Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §13.12.1-13.12.4

Dedication to Varro and Instructions on Estate Matters

Passage 343 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero expresses relief regarding Attica's health, proposes dedicated changes by transferring the "Academica" to Varro to appease him, and discusses the postponement of Brinnius's auction and the acquisition of Scapula's gardens.

§13.12.1valde me memorderunt epistulae tuae de Attica nostra; eaedem tamen sanaverunt.
Your letters about our Attica pained me greatly; yet those same letters cured me.
quod enim te ipse consolabare eisdem litteris, id mihi erat satis firmum ad leniendam aegritudinem.
For that with which you comforted yourself in those same letters was strong enough for me to soothe my distress.
§13.12.2Ligarianam praeclare vendidisti.
You have sold the "Pro Ligario" splendidly.
posthac quicquid scripsero tibi praeconium deferam.
Hereafter, whatever I write, I shall defer the advertising to you.
§13.12.3quod ad me de Varrone scribis, scis me antea orationes aut aliquid id genus solitum scribere ut Varronem nusquam possem intexere.
As to what you write to me about Varro, you know that formerly I was accustomed to write speeches or something of that kind, so that I could nowhere weave Varro in.
postea autem quam haec coepi φιλολογώτερα, iam Varro mihi denuntiaverat magnam sane et gravem προσφώνησιν.
But after I began these more φιλολογώτερα works, Varro had already promised me a truly great and serious προσφώνησιν.
biennium praeteriit cum ille Καλλιπίδησ adsiduo cursu cubitum nullum processerit, ego autem me parabam ad id quod ille mihi misisset ut "αὐτῷ τῷ μέτρῳ καὶ," si modo potuissem; nam hoc etiam Hesiodus ascribit, "αἴ κε δύνηαι. " nunc illam περὶ Τελῶν σύνταξιν sane mihi probatam Bruto, ut tibi placuit, despondimus, idque tu eum non nolle mihi scripsisti.
Two years have passed since that Καλλιπίδησ, despite his constant running, has not advanced a single cubit, while I was preparing myself for whatever he might have sent me, so as to respond "αὐτῷ τῷ μέτρῳ καὶ," if only I could; for Hesiod even adds this, "αἴ κε δύνηαι." Now that περὶ Τελῶν σύνταξιν, which I indeed highly approve of, we have promised to Brutus, as you wished, and you wrote to me that he was not unwilling.
ergo illam Ἀκαδημικήν, in qua homines nobiles illi quidem sed nullo modo philologi nimis acute loquuntur, ad Varronem transferamus.
Therefore, let us transfer to Varro that Ἀκαδημικήν, in which men, noble indeed but by no means scholars, speak with too much subtlety.
etenim sunt Antiochia quae iste valde probat.
For in fact it contains the doctrines of Antiochus, which that man highly approves of.
Catulo et Lucullo alibi reponemus, ita tamen si tu hoc probas; deque eo mihi rescribas velim.
We shall compensate Catulus and Lucullus elsewhere, provided, however, that you approve of this; and I would like you to write back to me about it.
§13.12.4de Brinniana auctione accepi a Vestorio litteras.
Regarding the auction of Brinnius, I received a letter from Vestorius.
ait sine ulla controversia rem ad me esse conlatam.
He says that without any controversy the matter has been referred to me.
Romae videlicet aut in Tusculano me fore putaverunt a. d. viii Kal. Quint.
No doubt they thought I would be in Rome or in the Tusculan villa on the eighth day before the Kalends of July.
dices igitur vel amico tuo S. Vettio coheredi meo vel Labeoni nostro paulum proferant auctionem; me circiter Nonas in Tusculano fore.
You will tell therefore either your friend S. Vettius, my co-heir, or our Labeo, to postpone the auction a little; that I shall be in the Tusculan villa around the Nones.
cum Pisone Erotem habes.
You have Eros with Piso.
de Scapulanis hortis toto pectore cogitemus.
Let us think with all our heart about the gardens of Scapula.
dies adest.
The day is at hand.

Notes

  1. 13.12.1quod... id — The clause introduced by the relative pronoun quod (te ipse consolabare...) is placed at the beginning of the sentence and is taken up by the demonstrative pronoun id (subject of erat) in the main clause. Quod is not a conjunction introducing a noun clause, but a relative pronoun in the neuter accusative singular acting as the object or reference of consolari.
  2. 13.12.3biennium praeteriit cum — Cum here has a temporal-adversative force, equivalent to "since" in English, indicating "two years have passed since...". The subjunctive perfect processerit is used to show the state or result persisting up to the present.
  3. 13.12.3ut — In the structure ego me parabam ad id... ut, a verb of responding or repaying (such as responderem) is elliptically omitted after ut. The Greek quotation (Hesiod's "with the selfsame measure") is directly attached to ut, indicating purpose or intention.
  4. 13.12.3ita tamen si — An idiomatic expression denoting a strict limitation or condition: "only on condition that," "provided, however, that." It sets Atticus's approval as a prerequisite for the proposed changes regarding Catulus and Lucullus.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §13.12.1-13.12.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:13.12.1-13.12.4

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

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