Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §1.8.1-1.8.3

Private Business, Shipment of Statues, and Tullia's Demand

Passage 8 of 461 · Latin

Summary

After mentioning the well-being of Atticus's family, the meeting with Acutilius, and the settlement of Tadius's business, Cicero requests the prompt shipment of purchased statues for his gymnasia, and playfully adds that his daughter Tullia is demanding a gift from Atticus.

§1.8.1apud te est ut volumus.
With you all is as we wish.
mater tua et soror a me Quintoque fratre diligitur.
Your mother and sister are loved by me and my brother Quintus.
cum Acutilio sum locutus.
I have spoken with Acutilius.
is sibi negat a suo procuratore quicquam scriptum esse et miratur istam controversiam fuisse quod ille recusarit satis dare amplius abs te non peti.
He says that nothing has been written to him by his agent, and wonders that there should have been that dispute because the agent refused to give security that no further demand would be made by you.
quod te de Tadiano negotio decidisse scribis, id ego Tadio et gratum esse intellexi et magno opere iucundum.
As to your writing that you have settled the business of Tadius, I have understood that this is both pleasing and highly gratifying to Tadius.
ille noster amicus, vir me hercule optimus et mihi amicissimus, sane tibi iratus est.
That friend of ours—by Hercules, an excellent man and a very dear friend of mine—is indeed angry with you.
hoc si quanti tu aestimes sciam, tum quid mihi elaborandum sit scire possim.
If I knew how much you value this, then I might know how much trouble I ought to take.
§1.8.2L. Cincio HS CCIↃↃ CCIↃↃ CCCC pro signis Megaricis, ut tu ad me scripseras, curavi.
I have paid to Lucius Cincius 20,400 sesterces for the Megarian statues, as you had written to me.
Hermae tui Pentelici cum capitibus aeneis, de quibus ad me scripsisti iam nunc me admodum delectant.
Your Pentelic Herms with bronze heads, about which you wrote to me, already delight me exceedingly.
qua re velim et eos et signa et cetera quae tibi eius loci et nostri studi et tuae elegantiae esse videbuntur quam plurima quam primumque mittas et maxime quae tibi gymnasi xystique videbuntur esse.
Therefore I should like you to send both them and the statues, and whatever else shall seem to you to suit that place, our tastes, and your own elegant refinement, as many and as soon as possible, and especially those which shall seem to you suitable for a gymnasium and a colonnade.
nam in eo genere sic studio efferimur ut abs te adiuvandi, ab aliis prope reprehendendi simus.
For in this class of things we are so carried away by our enthusiasm that we ought to be assisted by you, and almost reproved by others.
si Lentuli navis non erit, quo tibi placebit imponito.
If Lentulus's ship is not available, pack them into whatever ship you please.
§1.8.3Tulliola deliciolae nostrae tuum munusculum flagitat et me ut sponsorem appellat; mi autem abiurare certius est quam dependere.
My darling Tulliola demands your little present and calls upon me as your surety; but for me, it is more certain that I shall swear off the obligation than pay it.

Notes

  1. §1.8.1recusarit satis dare — The phrase satis dare (or satisdare) is a Roman legal term meaning 'to give security'. Here it functions as a complementary infinitive to recusarit (subjunctive perfect, indicating a subjective reason in the quod clause). The content of the security is expressed by the accusative with infinitive clause amplius abs te non peti ('that no further demand should be made by you').
  2. §1.8.1si... sciam, ... possim — A conditional sentence using the subjunctive present sciam (protasis) and possim (apodosis), expressing a potential or less vivid future condition ('if I should know..., I would be able...'). The protasis contains the indirect question quanti tu aestimes, where quanti is a genitive of value.
  3. §1.8.2eius loci et nostri studi et tuae elegantiae esse — These genitives combined with the copula esse are genitives of characteristic (or suitability), meaning 'to be appropriate for' or 'to belong to'. They indicate that the statues suit the place where they will be put (eius loci), Cicero's own artistic interest (nostri studi), and Atticus's elegant taste (tuae elegantiae).
  4. §1.8.3abiurare certius est quam dependere — A humorous play on words regarding Cicero's role as a surety (sponsor). abiurare means 'to deny on oath (a debt or obligation)', while dependere means 'to pay down (the debt)'. Cicero jokingly remarks that he would rather commit perjury by denying his suretyship than actually pay for the gift Atticus promised to his daughter.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §1.8.1-1.8.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:1.8.1-1.8.3

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.