Lettres à Atticus Passage 4

hoc quod tu non dicendo mihi significasti Caesar audierat ac, simul atque have mihi dixit, statim quid de te audisset exposuit. negavi me scire, sed tamen ab eo petii ut ad te litteras mitteret, quibus maxime ad remanendum commoveri posses. me secum in Hispaniam ducit; nam nisi ita faceret, ego, prius quam ad urbem accederem, ubicumque esses, ad te percucurrissem et hoc a te praesens contendissem atque omni vi te retinuissem. etiam atque etiam, Cicero, cogita ne te tuosque omnis funditus evertas, ne te sciens prudensque eo demittas unde exitum vides nullum esse. quod si te aut voces optimatium commovent aut non nullorum hominum insolentiam et iactationem ferre non potes, eligas censeo aliquod oppidum vacuum a bello, dum haec decernuntur; quae iam erunt confecta. id si feceris, et ego te sapienter fecisse iudicabo et Caesarem non offendes.

Caesar had heard what you conveyed to me without saying it. As soon as he greeted me, he immediately explained what he had heard about you. I said that I knew nothing, but nevertheless asked him to send you a letter that might exert the strongest influence in keeping you where you are. He is taking me with him to Spain. Otherwise, before approaching Rome, I would have hurried to you wherever you were, pressed this upon you in person, and held you back with all my strength. Again and again, Cicero, consider carefully: do not utterly ruin yourself and all your family; do not knowingly and deliberately lower yourself into a place from which you see there is no escape. But if the voices of the aristocrats move you, or if you cannot endure the insolence and boasting of certain men, I advise you to choose some town untouched by the war while these matters are being decided. They will soon be settled. If you do this, I shall judge that you acted wisely, and you will not offend Caesar.

Ce que tu m’as fait comprendre sans le dire, César l’avait entendu. Dès qu’il m’eut dit bonjour, il m’exposa aussitôt ce qu’il avait appris à ton sujet. J’ai déclaré n’en rien savoir, mais je lui ai pourtant demandé de t’envoyer une lettre qui pût t’inciter le plus fortement possible à rester. Il m’emmène avec lui en Espagne. S’il ne le faisait pas, avant d’approcher de Rome, où que tu fusses, je serais accouru auprès de toi, je t’aurais adressé en personne cette demande pressante et je t’aurais retenu de toutes mes forces. Encore et encore, Cicéron, réfléchis: ne te ruine pas de fond en comble, toi et tous les tiens; ne descends pas sciemment et délibérément là d’où tu vois qu’il n’existe aucune issue. Si les voix des aristocrates t’émeuvent, ou si tu ne peux supporter l’insolence et la jactance de certains hommes, je te conseille de choisir quelque ville éloignée de la guerre pendant que ces affaires se décident. Elles seront bientôt réglées. Si tu agis ainsi, je jugerai que tu as agi sagement et tu n’offenseras pas César.