Lettres à Atticus Passage 1

o hospitem mihi tam gravem ἀμεταμέλητον ! fuit enim periucunde. sed cum secundis Saturnalibus ad Philippum vesperi venisset, villa ita completa a militibus est ut vix triclinium ubi cenaturus ipse Caesar esset vacaret; quippe hominum ciↃ ciↃ . sane sum commotus quid futurum esset postridie; ac mihi Barba Cassius subvenit, custodes dedit. castra in agro, villa defensa est. ille tertiis Saturnalibus apud Philippum ad h. vii nec quemquam admisit; rationes, opinor, cum Balbo. inde ambulavit in litore. post h. viii in balneum. tum audivit de Mamurra, vultum non mutavit. unctus est, accubuit. ἐμετικὴν agebat. itaque et edit et bibit ἀδεῶσ et iucunde, opipare sane et apparate nec id solum sed bene cocto et condito sermone bono et, si quaeris, libenter.

What a burdensome guest, yet one whose visit I do not regret! It was extremely pleasant. But when he reached Philippus' house on the evening of the second day of the Saturnalia, the villa was so packed with soldiers that scarcely a dining room remained free for Caesar himself to dine in. There were two thousand men, you see. I was seriously disturbed about what would happen next day, but Cassius Barba came to my rescue and gave me guards. The camp was pitched in the fields and the villa was protected. On the third day of the Saturnalia Caesar remained at Philippus' until the seventh hour and admitted no one. He was, I suppose, going over accounts with Balbus. Then he walked on the shore. After the eighth hour he went to the bath. He then heard about Mamurra and did not change expression. He was anointed and reclined at table. He was following an emetic regimen, and so ate and drank fearlessly and pleasantly. The meal was decidedly sumptuous and carefully prepared, and not only that, but there was well-cooked, well-seasoned conversation. If you ask me, he enjoyed himself.

Quel hôte pesant j’ai reçu, et pourtant ἀμεταμέλητον, sans avoir à m’en repentir! Tout s’est en effet passé fort agréablement. Mais lorsqu’il arriva le soir chez Philippus, le deuxième jour des Saturnales, la villa fut si remplie de soldats qu’il resta à peine libre la salle à manger où César lui-même devait dîner; il y avait deux mille hommes. Je fus très inquiet de ce qui arriverait le lendemain; Barba Cassius vint à mon secours et me donna des gardes. Le camp fut établi dans les champs et la villa protégée. Le troisième jour des Saturnales, César resta chez Philippus jusqu’à la septième heure et ne reçut personne; il réglait ses comptes, je suppose, avec Balbus. Puis il se promena sur le rivage. Après la huitième heure, il alla au bain. Il apprit alors la nouvelle concernant Mamurra, sans changer de visage. Il se fit oindre et prit place à table. Il suivait un traitement émétique. Il mangea et but donc ἀδεῶς, sans crainte, et de bon cœur. Le repas était vraiment somptueux et soigneusement apprêté; bien plus, la conversation fut bien cuite et bien assaisonnée, excellente et, si tu veux le savoir, fort plaisante.