Lettres à Atticus Passage 1

epistulam meam quod pervulgatam scribis esse non fero moleste, quin etiam ipse multis dedi describendam. ea enim et acciderunt iam et impendent, ut testatum esse velim de pace quid senserim. cum autem ad eam hortarer eum praesertim hominem, non videbar ullo modo facilius moturus quam si id quod eum hortarer convenire eius sapientiae dicerem. eam si admirabilem dixi quom eum ad salutem patriae hortabar, non sum veritus ne viderer adsentari quoi tali in re libenter me ad pedes abiecissem. qua autem est aliquid impertias temporis, non est de pace sed de me ipso et de meo officio ut aliquid cogitet. nam quod testificor me expertem belli fuisse, etsi id re perspectum est, tamen eo scripsi quo in suadendo plus auctoritatis haberem; eodemque pertinet quod causam eius probo.

I am not troubled that, as you write, my letter has become widely known. Indeed, I myself gave it to many people to copy. Events have already occurred, and others are impending, which make me wish my views about peace to be on record. In urging him toward peace, especially a man of his kind, I thought that nothing would move him more readily than saying that the course I urged was consistent with his wisdom. If I called that wisdom admirable while urging him to save his country, I did not fear seeming a flatterer when, in such a cause, I would gladly have thrown myself at his feet. The passage where I ask him to spare a little time is not about peace but asks him to give some thought to me personally and to my duty. When I testify that I had no part in the war, although the fact itself makes that evident, I wrote it so that I might have greater authority in advising him. My approval of his cause serves the same purpose.

Que ma lettre ait été largement diffusée, comme tu me l’écris, ne me contrarie pas ; j’en ai même donné moi-même copie à beaucoup de gens. Les événements déjà survenus et ceux qui menacent sont tels que je veux laisser un témoignage de ce que j’ai pensé de la paix. En y exhortant César, surtout un homme comme lui, je ne pensais pas pouvoir l’émouvoir plus aisément qu’en lui disant que ce à quoi je l’exhortais convenait à sa sagesse. Si j’ai qualifié cette sagesse d’admirable tandis que je l’exhortais à sauver la patrie, je n’ai pas craint de paraître flatter un homme aux pieds duquel, dans une telle affaire, je me serais volontiers jeté. Le passage où je lui demande de consacrer un peu de son temps ne concerne pas la paix, mais ma personne et mon devoir, auxquels je le prie de réfléchir. Quant à mon affirmation que je suis resté étranger à la guerre, bien que les faits l’aient montré, je l’ai écrite pour donner plus d’autorité à mes conseils ; c’est aussi le but de mon approbation de sa cause.