§13.33A.1de Varrone loquebamur: lupus in fabula.
We were talking about Varro: speak of the devil!
venit enim ad me et quidem id temporis ut retinendus esset.
For he came to me, and indeed at such a time that he had to be invited to stay.
sed ego ita egi ut non scinderem paenulam.
But I managed it so as not to tear his cloak.
memini enim tuum
"et multi erant nosque imparati. "
quid refert? paulo post C. Capito cum T. Carrinate.
For I remembered your saying: "And they were many, and we unprepared." What of it? Shortly after came C. Capito with T. Carrinas.
horum ego vix attigi paenulam.
I scarcely touched their cloaks.
tamen remanserunt ceciditque belle.
Yet they stayed, and it turned out beautifully.
sed casu sermo a Capitone de urbe augenda, a ponte Mulvio Tiberim duci secundum montis Vaticanos, campum Martium coaedificari, illum autem campum Vaticanum fieri quasi Martium campum.
But by chance Capito started a conversation about expanding the city: that the Tiber is to be diverted from the Mulvian bridge along the Vatican hills, the Campus Martius to be built over, and that Vatican plain to become a sort of Campus Martius.
"quid ais?"
inquam; "at ego ad tabulam ut, si recte possem, Scapulanos hortos. "
"cave facias"
inquit; "nam ista lex perferetur; vult enim Caesar. "
audire me facile passus sum, fieri autem moleste fero.
"What do you say?" said I; "but I was going to the auction board so that, if I could do so properly, I might buy the gardens of Scapula." "Mind you don't do it," he said; "for that law will be carried; for Caesar wants it." I did not mind hearing this, but I am vexed at its being done.
sed tu quid ais? quamquam quid quaero? nosti diligentiam Capitonis in rebus novis perquirendis.
But what do you say? And yet why do I ask? You know Capito's diligence in tracking down news.
non concedit Camillo.
He does not yield to Camillus.
facies me igitur certiorem de Idibus.
So let me know about the Ides.
ista enim me res adducebat.
For that business was bringing me.
eo adiunxeram ceteras quas consequi tamen biduo aut triduo post facile potero.
To it I had joined the other matters which I shall easily be able to dispatch two or three days later.
§13.33A.2te tamen in via confici minime volo; quin etiam Dionysio ignosco.
However, I by no means want you to be exhausted on the road; indeed, I even forgive Dionysius.
de Bruto quod scribis, feci ut ei liberum esset, quod ad me attineret.
As for what you write about Brutus, I have made sure he is free, as far as I am concerned.
scripsi enim ad eum heri Idibus eius opera mihi nihil opus esse.
For I wrote to him yesterday on the Ides that I have no need of his services.