Letters to Atticus Passage 5

contio biduo nulla. ante diem viii Kal. haec ego scribebam hora noctis nona. Milo campum iam tenebat. Marcellus candidatus ita stertebat ut ego vicinus audirem. Clodi vestibulum vacuum sane mihi nuntiabatur, pauci pannosi, linea lanterna. meo consilio omnia illi fieri querebantur ignari quantum in illo heroe esset animi, quantum etiam consili. miranda virtus est. nova quaedam divina mitto; sed haec summa est. comitia fore non arbitror; reum Publium, nisi ante occisus erit, fore a Milone puto; si se in turba ei iam obtulerit, occisum iri ab ipso Milone video. non dubitat facere, prae se fert; casum illum nostrum non extimescit. numquam enim cuiusquam invidi et perfidi consilio est usurus nec inerti nobili crediturus.

For two days there was no public meeting. I was writing this on 24 November at the ninth hour of the night. Milo already held the Campus. Marcellus, the candidate, was snoring so loudly that I, his neighbor, could hear him. Clodius' entrance hall was reported to me as quite empty: a few ragged men and one horn lantern. His people complained that everything was being done at my direction, unaware how much courage and judgment reside in that hero. His courage is astonishing. I omit certain new, almost divine things, but this is the substance. I do not think the elections will take place. I think Publius, unless he is killed first, will be prosecuted by Milo. If he now presents himself to Milo amid a crowd, I see that Milo himself will kill him. Milo does not hesitate to do it; he openly declares as much. He does not fear the calamity that befell me, for he will never employ the counsel of any envious and treacherous man or trust an indolent noble.

Il n’y eut aucune assemblée pendant deux jours. J’écrivais ceci le huitième jour avant les calendes, à la neuvième heure de la nuit. Milon occupait déjà le Champ. Marcellus, le candidat, ronflait si fort que, son voisin, je l’entendais. On m’annonçait que le vestibule de Clodius était tout à fait vide : quelques hommes en haillons, une lanterne de toile. Ils se plaignaient que tout fût fait sur mon conseil, ignorant quelle force d’âme et même quel jugement habitent ce héros. Son courage est admirable. Je passe sur certains prodiges nouveaux et divins. Mais voici l’essentiel. Je ne pense pas que les comices auront lieu. Je pense que Milon mettra Publius en accusation, à moins que celui-ci ne soit tué auparavant. S’il s’offre désormais à lui dans une foule, je vois que Milon lui-même le tuera. Il n’hésite pas à le faire et l’affiche. Il ne redoute pas l’accident qui nous a frappé, car il ne suivra jamais le conseil d’un homme envieux et perfide, et ne se fiera pas à un noble sans énergie.