Ep. 1.5.1Vīdistīne quemquam M. Rēgulō timidiōrem humiliōrem post Domitiānī mortem?Have you ever seen anyone more timid or more abject than Marcus Regulus since Domitian's death? Ep. 1.5.1Sub quō nōn minōra flāgitia commīserat quam sub Nerōne sed tēctiōra.Under him he had committed crimes no lesser than under Nero, but better hidden. Ep. 1.5.1Coepit verērī nē sibi īrāscerer, nec fallēbātur: īrāscēbar.He began to fear that I was angry with him, and he was not mistaken: I was angry. Ep. 1.5.2Rūsticī Arulēnī perīculum fōverat, exsultāverat morte;He had fostered the danger of Arulenus Rusticus, and had exulted at his death; Ep. 1.5.2adeō ut librum recitāret pūblicāretque, in quō Rūsticum īnsectātur atque etiam "Stōicōrum sīmiam" appellat, adicit "Vitelliānā cicātrīce stigmōsum" - agnōscis ēloquentiam Rēgulī -, lacerat Herennium Seneciōnem tam intemperanter quidem, ut dīxerit eī Mettius Cārus "Quid tibi cum meīs mortuīs?so much so that he recited and published a book in which he attacks Rusticus and even calls him 'the ape of the Stoics', adds 'branded with the scar of Vitellius' (you recognise Regulus' eloquence), and savages Herennius Senecio so intemperately indeed that Mettius Carus said to him, 'What have you to do with my dead?
Ep. 1.5.3Numquid ego Crassō aut Camerīnō molestus sum?"Do I trouble Crassus or Camerinus?' Ep. 1.5.3quōs ille sub Nerōne accūsāverat.men whom he had accused under Nero. Ep. 1.5.4Haec mē Rēgulus dolenter tulisse crēdēbat, ideōque etiam cum recitāret librum nōn adhibuerat.Regulus believed I had taken this bitterly, and so he had not invited me even when he recited the book. Ep. 1.5.4Praetereā reminīscēbātur, quam capitāliter ipsum mē apud centumvirōs lacessīsset.Besides, he remembered how mortally he had attacked me myself before the Centumviral court. Ep. 1.5.5Aderam Arriōnillae Tīmōnis uxōrī, rogātū Arulēnī Rūsticī;I was appearing for Arrionilla, the wife of Timon, at the request of Arulenus Rusticus; Ep. 1.5.5Rēgulus contrā.Regulus was on the other side. Ep. 1.5.5Nītēbāmur nōs in parte causae sententiā Mettī Modestī optimī virī: is tunc in exsiliō erat, ā Domitiānō relēgātus.On one part of the case I was relying on the opinion of Mettius Modestus, an excellent man: he was then in exile, banished by Domitian. Ep. 1.5.5Ecce tibi Rēgulus "Quaerō," inquit, "Secunde, quid dē Modestō sentiās."Then, lo and behold, Regulus says, 'I ask you, Secundus, what you think of Modestus.' Ep. 1.5.5Vidēs quod perīculum, sī respondissem "bene";You see what danger there was, if I had answered 'well'; Ep. 1.5.5quod flāgitium sī "male".what disgrace, if 'badly'.
Ep. 1.5.5Nōn possum dīcere aliud tunc mihi quam deōs adfuisse.I can say nothing else than that the gods stood by me then. Ep. 1.5.5"Respondēbō" inquam "sī dē hōc centumvirī iūdicātūrī sunt."'I shall answer,' I said, 'if the Centumvirs are going to judge this matter.' Ep. 1.5.5Rūrsus ille: "Quaerō, quid dē Modestō sentiās."Again he: 'I ask what you think of Modestus.' Ep. 1.5.6Iterum ego: "Solēbant testēs in reōs, nōn in damnātōs interrogārī."A second time I: 'It used to be the custom for witnesses to be questioned about defendants, not about the condemned.' Ep. 1.5.6Tertiō ille: "Nōn iam quid dē Modestō, sed quid dē pietāte Modestī sentiās quaerō.A third time he: 'I am no longer asking what you think of Modestus, but what you think of Modestus' loyalty.' Ep. 1.5.7"Quaeris" inquam "quid sentiam;'You ask what I think,' I said; Ep. 1.5.7at ego nē interrogāre quidem fās putō, dē quō prōnūntiātum est."'but I hold that it is not right even to ask about a man on whom sentence has been passed.' Ep. 1.5.7Conticuit;He fell silent; Ep. 1.5.7mē laus et grātulātiō secūta est, quod nec fāmam meam aliquō respōnsō ūtilī fortasse, inhonestō tamen laeseram, nec mē laqueīs tam īnsidiōsae interrogātiōnis involveram.praise and congratulation followed me, because I had neither harmed my reputation by some answer that was perhaps useful but dishonourable, nor entangled myself in the snares of so treacherous a question.
Ep. 1.5.8Nunc ergō cōnscientiā exterritus apprehendit Caecilium Celerem, mox Fabium Iūstum;Now, therefore, terrified by his conscience, he seizes upon Caecilius Celer, then Fabius Justus; Ep. 1.5.8rogat ut mē sibi reconcilient.he asks them to reconcile me to him. Ep. 1.5.8Nec contentus pervenit ad Spurinnam;Not content with that, he goes to Spurinna; Ep. 1.5.8huic suppliciter, ut est cum timet abiectissimus: "Rogō māne videās Plīnium domī, sed plānē māne - neque enim ferre diūtius sollicitūdinem possum -, et quōquō modō efficiās, nē mihi īrāscātur."to him he says humbly (for when he is afraid he is utterly abject): 'I beg you to see Pliny at his house in the morning, but really in the morning (for I cannot bear my anxiety any longer), and to make sure by any means you can that he is not angry with me.' Ep. 1.5.9Ēvigilāveram;I had woken up; Ep. 1.5.9nūntius ā Spurinnā: "Veniō ad tē."a messenger came from Spurinna: 'I am coming to you.' Ep. 1.5.9"Immō ego ad tē."'No, I shall come to you.' Ep. 1.5.9Coīmus in porticum Līviae, cum alter ad alterum tenderēmus.We met in the colonnade of Livia, as each of us was making for the other.
Ep. 1.5.9Expōnit Rēgulī mandāta, addit precēs suās, ut decēbat optimum virum prō dissimillimō, parcē.He sets out Regulus' instructions and adds his own entreaties, sparingly, as befitted an excellent man pleading for one most unlike him. Ep. 1.5.9Cui ego: "Dispiciēs ipse quid renūntiandum Rēgulō putēs.To him I said: 'You will decide yourself what you think should be reported back to Regulus. Ep. 1.5.10Tē dēcipī ā mē nōn oportet.It is not right for you to be deceived by me. Ep. 1.5.10Exspectō Mauricum" - nōndum ab exsiliō vēnerat -: "ideō nihil alterutram in partem respondēre tibi possum, factūrus quidquid ille dēcrēverit;I am waiting for Mauricus' (he had not yet returned from exile): 'so I can give you no answer either way, since I shall do whatever he decides; Ep. 1.5.10illum enim esse huius cōnsiliī ducem, mē comitem decet."for it is fitting that he should be the leader in this decision, and I his companion.' Ep. 1.5.11Paucōs post diēs ipse mē Rēgulus convēnit in praetōris officiō;A few days later Regulus himself met me at the praetor's installation; Ep. 1.5.11illūc persecūtus sēcrētum petit;having followed me there, he asks for a private word; Ep. 1.5.11ait timēre sē nē animō meō penitus haerēret, quod in centumvirālī iūdiciō aliquandō dīxisset, cum respondēret mihi et Satriō Rūfō: "Satrius Rūfus, cui nōn est cum Cicerōne aemulātiō et quī contentus est ēloquentiā saeculī nostrī".he says he fears that something had stuck deep in my mind which he had once said in the Centumviral court, when replying to me and Satrius Rufus: 'Satrius Rufus, who has no rivalry with Cicero and who is content with the eloquence of our own age.' Ep. 1.5.12Respondī nunc mē intellegere malignē dictum quia ipse cōnfitērētur, cēterum potuisse honōrificum exīstimārī.I replied that I now understood it had been said spitefully, since he himself admitted it, but that otherwise it could have been thought complimentary.
Ep. 1.5.12"Est enim" inquam "mihi cum Cicerōne aemulātiō, nec sum contentus ēloquentiā saeculī nostrī;'For I do have a rivalry with Cicero,' I said, 'and I am not content with the eloquence of our own age; Ep. 1.5.13nam stultissimum crēdō ad imitandum nōn optima quaeque prōpōnere.for I think it most foolish not to set before oneself all the best things to imitate. Ep. 1.5.13Sed tū quī huius iūdiciī meministī, cūr illīus oblītus es, in quō mē interrogāstī, quid dē Mettī Modestī pietāte sentīrem?"But you who remember this case, why have you forgotten that one in which you asked me what I thought of the loyalty of Mettius Modestus?' Ep. 1.5.13Expalluit notābiliter, quamvīs palleat semper, et haesitābundus: "Interrogāvī nōn ut tibi nocērem, sed ut Modestō."He turned noticeably pale, although he is always pale, and stammered: 'I asked not to harm you, but to harm Modestus.' Ep. 1.5.13Vidē hominis crūdēlitātem, quī sē nōn dissimulet exsulī nocēre voluisse.See the man's cruelty, who does not hide that he wanted to harm an exile. Ep. 1.5.14Subiūnxit ēgregiam causam: "Scrīpsit" inquit "in epistulā quādam, quae apud Domitiānum recitāta est: "Rēgulus, omnium bipedum nēquissimus"";He added a splendid reason: 'He wrote,' he said, 'in a certain letter which was read out before Domitian: "Regulus, the most worthless of all two-legged creatures"'; Ep. 1.5.14quod quidem Modestus vērissimē scrīpserat.which indeed Modestus had written most truly.
Ep. 1.5.15Hic ferē nōbīs sermōnis terminus;This was roughly the end of our conversation; Ep. 1.5.15neque enim voluī prōgredī longius, ut mihi omnia lībera servārem dum Mauricus venit.for I did not want to go further, so as to keep everything open for myself until Mauricus comes. Ep. 1.5.15Nec mē praeterit esse Rēgulum "δυσκαθαίρετον";Nor am I unaware that Regulus is 'hard to bring down'; Ep. 1.5.15est enim locuplēs factiōsus, cūrātur ā multīs, timētur ā plūribus, quod plērumque fortius amōre est.for he is rich and well connected, courted by many and feared by more, which is often stronger than love. Ep. 1.5.16Potest tamen fierī ut haec concussa lābantur;Yet it may happen that these supports are shaken and give way; Ep. 1.5.16nam grātia malōrum tam īnfīda est quam ipsī.for the favour enjoyed by bad men is as faithless as they are themselves. Ep. 1.5.16Vērum, ut idem saepius dīcam, exspectō Mauricum.But, to say the same thing again, I am waiting for Mauricus. Ep. 1.5.16Vir est gravis prūdēns, multīs experīmentīs ērudītus et quī futūra possit ex praeteritīs prōvidēre.He is a serious and sensible man, schooled by much experience, and one who can foresee the future from the past.
Ep. 1.5.16Mihi et temptandī aliquid et quiēscendī illō auctōre ratiō cōnstābit.With him as my guide I shall have good reason either to attempt something or to keep quiet. Ep. 1.5.17Haec tibi scrīpsī, quia aequum erat tē prō amōre mūtuō nōn sōlum omnia mea facta dictaque, vērum etiam cōnsilia cognōscere.I have written this to you because it was fair that, given our mutual affection, you should know not only all my deeds and words but also my plans. Ep. 1.5.17Valē.Farewell.