§16.3.1tu vero sapienter (nunc demum enim rescribo iis litteris quas mihi misisti convento Antonio Tiburi) sapienter igitur quod manus dedisti quodque etiam ultro gratias egisti.
You indeed acted wisely (for only now at last am I replying to that letter which you sent me after meeting Antony at Tibur)—wisely, I say, in that you gave in and even went so far as to express your gratitude.
certe enim, ut scribis, deseremur ocius a re publica quam a re familiari.
For surely, as you write, we shall be abandoned by the republic sooner than by our private property.
quod vero scribis te magis et magis delectare
"o Tite, si quid,"
auges mihi scribendi alacritatem.
As for your writing that you are more and more delighted with "O Titus, if I can assist you," you increase my eagerness for writing.
quod Erotem non sine munusculo exspectare te dicis, gaudeo non fefellisse eam rem opinionem tuam; sed tamen idem σύνταγμα misi ad te retractatius et quidem ἀρχέτυπον ipsum crebris locis inculcatum et refectum.
In that you say you are expecting Eros not without a little present, I am glad that this matter did not disappoint your expectation; but nevertheless I have sent the same treatise to you in a more carefully revised form, and indeed the original manuscript itself, stuffed with additions and corrected in many places.
hunc tu tralatum in macrocollum lege arcano convivis tuis sed, si me amas, hilaris et bene acceptis, ne in me stomachum erumpant cum sint tibi irati.
Read this, after having it copied onto a large roll, in secret to your guests, but, if you love me, only when they are cheerful and well-entertained, lest they vent their anger on me when they are angry with you.
§16.3.2de Cicerone velim ita sit ut audimus.
Concerning young Cicero, I wish it may be as we hear.
de Xenone coram cognoscam; quamquam nihil ab eo arbitror neque indiligenter neque inliberaliter.
Concerning Xeno, I shall learn when we meet; although I believe nothing is done by him either carelessly or ungenerously.
de Herode faciam ut mandas et ea quae scribis ex Saufeio et e Xenone cognoscam.
Concerning Herodes, I shall do as you direct, and I shall learn those things you write about from Saufeius and Xeno.
§16.3.3de Quinto filio gaudeo tibi meas litteras prius a tabellario meo quam ab ipso redditas; quamquam te nihil fefellisset.
Concerning Quintus the son, I am glad that my letter was delivered to you by my messenger before it was by himself; although nothing would have escaped you.
verum tamen—.
But yet—.
sed exspecto quid ille tecum, quid tu vicissim, nec dubito quin suo more uterque.
But I am waiting to hear what he did with you, and what you did in turn, and I do not doubt that each acted in his own character.
sed eas litteras Curium mihi spero redditurum.
But I hope Curius will deliver that letter to me.
qui quidem etsi per se est amabilis a meque diligitur, tamen accedet magnus cumulus commendationis tuae.
Although he is indeed lovable in himself and cherished by me, yet a great addition will be made by your recommendation.
§16.3.4litteris tuis satis responsum est; nunc audi quod, etsi intellego scribi necesse non esse, scribo tamen.
Your letter has been sufficiently answered; now hear what, although I understand it is not necessary to write, I nevertheless write.
multa me movent in discessu, in primis me hercule quod diiungor a te.
Many things disturb me in my departure, especially, by Hercules, that I am separated from you.
movet etiam navigationis labor alienus non ab aetate solum nostra verum etiam a dignitate tempusque discessus subabsurdum.
The labor of navigation, too, which is foreign not only to our age but also to our dignity, and the somewhat absurd timing of the departure, disturb me.
relinquimus enim pacem ut ad bellum revertamur, quodque temporis in praediolis nostris et belle aedificatis et satis amoenis consumi potuit in peregrinatione consumimus.
For we are leaving peace to return to war, and the time which could have been spent in our beautifully built and very charming little villas, we are spending in traveling abroad.
consolantur haec: aut proderimus aliquid Ciceroni aut quantum profici possit iudicabimus.
These things console me: either we shall be of some use to Cicero, or we shall judge how much progress can be made.
deinde tu iam, ut spero et ut promittis, aderis.
Then you yourself, as I hope and as you promise, will soon be there.
quod quidem si acciderit, omnia nobis erunt meliora.
If indeed that happens, everything will be better for us.
§16.3.5maxime autem me angit ratio reliquorum meorum.
But what vexes me most is the account of my remaining affairs.
quae quamquam explicata sunt, tamen, quod et Dolabellae nomen in iis est et in attributione mihi nomina ignota, conturbor, nec me ulla res magis angit ex omnibus.
Although these have been settled, yet, because Dolabella's name is among them and there are unknown names in the assignment of debts, I am troubled, nor does any other thing of all vex me more.
itaque non mihi videor errasse quod ad Balbum scripsi apertius ut, si quid tale accidisset ut non concurrerent nomina, subveniret meque tibi etiam mandasse ut, si quid eius modi accidisset, cum eo communicares.
Therefore, I do not seem to myself to have erred in that I wrote to Balbus more openly so that, if anything of the sort should happen that the bills did not match, he might help, and also in that I commissioned you that, if anything of that kind should happen, you should communicate with him.
quod facies, si tibi videbitur, eoque magis, si proficisceris in Epirum.
Which you will do, if it seems good to you, and all the more so if you set out for Epirus.
§16.3.6haec ego conscendens e Pompeiano tribus actuariolis decemscalmis.
These things I write while embarking from my Pompeian villa on three ten-oared fast boats.
Brutus erat in Neside etiam nunc, Neapoli Cassius.
Brutus was in Nesis even now, Cassius in Naples.
ecquid amas Deiotarum et non amas Hieram? qui, ut Blesamius venit ad me, cum ei praescriptum esset ne quid sine Sexti nostri sententia ageret, neque ad illum neque ad quemquam nostrum rettulit.
Do you love Deiotarus and not love Hieras? Who, when Blesamius came to me, although it had been prescribed to him that he should do nothing without the opinion of our Sextus, referred nothing either to him or to any of us.
Atticam nostram cupio absentem suaviari.
I desire to kiss our Attica in her absence.
ita mi dulcis salus visa est per te missa ab illa.
So sweet did the greeting sent from her through you seem to me.
referes igitur ei plurimam itemque Piliae dicas velim.
You will therefore return my warmest greetings to her, and I should like you to say the same to Pilia.