§9.14.1miseram ad te viiii K. exemplum epistulae Balbi ad me et Caesaris ad eum.
On the 24th of March I sent you copies of Balbus's letter to me and Caesar's to him.
ecce tibi eodem die Capua litteras accepi ab Q. Pedio Caesarem ad se pridie Idus Martias hoc exemplo:
"Pompeius se oppido tenet.
Look, on the very same day I received a letter from Capua from Quintus Pedius, with a copy of one written to him by Caesar on the 14th of March as follows: "Pompey keeps himself inside the town.
nos ad portas castra habemus.
We have our camp at the gates.
conamur opus magnum et multorum dierum propter altitudinem maris.
We are attempting a great work which will take many days because of the depth of the sea.
sed tamen nihil est quod potius faciamus.
Nevertheless, there is nothing we would rather do.
ab utroque portus cornu moles iacimus, ut aut illum quam primum traicere quod habet Brundisi copiarum cogamus aut exitu prohibeamus. " §9.14.2ubi est illa pax de qua Balbus scripserat torqueri se? ecquid acerbius, ecquid crudelius? atque eum loqui quidam αὐθεντικῶσ narrabat Cn. Carbonis, M. Bruti se poenas persequi omniumque eorum in quos Sulla crudelis hoc socio fuisset; nihil Curionem se duce facere quod non hic Sulla duce fecisset; †ad ambitionem†, quibus exsili poena superioribus legibus non fuisset, ab illo patriae proditores de exsilio reductos esse; queri de Milone per vim expulso; neminem tamen se violaturum nisi qui arma contra.
We are throwing out moles from both spits of the harbor, so as to either force him to transport as soon as possible the forces he has at Brundisium, or to block his exit." Where is that peace about which Balbus wrote that he was tormented? Is there anything more bitter, anything more cruel? Moreover, a certain person reported on reliable authority that he was saying that he is avenging the punishments of Gnaeus Carbo, Marcus Brutus, and all those towards whom Sulla had been cruel with this man as his partner; that Curio is doing nothing under his leadership which this man did not do under Sulla's leadership; that, for the sake of ambition, traitors to their country, who had not been liable to the penalty of exile under previous laws, had been recalled from exile by him; that he complains about Milo having been expelled by force; and yet that he will harm no one unless they bear arms against him.
haec Baebius quidam a Curione iii Id. profectus, homo non infans sed †quis ulli† non dicat.
These things were reported by a certain Baebius, who set out from Curio on the 13th of March, a man not without eloquence, but—who would not say it to anyone?
plane nescio quid agam.
I plainly do not know what to do.
illim equidem Gnaeum profectum puto.
For my part, I think Gnaeus has set sail from there.
quicquid est biduo sciemus.
Whatever it is, we shall know in two days.
a te nihil ne Anteros quidem litterarum; nec mirum.
Not a word from you, not even by Anteros; and no wonder.
quid enim est quod scribamus? ego tamen nullum diem praetermitto.
For what is there for us to write? Yet I let no day pass.
§9.14.3scripta epistula litterae mihi ante lucem a Lepta Capua redditae sunt Idib. Mart. Pompeium a Brundisio conscendisse, at Caesarem a. d. vii Kal. Aprilis Capuae fore.
When this letter had been written, a letter was delivered to me before dawn from Lepta from Capua, dated the 15th of March, stating that Pompey had embarked from Brundisium, and that Caesar would be at Capua on the 26th of March.