§9.11.1Lentulum nostrum scis Puteolis esse? quod cum e viatore quodam esset auditum qui se diceret eum in Appia, cum is paulum lecticam aperuisset, cognosse, etsi vix veri simile est, misi tamen Puteolos pueros qui pervestigarent et ad eum litteras.
Do you know that our Lentulus is at Puteoli? When this was heard from a certain traveler who said that he had recognized him on the Appian Way when he had opened his litter a little, although it is hardly probable, I nevertheless sent slaves to Puteoli to investigate, and letters to him.
inventus est vix in hortis suis se occultans litterasque mihi remisit mirifice gratias agens Caesari; de suo autem consilio C. Caesio mandata ad me dedisse.
He was found with difficulty, hiding in his gardens, and sent back a letter to me, thanking Caesar wonderfully, but saying that he had given instructions for me to Gaius Caesius regarding his own plan.
eum ego hodie exspectabam, id est xiii K. Aprilis.
I am expecting him today, that is, the twentieth of March.
§9.11.2venit etiam ad me Matius Quinquatribus, homo me hercule, ut mihi visus est, temperatus et prudens; existimatus quidem est semper auctor oti.
Matius also came to me during the Quinquatrus, a man, by Hercules, as he seemed to me, temperate and prudent; indeed, he has always been esteemed as a promoter of peace.
quam ille hoc non probare mihi quidem visus est, quam illam νέκυιαν, ut tu appellas, timere! huic ego in multo sermone epistulam ad me Caesaris ostendi, eam cuius exemplum ad te antea misi, rogavique ut interpretaretur quid esset quod ille scriberet
"consilio meo se uti velle, gratia, dignitate, ope rerum omnium. "
respondit se non dubitare quin et opem et gratiam meam ille ad pacificationem quaereret.
How he seemed to me not to approve of this, how he seemed to fear that "gathering of the dead," as you call it! To him, in a long conversation, I showed Caesar's letter to me, the one of which I previously sent you a copy, and asked him to interpret what it meant that he wrote: "he wished to use my advice, influence, standing, and help in all matters." He replied that he did not doubt that Caesar was seeking both my help and influence for reconciliation.
utinam aliquod in hac miseria rei publicae πολιτικὸν opus efficere et navare mihi liceat! Matius quidem et illum in ea sententia esse confidebat et se auctorem fore pollicebatur.
Would that I might be allowed to accomplish and perform some statesmanlike work in this misery of the republic! Matius indeed was confident that he was of that opinion, and promised that he himself would be an adviser to it.
pridie autem apud me Crassipes fuerat qui se pridie Non. Martias Brundisio profectum atque ibi Pompeium reliquisse dicebat, quod etiam qui viii Idus illinc profecti erant nuntiabant; illa vero omnes in quibus etiam Crassipes qui pro prudentia potuit attendere, sermones minacis, inimicos optimatium, municipiorum hostis, meras proscriptiones, meros Sullas; quae Lucceium loqui, quae totam Graeciam, quae vero Theophanem!
Now, the day before, Crassipes had been at my house, who said that he had set out from Brundisium on the sixth of March and had left Pompey there, which those who had set out from there on the eighth of March also reported; but indeed they all reported—among whom was Crassipes, who from his prudence was able to pay attention—threatening talks, hostile to the optimates, inimical to the municipalities, mere proscriptions, mere Sullas; what Lucceius is saying, what all Greece, what indeed Theophanes is saying!
§9.11.4et tamen omnis spes salutis in illis est et ego excubo animo nec partem ullam capio quietis et, ut has pestis effugiam, cum dissimillimis nostri esse cupio! quid enim tu illic Scipionem, quid Faustum, quid Libonem praetermissurum sceleris putas quorum creditores convenire dicuntur? quid eos autem, cum vicerint, in civis effecturos? quam vero μικροψυχίαν Gnaei nostri esse? nuntiant Aegyptum et Arabiam εὐδαίμονα et Μεσοποταμίαν cogitare, iam Hispaniam abiecisse.
And yet all hope of safety is in them, and I am on the watch in my mind and take no share of rest, and, so that I may escape these plagues, I desire to be with those most unlike us! For what crime do you think Scipio, what Faustus, what Libo will leave undone there, whose creditors are said to be meeting? What, moreover, will they do to the citizens when they have conquered? How mean-spirited, indeed, is our Gnaeus! They report that he is thinking of Egypt, Arabia the Blessed, and Mesopotamia, and has already abandoned Spain.
monstra narrant; quae falsa esse possunt sed certe et haec perdita sunt et illa non salutaria.
They tell of monsters; these may be false, but certainly these things here are ruined, and those there are not salutary.
tuas litteras iam desidero.
I am already longing for your letters.
post fugam nostram numquam iam tantum earum intervallum fuit.
Since our flight, there has never been so great an interval between them.
misi ad te exemplum litterarum mearum ad Caesarem quibus me aliquid profecturum puto.
I have sent you a copy of my letter to Caesar, by which I think I shall achieve something.