§6.6.1ego dum in provincia omnibus rebus Appium orno, subito sum factus accusatoris eius socer.
While I was honoring Appius in every way in the province, I suddenly became the father-in-law of his accuser.
"id quidem"
inquis
"di approbent!"
ita velim teque ita cupere certo scio.
"May the gods approve of that indeed!" you will say. So I would wish, and I know for certain that you desire it so.
sed crede mihi, nihil minus putaram ego qui de Ti. Nerone qui mecum egerat certos homines ad mulieres miseram, qui Romam venerunt factis sponsalibus.
But believe me, I had expected nothing less; I, who had sent reliable men to the women regarding Tiberius Nero, who had made proposals to me, but when they arrived in Rome, the betrothal had already been made.
sed hoc spero melius; mulieres quidem valde intellego delectari obsequio et comitate adulescentis.
But I hope this will turn out better; indeed, I understand well that the women are greatly delighted by the young man's attentiveness and courtesy.
cetera noli ἐξακανθίζειν.
Do not try to weed out the rest.
§6.6.2sed heus tu! πυροὺσ εἰσ δῆμον Athenis? placet hoc tibi? etsi non impediebant mei certe libri.
But look here! A distribution of corn to the people at Athens? Does this please you? Although certainly my own books did not forbid it.
non enim ista largitio fuit in civis sed in hospites liberalitas.
For that was not a bribery of citizens, but a generosity toward guests.
me tamen de Academiae προπύλῳ iubes cogitare, cum iam Appius de Eleusine non cogitet? de Hortensio te certo scio dolere; equidem excrucior; decreram enim cum eo valde familiariter vivere.
Yet do you bid me think about the propylaeum of the Academy, when Appius no longer thinks about Eleusis? I know for certain that you grieve for Hortensius; as for me, I am racked with pain, for I had resolved to live on terms of great intimacy with him.
§6.6.3nos provinciae praefecimus Coelium.
We have put Coelius in charge of the province.
"puerum"
inquies
"et fortasse fatuum et non gravem et non continentem!"
adsentior; fieri non potuit aliter.
"A boy," you will say, "and perhaps foolish, lacking in weight, and without self-control!" I agree; it could not be done otherwise.
nam quas multo ante tuas acceperam litteras in quibus ἐπέχειν te scripseras quid esset mihi faciendum de relinquendo, eae me pungebant; videbam enim quae tibi essent ἐποχῆσ causae, et erant eaedem mihi.
For those letters of yours which I had received much earlier, in which you wrote that you were hesitating as to what I ought to do about leaving a successor, were stinging me; for I saw what your reasons for hesitation were, and they were the same for me.
puero tradere? fratri autem? illud non utile nobis.
To hand it over to a boy? Or to my brother? That latter course was not expedient for us.
nam praeter fratrem nemo erat quem sine contumelia quaestori, nobili praesertim, anteferrem.
For except for my brother, there was no one whom I could prefer to the quaestor, especially a noble, without giving offense.
tamen, dum impendere Parthi videbantur, statueram fratrem relinquere aut etiam rei publicae causa contra senatus consultum ipse remanere.
Nevertheless, while the Parthians seemed to be threatening, I had determined to leave my brother, or even to remain myself for the sake of the state, contrary to the decree of the senate.
qui postea quam incredibili felicitate discesserunt sublata dubitatio est.
But after they departed with incredible good fortune, the doubt was removed.
videbam sermones,
"hui, fratrem reliquit! num est hoc non plus annum obtinere provinciam? quid quod senatus eos voluit praeesse provinciis qui non praefuissent? at hic triennium!"
ergo haec ad populum.
I could see the gossip: "Aha, he left his brother! Is this not holding a province for more than a year? What about the senate's intention that those who had not governed provinces should be in charge? But this man has been there three years!" Therefore, these considerations were for the public.
§6.6.4quid quae tecum? numquam essem sine cura, si quid iracundius contumeliosius aut neglegentius, quae fert vita hominum.
What about those between you and me? I should never be free from anxiety if he did anything somewhat too irritable, too insulting, or too negligent, as human life brings.
quid si quid filius puer et puer bene sibi fidens? qui esset dolor? quem pater non dimittebat teque id censere moleste ferebat.
What if his son did something, a boy and a boy well-confident in himself? What a pain that would be! His father would not let him go, and was annoyed that you thought he should.
at nunc Coelius non dico equidem
"quod egerit"
—, sed tamen multo minus laboro. adde illud.
But now, as for Coelius—I do not indeed say "let him do what he will"—nevertheless I am far less anxious.
Pompeius, eo robore vir, iis radicibus, Q. Cassium sine sorte delegit, Caesar Antonium;
Add this too: Pompey, a man of such strength and such deep roots, chose Quintus Cassius without the lot, and Caesar chose Antony; should I offend the one given to me by lot, so that he might even investigate the person I had left behind?
ego sorte datum offenderem, ut etiam inquireret in eum quem reliquissem? hoc melius, et huius rei plura exempla, senectuti quidem nostrae profecto aptius.
This is better, and there are more precedents for this course, and it is certainly more suited to my old age.
at te apud eum, di boni, quanta in gratia posui! eique legi litteras non tuas sed librari tui.
But, good gods, in what great favor did I place you with him! And I read to him not your own letter, but that of your secretary.
amicorum litterae me ad triumphum vocant, rem a nobis, ut ego arbitror, propter hanc παλιγγενεσίαν nostram non neglegendam.
The letters of my friends summon me to a triumph—a thing which, as I think, should not be neglected by us because of this 'regeneration' of ours.
qua re tu quoque, mi Attice, incipe id cupere quo nos minus inepti videamur.
Therefore, my dear Atticus, do you also begin to desire it, so that we may appear less foolish.