§4.1.1cum primum Romam veni fuitque cui recte ad te litteras darem, nihil prius faciendum mihi putavi quam ut tibi absenti de reditu nostro gratularer.
As soon as I came to Rome and there was someone to whom I could properly give a letter for you, I thought nothing should be done by me sooner than to congratulate you in your absence on our return.
cognoram enim, ut vere scribam, te in consiliis mihi dandis nec fortiorem nec prudentiorem quam me ipsum nec etiam pro praeterita mea in te observantia nimium in custodia salutis meae diligentem eundemque te, qui primis temporibus erroris nostri aut potius furoris particeps et falsi timoris socius fuisses, acerbissime discidium nostrum tulisse plurimumque operae, studi, diligentiae, laboris ad conficiendum reditum meum contulisse.
For, to write the truth, I had known that you, in giving me advice, were neither braver nor wiser than myself, nor even, considering my past respect for you, overly diligent in guarding my safety; and yet that you, the very same person who in the early days of our error or rather madness had been a sharer in it and a partner in our false fear, had borne our separation most bitterly, and had contributed the greatest amount of effort, zeal, diligence, and labor to accomplish my return.
§4.1.2itaque hoc tibi vere adfirmo, in maxima laetitia et exoptatissima gratulatione unum ad cumulandum gaudium conspectum aut potius complexum mihi tuum defuisse.
Therefore, I assure you of this in truth, that in my greatest joy and most longed-for congratulation, your sight, or rather embrace, was the only thing lacking to crown my happiness.
quem semel nactus si umquam dimisero ac nisi etiam praetermissos fructus tuae suavitatis praeteriti temporis omnis exegero, profecto hac restitutione fortunae me ipse non satis dignum iudicabo.
If, having once obtained it, I ever let it go, and if I do not demand in full all the past fruits of your sweetness which were neglected, I shall indeed judge myself not sufficiently worthy of this restoration of fortune.
§4.1.3nos adhuc, in nostro statu quod difficillime reciperari posse arbitrati sumus, splendorem nostrum illum forensem et in senatu auctoritatem et apud viros bonos gratiam magis quam optaramus consecuti sumus; in re autem familiari, quae quem ad modum fracta, dissipata, direpta sit non ignoras, valde laboramus tuarumque non tam facultatum quas ego nostras esse iudico quam consiliorum ad conligendas et constituendas reliquias nostras indigemus.
Up to now, as for our status, which we thought could only be recovered with the greatest difficulty, we have attained our former forensic splendor, authority in the senate, and influence among good men, even more than we had hoped; but in our private property, which you well know how shattered, scattered, and plundered it is, we are in great distress, and we stand in need not so much of your resources, which I judge to be ours, as of your counsels to gather and rebuild our remains.
§4.1.4nunc etsi omnia aut scripta esse a tuis arbitror aut etiam nuntiis ac rumore perlata, tamen ea scribam brevi quae te puto potissimum ex meis litteris velle cognoscere.
Now, although I suppose that all things have been written to you by your people or even brought by messengers and rumor, yet I will write briefly what I think you most of all wish to know from my letter.
Pr. Nonas Sextilis Dyrrachio sum profectus ipso illo die quo lex est lata de nobis.
On the day before the Nones of August, I set out from Dyrrachium on the very day on which the law concerning us was passed.
Brundisium veni Nonis Sextilibus.
I came to Brundisium on the Nones of August.
ibi mihi Tulliola mea fuit praesto natali suo ipso die qui casu idem natalis erat et Brundisinae coloniae et tuae vicinae Salutis; quae res animadversa a multitudine summa Brundinisorum gratulatione celebrata est.
There my Tulliola was ready to meet me on her very birthday, which by chance was also the birthday of both the colony of Brundisium and your neighbor Salus; which fact, being noticed by the crowd, was celebrated with the greatest congratulation of the Brundisines.
ante diem iii Idus Sextilis cognovi, quom Brundisi essem, litteris Quinti mirifico studio omnium aetatum atque ordinum, incredibili concursu Italiae legem comitiis centuriatis esse perlatam.
Three days before the Ides of August, while I was at Brundisium, I learned from a letter of Quintus that the law had been passed in the centuriate assembly with wonderful enthusiasm of all ages and ranks, and with an incredible concourse of Italy.
inde a Brundisinis honestissime ornatus iter ita feci ut undique ad me cum gratulatione legati convenerint.
Departing thence, having been most honorably escorted by the Brundisines, I journeyed in such a way that deputies came to meet me from all sides with congratulations.
§4.1.5ad urbem ita veni ut nemo ullius ordinis homo nomenclatori notus fuerit qui mihi obviam non venerit, praeter eos inimicos quibus id ipsum, se inimicos esse, non liceret aut dissimulare aut negare.
I came to the city in such a manner that there was no man of any order known to the nomenclator who did not come to meet me, except those enemies for whom it was not possible either to dissemble or to deny that very fact, that they were enemies.
cum venissem ad portam Capenam, gradus templorum ab infima plebe completi erant.
When I had come to the Porta Capena, the steps of the temples were filled by the lowest class of the people.
a qua plausu maximo cum esset mihi gratulatio significata, similis et frequentia et plausus me usque ad Capitolium celebravit in foroque et in ipso Capitolio miranda multitudo fuit.
When my congratulation was signaled by them with the greatest applause, a similar crowd and applause escorted me all the way to the Capitol, and there was a wonderful multitude both in the Forum and on the Capitol itself.