Ep. 4.17.1Et admonēs et rogās, ut suscipiam causam Corelliae absentis contrā C. Caecilium cōnsulem dēsignātum.You both remind me and ask me to take up the case of Corellia in her absence against Gaius Caecilius, consul-elect. Ep. 4.17.1Quod admonēs, grātiās agō;For the reminder, I thank you; Ep. 4.17.1quod rogās, queror.for the asking, I complain. Ep. 4.17.1Admonērī enim dēbeō ut sciam, rogārī nōn dēbeō ut faciam, quod mihi nōn facere turpissimum est.For I ought to be reminded so that I know, but I ought not to be asked to do a thing which it would be most shameful for me not to do. Ep. 4.17.2An ego tuērī Corellī fīliam dubitem?Would I hesitate to defend the daughter of Corellius? Ep. 4.17.2Est quidem mihi cum istō, contrā quem mē advocās, nōn plānē familiāris sed tamen amīcitia.It is true that I have a friendship with the man against whom you summon me, not a close one, but a friendship nonetheless. Ep. 4.17.3Accēdit hūc dignitās hominis atque hic ipse cui dēstinātus est honor, cuius nōbīs hōc maior agenda reverentia est, quod iam illō fūnctī sumus.Add to this the man's standing and this very office for which he is designated, for which I must show all the more respect because I have already held it.
Ep. 4.17.3Nātūrāle est enim ut ea, quae quis adeptus est ipse, quam amplissima exīstimārī velit.For it is natural for a man to want the things he has himself attained to be thought as great as possible. Ep. 4.17.4Sed mihi cōgitantī adfutūrum mē Corellī fīliae omnia ista frīgida et inānia videntur.But when I reflect that I shall be standing by the daughter of Corellius, all these considerations seem cold and empty. Ep. 4.17.4Obversātur oculīs ille vir quō nēminem aetās nostra graviōrem sānctiōrem subtīliōrem tulit, quem ego cum ex admīrātiōne dīligere coepissem, quod ēvenīre contrā solet, magis admīrātus sum postquam penitus īnspēxī.Before my eyes there hovers that man, than whom our age has produced no one more serious, more upright, more subtle, whom I had begun to love out of admiration, and, contrary to what usually happens, admired all the more once I had seen into him thoroughly. Ep. 4.17.5Īnspēxī enim penitus: nihil ā mē ille sēcrētum, nōn ioculāre nōn sērium, nōn trīste nōn laetum.For I did see into him thoroughly: he kept nothing secret from me, nothing playful, nothing serious, nothing sad, nothing happy.
Ep. 4.17.6Adulēscentulus eram, et iam mihi ab illō honor atque etiam - audēbō dīcere - reverentia ut aequālī habēbātur.I was a very young man, and already he showed me honour and even — I shall dare to say it — respect, as if I were his equal. Ep. 4.17.6Ille meus in petendīs honōribus suffrāgātor et testis, ille in incohandīs dēductor et comes, ille in gerendīs cōnsiliātor et rēctor, ille dēnique in omnibus officiīs nostrīs, quamquam et imbēcillus et senior, quasi iuvenis et validus cōnspiciēbātur.When I sought office he was my supporter and witness, when I entered on it my escort and companion, while I held it my adviser and guide; in short, in all my duties, though he was both frail and elderly, he was seen at my side as if he were young and strong. Ep. 4.17.7Quantum ille fāmae meae domī in pūblicō, quantum etiam apud prīncipem astrūxit!How much he did to build up my reputation at home, in public, and even with the emperor! Ep. 4.17.8Nam cum forte dē bonīs iuvenibus apud Nervam imperātōrem sermō incidisset, et plērīque mē laudibus ferrent, paulisper sē intrā silentium tenuit, quod illī plūrimum auctōritātis addēbat;For when the conversation happened to turn to good young men in the presence of the emperor Nerva, and most of those present were praising me, he kept silent for a while, which added very great weight to his words; Ep. 4.17.8deinde gravitāte quam nōrās: "Necesse est" inquit "parcius laudem Secundum, quia nihil nisi ex cōnsiliō meō facit."then, with that gravity you knew, he said: 'I must praise Secundus more sparingly, because he does nothing except on my advice.' Ep. 4.17.9Quā vōce tribuit mihi quantum petere vōtō immodicum erat, nihil mē facere nōn sapientissimē, cum omnia ex cōnsiliō sapientissimī virī facerem.By this remark he granted me what it would have been immodest even to pray for: that I did nothing that was not most wise, since I did everything on the advice of a most wise man.
Ep. 4.17.9Quīn etiam moriēns fīliae suae - ipsa solet praedicāre -: "Multōs quidem amīcōs tibi ut longiōre vītā parāvī, praecipuōs tamen Secundum et Cornūtum.Moreover, when he was dying, he said to his daughter — she often tells of it herself —: 'I have acquired many friends for you, as in a longer life, but above all Secundus and Cornutus.' Ep. 4.17.10Quod cum recordor, intellegō mihi labōrandum, nē qua parte videar hanc dē mē fīdūciam prōvidentissimī virī dēstituisse.When I recall this, I understand that I must work hard not to seem in any respect to have failed this confidence in me of a most far-sighted man. Ep. 4.17.11Quārē ego vērō Corelliae aderō promptissimē nec subīre offēnsās recūsābō;So I shall indeed stand by Corellia most readily, and I shall not refuse to incur offence; Ep. 4.17.11quamquam nōn sōlum veniam mē vērum etiam laudem apud istum ipsum, ā quō - ut ais - nova līs fortasse ut fēminae intenditur, arbitror cōnsecūtūrum, sī haec eadem in āctiōne, lātius scīlicet et ūberius quam epistulārum angustiae sinunt, vel in excūsātiōnem vel etiam commendātiōnem meam dīxerō.although I believe that I shall win not only pardon but even praise from that very man by whom — as you say — a novel suit is being brought, perhaps because she is a woman, if I say these same things in my speech, more fully of course and more richly than the narrow limits of a letter allow, either by way of excuse or even of recommending myself.
Ep. 4.17.11Valē.Farewell.