§5.1Habebat avunculum Q. Caecilium, equitem Romanum, familiarem L. Luculli, divitem, difficillima natura: cuius sic asperitatem veritus est, ut, quem nemo ferre posset, huius sine offensione ad summam senectutem retinuerit benivolentiam.
He had a maternal uncle, Quintus Caecilius, a Roman knight, a friend of Lucius Lucullus, wealthy, and of an extremely difficult nature; whose harshness he so respected that he retained the goodwill of this man, whom no one else could tolerate, without giving any offense, until his extreme old age.
quo facto tulit pietatis fructum.
By doing this, he reaped the fruit of his dutiful affection.
§5.2Caecilius enim moriens testamento adoptavit eum heredemque fecit ex dodrante: ex qua hereditate accepit circiter centiens sestertium.
For Caecilius, on his deathbed, adopted him by his will and made him heir to three-quarters of his estate; from which inheritance he received about ten million sesterces.
§5.3erat nupta soror Attici Q. Tullio Ciceroni, easque nuptias M. Cicero conciliarat, cum quo a condiscipulatu vivebat coniunctissime, multo etiam familiarius quam cum Quinto, ut iudicari possit plus in amicitia valere similitudinem morum quam affinitatem.
Atticus's sister was married to Quintus Tullius Cicero, and Marcus Cicero had arranged this marriage, with whom Atticus lived in the closest intimacy from the time they were schoolfellows, much more familiarly even than with Quintus, so that it might be judged that similarity of character has more power in friendship than family alliance.
§5.4utebatur autem intime Q. Hortensio, qui iis temporibus principatum eloquentiae tenebat, ut intellegi non posset, uter eum plus diligeret, Cicero an Hortensius: et, id quod erat difficillimum, efficiebat ut, inter quos tantae laudis esset aemulatio, nulla intercederet obtrectatio essetque talium virorum copula.
Moreover, he was on intimate terms with Quintus Hortensius, who in those times held the leadership in eloquence, so that it could not be understood which of the two loved him more, Cicero or Hortensius; and, what was most difficult, he brought it about that, although there was such rivalry for glory between them, no mutual detraction intervened, and he served as a bond between such men.