Letters to Atticus Passage 2

di immortales neque tam me εὐελπιστία consolatur ut antea quam ἀδιαφορία , qua nulla in re tam utor quam in hac civili et publica. quin etiam quod est subinane in nobis et non ἀφιλόδοξον (bellum est enim sua vitia nosse), id adficitur quadam delectatione. solebat enim me pungere ne Sampsicerami merita in patriam ad annos sescentos maiora viderentur quam nostra. hac quidem cura certe iam vacuus sum; iacet enim ille sic ut † phocis † Curiana stare videatur. sed haec coram.

Immortal gods, I am now consoled less by good hope, as before, than by indifference, which I practice in no matter so much as in this civic and political one. Indeed, even that element in me which is rather vain and not without ambition, for it is a fine thing to know one's own faults, is touched by a certain pleasure. It used to sting me lest Sampsiceramus' services to the country should appear greater than mine six hundred years hence. Of that concern, at least, I am now free; for he lies so low that †Phocis† seems to stand as high as Curio. But this face to face.

Dieux immortels! Ce n’est plus tant l’εὐελπιστία qui me console comme auparavant, mais l’ἀδιαφορία, dont je n’use jamais autant que dans cette affaire civile et publique. Même ce qu’il y a en moi d’un peu vain et de non ἀφιλόδοξον, car il est beau de connaître ses défauts, y trouve quelque plaisir. J’avais coutume d’être piqué par la crainte que les mérites de Sampsicéramus envers la patrie ne parussent, dans six cents ans, plus grands que les miens. De ce souci, du moins, je suis désormais délivré. Il gît en effet de telle manière que †Phocis† de Curion semble rester debout. Mais nous en parlerons de vive voix.