§9.10.1non sum ausus Salvio nostro nihil ad te litterarum dare; nec me hercule habebam quid scriberem, nisi te a me mirabiliter amari, de quo etiam nihil scribente me te non dubitare certo scio.
I did not dare to let our Salvius go to you with nothing of a letter; nor indeed by Hercules did I have anything to write, except that you are wonderfully loved by me, about which I know for certain you do not doubt even if I write nothing.
omnino mihi magis litterae sunt exspectandae a te quam a me tibi; nihil enim Romae geritur quod te putem scire curare, nisi forte scire vis me inter Niciam nostrum et Vidium iudicem esse.
On the whole, letters are to be expected by me from you rather than from me to you; for nothing is going on in Rome that I think you care to know, unless perhaps you want to know that I am arbitrator between our Nicias and Vidius.
profert alter, opinor, duobus versiculis expensum Niciae, alter Aristarchus hos o)beli/zei;
One of them, I believe, produces an account charged to Nicias in two short lines; the other, like Aristarchus, marks these with an obelus.
ego tamquam criticus antiquus iudicaturus sum utrum sint tou= poihtou= an parembeblhme/noi.
I, like an ancient critic, am to judge whether they are by the poet or are interpolated.
puto te nunc dicere: §9.10.2'oblitusne es igitur fungorum illorum, quos apud Niciam, et ingentium †cularum cum sophia septimae?' quid ergo? tu adeo mihi excussam severitatem veterem putas, ut ne in foro quidem reliquiae pristinae frontis appareant? sed tamen suavissimum sumbiwth\n nostrum praestabo integellum nec committam ut, si ego eum condemnaro, tu restituas, ne habeat Bursa Plancus apud quem litteras discat.
I suppose you are saying now: "Have you then forgotten those mushrooms which you ate at Nicias's, and those huge [dishes] with the 'wisdom of the seventh'?" What of it? Do you think my old severity has been so shaken out of me that not even in the forum do any remains of my former brow appear? But nevertheless, I will keep our most delightful companion quite safe, nor will I allow that, if I condemn him, you should restore him, lest Bursa Plancus should have someone from whom to learn his letters.
§9.10.3sed quid ago? cum mihi sit incertum tranquillone sis animo an ut in bello in aliqua maiuscula cura negotiove versere, labor longius.
But what am I doing? Since it is uncertain to me whether you are of a tranquil mind or, as in war, engaged in some rather major care or business, I wander too far.
Cum igitur mihi erit exploratum te libenter esse risurum, scribam ad te pluribus.
Therefore, when it has been ascertained by me that you will gladly laugh, I will write to you at greater length.
te tamen hoc scire volo, vehementer populum sollicitum fuisse de P. Sullae morte ante quam certum scierit.
I want you, however, to know this, that the people were vehemently anxious about the death of P. Sulla before they knew it for certain.
nunc quaerere desierunt quo modo perierit; satis putant se scire quod sciunt.
Now they have ceased to ask how he perished; they think they know enough in what they know.
ego ceteroqui animo aequo fero; unum vereor, ne hasta Caesaris refrixerit.
For the rest, I bear it with an even mind; I only fear one thing, lest Caesar's auction-spear has grown cold.