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Cicero · Letters to Atticus §10.12.1-10.12.4

Antony's Orders of Surveillance and the Plan to Escape by Sea

Passage 239 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Upon learning that Antony received specific instructions regarding him, Cicero contemplates escaping by sea to Sicily and asks Atticus to share news and destroy sensitive letters.

§10.12.1quidnam mihi futurum est aut quis me non solum infelicior sed iam etiam turpior? nominatim de me sibi imperatum dicit Antonius nec me tamen ipse adhuc viderat sed hoc Trebatio narravit.
What in the world is going to happen to me, or who is not only more unhappy than I, but now even more disgraceful? Antony says that he was specifically instructed regarding me, and yet he himself had not yet seen me, but narrated this to Trebatius.
quid agam nunc quoi nihil procedit caduntque ea quae diligentissime sunt cogitata taeterrime? ego enim Curionem nactus omnia me consecutum putavi.
What should I do now, for whom nothing succeeds, and those things which have been most carefully planned turn out most foully? For I, having obtained Curio, thought I had achieved everything.
is de me ad Hortensium scripserat.
He had written about me to Hortensius.
Reginus erat totus noster.
Reginus was entirely ours.
huic nihil suspicabamur cum hoc mari negoti fore.
We suspected that he would have no business with this sea.
quo me nunc vertam? undique custodior.
Whither shall I turn now? I am guarded on all sides.
sed satis lacrimis.
But enough of tears.
§10.12.2παρακλεπτέον igitur et occulte in aliquam onerariam corrependum, non committendum ut etiam compacto prohibiti videamur.
Therefore, we must slip away and crawl secretly into some merchant vessel, and not allow it to happen that we seem to have been prevented by pre-agreement.
Sicilia petenda; quam si erimus nacti, maiora quaedam consequemur.
Sicily must be sought; which if we obtain, we shall achieve greater things.
sit modo recte in Hispaniis! quamquam de ipsa Sicilia utinam sit verum! sed adhuc nihil secundi.
If only things go well in the Spains! And yet, about Sicily itself, would that it were true! But as yet nothing of favorable news.
concursus Siculorum ad Catonem dicitur factus, orasse ut resisteret, omnia pollicitos; commotum illum dilectum habere coepisse.
A rush of Sicilians to Cato is said to have been made, that they begged him to resist, promising everything; and that he, being moved, has begun to hold a levy.
non credo, ut est luculentus auctor.
I do not believe it, however trustworthy the authority is.
potuisse certe teneri illam provinciam scio.
I know certainly that that province could have been held.
ab Hispaniis autem iam audietur.
But from the Spains, news will now soon be heard.
§10.12.3hic nos C. Marcellum habemus eadem vere cogitantem aut bene simulantem; quamquam ipsum non videram sed ex familiarissimo eius audiebam.
Here we have C. Marcellus, sincerely thinking the same things or pretending well to do so; although I had not seen him himself, but heard it from his most intimate friend.
tu, quaeso, si quid habebis novi; ego, si quid moliti erimus, ad te statim scribam.
You, I beg, if you have any news; I, if we attempt anything, will write to you immediately.
Quintum filium severius adhibebo.
I shall treat my son Quintus more strictly.
utinam proficere possim! tu tamen eas epistulas quibus asperius de eo scripsi aliquando concerpito, ne quando quid emanet; ego item tuas.
Would that I could make some progress! You, however, tear up at some point those letters in which I have written rather harshly about him, lest anything should ever leak out; I likewise yours.
§10.12.4Servium exspecto nec ab eo quicquam ὑγιέσ.
I am expecting Servius, nor do I expect anything reassuring from him.
scies quicquid erit.
You shall know whatever it may be.

Notes

  1. 10.12.1quoi nihil procedit — quoi is an archaic dative of the relative pronoun qui, equivalent to the classical cui. It functions here as a dative of disadvantage or reference modifying the implicit or explicit mihi.
  2. 10.12.2non committendum ut etiam compacto prohibiti videamur — committere ut means 'to commit an error such that' or 'to allow a situation where.' compacto is an adverbial ablative from compactum (agreement, collusion), meaning 'by pre-agreement' or 'by collusion.' The whole phrase means 'we must not make the mistake of appearing to have been forbidden to sail by a collusive arrangement.'
  3. 10.12.2ut est luculentus auctor — The conjunction ut here introduces a concessive clause meaning 'although' or 'however.' luculentus auctor means 'a brilliant, trustworthy informant/authority.' The whole phrase means 'although the authority is highly trustworthy (I do not believe it).'
  4. 10.12.3tu, quaeso, si quid habebis novi — The main verb of command or exhortation (such as scribas or fac me certiorem) that should follow the conditional clause is omitted, which is typical of the informal, elliptical style of Cicero's letters.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §10.12.1-10.12.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:10.12.1-10.12.4

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