Ep. 6.6.1Sī quandō, nunc praecipuē cuperem esse tē Rōmae, et sīs rogō.If ever, now above all I should wish you to be in Rome, and I ask you to be. Ep. 6.6.1Opus est mihi vōtī labōris sollicitūdinis sociō.I need a partner in my hopes, my labours and my anxiety. Ep. 6.6.1Petit honōrēs Iūlius Nāsō;Julius Naso is standing for office; Ep. 6.6.1petit cum multīs, cum bonīs, quōs ut glōriōsum sīc est difficile superāre.he stands with many, with good men, whom it is as glorious as it is difficult to defeat. Ep. 6.6.2Pendeō ergō et exerceor spē, afficior metū et mē cōnsulārem esse nōn sentiō;So I am in suspense, I am worked upon by hope, I am stricken by fear, and I do not feel that I am a former consul; Ep. 6.6.2nam rūrsus mihi videor omnium quae dēcucurrī candidātus.for I seem to myself to be a candidate again for all the offices I have run through. Ep. 6.6.3Merētur hanc cūram longā meī cāritāte.He deserves this concern by his long affection for me.
Ep. 6.6.3Est mihi cum illō nōn sānē paterna amīcitia - neque enim esse potuit per meam aetātem -;My friendship with him is certainly not inherited — nor indeed could it be, given my age —; Ep. 6.6.3solēbat tamen vixdum adulēscentulō mihi pater eius cum magnā laude mōnstrārī.yet his father used to be pointed out to me with great praise when I was barely a youth. Ep. 6.6.3Erat nōn studiōrum tantum vērum etiam studiōsōrum amantissimus ac prope cōtīdiē ad audiendōs, quōs tunc ego frequentābam, Quīntiliānum Nīcētēn Sacerdōtem ventitābat, vir aliōquī clārus et gravis et quī prōdesse fīliō memoriā suī dēbeat.He was a great lover not only of literature but also of men of letters, and almost every day he would come to hear Quintilian and Nicetes Sacerdos, whom I was then attending; a man distinguished in other ways too and weighty, and one whose memory ought to help his son. Ep. 6.6.4Sed multī nunc in senātū quibus ignōtus ille, multī quibus notus, sed nōn nisi vīventēs reverentur.But there are many in the senate now to whom he was unknown, many to whom he was known, but who respect none but the living.
Ep. 6.6.4Quō magis huic, omissā glōriā patris in quā magnum ōrnāmentum grātia īnfirma, ipsī ēnītendum ipsī ēlabōrandum est.So all the more must this man, setting aside his father's glory, in which there is great distinction but feeble influence, strive by himself and labour by himself. Ep. 6.6.5Quod quidem semper, quasi prōvidēret hoc tempus, sēdulō fēcit: parāvit amīcōs, quōs parāverat coluit, mē certē, ut prīmum sibi iūdicāre permīsit, ad amōrem imitātiōnemque dēlēgit.And this indeed he has always done diligently, as if he foresaw this moment: he has won friends, he has cultivated the friends he had won, and me certainly, as soon as he was allowed to judge for himself, he chose to love and imitate. Ep. 6.6.6Dīcentī mihi sollicitus assistit, assidet recitantī;When I speak he stands by me anxiously, when I give a reading he sits by me; Ep. 6.6.6prīmīs etiam et cum maximē nāscentibus opusculīs meīs interest, nunc sōlus ante cum frātre, cuius nūper āmissī ego suscipere partēs, ego vicem dēbeō implēre.he is present too at the first birth of my little works, at the very moment they are being born, now alone, before with his brother, whose part, since he was lately lost, I must take up, whose place I must fill.
Ep. 6.6.7Doleō enim et illum immātūrā morte indignissimē raptum, et hunc optimī frātris adiūmentō dēstitūtum sōlīsque amīcīs relictum.For I grieve both that the one was most cruelly snatched away by an untimely death, and that the other has been robbed of the support of an excellent brother and left with his friends alone. Ep. 6.6.8Quibus ex causīs exigō ut veniās, et suffrāgiō meō tuum iungās.For these reasons I insist that you come and join your vote to mine. Ep. 6.6.8Permultum interest meā tē ostentāre, tēcum circumīre.It matters a great deal to me to show you off, to go round canvassing with you. Ep. 6.6.8Ea est auctōritās tua, ut putem mē efficācius tēcum etiam meōs amīcōs rogātūrum.Such is your influence that I think I shall solicit even my own friends more effectively with you. Ep. 6.6.9Abrumpe sī qua tē retinent: hoc tempus meum, hoc fidēs, hoc etiam dignitās postulat.Break off whatever holds you back: my situation, my loyalty, even my standing demands this. Ep. 6.6.9Suscēpī candidātum, et suscēpisse mē notum est;I have taken up a candidate, and it is known that I have taken him up; Ep. 6.6.9ego ambiō, ego perīclitor;it is I who am canvassing, I who am at risk; Ep. 6.6.9in summā, sī datur Nāsōnī quod petit, illīus honor, sī negātur, mea repulsa est.in short, if Naso is granted what he seeks, the honour is his; if he is refused, the defeat is mine.
Ep. 6.6.9Valē.Farewell.