Lettres à Atticus Passage 5

et quod paene praeterii, Bruti tui causa, ut saepe ad te scripsi, feci omnia. Cyprii numerabant; sed Scaptius centesimis renovato in singulos annos faenore contentus non fuit. Ariobarzanes non in Pompeium prolixior per ipsum quam per me in Brutum. quem tamen ego praestare non poteram; erat enim rex perpauper aberamque ab eo ita longe ut nihil possem nisi litteris; quibus pugnare non destiti. summa haec est. pro ratione pecuniae liber alius est Brutus tractatus quam Pompeius. Bruto curata hoc anno talenta circiter c , Pompeio in sex mensibus promissa cc . iam in Appi negotio quantum tribuerim Bruto dici vix potest. quid est igitur quod laborem? amicos habet meras nugas, Matinium, Scaptium. qui quia non habuit a me turmas equitum quibus Cyprum vexaret, ut ante me fecerat, fortasse suscenset, aut quia praefectus non est, quod ego nemini tribui negotiatori, non C. Vennonio meo familiari, non tuo M. Laenio, et quod tibi Romae ostenderam me servaturum; in quo perseveravi. sed quid poterit queri is qui auferre pecuniam cum posset noluit? † aut Scaptius† qui in Cappadocia fuit, puto esse satis factum. is a me tribunatum cum accepisset quem ego ex Bruti litteris ei detulissem, postea scripsit ad me se uti nolle eo tribunatu.

One matter I nearly passed over. For your Brutus's sake, as I have often written to you, I did everything. The Cypriots were counting out the money, but Scaptius was not satisfied with interest at one percent a month, renewed annually. Ariobarzanes was no more liberal to Pompey at Pompey's own request than he was to Brutus at mine. Yet I could not guarantee the king. He was extremely poor, and I was so far away that I could do nothing except by letter, though with letters I never ceased to fight. The summary is this: in proportion to the amount of money, Brutus was treated under a very different account from Pompey. About one hundred talents have been procured for Brutus this year, while two hundred were promised to Pompey in six months. It can scarcely be expressed how much consideration I have shown Brutus in the affair of Appius. Why, then, should I trouble myself? The friends Brutus has are utter nonentities, Matinius and Scaptius. Scaptius may perhaps be angry because I did not give him squadrons of cavalry with which to torment Cyprus, as he had done before my arrival, or because he was not made prefect, an office I granted to no businessman, not to my intimate Gaius Vennonius, nor to your Marcus Laenius. I had told you at Rome that I would observe this rule, and I persevered in it. But what complaint can a man make when he could have taken his money and refused? †Or Scaptius†, who was in Cappadocia, has, I think, received satisfaction enough. After accepting from me a military tribunate which I had offered him on Brutus's written recommendation, he later wrote that he did not wish to use the tribunate.

J’allais presque oublier ceci: pour ton Brutus, comme je te l’ai souvent écrit, j’ai tout fait. Les Chypriotes comptaient l’argent, mais Scaptius ne s’est pas contenté d’un intérêt d’un pour cent par mois, renouvelé chaque année. Ariobarzane ne s’est pas montré plus généreux envers Pompée grâce à Pompée lui-même qu’envers Brutus grâce à moi. Je ne pouvais pourtant répondre du roi, car il était extrêmement pauvre et je me trouvais trop loin de lui pour faire autre chose qu’écrire. Par mes lettres, je n’ai jamais cessé de combattre. En somme, proportionnellement à sa créance, Brutus a été traité avec une générosité sans comparaison avec Pompée. Environ cent talents ont été obtenus pour Brutus cette année, tandis que deux cents ont été promis à Pompée en six mois. Quant à ce que j’ai accordé à Brutus dans l’affaire d’Appius, on peut à peine l’exprimer. Pourquoi donc m’inquiéter? Ses amis ne sont que de parfaits sots, Matinius et Scaptius. Celui-ci m’en veut peut-être parce que je ne lui ai pas donné des escadrons pour tourmenter Chypre comme il le faisait avant moi, ou parce qu’il n’est pas préfet. Je n’ai accordé cette charge à aucun homme d’affaires, ni à mon familier C. Vennonius, ni à ton ami M. Laenius, conformément à ce que je t’avais déclaré à Rome. Je m’y suis tenu. Mais de quoi peut se plaindre un homme qui, pouvant emporter son argent, l’a refusé? Quant à †Scaptius†, qui se trouvait en Cappadoce, je crois lui avoir donné satisfaction. Ayant reçu de moi un tribunat que je lui avais accordé sur la recommandation écrite de Brutus, il m’écrivit ensuite qu’il ne voulait pas exercer ce tribunat.