Ep. 8.2.1Aliī in praedia sua proficīscuntur ut locuplētiōrēs revertantur, ego ut pauperior.Others set out for their estates in order to come back richer; I, in order to come back poorer. Ep. 8.2.1Vēndideram vindēmiās certātim negōtiātōribus ementibus.I had sold my grape harvests to dealers who were competing to buy them. Ep. 8.2.1Invītābat pretium, et quod tunc et quod fore vidēbātur.The price was tempting, both the price at that moment and what it seemed likely to become. Ep. 8.2.2Spēs fefellit.Their hopes were disappointed. Ep. 8.2.2Erat expedītum omnibus remittere aequāliter, sed nōn satis aequum.It would have been simple to grant everyone the same rebate, but not quite fair. Ep. 8.2.2Mihi autem ēgregium in prīmīs vidētur ut forīs ita domī, ut in magnīs ita in parvīs, ut in aliēnīs ita in suīs agitāre iūstitiam.To me, however, it seems especially admirable to practise justice at home as abroad, in small matters as in great, in one's own affairs as in other people's. Ep. 8.2.2Nam sī paria peccāta, parēs etiam laudēs.For if faults are equal, the praise is equal too. Ep. 8.2.3Itaque omnibus quidem, nē quis "mihi nōn dōnātus abīret", partem octāvam pretiī quō quis ēmerat concessī;And so to everyone, so that no one 'should go away from me without a gift', I granted an eighth part of the price at which each had bought; Ep. 8.2.3deinde iīs, quī amplissimās summās ēmptiōnibus occupāverant, sēparātim cōnsuluī.then I made separate provision for those who had laid out the largest sums on their purchases.
Ep. 8.2.3Nam et mē magis iūverant, et maius ipsī fēcerant damnum.For they had both helped me more and suffered a greater loss themselves. Ep. 8.2.4Igitur iīs quī plūris quam decem mīlibus ēmerant, ad illam commūnem et quasi pūblicam octāvam addidī decimam eius summae, quā decem mīlia excesserant.So to those who had bought for more than ten thousand sesterces, on top of that common and, as it were, public eighth I added a tenth of the amount by which they had exceeded ten thousand. Ep. 8.2.5Vereor nē parum expresserim: apertius calculō ostendam.I am afraid I have not expressed this clearly enough: I shall show it more plainly with a calculation. Ep. 8.2.5Sī quī forte quīndecim mīlibus ēmerant, hī et quīndecim mīlium octāvam et quīnque mīlium decimam tulērunt.If any had bought, say, for fifteen thousand, they received both an eighth of fifteen thousand and a tenth of five thousand. Ep. 8.2.6Praetereā, cum reputārem quōsdam ex dēbitō aliquantum, quōsdam aliquid, quōsdam nihil reposuisse, nēquāquam vērum arbitrābar, quōs nōn aequāsset fidēs solūtiōnis, hōs benignitāte remissiōnis aequārī.Moreover, when I reflected that some had paid off a good part of what they owed, some a little, some nothing, I thought it by no means right that those whom honesty in payment had not made equal should be made equal by generosity in remission.
Ep. 8.2.7Rūrsus ergō iīs quī solverant eius quod solverant decimam remīsī.So once again I remitted to those who had paid a tenth of what they had paid. Ep. 8.2.7Per hoc enim aptissimē et in praeteritum singulīs prō cuiusque meritō grātia referrī, et in futūrum omnēs cum ad emendum tum etiam ad solvendum allicī vidēbantur.For in this way it seemed that, most fittingly, thanks were returned to each for the past according to his merit, and all were encouraged for the future not only to buy but also to pay. Ep. 8.2.8Magnō mihi seu ratiō haec seu facilitās stetit, sed fuit tantī.This method, or this indulgence, has cost me a great deal, but it was worth it. Ep. 8.2.8Nam regiōne tōtā et novitās remissiōnis et fōrma laudātur.For throughout the whole district both the novelty of the remission and its form are being praised. Ep. 8.2.8Ex ipsīs etiam quōs nōn ūnā, ut dīcitur, perticā sed distīnctē gradātimque trāctāvī, quantō quis melior et probior, tantō mihi obligātior abiit expertus nōn esse apud mē ἐν δὲ ἰῇ τιμῇ ἠμὲν κακὸς ἠδὲ καὶ ἐσθλός.Even among those very men whom I did not treat, as the saying goes, with one measuring-rod, but distinctly and by degrees, the better and more honest each man was, the more obliged to me he went away, having found that with me it is not the case that 'the bad man and the good are held in one honour'.
Ep. 8.2.8Valē.Farewell.