Letters to Atticus Passage 6

quod de agraria lege quaeris, sane iam videtur refrixisse. quod me quodam modo molli bracchio de Pompei familiaritate obiurgas, nolim ita existimes, me mei praesidi causa cum illo coniunctum esse, sed ita res erat instituta ut, si inter nos esset aliqua forte dissensio, maximas in re publica discordias versari esset necesse. quod a me ita praecautum atque provisum est non ut ego de optima illa mea ratione decederem sed ut ille esset melior et aliquid de populari levitate deponeret. quem de meis rebus, in quas eum multi incitarant, multo scito gloriosius quam de suis praedicare; sibi enim bene gestae, mihi conservatae rei publicae dat testimonium. hoc facere illum mihi quam prosit nescio; rei publicae certe prodest. quid ? si etiam Caesarem cuius nunc venti valde sunt secundi reddo meliorem, num tantum obsum rei publicae?

As for the agrarian law you ask about, it now seems thoroughly cooled off. Because you reproach me, somewhat gently, over my intimacy with Pompey, I would not have you think that I joined myself to him for the sake of my own protection. Rather, the situation was such that, if some disagreement happened to arise between us, the Republic would necessarily be embroiled in the greatest discord. I guarded and provided against that, not so that I should depart from my own excellent policy, but so that he should become better and lay aside something of his populist fickleness. You should know that he speaks far more boastfully about my achievements, against which many had incited him, than about his own; for he bears witness that the Republic was successfully managed by him, but preserved by me. I do not know how much his doing this benefits me; it certainly benefits the Republic. And what if I also improve Caesar, whose winds are now very favorable? Do I thereby do the Republic such great harm?

Quant à la loi agraire dont tu t’informes, elle paraît désormais bien refroidie. Tu me reproches, d’une main en quelque sorte trop douce, mon intimité avec Pompée. Je ne voudrais pas que tu crusses que je me suis uni à lui pour assurer ma propre protection. Mais les choses en étaient venues au point que la moindre dissension entre nous devait nécessairement provoquer les plus grands désordres dans la République. J’ai pris mes précautions et pourvu à cela, non pour m’écarter de mon excellente ligne de conduite, mais afin de le rendre meilleur et de lui faire abandonner quelque chose de sa légèreté populaire. Sache qu’il parle de mes actions, contre lesquelles beaucoup l’avaient excité, avec bien plus de gloire que des siennes: il témoigne que, par lui, la République a été bien conduite; par moi, qu’elle a été sauvée. J’ignore dans quelle mesure sa conduite me sert personnellement; elle sert certainement la République. Et si je rends également meilleur César, qui bénéficie aujourd’hui de vents très favorables, est-ce donc tellement nuire à la République?