Letter 317

I have sent a very bulky letter to Hirtius, which I wrote lately at Tusculum. This letter which you have sent, I will answer later. Just now I prefer other things. What can I do for Torquatus, unless I hear from Dolabella? As soon as I hear, you shall know at once. I am expecting messengers from him to-day or to-morrow at the latest; and, as soon as they come, they shall be sent on to you. I am expecting to hear from Quintus. For when I was starting from Tusculum on the 25th, as you know, I sent messengers to him. To return to business, the word _inhibere_ suggested by you, which at first took my fancy very much, I strongly disapprove of now. For it is exclusively a nautical word. That, however, I knew before; but I thought rowers rested on their oars, when told to _inhibere_. Yesterday, when a ship put in by my house, I learned that was not so. They don't rest on their oars, they back water. That is very different to the Greek ἐποχή. So change the word back to what it was in the book; and tell Varro to do forte mutavit. Nec est melius quicquam quam ut Lucilius: "Sustineas currum ut bonus saepe agitator equosque." Semperque Carneades προβολὴν pugilis et retentionem aurigae similem facit ἐποχῇ. Inhibitio autem remigum motum habet, et vehementiorem quidem, remigationis navem convertentis ad puppim. Vides, quanto hoc diligentius curem quam aut de rumore aut de Pollione. De Pansa etiam, si quid certius (credo enim palam factum esse), de Critonio, si quid est, sed certe de Metello et Balbino. Come now, do you really think you ought to publish without my orders? Even Hermodorus never did such a thing, though he used to circulate Plato's books, and that gave rise to the line "our Hermodorus deals in dialogues." Do you really think you were justified in sending to anyone before you sent to Brutus, to whom at your advice I dedicated the work. For Balbus has written to me that you let him have a copy of the fifth book of the _De Finibus_, in which I have made a few alterations, though not many. However, I shall be obliged if you will keep back the others, so that Balbus may not get unrevised copies and Brutus what is stale. But enough of this; I don't want to seem to make a fuss about trifles. Though these are now my important things, for what else have I? Varroni quidem quae scripsi te auctore, ita propero mittere, ut iam Romam miserim describenda. Ea si voles, statim habebis. Scripsi enim ad librarios, ut fieret tuis, si tu velles, describendi potestas. Ea vero continebis, quoad ipse te videam; quod diligentissime facere soles, cum a me tibi dictum est. Quo modo antea fugit me tibi dicere? Mirifice Caerellia, studio videlicet philosophiae flagrans, describit a tuis; istos ipsos "de finibus" habet. Ego autem tibi confirmo (possum falli ut homo) a meis eam non habere; numquam enim ab oculis meis afuerunt. Tantum porro aberat, ut binos scriberent; vix singulos confecerunt. Tuorum tamen ego nullum delictum arbitror itemque te volo existimare; a me enim praetermissum est, ut dicerem me eos exire nondum velle. Hui, quam diu de nugis! de re enim nihil habeo quod loquar. De Dolabella tibi adsentior. Coheredes, ut scribis, in Tusculano. De Caesaris adventu scripsit ad me Balbus non ante Kal. Sextiles. De Attica optime, quod levius ac levius, et quod fert εὐκόλως. Quod autem de illa nostra cogitatione scribis, in qua nihil tibi cedo, ea, quae novi, valde probo, hominem, domum, facultates. Quod caput est, ipsum non novi, sed audio laudabilia, de Scrofa etiam proxime. Accedit, si quid hoc ad rem, εὐγενέστερος est etiam quam pater. Coram igitur et quidem propenso animo ad probandum. Accedit enim, quod patrem, ut scire te puto, plus etiam quam non modo tu, sed quam ipse scit, amo idque et merito et iam diu. I am in such a hurry to send what I have written to Varro, as you suggested, that I have sent it already to Rome to be copied. If you like, you shall have it at once. For I wrote to my copyist telling them to give your people leave to copy, if you liked. Please keep it, however, till I see you. You are generally most careful to do so, when I have told you. I was nearly forgetting to say that Caerellia, inspired of course by love of philosophy, is copying from your people; she has those very books _De Finibus_. I assure you, so far as it is humanly possible to affirm anything, that she did not get it from mine, for my copy was never out of my sight. So far were my people from making two copies, that they could scarcely make up one. However, I am not finding any fault in your people, and I hope you will not either, for I omitted to say that I did not want the books circulated yet. Dear me, how I do harp on trifles. The fact is I have nothing of importance to say. I agree about Dolabella. My co-heirs I will meet at Tusculum, as you suggest. As to Caesar's arrival, Balbus has written that he won't be here till the first of August. It is good news that Attica's attack gets slighter and slighter and that she is bearing it cheerfully. As to that idea of ours, about which I am quite as eager as you are, so far as I know anything about the man, I approve of him, his family, and his fortune. What is most important is that, though I do not know him himself, I hear very well of him, even quite recently from Scrofa. If it is of any importance, one may add that he is even better bred than his father. So we will speak of it when we meet, and I am disposed to approve. For in addition, as I think you know, I am with good reason and long have been fonder of his father than either you or he himself is aware.

a Caesare litteras accepi consolatorias datas pridie Kal. Maias Hispali. de urbe augenda quid sit promulgatum non intellexi. id scire sane velim. Torquato nostra officia grata esse facile patior eaque augere non desinam. [2] ad Ligarianam de uxore Tuberonis et privigna neque possum iam addere (est enim pervulgata) neque Tuberonem volo offendere; mirifice est enim filai/tioj . theatrum quidem sane bellum habuisti. [3] ego etsi hoc loco facillime sustentor tamen te videre cupio. itaque ut constitui adero. fratrem credo a te esse conventum. scire igitur studeo quid egeris. [4] de fama nihil sane laboro; etsi scripseram ad te tunc stulte 'nihil melius'; curandum enim non est. atque hoc 'in omni vita sua quemque a recta conscientia traversum unguem non oportet discedere' viden quam filoso/fwj ? an tu nos frustra existimas haec in manibus habere? Dedh=xqai te <eo> nollem, quod nihil erat. redeo enim rursus eodem. quicquamne me putas curare in toto, nisi ut ei ne desim? id ago scilicet ut iudicia videar tenere. Mh\ gar autoi=j --.' vellem tam domestica ferre possem quam ista contemnere. Putas autem me voluisse aliquid quod perfectum non sit? non licet scilicet sententiam suam. sed tamen quae tum acta sunt non possum non probare et tamen non curare pulchre possum, sicuti facio. sed nimium multa de nugis.