§7.23.1tantum quod ex Arpinati veneram cum mihi a te litterae redditae sunt, ab eodemque accepi Aviani litteras, in quibus hoc inerat liberalissimum, nomina se facturum, cum venisset, qua ego vellem die.
I had only just returned from my estate at Arpinum when your letter was delivered to me, and from the same messenger I received a letter from Avianus, in which there was this most generous offer: that, when he arrived, he would enter the debt on whatever day I wished.
fac, quaeso, qui ego sum esse te estne aut tui pudoris aut nostri primum rogare de die, deinde plus annua postulare? sed essent, mi Galle, omnia facilia, si et ea mercatus esses quae ego desiderabam et ad eam summam quam volueram.
Pray, imagine yourself to be in my place: is it consistent with either your self-respect or mine, first to ask about the day of payment, and then to demand more than a year's credit? But everything would be easy, my dear Gallus, if you had bought both what I wanted and at the price I wished.
ac tamen ista ipsa, quae te emisse scribis, non solum rata mihi erunt sed etiam grata; plane enim intellego te non modo studio sed etiam amore usum, quae te delectarint, hominem, ut ego semper iudicavi, in omni iudicio elegantissimum, quae me digna putaris, coemisse.
And yet, those very things which you write you have bought will not only be ratified by me but will even be welcome; for I clearly understand that you, acting not only with zeal but also with affection, have bought up things which delighted you—a man whom I have always judged to be of the most refined taste in all judgment—and which you thought worthy of me.
§7.23.2sed velim maneat Damasippus in sententia; prorsus enim ex istis emptionibus nullam desidero.
But I wish Damasippus may stand by his decision; for indeed I do not want a single one of those purchases.
tu autem ignarus instituti mei, quanti ego genus omnino signorum omnium non aestimo, tanti ista quattuor aut quinque sumpsisti.
You, however, ignorant of my habit, have taken those four or five statues at a price at which I do not value the whole class of statues at all.
Bacchas istas cum Musis Metelli comparas.
You compare those Bacchantes of yours with Metellus's Muses.
quid simile? primum ipsas ego Musas numquam tanti putassem atque id fecissem Musis omnibus approbantibus, sed tamen erat aptum bybliothecae studiisque nostris congruens;
What is the likeness? In the first place, I myself would never have valued even those Muses at so much, and I would have done so with the approval of all the Muses; but still, they would have been suitable for a library and consistent with my studies.
Bacchis vero ubi est apud me locus? at pulchellae sunt. Novi optime et saepe vidi.
But for Bacchantes, where is there a place in my house? "But they are pretty." I know them very well and have often seen them.
nominatim tibi signa mihi nota mandassem, si probassem.
I would have commissioned you specifically for statues known to me, if I had approved of them.
ea enim signa ego emere soleo quae ad similitudinem gymnasiorum exornent mihi in palaestra locum.
For I am accustomed to buy those statues which, in the likeness of gymnasia, may adorn a place for me in my palaestra.
Martis vero signum quo mihi pacis auctori? gaudeo nullum Saturni signum fuisse; haec enim duo signa putarem mihi aes alienum attulisse.
But a statue of Mars, what use is it to me, an advocate of peace? I am glad there was no statue of Saturn; for I would think these two statues had brought me debt.
Mercuri mallem aliquod fuisset; felicius, puto, cum Avianio transigere possemus.
I wish there had been some statue of Mercury; I think we could have transacted business more successfully with Avianius.
§7.23.3quod tibi destinaras trapezophorum, si te delectat, habebis; sin autem sententiam mutasti, ego habebo scilicet.
As for the table-pedestal which you had intended for yourself, if it pleases you, you shall have it; but if you have changed your mind, I will have it, of course.
ista quidem summa ne ego multo libentius emerim deversorium Tarracinae, ne semper hospiti molestus sim.
With that sum indeed, truly I would much more gladly buy a lodging-house at Tarracina, so as not to be always a burden to my host.
omnino liberti mei video esse culpam, cui plane res certas mandaram, itemque Iuni, quem puto tibi notum esse, Aviani familiarem.
Altogether, I see it is the fault of my freedman, to whom I had given clearly specific commissions, and likewise of Junius, whom I think is known to you, a friend of Avianus.
Exhedria quaedam mihi nova sunt instituta in porticula Tusculam.
Some new exedrae have been constructed for me in the little colonnade of my Tusculan villa.
ea volebam tabellis ornare; etenim si quid generis istius modi me delectat, pictura delectat.
These I wanted to decorate with paintings; for if any of that kind of thing pleases me, it is painting.
sed tamen si ista mihi sunt habenda, certiorem velim me facias ubi sint, quando arcessantur, quo genere vecturae.
But still, if those things must be kept by me, I would like you to inform me where they are, when they are to be sent for, and by what kind of carriage.
si enim Damasippus in sententia non manebit, aliquem Pseudodamasippum vel cum iactura reperiemus.
For if Damasippus does not stand by his decision, we shall find some pseudo-Damasippus, even at a loss.
§7.23.4quod ad me de domo scribis iterum, iam id ego proficiscens mandabam meae Tulliae; ea enim ipsa hora acceperam tuas litteras.
As to what you write to me again about the house, I was already commissioning my Tullia about it as I was starting; for at that very hour I had received your letter.
egeram etiam cum tuo Nicia, quod is utitur, ut scis, familiariter Cassio.
I had also dealt with your friend Nicias, because, as you know, he is on intimate terms with Cassius.
ut redii autem prius quam tuas legi has proximas litteras, quaesivi de mea Tullia quid egisset.
But when I returned, before I read this last letter of yours, I asked my Tullia what she had done.
per Liciniam se egisse dicebat (sed opinor Cassium uti non ita multum sorore); eam porro negare se audere, cum vir abesset (est enim profectus in Hispaniam Dexius), illo et absente et insciente migrare.
She said she had dealt through Licinia (but I think Cassius does not associate so very much with his sister); she, moreover, said that she did not dare, while her husband was away (for Dexius has set out for Spain), to move while he was both absent and ignorant of it.
est mihi gratissimum tanti a te aestimatam consuetudinem vitae victusque nostri, primum ut eam domum sumeres, ut non modo prope me sed plane mecum habitare posses, deinde ut migrare tanto opere festines.
It is most pleasing to me that our daily and social intercourse has been valued so highly by you, first that you should rent that house so that you might be able to live not merely near me but plainly with me, and secondly that you hasten so much to move.
sed ne vivam, si tibi concedo ut eius rei tu cupidior sis quam ego sum.
But may I die if I concede to you that you are more desirous of this than I am.
itaque omnia experiar; video enim quid mea intersit, quid utriusque nostrum.
And so I will try everything; for I see how much it concerns me, how much it concerns both of us.
si quid egero, faciam ut scias.
If I accomplish anything, I will make sure you know.
tu et ad omnia rescribes et quando te exspectem facies me, si tibi videtur, certiorem.
You will both write back to everything and, if you please, inform me when I am to expect you.