Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §12.53.1

Cicero's Daily Life and Request to Forward Letters

Passage 327 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero writes to Atticus to maintain their friendly conversation despite having no news, mentions his current companions and expected letters, and asks him to forward enclosed letters.

§12.53.1ego etsi nihil habeo quod ad te scribam, scribo tamen quia tecum loqui videor.
Although I have nothing to write to you, I still write because I seem to be talking with you.
hic nobiscum sunt Nicias et Valerius.
Here with us are Nicias and Valerius.
hodie tuas litteras exspectabamus matutinas.
Today we were expecting your morning letter.
erunt fortasse alterae posmeridianae, nisi te Epiroticae litterae impedient quas ego non interpello.
Perhaps there will be another in the afternoon, unless you are prevented by your letters from Epirus, which I have no wish to interrupt.
misi ad te epistulas ad Marcianum et ad Montanum.
I have sent you the letters for Marcianus and Montanus.
eas in eundem fasciculum velim addas, nisi forte iam dedisti.
I should like you to add them to the same packet, unless by chance you have already dispatched them.

Notes

  1. §12.53.1quod ad te scribam — The subjunctive scribam in the relative clause following nihil habeo quod ('I have nothing which...') expresses necessity, suitability, or characteristic ('nothing that I should write').
  2. §12.53.1velim addas — The present subjunctive addas depends directly on velim (the optative/potential subjunctive 'I should like') without the conjunction ut, expressing a polite request ('I should like you to add').

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §12.53.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:12.53.1

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

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.