mandata dedi providendum esse, ne duae legiones sine Picentinis cohortibus in conspectum Caesaris committerentur. Quam ob rem nolito commoveri, si audieris me regredi, si forte Caesar ad me veniet; cavendum enim puto esse, ne implicatus haeream. Nam neque castra propter anni tempus et militum animos facere possum, neque ex omnibus oppidis contrahere copias expedit, ne receptum amittam. Itaque non amplius xiiii cohortes Luceriam coegi. Consules praesidia omnia deducturi sunt aut in Siciliam ituri. Nam aut exercitum firmum habere oportet, quo confidamus perrumpere nos posse, aut regiones eius modi obtinere, e quibus repugnemus; id quod neutrum nobis hoc tempore contigit, quod et magnam partem Italiae Caesar occupavit, et nos non habemus exercitum tam amplum neque tam magnum quam ille. Itaque nobis providendum est, ut summam rei publicae rationem habeamus. Etiam atque etiam te hortor, ut cum omni copia quam primum ad me venias. Possumus etiam nunc rem publicam erigere, si communi consilio negotium administrabimus; si distrahemur, infirmi erimus. Mihi hoc constitutum est.
His litteris scriptis Sicca abs te mihi litteras et mandata attulit. Quod me hortare, ut istuc veniam, id me facere non arbitror posse, quod non magno opere his legionibus confido.
XIId
CN. MAGNUS PROCOS. S. D. L. DOMITIO PROCOS.
Scr. Luceriae XIII K. Mart. 705
Litterae mihi a te redditae sunt a. d. XIII Kal. Martias, in quibus scribis Caesarem apud Corfinium
M. Tuscilius to tell you that we must beware lest the two legions without the cohorts from Picenum come within sight of Caesar. Accordingly do not be disturbed if you hear of my retreat in the face of Caesar's possible advance, for I consider that I must take every step to avoid being trapped. The season of the year and the spirit of my troops prevents me from making a camp; nor is it wise to collect the garrisons from all the towns, lest room for retreat be lost. So I have not mustered more than fourteen cohorts at Luceria. The consuls will bring in all their garrisons to me or start for Sicily. We must either have an army strong enough to allow of our breaking through the enemy's lines, or get and hold localities we can defend. At the present moment we have neither of those advantages: a large part of Italy is held by Caesar, and our army is neither so well equipped nor so large as his. We must therefore take care to look to the main issue. Again and again I beg you to come to me as soon as possible with all your forces. Even now the constitution may be restored, if we take common counsel in our action. Division means weakness: of that I am positive.
After I had written my letter Sicca brought me a dispatch and message from you. I fear I cannot comply with your request for assistance, because I do not put much trust in these legions.