§14.9.1de re publica multa cognovi ex tuis litteris quas quidem multiiuges accepi uno tempore a Vestori liberto.
From your letter, which indeed I received in a great batch at one time from Vestorius' freedman, I have learned much about the state of the republic.
ad ea autem quae requiris brevi respondebo.
But I will reply briefly to those things which you ask.
primum vehementer me Cluviana delectant.
First, the Cluvian property delights me exceedingly.
sed quod quaeris quid arcessierim Chrysippum, tabernae mihi duae corruerunt reliquaeque rimas agunt, itaque non solum inquilini sed mures etiam migraverunt.
But as to your asking why I have summoned Chrysippus, two of my shops have collapsed, and the rest are showing cracks, so that not only the tenants but even the mice have moved out.
hanc ceteri calamitatem vocant, ego ne incommodum quidem.
Others call this a disaster, but I do not call it even an inconvenience.
o Socrate et Socratici viri! numquam vobis gratiam referam.
Oh Socrates and Socratic men! I shall never be able to repay my gratitude to you.
di immortales, quam mihi ista pro nihilo! sed tamen ea ratio aedificandi initur, consiliario quidem et auctore Vestorio, ut hoc damnum quaestuosum sit.
Immortal gods, how much those things are as nothing to me! But yet, with Vestorius indeed as advisor and promoter, such a plan of rebuilding is being entered upon that this loss may prove profitable.
§14.9.2hic turba magna est eritque, ut audio, maior.
Here is a great crowd, and, as I hear, it will be larger.
duo quidem quasi designati consules.
Indeed, two virtual consuls-elect are here.
o di boni! vivit tyrannis, tyrannus occidit! eius interfecti morte laetamur cuius facta defendimus! itaque quam severe nos M. Curtius accusat ut pudeat vivere, neque iniuria.
Oh good gods! The tyranny lives, the tyrant has fallen! We rejoice in the death of him whose deeds we defend! And so, how severely Marcus Curtius accuses us, so that we are ashamed to be alive, and not without reason.
nam mori miliens praestitit quam haec pati quae mihi videntur habitura etiam vetustatem.
For it would have been a thousand times better to die than to endure these things which seem to me likely to last a long time.
§14.9.3et Balbus hic est multumque mecum.
And Balbus is here and much with me.
ad quem a Vetere litterae datae pridie Kal. Ianuar. cum a se Caecilius circumsederetur et iam teneretur, venisse cum maximis copiis Pacorum Parthum; ita sibi esse eum ereptum multis suis amissis.
To him a letter was delivered from Vetus, dated the day before the Kalends of January, saying that when Caecilius was besieged by him and already held, Pacorus the Parthian arrived with very great forces; thus he was snatched from him with the loss of many of his own men.
in qua re accusat Volcacium.
In which matter he accuses Volcatius.
ita mihi videtur bellum illud instare.
Thus it seems to me that that war is imminent.
sed Dolabella et Nicias viderint.
But let Dolabella and Nicias see to it.
idem Balbus meliora de Gallia.
The same Balbus has better news about Gaul.
xxi die litteras habebat Germanos illasque nationes re audita de Caesare legatos misisse ad Aurelium qui est praepositus ab Hirtio, se quod imperatum esset esse facturos.
He had a letter of twenty-one days' date showing that the Germans and those nations, having heard the news about Caesar, had sent ambassadors to Aurelius, who was put in charge by Hirtius, saying that they would do what was commanded.
quid quaeris? omnia plena pacis, aliter ac mihi Calvena dixerat.
What more do you ask? All is full of peace, quite otherwise than Calvena had told me.