§7.11.1quaeso, quid est hoc? aut quid agitur? mihi enim tenebrae sunt.
Pray, what is this? Or what is being done? For to me all is darkness.
"Cingulum"
inquit
"nos tenemus, Anconem amisimus; Labienus discessit a Caesare. "
utrum de imperatore populi Romani an de Hannibale loquimur? o hominem amentem et miserum qui ne umbram quidem umquam τοῦ καλοῦ viderit! atque haec ait omnia facere se dignitatis causa.
"We hold Cingulum," he says, "we have lost Ancona; Labienus has deserted Caesar." Are we speaking of a general of the Roman people or of Hannibal? O mad and wretched man, who has never seen even the shadow of the Beautiful! And yet he says he does all this for the sake of his dignity.
ubi est autem dignitas nisi ubi honestas? honestum igitur habere exercitum nullo publico consilio, occupare urbis civium quo facilior sit aditus ad patriam, χρεῶν, φυγάδων καθόδουσ, sescenta alia scelera moliri,
"τὴν θεῶν μεγίστην ὥστ' ἔχειν τυραννίδα"
sibi habeat suam fortunam! unam me hercule tecum apricationem in illo lucrativo tuo sole malim quam omnia istius modi regna vel potius mori miliens quam semel istius modi quicquam cogitare.
But where is dignity except where there is moral goodness? Is it then morally good to maintain an army without any public authorization, to occupy the cities of citizens so that access to one's country may be easier, to plot the cancellation of debts, the return of exiles, and six hundred other crimes, "so as to possess tyranny, the greatest of the gods"? Let him keep his fortune to himself! By Hercules, I would prefer a single basking in the sun with you in that profitable sunshine of yours to all reigns of that kind; or rather, I would die a thousand times than once harbor such a thought.
"quid si tu velis?"
inquis.
"What if you should wish for it?" you say.
§7.11.2age, quis est cui velle non liceat? sed ego hoc ipsum
"velle"
miserius esse duco quam in crucem tolli.
Come, who is there who is not allowed to wish? But I consider this very "wishing" to be more wretched than being crucified.
una res est ea miserior, adipisci quod ita volueris.
There is only one thing more wretched than that: to obtain what you have thus wished for.
sed haec hactenus.
But so much for this.
libenter enim in his molestiis ἐνσχολάζω τόσον.
For in these troubles I gladly spend so much of my leisure.
§7.11.3redeamus ad nostrum.
Let us return to our man.
per fortunas! quale tibi consilium Pompei videtur? hoc quaero quod urbem reliquerit.
For heaven's sake! What do you think of Pompey's plan? I ask this because he has abandoned the city.
ego enim ἀπορῶ.
For I am at a loss.
tum nihil absurdius.
Then, nothing could be more absurd.
urbem tu relinquas? ergo idem, si Galli venirent?
"non est"
inquit
"in parietibus res publica.
Are you to abandon the city? Would you then have done the same if the Gauls were coming? "The republic is not in walls," he says.
"
at in aris et focis.
But it is in altars and hearths.
"fecit Themistocles. "
fluctum enim totius barbariae ferre urbs una non poterat.
"Themistocles did so." Yes, because a single city could not withstand the flood of the entire barbarian world.
at idem Pericles non fecit annum fere post quinquagesimum, cum praeter moenia nihil teneret; nostri olim urbe reliqua capta arcem tamen retinuerunt.
But Pericles did not do the same thing nearly fifty years later, when he held nothing but the walls; and our ancestors of old, though the rest of the city was captured, nevertheless held onto the citadel.
"οὕτωσ που" §7.11.4rursus autem ex dolore municipali sermonibusque eorum quos convenio videtur hoc consilium exitum habiturum.
"Something like that, I suppose." On the other hand, judging from the pain in the municipalities and the conversations of those I meet, it seems that this plan will have some outcome.
mira hominum querela est (nescio an istic, sed facies ut sciam) sine magistratibus urbem esse, sine senatu.
There is a strange complaint among the people (I know not whether it is so there, but you will let me know) that the city is without magistrates, without a senate.
fugiens denique Pompeius mirabiliter homines movet.
In short, Pompey's flight moves people wonderfully.
quid quaeris? alia causa facta est.
What more do you ask? The whole case is altered.
nihil iam concedendum putant Caesari.
They now think nothing should be conceded to Caesar.
haec tu mihi explica qualia sint.
Explain to me what all this means.
§7.11.5ego negotio praesum non turbulento.
I am in charge of a business that is not turbulent.
vult enim me Pompeius esse quem tota haec Campania et maritima ora habeat ἐπίσκοπον, ad quem dilectus et summa negoti referatur.
For Pompey wants me to be the one whom all this Campania and the maritime coast should have as overseer, to whom the levy and the whole management of affairs should be referred.
itaque vagus esse cogitabam.
Therefore I was thinking of moving about.
te puto iam videre quae sit ὁρμή Caesaris, qui populus, qui totius negoti status.
I think you already see what Caesar's onset is, what the people's temper is, and what the state of the whole business is.
ea velim scribas ad me et quidem, quoniam mutabilia sunt, quam saepissime.
I would like you to write to me about these things, and indeed, since they are mutable, as often as possible.
acquiesco enim et scribens ad te et legens tua.
For I find rest both in writing to you and in reading your letters.