Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §12.45.1

Attica's Recovery and Sarcasm on Caesar's Statue

Passage 319 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero rejoices in Attica's recovery and expresses concern for Atticus's listlessness. He outlines his plans for staying in Tusculum, makes a sarcastic remark about Caesar's statue in the temple of Quirinus, and urges the publication of Hirtius's book to let its weak premise be ridiculed.

§12.45.1de Attica optime.
Concerning Attica, excellent.
ἀκηδία tua me movet, etsi scribis nihil esse.
Your listlessness disquiets me, although you write that it is nothing.
in Tusculano eo commodius ero quod et crebrius tuas litteras accipiam et te ipsum non numquam videbo; nam ceteroqui ἀνεκτότερα erant Asturae.
In my Tusculan villa I shall be all the more comfortable because I shall both receive your letters more frequently and see you yourself sometimes; for in other respects, Astura was more bearable.
nec haec quae refricant hic me magis angunt; etsi tamen, ubicumque sum, illa sunt mecum.
Nor do these things which reopen old wounds here distress me more; although, however, wherever I am, those things are with me.
de Caesare vicino scripseram ad te, quia cognoram ex tuis litteris.
Concerning our neighbor Caesar, I had written to you, because I had learnt of it from your letter.
eum σύνναον Quirini malo quam Salutis.
I prefer him to be a temple-sharer of Quirinus rather than of Salus.
tu vero pervulga Hirtium.
But you, do publish Hirtius widely.
id enim ipsum putaram quod scribis, ut cum ingenium amici nostri probaretur, ὑπόθεσισ vituperandi Catonis inrideretur.
For I had thought the very same thing that you write, namely, that while the talent of our friend was approved, his subject-matter of disparaging Cato might be laughed at.

Notes

  1. §12.45.1eo commodius ero quod — The ablative of the demonstrative `eo` functions as an ablative of measure of difference modifying the comparative `commodius`, while the clause introduced by `quod` explains the reason. The construction expresses a correlative cause: 'all the more comfortable because...'.
  2. §12.45.1eum σύνναον Quirini malo quam Salutis — This is an accusative with infinitive construction dependent on the verb `malo` (prefer), with `eum` (referring to Caesar) as the subject accusative and the infinitive `esse` omitted. The Greek adjective `σύνναον` (temple-sharer) refers to the fact that Caesar's statue was dedicated in the temple of Quirinus (the deified Romulus). Cicero sarcastically remarks that he prefers Caesar to be associated with Quirinus (a king who was assassinated) rather than with Salus (the goddess of safety/salvation), implying a tyrannicidal end for Caesar.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §12.45.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:12.45.1

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