Ep. 6.27.1Rogās ut cōgitem, quid dēsignātus cōnsul in honōrem prīncipis cēnseās.You ask me to consider what you, as consul designate, should propose in honour of the prince. Ep. 6.27.1Facilis inventiō, nōn facilis ēlēctiō;Finding something is easy, choosing is not; Ep. 6.27.1est enim ex virtūtibus eius largā māteria.for his virtues furnish ample material. Ep. 6.27.1Scrībam tamen vel - quod mālō - cōram indicābō, sī prius haesitātiōnem meam ostenderō.Still, I shall write, or — which I prefer — tell you face to face, once I have first shown you my hesitation. Ep. 6.27.2Dubitō num idem tibi suādēre quod mihi dēbeam.I doubt whether I ought to advise you the same as I advised myself. Ep. 6.27.2Dēsignātus ego cōnsul omnī hāc, etsī nōn adūlātiōne, speciē tamen adūlātiōnis abstinuī, nōn tamquam līber et cōnstāns, sed tamquam intellegēns prīncipis nostrī, cuius vidēbam hanc esse praecipuam laudem, sī nihil quasi ex necessitāte dēcernerem.When I was consul designate I refrained from all this, if not flattery, then at least the appearance of flattery, not as being independent and resolute, but as understanding our prince, whose particular praise, I saw, was this, that I should propose nothing as if from compulsion.
Ep. 6.27.3Recordābar etiam plūrimōs honōrēs pessimō cuique dēlātōs, quibus hic optimus sēparārī nōn aliō magis poterat, quam dīversitāte cēnsendī;I remembered too that very many honours had been heaped on all the worst princes, from whom this best of princes could be distinguished in no way more than by a different kind of proposal; Ep. 6.27.3quod ipsum nōn dissimulātiōne et silentiō praeteriī, nē forte nōn iūdicium illud meum sed oblīviō vidērētur.and this very thing I did not pass over with concealment and silence, lest it should perhaps seem not my judgement but forgetfulness. Ep. 6.27.4Hoc tunc ego;That is what I did then; Ep. 6.27.4sed nōn omnibus eadem placent, nē conveniunt quidem.but the same things do not please everyone, nor are they even suitable for everyone. Ep. 6.27.4Praetereā faciendī aliquid nōn faciendīve ratiō cum hominum ipsōrum tum rērum etiam ac temporum condiciōne mūtātur.Besides, the reason for doing or not doing something changes with the circumstances, not only of the men themselves, but also of affairs and of the times. Ep. 6.27.5Nam recentia opera maximī prīncipis praebent facultātem, nova magna vēra cēnsendī.For the recent achievements of a very great prince give scope for proposals that are new, great and true.
Ep. 6.27.5Quibus ex causīs, ut suprā scrīpsī, dubitō an idem nunc tibi quod tunc mihi suādeam.For these reasons, as I wrote above, I doubt whether I should advise you now the same as I advised myself then. Ep. 6.27.5Illud nōn dubitō, dēbuisse mē in parte cōnsiliī tuī pōnere, quid ipse fēcissem.This I do not doubt, that I ought to put before you, as part of my counsel, what I had done myself. Ep. 6.27.5Valē.Farewell.