Letters to Atticus Passage 6

habes res Romanas. sed tamen etiam illud quod non speraram audi. Messalla consul est egregius, fortis, constans, diligens, nostri laudator, amator, imitator. ille alter uno vitio minus vitiosus quod iners, quod somni plenus, quod imperitus, quod ἀπρακτότατοσ sed voluntate ita καχέκτησ ut Pompeium post illam contionem in qua ab eo senatus laudatus est odisse coeperit. itaque mirum in modum omnis a se bonos alienavit. neque id magis amicitia Clodi adductus fecit quam studio perditarum rerum atque partium. sed habet sui similem in magistratibus praeter Fufium neminem. bonis utimur tribunis pl., Cornuto vero Pseudocatone. quid quaeris?

There you have affairs at Rome. Yet hear also something I did not expect. The consul Messalla is excellent, courageous, steadfast, and diligent, a man who praises, loves, and imitates me. The other is less vicious in one respect only: he is idle, full of sleep, ignorant, and utterly inactive. But his disposition is so malignant that after Pompey's speech praising the Senate he began to hate Pompey. Thus he has alienated all respectable men from himself in an astonishing way. He did this no more from friendship with Clodius than from enthusiasm for desperate causes and factions. But among the magistrates he has nobody like himself except Fufius. My dealings with the tribunes of the plebs are good, especially with Cornutus, that counterfeit Cato. What more do you ask?

Tu connais les affaires de Rome. Mais apprends encore ce que je n’avais pas espéré. Le consul Messalla est remarquable, courageux, ferme, diligent; il me loue, m’aime et m’imite. L’autre n’a qu’un vice de moins parce qu’il est inerte, plein de sommeil, inexpérimenté et ἀπρακτότατος; mais sa volonté est si καχέκτης qu’il s’est mis à haïr Pompée après le discours dans lequel celui-ci avait loué le Sénat. Aussi s’est-il aliéné tous les honnêtes gens d’une manière étonnante. Il l’a fait moins par amitié pour Clodius que par goût pour les causes et les partis désespérés. Mais, parmi les magistrats, il n’a personne qui lui ressemble, à l’exception de Fufius. Nous avons de bons tribuns de la plèbe, surtout Cornutus, ce pseudo-Caton. Que veux-tu savoir de plus?