Ep. 8.17.1Num istīc quoque immīte et turbidum caelum?Is the weather harsh and stormy there too? Ep. 8.17.1Hīc assiduae tempestātēs et crēbra dīluvia.Here there are constant storms and frequent floods. Ep. 8.17.1Tiberis alveum excessit et dēmissiōribus rīpīs altē superfunditur;The Tiber has left its bed and pours deep over its lower banks; Ep. 8.17.2quamquam fossā quam prōvidentissimus imperātor fēcit exhaustus, premit vallēs, innatat campīs, quāquē plānum sōlum, prō solō cernitur.although drained by the channel which our most provident emperor made, it fills the valleys, flows over the plains, and wherever the ground is level, it is seen in place of the ground. Ep. 8.17.2Inde quae solet flūmina accipere et permixta dēvehere, velut obvius retrō cōgit, atque ita aliēnīs aquīs operit agrōs, quōs ipse nōn tangit.Then, as if going to meet the rivers which it usually receives and carries down mingled with itself, it forces them back, and so covers with other waters fields which it does not touch itself. Ep. 8.17.3Aniō, dēlicātissimus amnium ideōque adiacentibus vīllīs velut invītātus retentusque, magnā ex parte nemora quibus inumbrātur frēgit et rapuit;The Anio, the most delightful of streams and therefore, as it were, invited and detained by the villas lying beside it, has for the most part broken and swept away the woods by which it is shaded; Ep. 8.17.3subruit montēs, et dēcidentium mōle plūribus locīs clausus, dum āmissum iter quaerit, impulit tēcta ac sē super ruīnās ēiēcit atque extulit.it has undermined hills, and, blocked in several places by the mass of what has fallen, while seeking its lost course it has battered down buildings and thrown itself out and risen over the ruins.
Ep. 8.17.4Vīdērunt quōs excelsiōribus terrīs illa tempestās dēprehendit, alibī dīvitum apparātūs et gravem supellectilem, alibī īnstrūmenta rūris, ibi bovēs arātra rēctōrēs, hīc solūta et lībera armenta, atque inter haec arborum truncōs aut vīllārum trabēs atque culmina variē lātēque fluitantia.Those whom the storm caught on higher ground saw, in one place the furnishings of the rich and heavy furniture, in another farm implements, here oxen, ploughs and ploughmen, there herds loosed and free, and among these the trunks of trees or the beams and roofs of villas floating here and there far and wide. Ep. 8.17.5Ac nē illa quidem malō vacāvērunt, ad quae nōn ascendit amnis.Nor were even those places free from harm to which the river did not rise. Ep. 8.17.5Nam prō amne imber assiduus et dēiectī nūbibus turbinēs, prōruta opera quibus pretiōsa rūra cinguntur, quassāta atque etiam dēcussa monumenta.For instead of the river there was incessant rain and whirlwinds hurled down from the clouds, the walls with which valuable estates are enclosed were thrown down, and monuments were shaken and even toppled. Ep. 8.17.5Multī eius modī cāsibus dēbilitātī obrutī obtrītī, et aucta lūctibus damna.Many people were maimed, overwhelmed and crushed by mishaps of this kind, and losses were increased by bereavements.
Ep. 8.17.6Nē quid simile istīc, prō mēnsūrā perīculī vereor, tēque rogō, sī nihil tāle, quam mātūrissimē sollicitūdinī meae cōnsulās, sed et sī tāle, id quoque nūntiēs.I fear, in proportion to the danger, that something similar may have happened there, and I ask you, if nothing of the kind has, to relieve my anxiety as soon as possible, but if it has, to send me word of that too. Ep. 8.17.6Nam parvolum differt, patiāris adversa an exspectēs;For it makes very little difference whether you suffer misfortune or await it; Ep. 8.17.6nisi quod tamen est dolendī modus, nōn est timendī.except that there is a limit to grief, but none to fear. Ep. 8.17.6Doleās enim quantum sciās accidisse, timeās quantum possit accidere.For you grieve as much as you know has happened, but fear as much as can happen. Ep. 8.17.6Valē.Farewell.