Ep. 2.4.1Sī plūribus pater tuus vel ūnī cuilibet aliī quam mihi dēbuisset, fuisset fortasse dubitandum, an adīrēs hērēditātem etiam virō gravem.If your father had owed money to several creditors, or to any single person other than me, you might perhaps have had to hesitate whether to take up an inheritance that would burden even a man. Ep. 2.4.2Cum vērō ego ductus affīnitātis officiō, dīmissīs omnibus quī nōn dīcō molestiōrēs sed dīligentiōrēs erant, crēditor sōlus exstiterim, cumque vīvente eō nūbentī tibi in dōtem centum mīlia contulerim, praeter eam summam quam pater tuus quasi dē meō dīxit - erat enim solvenda dē meō -, magnum habēs facilitātis meae pignus, cuius fīdūciā dēbēs fāmam dēfūnctī pudōremque suscipere.But since I, led by the duty owed to a relative by marriage, after all those were paid off who were, I will not say more troublesome, but more exacting, have been left as sole creditor, and since, while he was alive, I contributed a hundred thousand sesterces to your dowry when you married, besides the sum which your father promised as if from my funds – for it was to be paid from my funds –, you have a great pledge of my indulgence, and trusting in it you ought to take upon yourself the good name and honour of the dead man.
Ep. 2.4.2Ad quod tē nē verbīs magis quam rēbus horter, quidquid mihi pater tuus dēbuit, acceptum tibi fierī iubēbō.And so that I may not urge you to this with words more than with deeds, I shall have whatever your father owed me credited to you as paid. Ep. 2.4.3Nec est quod vereāris nē sit mihi onerōsa ista dōnātiō.Nor is there any reason for you to fear that this gift may be a burden to me. Ep. 2.4.3Sunt quidem omnīnō nōbīs modicae facultātēs, dignitās sūmptuōsa, reditus propter condiciōnem agellōrum nesciō minor an incertior;It is true that my means are altogether modest, my position costly, and my income, because of the nature of my little farms, I know not whether smaller or more uncertain; Ep. 2.4.3sed quod cessat ex reditū, frūgālitāte supplētur, ex quā velut fonte līberālitās nostra dēcurrit.but what is lacking from income is made up by thrift, from which, as from a spring, my generosity flows. Ep. 2.4.4Quae tamen ita temperanda est, nē nimiā profūsiōne inārēscat;This, however, must be so regulated that it does not run dry through too lavish an outpouring; Ep. 2.4.4sed temperanda in aliīs, in tē vērō facile eī ratiō cōnstābit, etiamsī modum excesserit.but it must be regulated in the case of others; in yours its account will easily balance, even if it has gone beyond the limit.
Ep. 2.4.4Valē.Farewell.