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Cicero · Letters to Atticus §13.1.1-13.1.3

Atticus's Family Letters and the Garden Purchase

Passage 328 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero praises Atticus's letters to his relatives, expresses his intense desire and confidence in acquiring the gardens with Atticus's help, and looks forward to further correspondence and the decisions of their friends.

§13.1.1ad Cicerone ita scripsisti ut neque severius neque temperatius scribi poterit nec magis quem ad modum ego maxime vellem; prudentissime etiam ad Tullios.
You have written to Cicero in such a way that it could not be written either more severely or more temperately, nor more in accordance with what I most of all wished; most prudently also to the Tullii.
§13.1.2qua re aut ista proficient aut aliud agamus.
Therefore, either those measures will succeed, or let us try something else.
de pecunia vero video a te omnem diligentiam adhiberi vel potius iam adhibitam esse.
As for the money, indeed, I see that every diligence is being employed by you, or rather has already been employed.
quod si efficis, a te hortos habebo.
If you accomplish this, I shall have the gardens from you.
nec vero ullum genus possessionis est quod malim, maxime scilicet ob eam causam quae suscepta est; cuius festinationem mihi tollis, quoniam de aestate polliceris vel potius recipis.
Indeed, there is no kind of property that I should prefer, especially, of course, for that purpose which has been undertaken; the anxiety for which you remove from me, since you promise, or rather guarantee, it for the summer.
deinde etiam ad καταβίωσιν maestitiamque minuendam nihil mihi reperiri potest aptius; cuius rei cupiditas impellit me interdum ut te hortari velim.
Furthermore, nothing more suitable can be found for me to spend my remaining days and to lessen my sorrow; the desire for which sometimes impels me to wish to urge you.
sed me ipse revoco; non enim dubito quin, quod me valde velle putes, in eo tu me ipsum cupiditate vincas.
But I restrain myself; for I do not doubt that, in what you think I eagerly desire, you surpass me myself in eagerness.
itaque istuc iam pro facto habeo.
Therefore, I already look upon that as a settled fact.
§13.1.3exspecto quid istis placeat de epistula ad Caesarem.
I am waiting to see what those people decide about the letter to Caesar.
Nicias te, ut debet, amat vehementerque tua sui memoria delectatur.
Nicias loves you, as he ought, and is greatly delighted by your remembrance of him.
ego vero Peducaeum nostrum vehementer diligo; nam et quanti patrem feci, †totum in hunc† ipsum per se aeque amo atque illum amavi, te vero plurimum qui hoc ab utroque nostrum fieri velis.
As for me, I deeply love our friend Peducaeus; for, however much I esteemed his father, †all of it upon this† very man, for his own sake, I love him as much as I loved the father, and you most of all, who wish this to be done by both of us.
si hortos inspexeris et si de epistula certiorem me feceris, dederis mihi quod ad te scribam; si minus, scribam tamen aliquid.
If you inspect the gardens and if you inform me about the letter, you will have given me something to write to you; if not, I shall still write something.
numquam enim deerit.
For subject matter will never fail.

Notes

  1. §13.1.1ita scripsisti ut neque severius neque temperatius scribi poterit — In the consecutive clause (ut-clause), the future indicative 'poterit' is used instead of the expected subjunctive (though some manuscripts read the perfect subjunctive 'potuerit'). This can be understood as an informal epistolary style or as emphasizing the certainty of the result.
  2. §13.1.2ad καταβίωσιν maestitiamque minuendam — After the preposition 'ad' (expressing purpose), the Greek noun in the accusative 'καταβίωσιν' (spending one's remaining life) and the Latin gerundive construction 'maestitiam minuendam' (lessening sorrow) are coordinated. This reflects Cicero's epistolary style of integrating Greek vocabulary directly into Latin syntax.
  3. §13.1.2non enim dubito quin, quod me valde velle putes, in eo tu me ipsum cupiditate vincas — Within the 'quin' clause (with the subjunctive 'vincas') following the negated 'dubito', the relative clause 'quod me valde velle putes' is inserted. 'in eo' (in that matter) is an adverbial phrase within the 'quin' clause, referring back to the relative clause. 'putes' is in the subjunctive either to represent Atticus's subjective thoughts or by attraction to the subjunctive environment.
  4. §13.1.3nam et quanti patrem feci, †totum in hunc† ipsum per se aeque amo atque illum amavi — A sentence containing the comparative correlation 'quanti... aeque... atque...'. 'quanti' is a genitive of value meaning 'how highly (I esteemed his father)', contrasted with loving the son 'just as much (aeque... atque...)' as the father. The obelized part †totum in hunc† indicates manuscript corruption and is grammatically anomalous, but is understood as conveying the sense of 'directing all that esteem toward him'.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §13.1.1-13.1.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:13.1.1-13.1.3

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