Lettres à Atticus Passage 1

ego vero Quinto epistulam ad sororem misi. cum ille quereretur filio cum matre bellum et se ob eam causam domo cessurum filio diceret, dixi illum commodas ad matrem litteras, ad te nullas. ille alterum mirabatur, de te autem suam culpam quod saepe graviter ad filium scripsisset de tua in illum iniuria. quod autem relanguisse se dicit, ego ei tuis litteris lectis σκολιαῖσ ἀπάταισ significavi me non fore tum enim mentio Canae.

I did send Quintus's letter to his sister. When he complained that his son was at war with his mother and said that he himself would therefore yield the house to his son, I told him that the young man had written agreeable letters to his mother and none to you. He was surprised at the former, but regarding you he blamed himself for having often written severely to his son about your mistreatment of him. As for his saying that his anger had weakened, after reading your letter I conveyed to him by crooked deceptions that I would not be there. Then Cana was mentioned.

J’ai pour ma part envoyé à Quintus une lettre destinée à sa sœur. Comme il se plaignait que son fils fût en guerre avec sa mère et disait qu’il quitterait pour cette raison sa maison au profit de son fils, je lui ai dit que celui-ci avait écrit à sa mère une lettre accommodante, mais aucune à toi. Il s’étonnait du premier point; quant à toi, il reconnaissait sa propre faute, car il avait souvent écrit sévèrement à son fils au sujet de l’injustice que tu aurais commise envers lui. Quant à son affirmation qu’il s’est adouci, après avoir lu ta lettre, je lui ai fait comprendre, par des détours trompeurs, que je ne serais pas... C’est alors en effet qu’il fut question de Cana.