§10.11.1obsignata iam epistula superiore non placuit ei dari cui constitueram quod erat alienus.
Having already sealed the previous letter, it did not please me to have it given to the one for whom I had intended it, because he was an outsider.
itaque eo die data non est.
Therefore, on that day it was not delivered.
interim venit Philotimus et mihi a te litteras reddidit.
Meanwhile, Philotimus came and handed me your letter.
quibus quae de fratre meo scribis, sunt ea quidem parum firma sed habent nihil ὕπουλον, nihil fallax, nihil non flexibile ad bonitatem, nihil quod non quo velis uno sermone possis perducere;
As for what you write in it about my brother, those things are indeed somewhat unstable, but they have nothing underhand (ὕπουλον), nothing deceitful, nothing not flexible toward goodness, nothing that you cannot lead in whatever direction you wish with a single conversation.
ne multa, omnis suos, etiam quibus irascitur crebrius, tamen caros habet, me quidem se ipso cariorem.
To be brief, he holds all his family dear, even those with whom he is more frequently angry, and indeed holds me dearer than himself.
quod de puero aliter ad te scripsit et ad matrem de filio, non reprehendo.
As to his writing differently to you about the boy and to the mother about her son, I do not find fault with it.
de Quinto et de sorore quae scribis molesta sunt eoque magis quod ea tempora nostra sunt ut ego iis mederi non possim.
What you write about Quintus and your sister is painful, and all the more so because our times are such that I cannot cure these things.
nam certe mederer; sed quibus in malis et qua in desperatione rerum simus vides. §10.11.2illa de ratione nummaria non sunt eius modi (saepe enim audio ex ipso) ut non cupiat tibi praestare et in eo laboret.
For I certainly would cure them; but you see in what evils and in what despair of affairs we are. Those matters concerning the money account are not of such a kind (for I often hear it from him himself) that he does not desire to pay you and is not working at it.
sed si mihi Q. Axius in hac mea fuga HS X_I_I_I_ non reddit quae dedi eius filio mutua et utitur excusatione temporis, si Lepta, si ceteri, soleo mirari de nescio quis HS X_X_ cum audio ex illo se urgeri.
But if in this flight of mine Q. Axius does not return to me the 13,000 sesterces which I lent to his son, and uses the excuse of the times, if Lepta, if others do the same, I am accustomed to wonder when I hear from him that he is being pressed for some 20,000 sesterces by I know not whom.
vides enim profecto angustias.
For you certainly see his difficulties.
curari tamen ea tibi utique iubet.
Yet he by all means bids that these things be paid to you.
an existimas illum in isto genere lentulum aut restrictum? nemo est minus. §10.11.3de fratre satis.
Or do you think him slow or stingy in that kind of business? No one is less so. Enough about my brother.
de eius filio indulsit illi quidem suus pater semper sed non facit indulgentia mendacem aut avarum aut non amantem suorum, ferocem fortasse atque adrogantem et infestum facit.
As for his son, his father has indeed always indulged him, but indulgence does not make a man a liar or greedy or unloving of his own family, though it perhaps makes him fierce, arrogant, and hostile.
itaque habet haec quoque quae nascuntur ex indulgentia, sed ea sunt tolerabilia (quid enim dicam?) hac iuventute;
Therefore, he has these faults too, which arise from indulgence, but they are tolerable (what else should I say?) in today's youth.
ea vero, quae mihi quidem qui illum amo sunt his ipsis malis in quis sumus miseriora, non sunt ab obsequio nostro.
But those things which, to me who love him, are more miserable than these very evils in which we are, do not arise from our indulgence.
nam suas radices habent; quas tamen evellerem profecto, si liceret.
For they have their own roots; which, however, I would certainly tear up if it were permitted.
sed ea tempora sunt ut omnia mihi sint patienda.
But the times are such that I must endure everything.
ego meum facile teneo; nihil est enim eo tractabilius.
I easily keep my own son in check; for nothing is more manageable than he.
quoius quidem misericordia languidiora adhuc consilia cepi et quo ille me certiorem vult esse eo magis timeo ne in eum exsistam crudelior. §10.11.4sed Antonius venit heri vesperi.
Indeed, out of pity for him, I have so far formed rather weak plans, and the more he wishes me to be safe, the more I fear that I may turn out to be too cruel to him. But Antony arrived yesterday evening.
iam fortasse ad me veniet aut ne id quidem, quoniam scripsit quid fieri vellet.
Perhaps he will come to me soon, or not even that, since he has written what he wished to be done.
sed scies continuo quid actum sit.
But you shall know immediately what has been done.
nos iam nihil nisi occulte.
We now do nothing except in secret.
de pueris quid agam? parvone navigio committam? quid mihi animi in navigando censes fore? recordor enim aestate cum illo Rhodiorum ἀφράκτῳ navigans quam fuerim sollicitus; quid duro tempore anni actuariola fore censes? o rem undique miseram! Trebatius erat mecum, vir plane et civis bonus.
What shall I do about the boys? Shall I commit them to a small vessel? What state of mind do you think I will have in sailing? For I remember how anxious I was in the summer sailing with him in that Rhodian open boat (ἀφράκτῳ); what do you think it will be in a small light boat (actuariola) in this harsh season of the year? Oh, what a miserable business on all sides! Trebatius was with me, a truly good man and citizen.
quae ille monstra, di immortales! etiamne Balbus in senatum venire cogitet? sed ei ipsi cras ad te litteras dabo.
What monsters he told of, immortal gods! Is even Balbus thinking of coming into the senate? But tomorrow I will send you a letter about him himself.
Vettienum mihi amicum, ut scribis, ita puto esse.
As you write, I think Vettienus is my friend.
cum eo, quod ἀποτόμωσ ad me scripserat de nummis curandis, θυμικώτερον eram iocatus.
Because he had written to me rather curtly (ἀποτόμωσ) about paying the money, I had joked with him with some irritation (θυμικώてろん / θυμικώてろん).
id tu, si ille aliter acceperit ac debuit, lenies.
If he took it otherwise than he ought to have, you must smooth it over.
monetali autem adscripsi, quod ille ad me pro cos. sed quoniam est homo et nos diligit, ipse quoque a nobis diligatur.
I addressed him, however, as "monetalis" (mint-master), because he wrote to me as "pro cos." But since he is a good fellow and loves us, let him also be loved by us.
vale.
Farewell.