Cicero · Letters to Atticus §12.4.1-12.4.2

Relief at Atticus's Health and the Difficulty of Writing on Cato

Passage 275 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero expresses his joy at receiving Atticus's letter, which relieved his anxiety about Atticus's health, and agrees to extend his stay by a day. He also explains the immense difficulty of writing a panegyric on Cato without offending Caesarian readers.

§12.4.1o gratas tuas mihi iucundasque litteras! quid quaeris? restitutus est mihi dies festus.

Oh, how welcome and delightful your letter was to me! What more can I say? A holiday has been restored to me.

angebar enim quod Tiro ἐνερευθέστερον te sibi esse visum dixerat.

For I was quite anxious because Tiro had told me that you seemed to him to be rather flushed.

addam igitur, ut censes, unum diem

Therefore, as you advise, I shall add one day.

§12.4.2sed de Catone πρόβλημα Ἀρχιμήδειον est.

But the matter concerning Cato is an Archimedean problem.

non adsequor ut scribam quod tui convivae non modo libenter sed etiam aequo animo legere possint;

I cannot manage to write what your dinner guests could read, I do not say gladly, but even with equanimity.

quin etiam si a sententiis eius dictis, si ab omni voluntate consiliisque quae de re publica habuit recedam ψιλῶσque velim gravitatem constantiamque eius laudare, hoc ipsum tamen istis odiosum ἄκουσμα sit.

Nay, even if I should withdraw from his expressed opinions, and from all the goodwill and plans he had regarding the republic, and should wish merely to praise his gravity and constancy, this very thing would still be a hateful thing for those people to hear.

sed vere laudari ille vir non potest nisi haec ornata sint, quod ille ea quae nunc sunt et futura viderit et ne fierent contenderit et facta ne videret vitam reliquerit.

But that man cannot be truly praised unless these points are illustrated: namely, that he foresaw what is now happening as future, and strove to prevent its happening, and ended his life so that he might not see it accomplished.

horum quid est quod Aledio probare possimus? sed cura, obsecro, ut valeas eamque quam ad omnis res adhibes in primis ad convalescendum adhibe prudentiam.

Which of these things is there that we could make acceptable to Aledius? But please, take care of your health, and apply that prudence which you display in all affairs, especially to your recovery.

Notes

12.4.1ἐνερευθέστερον — Comparative neuter singular accusative of the Greek adjective ἐνερευθής (reddish, flushed), serving as the predicate of the accusative with infinitive construction (te sibi esse visum). It refers to Atticus appearing slightly flushed, which Cicero interpreted as a sign of fever or illness.
12.4.2non adsequor ut scribam — The verb adsequor ('to achieve, attain') here takes an ut-clause with the subjunctive (scribam) to mean 'to succeed in writing.' It expresses the author's difficulty and frustration in trying to write something that the Caesarian friends of Atticus could tolerate reading.
12.4.2quod ille ea quae nunc sunt — The quod-clauses (with viderit, contenderit, and reliquerit) stand in apposition to the preceding demonstrative pronoun haec (nisi haec ornata sint), detailing the three points on which Cato must be praised. In the phrase ea quae nunc sunt, ea is the object of viderit ('the things which are now'), while futura is its predicate ('as future things').
12.4.2Aledio — Dative case, functioning as the indirect object of probare ('to make acceptable to' or 'to prove to'). Aledius (or Alledius) is understood to be a partisan of Caesar, mentioned here as a representative of the Caesarian audience.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §12.4.1-12.4.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:12.4.1-12.4.2

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