Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §12.37.1-12.37.3

Tusculan Villa Plan and Strong Preference for a Garden

Passage 309 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero acknowledges receipt of Atticus's letters, notes the good health of Pilia and Attica, and mentions a letter from Brutus. He praises Atticus's plan for the Tusculan villa for the temple but reiterates his strong preference for acquiring a well-frequented garden, while also requesting assistance with Terentia.

§12.37.1a te heri duas epistulas accepi, alteram pridie datam Hilaro, alteram eodem die tabellario, accepique ab Aegypta liberto eodem die Piliam et Atticam plane belle se habere.
Yesterday I received two letters from you, one given to Hilarus the day before, the other to a courier on the same day; and I also heard on the same day from my freedman Aegypta that Pilia and Attica are completely well.
quod mihi Bruti litteras, gratum.
It was kind of you to [send] me Brutus's letter.
ad me quoque misit; quae litterae mihi redditae sunt tertio decimo die.
He sent one to me as well; this letter was delivered to me on the thirteenth day.
eam ipsam ad te epistulam misi et ad eam exemplum mearum litterarum.
I have sent you that very letter, and with it a copy of my own reply.
§12.37.2de fano, si nihil mihi hortorum invenis, qui quidem tibi inveniendi sunt, si me tanti facis quanti certe facis, valde probo rationem tuam de Tusculano.
About the temple, if you find no gardens for me—though they certainly must be found by you, if you value me as much as you surely do—I highly approve of your plan regarding the Tusculan villa.
quamvis prudens ad cogitandum sis, sicut es, tamen nisi magnae curae tibi esset ut ego consequerer id quod magno opere vellem, numquam ea res tibi tam belle in mentem venire potuisset.
However prudent you are in planning, as indeed you are, yet if it were not a matter of great concern to you that I should attain what I so greatly desire, that idea could never have occurred to you so beautifully.
sed nescio quo pacto celebritatem requiro; itaque hortos mihi conficias necesse est.
But somehow or other I require a frequented place; therefore you must secure a garden for me.
maxima est in Scapulae celebritas, propinquitas praeterea ubi sis, ne totum diem in villam.
In Scapula's gardens there is the greatest publicity, and moreover a proximity to where you are, so that you do not [spend] the whole day [going] to the villa.
qua re ante quam discedis, Othonem, si Romae est, convenias pervelim.
Therefore, before you depart, I would very much like you to meet Otho, if he is in Rome.
si nihil erit, etsi tu meam stultitiam consuesti ferre, eo tamen progrediar uti stomachere.
If nothing comes of it, although you are accustomed to bear my folly, I shall nevertheless go so far that you will get angry.
Drusus enim certe vendere vult.
For Drusus certainly wants to sell.
si ergo aliud non erit, mea erit culpa nisi emero.
If, therefore, there is nothing else, it will be my fault if I do not buy.
qua in re ne labar, quaeso, provide.
Please see to it that I do not slip in this matter.
providendi autem una ratio est si quid de Scapulanis possumus.
Indeed, the only way of seeing to it is if we can do something about Scapula's gardens.
et velim me certiorem facias quam diu in suburbano sis futurus.
And I would like you to let me know how long you are going to be in your suburban villa.
§12.37.3apud Terentiam tam gratia opus est nobis tua quam auctoritate.
In the matter of Terentia, we have as much need of your favor as of your authority.
sed facies ut videbitur.
But you will do as seems best.
scio enim si quid mea intersit tibi maiori curae solere esse quam mihi.
For I know that if anything concerns my interest, it is accustomed to be of greater concern to you than to myself.

Notes

  1. 12.37.1quod mihi Bruti litteras, gratum. — Ellipsis of the verb in both the subordinate clause (such as *misisti*, "you sent") and the main clause (*est*). The complete sense is "that you [sent] me Brutus's letter [is] pleasing."
  2. 12.37.2qui quidem tibi inveniendi sunt — Gerundive construction expressing obligation or necessity (`inveniendi sunt`), used with the dative of agent `tibi`. It literally means "which indeed must be found by you."
  3. 12.37.2si me tanti facis quanti certe facis — Genitive of value. The genitives `tanti` and `quanti` are used with the verb `facere` to express the degree of esteem: "if you value me as much as you certainly do."
  4. 12.37.2nisi magnae curae tibi esset... numquam ea res tibi... venire potuisset — Counterfactual conditional sentence (imperfect subjunctive `esset` in the protasis representing a continuous past or present state, and pluperfect subjunctive `potuisset` in the apodosis representing past impossibility). The protasis features a double dative (`magnae curae tibi` "to you for a great concern").
  5. 12.37.2ne totum diem in villam — Ellipsis of a verb of motion or spending time (such as *eas* "go" or *consumas* "spend") in the negative purpose clause introduced by `ne`. It means "lest you [spend] the whole day [going] to the villa."
  6. 12.37.3mea intersit — Construction with the impersonal verb `interest` ("it concerns, is of interest to"). When the person concerned is a personal pronoun, the ablative feminine singular of the possessive adjective (`mea`) is used instead of the genitive.
  7. 12.37.3tibi maiori curae solere esse — Accusative with Infinitive construction depending on `scio`, where the subject of `solere` is an implied neuter pronoun referring to the clause `si quid mea intersit`. Within the infinitive clause, a double dative is used (`tibi` "to you" and `maiori curae` "for a greater concern").

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §12.37.1-12.37.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:12.37.1-12.37.3

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