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Cicero · Letters to Friends §9.5.1-9.5.3

Defending Choices in the Civil War and Visiting Varro

Passage 177 of 413 · Latin

Summary

The author defends their past political and military decisions during the civil war, dismisses the severe criticisms of those who remained idle, and coordinates a future meeting at the recipient's villa.

§9.5.1mihi vero ad Nonas bene maturum videtur fore, neque solum propter rei p. sed etiam propter anni tempus; qua re istum diem probo, itaque eundem ipse sequar.
Indeed, it seems to me that it will be quite timely by the Nones, not only because of the state, but also because of the season of the year; therefore, I approve of that day of yours, and so I myself will follow the same.
§9.5.2consili nostri, ne si eos quidem, qui id secuti non sunt, non paeniteret, nobis paenitendum putarem; secuti enim sumus non spem sed officium, reliquimus autem non officium sed desperationem.
As for our decision, even if those who did not follow it did not regret it, I would not think that we ought to regret it; for we followed not hope but duty, and we abandoned not duty but despair.
ita verecundiores fuimus quam qui se domo non commoverunt, saniores quam qui amissis opibus. domum non reverterunt.
Thus we were more scrupulous than those who did not move from home, and saner than those who, having lost their property, did not return home.
sed nihil minus fero quam severitatem otiosorum et, quoquo modo se res habet, magis illos vereor, qui in bello occiderunt, quam hos curo, quibus non satis facimus, quia vivimus.
But there is nothing I bear less than the severity of those at leisure, and, however matters stand, I revere those who fell in the war more than I care for these men, whom we do not satisfy simply because we are alive.
§9.5.3mihi si spatium fuerit in Tusculanum ante Nonas veniendi, istic te videbo; si minus, persequar in Cumanum et ante te certiorem faciam, ut lavatio parata sit
If I have the time to come to my Tusculan villa before the Nones, I shall see you there; if not, I shall follow you to Cuma, and I will let you know beforehand so that the bath may be prepared.

Notes

  1. §9.5.2consili nostri — A genitive of cause or object of regret, depending on the impersonal construction of paenitere which is maintained here with the neuter gerundive paenitendum [esse nobis]. It is placed at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis.
  2. §9.5.2ne si eos quidem... non paeniteret, nobis paenitendum putarem — A counterfactual conditional sentence with imperfect subjunctives (paeniteret and putarem). The ne... quidem construction wraps around the conditional clause si to mean "even if... were not to regret, I would not think that we ought to regret."
  3. §9.5.2quibus non satis facimus, quia vivimus — The relative pronoun quibus serves as the dative object of satis facimus (to satisfy). Literally "whom we do not satisfy because we are alive," referring in this context to those who criticize or are displeased with the fact that Cicero and Varro survived.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §9.5.1-9.5.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:9.5.1-9.5.3

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.