§7.21.1de malis nostris tu prius audis quam ego.
You hear of our misfortunes sooner than I.
istim enim emanant.
For they emanate from where you are.
boni autem hinc quod exspectes nihil est.
But there is nothing of good that you can expect from here.
veni Capuam ad Nonas Febr. ita ut iusserant consules.
I came to Capua on the Nones of February, just as the consuls had ordered.
eo die Lentulus venit sero.
On that day Lentulus arrived late.
alter consul omnino non venerat vii Idus.
The other consul had not come at all on the seventh day before the Ides.
eo enim die ego Capua discessi et mansi Calibus.
For on that day I departed from Capua and stayed at Cales.
inde has litteras postridie ante lucem dedi.
From there I dispatched this letter on the following day before dawn.
haec Capuae dum fui cognovi, nihil in consulibus, nullum usquam dilectum.
This is what I learned while I was at Capua: nothing is to be found in the consuls, and there is no levy anywhere.
nec enim conquisitores φαινοπροσωπεῖν audent cum ille adsit, contraque noster dux nusquam sit, nihil agat, nec nomina dant.
For the recruiting officers do not dare to show their faces openly since he is at hand, and on the other hand our leader is nowhere to be seen and is doing nothing, nor do people enlist.
deficit enim non voluntas sed spes.
For it is not goodwill that is lacking, but hope.
Gnaeus autem noster (o rem miseram et incredibilem!) ut totus iacet! non animus est, non consilium, non copiae, non diligentia.
But our Gnaeus (oh, what a wretched and incredible thing!) how completely prostrate he is! He has no courage, no plan, no forces, no diligence.
mittam illa, fugam ab urbe turpissimam, timidissimas in oppidis contiones, ignorationem non solum adversari sed etiam suarum copiarum; hoc cuius modi est?
I will pass over those things: the most disgraceful flight from the city, the most cowardly assemblies in the towns, the ignorance not only of his opponent's forces but even of his own; but what sort of thing is this?
§7.21.2vii Idus Febr. Capuam C. Cassius tribunus pl. venit, adtulit mandata ad consules ut Romam venirent, pecuniam de sanctiore aerario auferrent, statim exirent.
On the seventh day before the Ides of February, Gaius Cassius, tribune of the plebs, came to Capua and brought orders to the consuls to go to Rome, take the money from the sacred treasury, and leave immediately.
urbe relicta redeant;
Now that the city is abandoned, are they to return?
quo praesidio? deinde exeant;
Under what protection? Then, are they to leave? Who would allow them?
quis sinat? consul ei rescripsit ut prius ipse in Picenum.
The consul wrote back to him that he himself should first go to Picenum.
at illud totum erat amissum; sciebat nemo praeter me ex litteris Dolabellae.
But that whole district was already lost; no one knew it except me, from a letter of Dolabella's.
mihi dubium non erat quin ille iam iamque foret in Apulia, Gnaeus noster in navi.
I had no doubt that he would be in Apulia at any moment, and our Gnaeus on board ship.
§7.21.3ego quid agam σκέμμα magnum—neque me hercule mihi quidem ullum, nisi omnia essent acta turpissime, neque ego ullius consili particeps—sed tamen quod me deceat.
What I should do is a great subject of deliberation—indeed, by Hercules, it would be no subject for me at all, were it not that everything has been conducted in the most disgraceful manner and that I have had no part in any of their plans—but still, I must consider what is fitting for me.
ipse me Caesar ad pacem hortatur; sed antiquiores litterae quam ruere coepit.
Caesar himself exhorts me to peace; but his letter is of earlier date than his starting to rush on.
Dolabella, Caelius me illi valde satis facere.
Dolabella and Caelius write that I am giving him great satisfaction.
mira me ἀπορία torquet.
A strange perplexity tortures me.
iuva me consilio si potes, et tamen ista quantum potes provide.
Help me with your advice if you can, and yet look out for those matters there as far as you can.
nihil habeo tanta rerum perturbatione quod scribam.
In such great confusion of affairs, I have nothing to write.
tuas litteras exspecto.
I am expecting your letter.