§8.10.1sane quam litteris C. Cassi et Deiotari sumus commoti;
Indeed, how much we were disturbed by the letters of Gaius Cassius and Deiotarus!
nam Cassius cis Euphraten copias Parthorum esse scripsit, Deiotarus profectas per Commagenen in provinciam nostram.
For Cassius wrote that the forces of the Parthians were on this side of the Euphrates, and Deiotarus that they had set out through Commagene into our province.
ego quidem praecipuum metum, quod ad te attinebat, habui, qui scirem quam paratus ab exercitu esses, ne quod hic tumultus dignitati tuae periculum adferret; nam de vita, si paratior ab exercitu esses, timuissem; nunc haec exiguitas copiarum recessum, non dimicationem mihi tuam praesagiebat.
I, for my part, had a particular fear as far as you were concerned, since I knew how you were provided in respect of an army, lest this disturbance should bring some danger to your dignity; for as to your life, if you had been better prepared with an army, I should have feared; but as it is, this scantiness of forces portended to me your retreat, not a conflict.
hoc quo modo acciperent homines, quam probabilis necessitas futura esset, vereor etiam nunc neque prius desinam formidare, quam tetigisse te Italiam audiero.
How people will receive this, how justifiable the necessity will be, I fear even now, and I shall not cease to apprehend until I hear that you have touched Italy.
§8.10.2sed de Parthorum transitu nuntii varios sermones excitarunt; alius enim Pompeium mittendum, alius ab urbe Pompeium non removendum, alius Caesarem cum suo exercitu, alius consules, nemo tamen ex senatus consulto privatos.
But the news of the passage of the Parthians excited various discussions; for one said that Pompey should be sent, another that Pompey should not be removed from the city, another Caesar with his army, another the consuls, yet no one proposed private citizens by a decree of the senate.
consules autem, quia verentur ne illud senatus consultum fiat ut paludati exeant, et contumeliose praeter eos ad alium res transferatur, omnino senatum haberi nolunt, usque eo ut parum diligentes in re publica videantur; sed honeste, sive neglegentia sive inertia est sive ille quem proposui metus, latet sub hac temperantiae existimatione nolle provinciam.
The consuls, however, because they fear lest that decree of the senate should be made that they go out clad in the military cloak, and the business be transferred insultingly to another besides them, do not want the senate to be held at all, to such an extent that they seem too little diligent in the public interest; but creditably, whether it is negligence or inertia or that fear which I suggested, the unwillingness to have a province lies hidden under this reputation for moderation.
A te litterae non venerunt et, nisi Deiotari subsecutae essent, in eam opinionem Cassius veniebat, quae diripuisset ipse ut viderentur ab hoste vastata, finxisse bellum et Arabas in provinciam immisisse eosque Parthos esse senatui renuntiasse.
Letters from you have not arrived, and, if those of Deiotarus had not followed closely, Cassius was coming into such an opinion—that he had fabricated a war in order that what he himself had plundered might seem to have been devastated by the enemy, and had let Arabs into the province and reported to the senate that they were Parthians.
qua re tibi suadeo, quicumque est istic status rerum, diligenter et caute perscribas, ne aut velificatus aliquoi dicaris aut aliquid quod referret scire reticuisse.
Wherefore I advise you, whatever the state of affairs is there, to write fully with diligence and caution, lest you be said either to have served someone's interest or to have suppressed something which it was important to know.
§8.10.3nunc exitus est anni; nam ego has litteras a. d. xiiii K. Decembris scripsi.
Now it is the end of the year; for I wrote this letter on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of December.
plane nihil video ante K. Ianuarias agi posse.
Clearly, I see that nothing can be done before the Kalends of January.
Nosti Marcellum, quam tardus et parum efficax sit, itemque Servius quam cunctator.
You know Marcellus, how slow and little effective he is, and likewise Servius, what a procrastinator.
cuius modi putas hos esse aut quam id quod nolint conficere posse, qui quae cupiunt tamen ita frigide agunt ut nolle existimentur? novis magistratibus autem, si Parthicum bellum erit, haec causa primos menses occupabit;
What kind of men do you think these are, or how can they accomplish that which they do not want, when they act so coldly even in those things which they desire, that they are thought to be unwilling?
sin †aut sit aut non erit istic bellum aut tantum erit ut vos aut successores parvis additis copiis sustinere possint, Curionem video se dupliciter iactaturum, primum ut aliquid Caesari adimat, inde ut aliquid Pompeio tribuat, quodvis quamlibet tenue munusculum.
For the new magistrates, however, if there is a Parthian war, this business will occupy their first months; but if there is either no war there or only such as you or your successors can sustain with a small addition of forces, I see that Curio will show off in a double way: first, to take something away from Caesar, and then to bestow something on Pompey, any small gift however trifling.
Paulus porro non humane de provincia loquitur.
Paulus, moreover, speaks of the province in no gentle terms.
huius cupiditati occursurus est Furnius noster; pluris suspicari non possum.
Our friend Furnius will meet his greed; I cannot suspect anything more.
§8.10.4haec novi; alia quae possunt accidere non cerno.
These things I know; other things that can happen I do not discern.
multa tempus adferre et praeparata mutare scio; sed intra finis hos quaecumque acciderint vertentur.
I know that time brings many things and changes prepared plans; but whatever happens will turn within these limits.
illud addo ad actiones C. Curionis, de agro Campano; de quo negant Caesarem laborare, sed Pompeium valde nolle, ne vacuus advenienti Caesari pateat.
I add this to the actions of Gaius Curio, concerning the Campanian land; about which they say Caesar is not anxious, but Pompey is strongly opposed to it, lest it lie open as an empty space to Caesar on his arrival.
quod ad tuum decessum attinet, illud tibi non possum polliceri, me curaturum ut tibi succedatur; illud certe praestabo ne amplius prorogetur.
As for your departure, I cannot promise you this, that I will manage that you have a successor; but this at least I will guarantee, that it shall not be prorogued any further.
tui consili est, si tempus, si senatus coget, si honeste a nobis recusari non poterit, velisne perseverare; mei offici est meminisse qua obtestatione discedens mihi ne paterer fieri mandaris.
It is for your own consideration, if time, if the senate compels, and if it cannot be creditably refused by us, whether you wish to persevere; it is my duty to remember with what entreaty you, on departing, charged me not to suffer this to happen.