Ep. 8.4.1Optimē facis, quod bellum Dācicum scrībere parās.You do excellently in preparing to write about the Dacian war. Ep. 8.4.1Nam quae tam recēns tam cōpiōsa tam ēlāta, quae dēnique tam poētica et quamquam in vērissimīs rēbus tam fābulōsa māteria?For what subject is so recent, so rich, so lofty, what subject, in short, so poetic and, though its matter is entirely true, so like a legend? Ep. 8.4.2Dīcēs immissa terrīs nova flūmina, novōs pontēs flūminibus iniectōs, īnsessa castrīs montium abrupta, pulsum rēgiā pulsum etiam vītā rēgem nihil dēspērantem;You will tell of new rivers let loose upon the land, new bridges thrown across rivers, steep mountainsides occupied by camps, a king driven from his palace, driven even from his life, yet despairing of nothing; Ep. 8.4.2super haec āctōs bis triumphōs, quōrum alter ex invictā gente prīmus, alter novissimus fuit.on top of this, two triumphs celebrated, of which one was the first over a nation until then unconquered, the other the last. Ep. 8.4.3Ūna sed maxima difficultas, quod haec aequāre dīcendō arduum immēnsum, etiam tuō ingeniō, quamquam altissimē assurgat et amplissimīs operibus incrēscat.There is one difficulty, but a very great one: that to match these things in words is an arduous, immense task, even for your genius, though it rises to the greatest heights and grows with the grandest works.
Ep. 8.4.3Nōn nūllus et in illō labor, ut barbara et fera nōmina, in prīmīs rēgis ipsīus, Graecīs versibus nōn resultent.There is some labour also in this, that barbarous and savage names, above all that of the king himself, should not jar in Greek verse. Ep. 8.4.4Sed nihil est quod nōn arte cūrāque, sī nōn potest vincī, mītigētur.But there is nothing that cannot be softened by art and care, if it cannot be overcome. Ep. 8.4.4Praetereā, sī datur Homērō et mollia vocābula et Graeca ad levitātem versūs contrahere extendere īnflectere, cūr tibi similis audentia praesertim nōn dēlicāta sed necessāria nōn dētur?Besides, if Homer is allowed to contract, lengthen and bend words, soft ones and Greek ones, for the smoothness of his verse, why should a similar boldness not be granted to you, especially one that is not affected but necessary? Ep. 8.4.5Proinde iūre vātum invocātīs dīs, et inter deōs ipsō, cuius rēs opera cōnsilia dictūrus es, immitte rudentēs, pande vēla ac, sī quandō aliās, tōtō ingeniō vehere.So, having called upon the gods by the right of bards, and among the gods upon him whose deeds, works and counsels you are going to tell, let out the ropes, spread your sails, and, now if ever, be borne along with all your genius.
Ep. 8.4.5Cūr enim nōn ego quoque poēticē cum poētā?For why should I too not speak poetically with a poet? Ep. 8.4.6Illud iam nunc pacīscor: prīma quaeque ut absolveris mittitō, immō etiam ante quam absolvās, sīcut erunt recentia et rudia et adhūc similia nāscentibus.This I bargain for here and now: send me each first part as you finish it, or rather even before you finish it, just as it will be, fresh and rough and still like a newborn thing. Ep. 8.4.7Respondēbis nōn posse perinde carptim ut contexta, perinde incohāta placēre ut effecta.You will reply that pieces cannot please in the same way as a connected whole, nor things begun in the same way as things completed. Ep. 8.4.7Sciō.I know. Ep. 8.4.7Itaque et ā mē aestimābuntur ut coepta, spectābuntur ut membra, extrēmamque līmam tuam opperientur in scrīniō nostrō.So they will be judged by me as beginnings, viewed as limbs, and they will await your final polish in my book-chest. Ep. 8.4.7Patere hoc mē super cētera habēre amōris tuī pignus, ut ea quoque nōrim quae nōsse nēminem vellēs.Allow me to have this, above everything else, as a pledge of your love: that I should know even those things which you would wish nobody to know.
Ep. 8.4.8In summā poterō fortasse scrīpta tua magis probāre laudāre, quantō illa tardius cautiusque, sed ipsum tē magis amābō magisque laudābō, quantō celerius et incautius mīserīs.In short, I may perhaps be able to approve and praise your writings more the more slowly and cautiously you send them, but I shall love and praise you yourself the more, the more quickly and incautiously you send them. Ep. 8.4.8Valē.Farewell.