Letter 1

The state of my candidacy, which I know is of the greatest concern to you, is as follows, so far as can be foreseen by conjecture at this point. Only Publius Galba is canvassing. He is met with a plain and honest refusal in the manner of our ancestors. As people see it, this premature canvassing of his has not been unfavorable to our prospects. For they refuse him so widely that they say they are committed to me. Thus I hope we gain something as it becomes well known that a great many friends are found on our side. We had been planning to begin our own canvassing at the very time when Cincius said your boy would be setting out with this letter — in the Campus Martius at the tribunician elections, the seventeenth day before the Kalends of Sextilis. The competitors who seem certain are Galba, Antonius, and Quintus Cornificius. I imagine this made you either laugh or groan. To make you slap your forehead, there are some who even think Caesonius will stand. I did not expect Aquilius would, since he has declined and sworn he is ill, and has put forward his judicial kingdom as his excuse. Catiline will certainly be a competitor — if the jury decides that the sun does not shine at midday. As for Aufidius and Palicanus, I do not think you are waiting for me to write about them. Of those who are standing for the present year, Caesar is considered a certainty. Thermus is thought to be contending with Silanus; they are so lacking in both friends and reputation that it seems to me not impossible to slip Curius in ahead of them. But no one else thinks so. What seems most advantageous for our interests is for Thermus to win along with Caesar. For there is no one among the current candidates who, if he were deferred to our year, would seem a stronger candidate — because he is curator of the Via Flaminia, which will quite easily be finished by then. I would gladly see him paired with Caesar as consul now. Such is the still-forming picture of the candidates. I shall apply the utmost diligence in performing every duty of a candidate, and perhaps, since Gaul seems to carry great weight in the voting, when the forum has cooled down from the courts at Rome, we shall make an excursion in September as legates to Piso, so as to return in January. When I have gauged the dispositions of the nobles, I shall write to you. The rest I hope will go smoothly, at least with these city-based competitors. That band of support from our friend Pompey — since you are nearer to him — please see that you secure it for me. Tell him I shall not be angry if he does not come to my election. And that is how things stand. But there is something for which I very much want your forgiveness. Your uncle Caecilius, having been defrauded of a large sum of money by Publius Varius, began proceedings against Varius's brother, Aulus Caninius Satyrus, concerning those properties which he alleged Satyrus had acquired from Varius through fraud. The other creditors were acting together with him, among them Lucius Lucullus and Publius Scipio, and the man they thought would be appointed manager if the assets were sold, Lucius Pontius. But this business about the manager is absurd. Now hear the situation. Caecilius asked me to appear on his behalf against Satyrus. Yet hardly a day goes by that this Satyrus does not visit my house; he pays the greatest attention to Lucius Domitius, but holds me closest after him; he has been of great service to both me and my brother Quintus in our candidacies. I was truly troubled, both by my personal friendship with Satyrus himself and by my relationship with Domitius, on whom my electoral hopes rest more than on anyone else. I explained all this to Caecilius and at the same time pointed out that, if he alone were contending against Satyrus alone, I would have done as he wished; but as it stood, with the case involving all the creditors collectively — men of the highest rank, at that, who could easily maintain the common cause without the advocate Caecilius would designate in his own name — it was fair that he should have regard both for my obligations and for the circumstances. He seemed to take this harder than I would have liked, and harder than well-bred men usually do, and afterward he completely withdrew from the friendly association we had begun over the past few days. I ask you to forgive me for this, and to believe that I was prevented by a sense of decency from appearing against a friend's deepest interests at his most wretched hour, when he had devoted all his efforts and services to me. But if you wish to judge me more harshly, you may suppose that ambition stood in my way. Yet I maintain that even if that were the case, I should be forgiven — "since it is no mere sacrificial beast or hide at stake." For you see what a race I am running, and how we think it necessary not merely to keep the goodwill we have but to acquire more. I hope I have convinced you of my case; I certainly wish to. Your Hermathena delights me greatly, and it is placed so beautifully that the whole gymnasium seems like an offering dedicated to it. I am most grateful to you.

With regard to my candidature, in which I know you take the greatest interest, things stand as follows, so far as one can guess at present. P. Galba is the only canvasser who is hard at work; and he meets with a plain and simple, old-fashioned, No. As people think, this unseemly haste of his in canvassing is by no means a bad thing for my interests: for most refusals imply a pledge of support to me. So I have hope that I may derive some advantage from it, when the news gets abroad that my supporters are in the majority. I had thought of beginning to canvass in the Campus Martius at the election of tribunes on the 17th of July, the very time that, Cincius tells me, your man will be starting with this letter. It seems certain that Galba, Antonius, and Q. Cornificius will be standing with me. I can imagine your smile or sigh at the news. To make you tear your hair, there are some who think Caesonius will be a candidate too. I don’t suppose Aquilius will. He has said not, pleading his illness and his supremacy in the law courts in excuse. Catiline will be sure to be standing, if the verdict is, No sun at midday. Of course you will know all about Aufidius and Palicanus, without waiting for letters from me. Of those who are standing, Caesar is thought to be a certainty: the real fight is expected existimatur; qui sic inopes et ab amicis et existimatione sunt, ut mihi videatur non esse ἀδύνατον Curium obducere. Sed hoc praeter me nemini videtur. Nostris rationibus maxime conducere videtur Thermum fieri cum Caesare. Nemo est enim ex iis, qui nunc petunt, qui, si in nostrum annum reciderit, firmior candidatus fore videatur, propterea quod curator est viae Flaminiae, quae tum erit absoluta sane facile. Eum libenter nunc Caesari consuli accuderim. Petitorum haec est adhuc informata cogitatio. Nos in omni munere candidatorio fungendo summam adhibebimus diligentiam, et fortasse, quoniam videtur in suffragiis multum posse Gallia, cum Romae a iudiciis forum refrixerit, excurremus mense Septembri legati ad Pisonem, ut Ianuario revertamur. Cum perspexero voluntates nobilium, scribam ad te. Cetera spero prolixa esse his dumtaxat urbanis competitoribus. Illam manum tu mihi cura ut praestes, quoniam propius abes, Pompei, nostri amici. Nega me ei iratum fore, si ad mea comitia non venerit. Atque haec huius modi sunt. Sed est, quod abs te mihi ignosci pervelim. Caecilius, avunculus tuus, a P. Vario cum magna pecunia fraudaretur, agere coepit cum eius fratre A. Caninio Satyro de iis rebus, quas eum dolo malo mancipio accepisse de Vario diceret. Una agebant ceteri creditores, in quibus erat L. Lucullus et P. Scipio et, is quem putabant magistrum fore, si bona venirent, L. to lie between Thermus and Silanus. But they are so unpopular and so unknown, that it seems to me to be on the cards to smuggle in Curius. Nobody else thinks so, however. It would probably suit our book best for Thermus to get in with Caesar: for, of the present batch of candidates, he would be the most formidable rival if he were put off to my year, as he is commissioner for the repairing of the Flaminian road. That will easily be finished by then: so I should like to lump him together with Caesar now. Such is the present rough guess of the chances of the candidates. I shall take the greatest care to fulfil all a candidate’s duties: and, as Gaul’s vote counts high, I shall probably get a free pass and take a run up to visit Piso, as soon as things have quieted down in the law courts here, returning in January. When I have discovered the views of the upper ten, I will let you know. The rest I hope will be plain sailing, with my civilian rivals at any rate. For our friend Pompey’s followers you must be responsible, as you are quite close to them. Tell him I shall not take it unkindly if he does not come to my election. So much for that. But there is a thing for which I have to crave your pardon. Your uncle, Caecilius, was cheated out of a large sum of money by P. Varius, and has taken an action against his brother, A. Caninius Satyrus, about some property which he says was fraudulently made over to him by Varius. The other creditors have made common cause with him: and among them are L. Lucullus and P. Scipio and the man who was expected to act for them at the sale, if the goods were put up for auction, L. Pontius. Pontius. Verum hoc ridiculum est de magistro. Nunc cognosce rem. Rogavit me Caecilius, ut adessem contra Satyrum. Dies fere nullus est, quin hic Satyrus domum meam ventitet; observat L. Domitium maxime, me habet proximum; fuit et mihi et Quinto fratri magno usui in nostri petitionibus. Sane sum perturbatus cum ipsius Satyri familiaritate tum Domiti, in quo uno maxime ambitio nostra nititur. Demonstravi haec Caecilio simul et illud ostendi, si ipse unus cum illo uno contenderet, me ei satis facturum fuisse; nunc in causa universorum creditorum, hominum praesertim amplissimorum, qui sine eo, quem Caecilius suo nomine perhiberet, facile causam communem sustinerent, aequum esse eum et officio meo consulere et tempori. Durius accipere hoc mihi visus est, quam vellem, et quam homines belli solent, et postea prorsus ab instituta nostra paucorum dierum consuetudine longe refugit. Abs te peto, ut mihi hoc ignoscas et me existimes humanitate esse prohibitum, ne contra amici summam existimationem miserrimo eius tempore venirem, cum is omnia sua studia et officia in me contulisset. Quodsi voles in me esse durior, ambitionem putabis mihi obstitisse. Ego autem arbitror, etiamsi id sit, mihi ignoscendum esse, ἐπεὶ οὐχ ἱερήιον οὐδὲ βοείην. Vides enim, in quo cursu simus et quam omnes gratias non modo retinendas, verum etiam acquirendas But it is absurd to talk of acting for them at present. Now for the point. Caecilius asked me to take a brief against Satyrus. Now there is hardly a day but Satyrus pays me a visit. He is most attentive to L. Domitius and after him to me, and he was of great assistance to me and to my brother Quintus when we were canvassing. I am really embarrassed on account of the friendliness of Satyrus himself and of Domitius, who is the mainstay of my hopes. I pointed this out to Caecilius, assuring him at the same time that, if he stood alone against Satyrus, I would have done my best for him: but, as things were, when the creditors had combined and were such influential persons that they would easily win their case without any special advocate whom Caecilius might retain on his own account, it was only fair for him to consider my obligations and my circumstances. He seemed to take it more ungraciously than I could have wished or than a gentleman should: and afterwards he withdrew entirely from the intimacy which had grown up between us in the last few days. Please try to forgive me and to believe that delicacy prevented me from appearing against a friend whose very good name was at stake, in the hour of his misfortune, when the friendly attentions he had paid to me had been unfailing. If you cannot take so kind a view, pray consider that my candidature stood in the way. I think even so I may be forgiven: for there is not “a trifle, some eightpenny matter,” at [Sidenote: Iliad xxii, 159] stake. You know the game I am playing, and how important it is for me to keep in with every one and putemus. Spero tibi me causam probasse, cupio quidem certe. Hermathena tua valde me delectat et posita ita belle est, ut totum gymnasium eius ἀνάθημα esse videatur. Multum te amamus.

Petitionis nostrae, quam tibi summae curae esse scio, huius modi ratio est, quod adhuc coniectura provideri possit. Prensat unus P. Galba. Sine fuco ac fallaciis more maiorum negatur. Ut opinio est hominum, non aliena rationi nostrae fuit illius haec praepropera prensatio. Nam illi ita negant vulgo, ut mihi se debere dicant. Ita quiddam spero nobis profici, cum hoc percrebrescit, plurimos nostros amicos inveniri. Nos autem initium prensandi facere cogitaramus eo ipso tempore, quo tuum puerum cum his litteris proficisci Cincius dicebat, in campo comitiis tribuniciis a. d. XVI Kalend. Sextiles. Competitores, qui certi esse videantur, Galba et Antonius et Q. Cornificius. Puto te in hoc aut risisse aut ingemuisse. Ut frontem ferias, sunt, qui etiam Caesonium putent. Aquilium non arbitrabamur, qui denegavit et iuravit morbum et illud suum regnum iudiciale opposuit. Catilina, si iudicatum erit meridie non lucere, certus erit competitor. De Aufidio et Palicano non puto te exspectare dum scribam. De iis, qui nunc petunt, Caesar certus putatur. Thermus cum Silano contendere existimatur; qui sic inopes et ab amicis et existimatione sunt, ut mihi videatur non esse adunaton Curium obducere. Sed hoc praeter me nemini videtur. Nostris rationibus maxime conducere videtur Thermum fieri cum Caesare. Nemo est enim ex iis, qui nunc petunt, qui, si in nostrum annum reciderit, firmior eandidatus fore videatur, propterea quod curator est viae Flaminiae, quae tum erit absoluta sane facile. Eum libenter nunc Caesari consuli aecuderim. Petitorum haec est adhuc informata cogitatio. Nos in omni munere candidatorio fungendo summam adhibebimus diligentiam, et fortasse, quoniam videtur in suffragiis multum posse Gallia, cum Romae a iudiciis forum refrixerit, excurremus mense Septembri legati ad Pisonem, ut Ianuario revertamur. Cum perspexero voluntates nobilium, scribam ad te. Cetera spero prolixa esse his dumtaxat urbanis competitoribus. Illam manum tu mihi cura ut praestes, quoniam propius abes, Pompei, nostri amici. Nega me ei iratum fore, si ad mea comitia non venerit. Atque haec huius modi sunt. Sed est, quod abs te mihi ignosci pervelim. Caecilius, avunculus tuus, a P. Vario cum magna pecunia fraudaretur, agere coepit cum eius fratre A. Caninio Satyro de iis rebus, quas eum dolo malo mancipio accepisse de Vario diceret. Una agebant ceteri creditores, in quibus erat L. Lucullus et P. Scipio et, is quem putabant magistrum fore, si bona venirent, L. Pontius. Verum hoc ridiculum est de magistro. Nunc cognosce rem. Rogavit me Caecilius, ut adessem contra Satyrum. Dies fere nullus est, quin hic Sattrus domum meam ventitet; observat L. Domitium maxime, me habet proximum; fuit et mihi et Quinto fratri magno usui in nostri petitionibus. Sane sum perturbatus cum ipsius Satyri familiaritate tum Domiti, in quo uno maxime ambitio nostra nititur. Demonstravi haec Caecilio simul et illud ostendi, si ipse unus cum illo uno contenderet, me ei satis facturum fuisse; nunc in causa universorum creditorum, hominum praesertim amplissimorum, qui sine eo, quem Caecilius suo nomine perhiberet, facile causam communem sustinerent, aequum esse eum et officio meo consulere et tempori. Durius accipere hoc mihi visus est, quam vellem, et quam homines belli solent, et postea prorsus ab instituta nostra paucorum dierum consuetudine longe refugit. Abs te peto, ut mihi hoc ignoscas et me existimes humanitate esse prohibitum, ne contra amici summam existimationem miserrimo eius tempore venirem, cum is omnia sua studia et officia in me contulisset. Quodsi voles in me esse durior, ambitionem putabis mihi obstitisse. Ego autem arbitror, etiamsi id sit, mihi ignoscendum esse, hepei ouch hiereion oude boeien . Vides enim, in quo cursu simus et quam omnes gratias non modo retinendas, verum etiam acquirendas putemus. Spero tibi me causam probasse, cupio quidem certe. Hermathena tua valde me delectat et posita ita belle est, ut totum gymnasium eius anathema esse videatur. Multum te amamus.