Letters to Atticus Passage 12

Paetus, ut antea ad te scripsi, omnis libros quos frater suus reliquisset mihi donavit. hoc illius munus in tua diligentia positum est. si me amas, cura ut conserventur et ad me perferantur; hoc mihi nihil potest esse gratius. et cum Graecos tum vero diligenter Latinos ut conserves velim. tuum esse hoc munusculum putabo. ad Octavium dedi litteras; cum ipso nihil eram locutus; neque enim ista tua negotia provincialia esse putabam neque te in tocullionibus habebam. sed scripsi, ut debui, diligenter.

Paetus, as I wrote to you before, gave me all the books his brother had left. His gift now depends upon your diligence. If you love me, see that they are preserved and brought to me. Nothing could please me more. I want you to preserve the Greek books, but especially the Latin ones, with care. I shall regard this little gift as yours. I gave Octavius a letter; I had said nothing to him personally, for I did not think those affairs of yours were provincial matters, nor did I count you among petty moneylenders. But I wrote carefully, as I ought.

Paetus, comme je te l’ai écrit auparavant, m’a donné tous les livres laissés par son frère. Son présent dépend de ta diligence. Si tu m’aimes, veille à ce qu’ils soient conservés et me parviennent. Rien ne pourrait m’être plus agréable. Je voudrais que tu prennes soin de conserver les livres grecs, mais surtout les latins. Je considérerai ce petit présent comme venant de toi. J’ai remis une lettre pour Octavius; je ne lui avais pas parlé personnellement, car je ne pensais pas que tes affaires fussent des affaires provinciales ni que tu fusses du nombre des petits usuriers. Mais j’ai écrit avec soin, comme je le devais.