Ep. 8.24.1Amor in tē meus cōgit, nōn ut praecipiam - neque enim praeceptōre egēs -, admoneam tamen, ut quae scīs teneās et observēs, aut nescīre melius.My love for you compels me, not to instruct you — for you do not need an instructor — but still to remind you to hold to and observe what you know, or else it would be better not to know it. Ep. 8.24.2Cōgitā tē missum in prōvinciam Achāiam, illam vēram et meram Graeciam, in quā prīmum hūmānitās litterae, etiam frūgēs inventae esse crēduntur;Consider that you have been sent to the province of Achaia, that true and genuine Greece, in which civilisation and letters, and even agriculture, are believed to have been first discovered; Ep. 8.24.2missum ad ōrdinandum statum līberārum cīvitātum, id est ad hominēs maximē hominēs, ad līberōs maximē līberōs, quī iūs ā nātūrā datum virtūte meritīs amīcitiā, foedere dēnique et religiōne tenuērunt.sent to set in order the condition of free cities, that is, to men who are most truly men, to free men who are most truly free, who have kept the rights given them by nature through virtue, merit, friendship, and finally by treaty and religion.
Ep. 8.24.3Reverēre conditōrēs deōs et nōmina deōrum, Reverēre glōriam veterem et hanc ipsam senectūtem, quae in homine venerābilis, in urbibus sacra.Revere their founding gods and the names of the gods, revere their ancient glory and that very old age which in a man is venerable, in cities sacred. Ep. 8.24.3Sit apud tē honor antīquitātī, sit ingentibus factīs, sit fābulīs quoque.Let there be honour with you for antiquity, for mighty deeds, for legends too. Ep. 8.24.3Nihil ex cuiusquam dignitāte, nihil ex lībertāte, nihil etiam ex iactātiōne dēcerpserīs.Take nothing away from anyone's dignity, nothing from their freedom, nothing even from their boasting. Ep. 8.24.4Habē ante oculōs hanc esse terram, quae nōbīs mīserit iūra, quae lēgēs nōn victīs sed petentibus dederit, Athēnās esse quās adeās Lacedaemonem esse quam regās;Keep before your eyes that this is the land which sent us our laws, which gave us its laws not as conquered but as asking for them, that it is Athens you are going to, Sparta you are governing; Ep. 8.24.4quibus reliquam umbram et residuum lībertātis nōmen ēripere dūrum ferum barbarum est.to snatch from them the shadow that remains and the name of liberty that is left is harsh, savage and barbarous.
Ep. 8.24.5Vidēs ā medicīs, quamquam in adversā valētūdine nihil servī ac līberī differant, mollius tamen līberōs clēmentiusque trāctārī.You see that doctors, although in illness there is no difference between slave and free, nevertheless treat the free more gently and more kindly. Ep. 8.24.5Recordāre quid quaeque cīvitās fuerit, nōn ut dēspiciās quod esse dēsierit;Remember what each city has been, not so as to despise it because it has ceased to be so; Ep. 8.24.5absit superbia asperitās.let there be no arrogance, no harshness. Ep. 8.24.6Nec timuerīs contemptum.And do not fear contempt. Ep. 8.24.6An contemnitur quī imperium quī fascēs habet, nisi humilis et sordidus, et quī sē prīmus ipse contemnit?Is a man who holds command, who holds the fasces, despised, unless he is low and mean, and the first to despise himself? Ep. 8.24.6Male vim suam potestās aliōrum contumēliīs experītur, male terrōre venerātiō acquīritur, longēque valentior amor ad obtinendum quod velīs quam timor.It is a poor thing for power to test its strength by insulting others, a poor thing to gain respect through terror, and love is far more effective than fear in obtaining what you want.
Ep. 8.24.6Nam timor abit sī recēdās, manet amor, ac sīcut ille in odium hic in reverentiam vertitur.For fear departs if you go away, love remains, and just as the former turns into hatred, so the latter turns into reverence. Ep. 8.24.7Tē vērō etiam atque etiam - repetam enim - meminisse oportet officiī tuī titulum ac tibi ipsum interpretārī, quāle quantumque sit ōrdināre statum līberārum cīvitātum.You ought again and again — for I shall repeat it — to remember the title of your office and explain to yourself what and how great a thing it is to set in order the condition of free cities. Ep. 8.24.7Nam quid ōrdinātiōne cīvīlius, quid lībertāte pretiōsius?For what is more befitting a citizen than setting in order, what more precious than liberty? Ep. 8.24.8Porrō quam turpe, sī ōrdinātiō ēversiōne, lībertās servitūte mūtētur!Moreover, how shameful, if order should be turned into overthrow, liberty into slavery! Ep. 8.24.8Accēdit quod tibi certāmen est tēcum: onerat tē quaestūrae tuae fāma, quam ex Bīthȳniā optimam revēxistī;Add the fact that your contest is with yourself: you are weighed down by the reputation of your quaestorship, the excellent one you brought back from Bithynia; Ep. 8.24.8onerat testimōnium prīncipis;you are weighed down by the emperor's commendation; Ep. 8.24.8onerat tribūnātus, praetūra atque haec ipsa lēgātiō quasi praemium data.weighed down by your tribunate, your praetorship and this very appointment, given as a kind of reward.
Ep. 8.24.9Quō magis nītendum est nē in longinquā prōvinciā quam suburbānā, nē inter servientēs quam līberōs, nē sorte quam iūdiciō missus, nē rudis et incognitus quam explōrātus probātusque hūmānior melior perītior fuisse videāris, cum sit aliōquī, ut saepe audīstī saepe lēgistī, multō dēfōrmius āmittere quam nōn assequī laudem.All the more must you strive not to seem to have been more humane, better and more skilful in a distant province than in one near the city, among slaves than among free men, when sent by lot than by choice, when raw and unknown than when tried and approved, since besides, as you have often heard and often read, it is much more disgraceful to lose praise than not to win it. Ep. 8.24.10Haec velim crēdās, quod initiō dīxī, scrīpsisse mē admonentem, nōn praecipientem;I should like you to believe, as I said at the beginning, that I have written this by way of reminder, not of instruction; Ep. 8.24.10quamquam praecipientem quoque.although of instruction too. Ep. 8.24.10Quippe nōn vereor, in amōre nē modum excesserim.For I am not afraid that I have exceeded due measure in love.
Ep. 8.24.10Neque enim perīculum est nē sit nimium quod esse maximum dēbet.For there is no danger that what ought to be greatest should be too much. Ep. 8.24.10Valē.Farewell.