim, ne refricem meis litteris desiderium ac dolorem tuum.
But concerning your son, I fear lest, if I write nothing to you, I may seem not to have given the testimony due to his virtue; but if, on the other hand, I write out all that I feel, lest I should reopen your longing and grief by my letter.
sed tamen prudentissime facies, si illius pietatem, virtutem, industriam, ubicumque eris, tuam esse, tecum esse duces; nec enim minus nostra sunt quae animo complectimur quam quae oculis intuemur.
But yet you will act most wisely if, wherever you are, you consider his piety, virtue, and industry to be yours and to be with you; for those things which we embrace in our mind are no less ours than those which we look upon with our eyes.
§5.17.5quam ob rem et illius eximia virtus summusque in te amor magnae tibi consolationi debet esse et nos ceterique, qui te non ex fortuna, sed ex virtute tua pendimus semperque pendemus, et maxime animi tui conscientia, cum tibi nihil merito accidisse reputabis et illud adiunges, homines sapientis turpitudine, non casu et delicto suo, non aliorum iniuria commoveri.
Therefore, both his extraordinary virtue and supreme love for you ought to be a great consolation to you, and so should we and the others who estimate you, and always will estimate you, not by fortune but by your virtue, and especially the consciousness of your own mind, when you reflect that nothing has happened to you deservedly, and add this, that wise men are moved by disgrace, not by chance, and by their own fault, not by the injustice of others.
ego et memoria nostrae veteris amicitiae et virtute atque observantia fili tui monitus nullo loco dero neque ad consolandam neque ad levandam fortunam tuam.
I, prompted both by the memory of our ancient friendship and by the virtue and respect of your son, shall not fail in any place either to console or to alleviate your fortune.
tu si quid ad me forte scripseris, perficiam ne te frustra scripsisse arbitrere.
If you by chance write anything to me, I will see to it that you do not think you have written in vain.