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Cicero · Letters to Atticus §11.14.1-11.14.3

Deepening Isolation and Bitterness over Quintus

Passage 259 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero thanks Atticus for his frank letter while reporting with bitterness on his isolated situation, his negotiations with Caesar's agents, Quintus's ongoing hostility, and his own financial crisis.

§11.14.1non me offendit veritas litterarum tuarum quod me cum communibus tum praecipuis malis oppressum ne incipis quidem, ut solebas, consolari faterisque id fieri iam non posse.
I am not offended by the truth of your letter in that you do not even begin, as you used to do, to console me, who am overwhelmed both by common and by my own peculiar evils, and you confess that this can no longer be done.
nec enim ea sunt quae erant antea cum, ut nihil aliud, comites me et socios habere putabam.
For things are not as they were before when, if nothing else, I thought I had companions and allies.
omnes enim Achaici deprecatores itemque in Asia quibus non erat ignotum, etiam quibus erat, in Africam dicuntur navigaturi.
For all the Achaean suppliants, and likewise those in Asia to whom it was not unknown, and even those to whom it was, are said to be about to sail for Africa.
ita praeter Laelium neminem habeo culpae socium; qui tamen hoc meliore in causa est quod iam est receptus.
Thus, except for Laelius, I have no companion in my fault; who, however, is in a better position in this respect, that he has already been received.
§11.14.2de me autem non dubito quin ad Balbum et ad Oppium scripserit; a quibus, si quid esset laetius, certior factus essem, tecum etiam essent locuti.
But as for myself, I have no doubt that he has written to Balbus and Oppius; from whom, if there were anything more cheerful, I should have been informed, and they would also have spoken with you.
quibuscum tu de hoc ipso conloquare velim et ad me quid tibi responderint scribas, non quod ab isto salus data quicquam habitura sit firmitudinis, sed tamen aliquid consuli et prospici poterit.
I would like you to confer with them on this very matter and write to me what they answer you—not because any safety granted by that man will have any stability, but yet something can be considered and foreseen.
etsi omnium conspectum horreo, praesertim hoc genero, tamen in tantis malis quid aliud velim non reperio.
Although I dread the sight of everyone, especially with this son-in-law here, yet in such great evils I do not find what else I should wish for.
§11.14.3Quintus pergit, ut ad me et Pansa scripsit et Hirtius, isque item Africam petere cum ceteris dicitur.
Quintus persists, as Pansa and Hirtius wrote to me, and he likewise is said to be making for Africa with the rest.
ad Minucium Tarentum scribam et tuas litteras mittam; ad te scribam num quid egerim.
I shall write to Minucius at Tarentum and send your letter; I shall write to you whether I have accomplished anything.
HS x_x_x_ potuisse mirarer, nisi multa de Fufidianis praediis. † et advideo tamen exspecto†; quem videre, si ullo modo potest (poscit enim res), pervelim.
I should wonder at having been able to get 30,000 sesterces, were it not for many resources from the Fufidian estates. † And yet I look out and wait †; whom I should very much like to see, if it is in any way possible (for the matter demands it).
iam extremum concluditur; †ibi facile est, quod quale sit hic gravius existimare†.
Now the very end is being reached; † there it is easy to judge of what character things are which are felt more heavily here †.
vale.
Farewell.

Notes

  1. 11.14.1quod me cum... consolari — The quod-clause acts appositively to 'veritas' or expresses the ground, explaining the concrete content of the 'truth/frankness' of the letter, meaning 'the fact that you do not even begin to console me... does not offend me'.
  2. 11.14.1hoc meliore in causa est — The word 'hoc' is an ablative of measure of difference or cause ('by so much' or 'for this reason'), with the following quod-clause ('that he has already been received') explaining its actual content.
  3. 11.14.2hoc genero — An ablative absolute or ablative of cause/circumstance, referring to Publius Cornelius Dolabella, Cicero's son-in-law and an influential Caesarian. His presence/status is a source of distress and embarrassment to Cicero.
  4. 11.14.3HS x_x_x_ potuisse mirarer, nisi multa de Fufidianis praediis. — A past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence. After 'HS x_x_x_' (30,000 sesterces), an infinitive meaning 'to obtain' or 'to raise' is understood. The nisi-clause also contains an ellipsis of a verb, meaning 'were it not that much [sc. was lacking / was expected] from the Fufidian estates'.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §11.14.1-11.14.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:11.14.1-11.14.3

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