§6.9.1in Piraeea cum exissem pridie Idus Octobr. , accepi ab Acasto servo meo statim tuas litteras.
When I had landed at the Piraeus on the day before the Ides of October, I immediately received your letter from my slave Acastus.
quas quidem cum exspectassem iam diu, admiratus sum, ut vidi obsignatam epistulam, brevitatem eius, ut aperui, rursus σύγχυσιν litterularum, quia solent tuae compositissimae et clarissimae esse, ac, ne multa, cognovi ex eo quod ita scripseras te Romam venisse a. d. xii Kal. Oct. cum febri.
Although I had already been expecting it for a long time, I was surprised, when I saw the sealed letter, at its brevity, and when I opened it, again at the confusion of the handwriting (σύγχυσιν), because your letters are usually extremely well-ordered and clear; and, to be brief, I learned from what you had written that you had arrived in Rome on the twelfth day before the Kalends of October with a fever.
percussus vehementer nec magis quam debui, statim quaero ex Acasto.
Greatly shocked, and no more than I ought to have been, I immediately questioned Acastus.
ille et tibi et sibi visum et ita se domi ex tuis audisse ut nihil esset incommode.
He replied that it had seemed so both to you and to himself, and that he had heard from your household at home that there was nothing seriously wrong.
id videbatur approbare quod erat in extremo, febriculam tum te habentem scripsisse.
What you wrote at the very end—that you were writing while having a slight fever—seemed to confirm this.
sed te amavi tamen admiratusque sum quod nihilo minus ad me tua manu scripsisses.
But I loved you all the same and was amazed that you had nonetheless written to me with your own hand.
qua re de hoc satis.
Therefore, enough of this.
spero enim, quae tua prudentia et temperantia est, et hercule, ut me iubet Acastus, confido te iam ut volumus valere.
For I hope, such is your wisdom and temperance, and indeed, as Acastus bids me feel reassured, I trust that you are now as well as we wish.
§6.9.2a Turranio te accepisse meas litteras gaudeo.
I am glad that you received my letter from Turranius.
παραφύλαξον, si me amas, τὴν τοῦ φυρατοῦ φιλοτιμίαν: αὐτότατα.
If you love me, keep a very close watch (αὐτότατα) on the ambition of that "kneader" (παραφύλαξον).
hanc, quae me hercule mihi magno dolori est (dilexi enim hominem), procura, quantulacumque est, Precianam hereditatem prorsus ille ne attingat.
Take care of this legacy of Precius, however small it may be, which, by Hercules, is a great grief to me (for I loved the man), and see to it that he does not touch it at all.
dices nummos mihi opus esse ad apparatum triumphi.
You will say that I need the money for the preparations of my triumph.
in quo, ut praecipis, nec me κενὸν in expetendo cognosces nec ἄτυφον in abiciendo.
In this matter, as you advise, you will find me neither vainly ambitious (κενόν) in seeking it, nor unphilosophical (ἄτυφον) in giving it up.
§6.9.3intellexi ex tuis litteris te ex Turranio audisse a me provinciam fratri traditam.
I understood from your letter that you had heard from Turranius that the province had been handed over by me to my brother.
adeon ego non perspexeram prudentiam litterarum tuarum? ἐπέχειν te scribebas.
Had I indeed so failed to perceive the wisdom of your letters? You wrote that you suspended judgment (ἐπέχειν).
quid erat dubitatione dignum, si esset quicquam cur placeret fratrem et talem fratrem relinqui? ἀθέτησισ ista mihi tua, non ἐποχὴ videbatur.
What was there worthy of doubt, if there were any reason why it should please us for a brother, and such a brother, to be left behind? That attitude of yours seemed to me a rejection (ἀθέτησις), not a suspension of judgment (ἐποχή).
monebas de Q. Cicerone puero ut eum quidem neutiquam relinquerem.
You warned me about the young Quintus, that I should by no means leave him behind.
τοὐμὸν ὄνειρον.
That is my very dream (τοὐμὸν ὄνειρον)!
eadem omnia quasi conlocuti essemus vidimus.
We saw all things in the same way, just as if we had talked them over.
non fuit faciendum aliter meque ἐπιχρονία tua dubitatione liberavit.
There was nothing else to be done, and your long-drawn hesitation (ἐπιχρονία) freed me from doubt.
sed puto te accepisse de hac re epistulam scriptam accuratius.
But I think you have received a letter written more fully on this matter.
§6.9.4ego tabellarios postero die ad vos eram missurus; quos puto ante venturos quam nostrum Saufeium.
I was intending to send couriers to you the next day; I think they will arrive before our friend Saufeius.
sed eum sine meis litteris ad te venire vix rectum erat.
But it was hardly right for him to come to you without a letter from me.
tu mihi, ut polliceris, de Tulliola mea, id est de Dolabella, perscribes, de re publica quam praevideo in summis periculis, de censoribus, maximeque de signis, tabulis quid fiat, referaturne.
You must write to me fully, as you promise, about my dear Tulliola, that is, about Dolabella, about the republic which I foresee to be in the greatest danger, about the censors, and especially about what is happening with the statues and paintings, and whether they are being brought back.
Idibus Octobribus has dedi litteras, quo die, ut scribis, Caesar Placentiam legiones iiii.
I dispatched this letter on the Ides of October, on which day, as you write, Caesar [sent] four legions to Placentia.
quaeso, quid nobis futurum est? in arce Athenis statio mea nunc placet.
I ask you, what is to become of us? My post at the citadel in Athens pleases me now.