§6.12.1gratulor tibi, mi Balbe, vereque gratulor nec sum tam stultus ut te usura falsi gaudi frui velim, deinde frangi repente atque ita cadere ut nulla res te ad aequitatem animi possit postea extollere.
I congratulate you, my Balbus, and I truly congratulate you; nor am I so foolish as to want you to enjoy the use of a false joy, and then to be suddenly broken and fall in such a way that nothing can afterwards lift you up to equanimity of mind.
egi tuam causam apertius quam mea tempora ferebant.
I pleaded your cause more openly than my own circumstances permitted.
vincebatur enim fortuna ipsa debilitatae gratiae nostrae tui cantate et meo perpetuo erga te amore culto a te diligentissime.
For fortune itself, in our weakened influence, was overcome by my affection for you and my perpetual love towards you, most diligently cultivated by you.
omnia promissa confirmata certa et rata sunt, quae ad reditum et ad salutem tuam pertinent; vidi, cognovi, interfui.
All the promises have been confirmed, sure and ratified, which pertain to your return and safety; I saw them, I knew them, I was present.
§6.12.2etenim omnis Caesaris familiaris satis opportune habeo implicatos consuetudine et benevolentia sic ut, cum ab illo discesserint, me habeant proximum.
For indeed, I have all of Caesar's close friends quite opportunely bound to me by intimacy and goodwill in such a way that, when they leave him, they regard me as the next closest.
hoc Pansa, Hirtius, Balbus, Oppius, Matius, Postumius plane ita faciunt ut me unice diligant.
This Pansa, Hirtius, Balbus, Oppius, Matius, and Postumius plainly do in such a way that they love me singularly.
quod si mihi per me efficiendum fuisset, non me paeniteret pro ratione temporum ita esse molitum; sed nihil est a me inservitum temporis causa.
But if this had had to be accomplished by me for my own sake, I would not regret having so exerted myself considering the character of the times; but nothing has been served by me for the sake of the times.
veteres mihi necessitudines cum his omnibus intercedunt, quibuscum ego agere de te non destiti; principem tamen habuimus Pansam, tui studiosissimum, mei cupidum, qui valeret apud illum non minus auctoritate quam gratia.
Old ties of friendship exist between me and all of these, with whom I did not cease to plead for you; yet we had Pansa as our leader, who is most devoted to you and fond of me, who had no less power with Caesar by authority than by favor.
Cimber autem Tillius mihi plane satis fecit.
Tillius Cimber, moreover, fully satisfied me.
valent tamen apud Caesarem non tam ambitiosae rogationes quam necessariae; quam quia Cimber habebat, plus valuit quam pro ullo alio valere potuisset.
Yet, with Caesar, it is not so much ambitious requests that have weight as necessary ones; which because Cimber had, he had more weight than he could have had for any other.
§6.12.3diploma statim non est datum, quod mirifica est improbitas in quibusdam qui tulissent acerbius veniam tibi dari, quem illi appellant 'tubam belli civilis,' multaque ita dicunt quasi non gaudeant id bellum incidisse.
The travel-document was not given immediately, because there is wonderful wickedness in certain people who would have taken it more bitterly that pardon was being given to you, whom they call the 'trumpet of the civil war,' and they say many things in such a way as if they do not rejoice that that war happened.
qua re visum est occultius agendum neque ullo modo divulgandum de te iam esse perfectum; sed id erit perbrevi, nec dubito quin legente te has litteras confecta iam res futura sit.
Therefore, it seemed best to act more secretly and that it should by no means be made public that the business concerning you has already been completed; but this will be in a very short time, and I do not doubt that when you read this letter, the matter will be already finished.
Pansa quidem mihi, gravis homo et certus, non solum confirmavit verum etiam recepit perceleriter se ablaturum diploma.
Pansa indeed, a grave and reliable man, not only confirmed it to me but also undertook that he would very quickly bring away the diploma.
mihi tamen placuit haec ad te perscribi; minus enim te firmum sermo Eppuleiae tuae lacrimaeque Ampiae declarabant quam significant tuae litterae, atque illae arbitrabantur, quoniam a te abessent ipsae, multo in graviore te cura futurum.
Yet I pleased myself that these things should be fully written to you; for the conversation of your Eppuleia and the tears of Ampia showed that you were less firm than your letter indicates, and they thought that, since they themselves were absent from you, you would be in much heavier anxiety.
qua re magno opere e re putavi angoris et doloris tui levandi causa pro certis ad te ea, quae essent certa, perscribi.
Therefore, I thought it greatly to your advantage, for the sake of relieving your anguish and pain, that those things which were certain should be fully written to you as certain.
§6.12.4scis me antea sic solitum esse scribere ad te, magis ut consolarer fortem virum atque sapientem quam ut exploratam spem salutis ostenderem nisi eam, quam ab ipsa re p. , cum hic ardor restinctus esset, sperari oportere censerem.
You know that previously I was accustomed to write to you in such a way, more to console a brave and wise man than to show an established hope of safety, except that which I thought ought to be hoped for from the Republic itself when this heat had been quenched.
recordare tuas litteras, quibus et magnum animum mihi semper ostendisti et ad omnis casus ferendos constantem ac paratum.
Remember your own letter, in which you always showed me both a great mind and one constant and ready to bear all fortunes.
quod ego non mirabar, cum recordarer te et a primis temporibus. aetatis in re p. esse versatum et tuos magistratus in ipsa discrimina incidisse salutis fortunarumque communium et in hoc ipsum bellum esse ingressum, non solum ut victor beatus sed etiam ut, si ita accidisset, victus sapiens esses.
This I did not wonder at, when I remembered that you had been engaged in the Republic from the earliest times of your age, and that your magistracies had fallen into the very crises of the common safety and fortunes, and that you had entered into this very war, not only that you might be happy as a victor, but also that, if it so happened, you might be wise as vanquished.
§6.12.5deinde, cum studium tuum consumas in virorum fortium factis memoriae prodendis, considerare debes nihil tibi esse committendum quam ob rem eorum, quos laudas, te non simillimum praebeas.
Then, since you spend your study in recording for memory the deeds of brave men, you ought to consider that nothing must be committed by you on account of which you do not show yourself most similar to those whom you praise.
sed haec oratio magis esset apta ad illa tempora quae iam effugisti; nunc vero tantum te para ad haec nobiscum ferenda, quibus ego si quam medicinam invenirem tibi quoque eandem traderem.
But this discourse would be more fit for those times which you have already escaped; now indeed only prepare yourself to bear these things with us, for which if I could find any medicine, I would hand over the same to you also.
sed est unum perfugium doctrina ac litterae, quibus semper usi sumus, quae secundis rebus delectationem modo habere videbantur, nunc vero etiam salutem.
But there is one refuge, learning and literature, which we have always used, which in prosperity seemed only to have delight, but now indeed even safety.
sed ut ad initium revertar, cave dubites quin omnia de salute ac reditu tuo perfecta sint.
But to return to the beginning, do not doubt that all things concerning your safety and return have been accomplished.