Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §12.13.1-12.13.2

Unrelenting Grief and Excusal from Public Duty

Passage 286 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero expresses his concern for Attica and his lingering grief over his daughter's death. He also instructs Atticus regarding the procedure for his excuse from public duty, calling upon Cocceius, and his desire to purchase a place of refuge for his sorrow.

§12.13.1commovet me Attica; etsi adsentior Cratero.
Attica causes me anxiety; although I agree with Craterus.
Bruti litterae scriptae et prudenter et amice multas mihi tamen lacrimas attulerunt.
Brutus's letter, written both prudently and amicably, nevertheless brought many tears to me.
me haec solitudo minus stimulat quam ista celebritas.
This solitude of mine irritates me less than that bustle of yours.
te unum desidero; sed litteris non difficilius utor quam si domi essem.
You alone I miss; but I make use of letters no more difficultly than if I were at home.
ardor tamen ille idem urget et manet non me hercule indulgente me sed tamen repugnante.
Yet that same burning grief oppresses me and remains, by Hercules, not because I indulge it, but rather though I struggle against it.
§12.13.2quod scribis de Appuleio, nihil puto opus esse tua contentione nec Balbo et Oppio; quibus quidem ille receperat mihique etiam iusserat nuntiari se molestum omnino non futurum.
As for what you write about Appuleius, I think there is no need for your exertion, nor for that of Balbus and Oppius; for indeed he had promised them, and had even ordered word to be sent to me, that he would not be troublesome at all.
sed cura ut excuser morbi causa in dies singulos.
But see to it that I am excused on account of illness day by day.
Laenas hoc receperat.
Laenas had undertaken this.
prende C. Septimium, L. Statilium.
Get hold of Gaius Septimius and Lucius Statilius.
denique nemo negabit sc iuraturum quem rogaris.
In short, no one whom you ask will deny that he will take the oath.
quod si erit durius, veniam et ipse perpetuum morbum iurabo.
But if that is too difficult, I will come and swear to a chronic illness myself.
cum enim mihi carendum sit conviviis, malo id lege videri facere quam dolore.
For since I must absent myself from banquets, I prefer to be seen to do so by law rather than through grief.
Cocceium velim appelles.
I would like you to call upon Cocceius.
quod enim dixerat non facit.
For he does not do what he had said.
ego autem volo aliquod emere latibulum et perfugium doloris mei.
But I wish to buy some hiding-place and refuge for my grief.

Notes

  1. 12.13.1indulgente me — Ablative absolute construction. `indulgente me` ("I indulging [my grief]") is contrasted with `repugnante` (with `me` understood, "I struggling against [it]").
  2. 12.13.2opus esse tua contentione — The phrase `opus est` ("there is need of") takes the ablative of the thing needed (`tua contentione`). `nihil` acts adverbially to mean "not at all".
  3. 12.13.2quibus quidem ille receperat — The relative pronoun `quibus` refers back to `Balbo et Oppio`. The verb `recipere` here means "to promise/undertake to someone" and takes the dative.
  4. 12.13.2sc iuraturum — The spelling `sc` in the text is understood as a corruption of the pronoun `se`, forming the accusative-with-infinitive clause `se iuraturum [esse]` ("that he would take the oath"). The relative clause `quem rogaris` (with omitted antecedent `is`) modifies `nemo`.
  5. 12.13.2mihi carendum sit conviviis — An impersonal passive periphrastic construction using the gerundive of the intransitive verb `careo` ("to lack/absent oneself from"). The agent is in the dative (`mihi`), and `conviviis` remains in the ablative, which is the case governed by `careo`.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §12.13.1-12.13.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:12.13.1-12.13.2

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

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