§7.12.1unam adhuc a te epistulam acceperam datam xii Kal. in qua significabatur aliam te ante dedisse quam non acceperam.
So far I have received only one letter from you, dated January 21, in which it was indicated that you had sent another before it which I did not receive.
sed quaeso ut scribas quam saepissime non modo si quid scies aut audieris sed etiam si quid suspicabere, maximeque quid nobis faciendum aut non faciendum putes.
But I beg you to write as often as possible, not only if you know or hear anything, but even if you suspect anything, and especially what you think we ought or ought not to do.
§7.12.2nam quod rogas curem ut scias quid Pompeius agat, ne ipsum quidem scire puto; nostrum quidem nemo.
For as to your request that I should see to it that you know what Pompey is doing, I think that not even he himself knows, and certainly none of us does.
vidi Lentulum consulem Formiis x Kal. , vidi Libonem; plena timoris et erroris omnia.
I saw the consul Lentulus at Formiae on January 23, and I saw Libo; everything was full of fear and confusion.
ille iter Larinum; ibi enim cohortes et Luceriae et Teani reliquaque in Apulia.
He is on his way to Larinum, for the cohorts are there, both at Luceria and Teanum, and in the rest of Apulia.
inde utrum consistere uspiam velit an mare transire nescitur.
Whether he wants to make a stand anywhere from there or cross the sea is unknown.
si manet, vereor ne exercitum firmum habere non possit; sin discedit, quo aut qua, aut quid nobis agendum sit nescio.
If he stays, I fear he may not be able to have a reliable army; but if he departs, I do not know where or by what route he is going, or what we ought to do.
nam istum quidem quoius Φαλαρισμὸν times omnia taeterrime facturum puto.
For I think that man, whose Phalaris-like cruelty you dread, will do everything in the most horrible manner.
nec eum rerum prolatio nec senatus magistratuumque discessus nec aerarium clausum tardabit.
Neither the postponement of business, nor the departure of the senate and magistrates, nor the closed treasury will delay him.
§7.12.3sed haec, ut scribis, cito sciemus.
But these things, as you write, we shall soon know.
interim velim mihi ignoscas quod ad te scribo tam multa totiens.
Meanwhile, I would like you to forgive me for writing to you so much and so often.
acquiesco enim et tuas volo elicere litteras maximeque consilium quid agam aut quo me pacto geram.
For I find rest in doing so, and I want to draw a letter from you, and especially advice as to what I should do or how I should conduct myself.
demittamne me penitus in causam? non deterreor periculo sed dirumpor dolore.
Should I plunge myself deeply into the cause? I am not deterred by danger, but I am broken with grief.
tamne nullo consilio aut tam contra meum consilium gesta esse omnia! an cuncter et tergiverser et iis me dem qui tenent, qui potiuntur?
"αἰδέομαι Τρῶασ"
nec solum civis sed etiam amici officio revocor; etsi frangor saepe misericordia puerorum.
To think that everything has been done with such a lack of plan, or so contrary to my advice! Or should I hesitate, and temporize, and give myself up to those who hold sway, who are in possession? "I shame before the Trojans." I am recalled to my duty not only as a citizen but also as a friend; though I am often broken by pity for the children.
§7.12.4ut igitur ita perturbato, etsi te eadem sollicitant, scribe aliquid et maxime, si Pompeius Italia cedit, quid nobis agendum putes.
Therefore, write something to me in this state of confusion, even though the same anxieties trouble you, and especially what you think we ought to do if Pompey leaves Italy.
M'. quidem Lepidus (nam fuimus una) eum finem statuit, L. Torquatus eundem.
Manius Lepidus, indeed (for we were together), has set that as his limit, and Lucius Torquatus the same.
me cum multa tum etiam lictores impediunt.
As for me, many things and even my lictors hinder me.
nihil vidi umquam quod minus explicari posset.
I have never seen anything that was less capable of being unraveled.
itaque a te nihildum certi exquiro sed quid videatur.
Therefore I do not ask you for anything certain yet, but for what seems likely to you.
denique ipsam ἀπορίαν tuam cupio cognoscere.
In short, I wish to know your very perplexity.
Labienum ab illo discessisse prope modum constat
That Labienus has deserted him is almost certain.
§7.12.5si ita factum esset ut ille Romam veniens magistratus et senatum Romae offenderet, magno usui causae nostrae fuisset.
If it had so happened that he, on coming to Rome, had met the magistrates and the senate in Rome, it would have been of great use to our cause.
damnasse enim sceleris hominem amicum rei publicae causa videretur, quod nunc quoque videtur sed minus prodest.
For he would have seemed to have condemned a friend of crime for the sake of the republic; which indeed is how it is viewed even now, but it is of less benefit.
non enim habet cui prosit eumque arbitror paenitere, nisi forte id ipsum est falsum discessisse illum.
For he has no one whom it may benefit, and I think he repents, unless by chance the very report of his desertion is false.
nos quidem pro certo habebamus.
We, at least, held it for certain.
§7.12.6et velim, quamquam, ut scribis, domesticis te finibus tenes, formam mihi urbis exponas, ecquod Pompei desiderium, ecquae Caesaris invidia appareat, etiam quid censeas de Terentia et Tullia, Romae eas esse an mecum an aliquo tuto loco.
And I would like you, although you keep yourself within your domestic boundaries, as you write, to explain to me the state of the city: whether any longing for Pompey or any hatred toward Caesar is apparent, and also what you think about Terentia and Tullia, whether they should be at Rome, or with me, or in some safe place.
haec et si quid aliud ad me scribas velim vel potius scriptites.
I would like you to write, or rather keep writing, these things and anything else to me.