§9.24.1Rufum istum, amicum tuum, de quo iterum iam ad me scribis, adiuvarem, quantum possem, etiam si ab eo laesus essem, cum te tanto opere viderem eius causa laborare; cum vero et ex tuis litteris et ex illius ad me missis intellegam et iudicem magnae curae ei salutem meam fuisse, non possum ei non amicus esse, neque solum tua commendatione, quae apud me, ut debet, valet plurimum, sed etiam voluntate ac iudicio meo.
That Rufus of yours, your friend, about whom you are now writing to me for the second time, I would have helped as much as I could, even if I had been injured by him, since I saw that you were taking so much trouble on his account; but since indeed I understand and judge, both from your letters and from his sent to me, that my safety has been of great concern to him, I cannot but be a friend to him, and that not only because of your recommendation, which has, as it ought, the greatest weight with me, but also by my own will and judgment.
volo enim te scire, mi Paete, initium mihi suspicionis et cautionis et diligentiae fuisse litteras tuas quibus litteris congruentes fuerunt aliae postea multorum.
For I want you to know, my dear Paetus, that the beginning of suspicion and caution and diligence for me was your letter, with which other letters of many people afterwards were in agreement.
nam et Aquini et Fabrateriae consilia sunt inita de me, quae te video inaudisse, et, quasi divinarent quam iis molestus essem futurus, nihil aliud egerunt nisi me ut opprimerent.
For designs were formed against me both at Aquinum and at Fabrateria, which I see you have heard of, and, as if they divined how troublesome I was going to be to them, they did nothing else but plot to crush me.
quod ego non suspicans incautior fuissem, nisi a te admonitus essem.
If I had not suspected this, I would have been more off my guard, had I not been warned by you.
quam ob rem iste tuus amicus apud me commendatione non eget.
For this reason, that friend of yours does not stand in need of recommendation with me.
utinam ea fortuna rei p. sit, ut ille me unum gratissimum possit cognoscere! sed haec hactenus.
Would that the fortune of the republic were such that he might find me to be a most grateful person! But so much for this.
§9.24.2te ad cenas itare desisse moleste fero; magna enim te delectatione et voluptate privasti; deinde etiam vereor (licet enim verum dicere) ne nescio quid illud, quod solebas, dediscas et obliviscare, cenulas facere.
I am sorry to hear that you have ceased to go to dinner parties; for you have deprived yourself of great delight and pleasure; and besides, I am even afraid (for I may speak the truth) lest you should unlearn and forget how to do that little thing you used to do—to give nice little dinners.
nam si tum, cum habebas quos imitarere, non multum proficiebas, quid nunc te facturum putem? Spurinna quidem, cum ei rem demonstrassem et vitam tuam superiorem exposuissem, magnum periculum summae rei p. demonstrabat, nisi ad superiorem consuetudinem tum, cum Favonius flaret, revertisses; hoc tempore ferri posse, si forte tu frigus ferre non posses.
For if at the time when you had people to imitate, you did not make much progress, what am I to think you will do now? Spurinna indeed, when I had explained the matter to him and set before him your former way of life, pointed out a great danger to the state unless you returned to your former habit when the west wind should blow; at this time of year, he said, it could be tolerated, if perhaps you could not bear the cold.
§9.24.3sed me hercule, mi Paete, extra iocum moneo te, quod pertinere ad beate vivendum arbitror, ut cum viris bonis, iucundis, amantibus tui vivas.
But by Hercules, my dear Paetus, joking apart, I advise you, what I think belongs to living happily, to live with good, pleasant men who love you.
nihil est aptius vitae, nihil ad beate vivendum accommodatius.
Nothing is more suited to life, nothing more adapted to living happily.
nec id ad voluptatem refero sed ad communitatem vitae atque victus remissionemque animorum, quae maxime sermone efficitur familiari, qui est in conviviis dulcissimus, ut sapientius nostri quam Graeci; illi sumpo/sia aut su/ndeipna, id est compotationes aut concenationes, nos 'convivia,' quod tum maxime simul vivitur.
And I do not refer this to pleasure, but to the social intercourse of life and food, and the relaxation of minds, which is most of all produced by familiar conversation, which is sweetest in banquets, wherein our ancestors were wiser than the Greeks; they called them "symposia" or "syndeipna," that is, drinking-togethers or dining-togethers, but we call them "convivia," because then most of all there is a living together.
vides ut te philosophando revocare coner ad cenas.
You see how I am trying to recall you to dinners by philosophizing.
cura ut valeas; id foris cenitando facillime consequere.
Take care of your health; you will achieve this most easily by dining out frequently.
§9.24.4sed cave, si me amas, existimes me, quod iocosius scribam, abiecisse curam rei p.
But mind, if you love me, that you do not think, because I write somewhat jokingly, that I have cast aside all care for the republic.
sic tibi, mi Paete, persuade, me dies et noctes nihil aliud agere, nihil curare, nisi ut mei cives salvi liberique sint.
Convince yourself of this, my dear Paetus, that day and night I do nothing else, care for nothing else, except that my fellow citizens may be safe and free.
nullum locum praetermitto monendi, agendi, providendi; hoc denique animo sum ut, si in hac cura atque administratione vita mihi ponenda sit, praeclare actum mecum putem.
I omit no opportunity of advising, acting, and providing; finally, I am of such a mind that, if in this care and administration my life must be laid down, I should think myself to have fared illustriously.
etiam atque etiam vale.
Fare you well, again and again.