Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §13.31.1-13.31.4

Books of Dicaearchus and the Letter to Caesar

Passage 361 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero expects Atticus's arrival to be delayed after receiving a letter from Demeas, requests the books of Dicaearchus, and discusses his advisory letter to Caesar regarding the Parthian campaign as well as property negotiations with Otho.

§13.31.1v Kal. mane accepi a Demea litteras pridie datas ex quibus aut hodie aut cras te exspectare deberem.
On the morning of the 27th of June, I received a letter from Demeas dated yesterday, from which I ought to expect you either today or tomorrow.
sed, ut opinor, idem ego qui exspecto tuum adventum morabor te.
But, as I think, I myself, who am expecting your arrival, will delay you.
non enim puto tam expeditum Faberianum negotium futurum, etiam si est futurum ut non habeat aliquid morae. §13.31.2cum poteris igitur.
For I do not think the Faberius business will be so easily dispatched, even if it is to be that it has no delay. When you can, then.
quoniam etiamnum abes, Dicaearchi quos scribis libros sane velim mi mittas, addas etiam καταβάσεωσ. §13.31.3de epistula ad Caesarem κέκρικα; atque id ipsum quod isti aiunt illum scribere, se nisi constitutis rebus non iturum in Parthos, idem ego suadebam in illa epistula.
Since you are still away, I should indeed like you to send me the books of Dicaearchus which you write about, and add also the *Katabasis*. About the letter to Caesar I have made up my mind (κέκρικα); and that very thing which they say he writes, that he will not go against the Parthians unless affairs are settled, I was advising in that letter.
utrum liberet facere posse auctore me.
That with me as his backer he could do whichever he pleased.
hoc enim ille exspectat videlicet neque est facturus quicquam nisi de meo consilio.
For he is waiting for this, it seems, and is not going to do anything except on my advice.
obsecro abiciamus ista et semiliberi saltem simus; quod adsequemur et tacendo et latendo. §13.31.4sed adgredere Othonem, ut scribis.
I beg you, let us throw away those things and at least be half-free; which we shall attain both by keeping silent and by keeping out of sight. But approach Otho, as you write.
confice, mi Attice, istam rem.
Settle that business, my dear Atticus.
nihil enim aliud reperio ubi et in foro non sim et tecum esse possim.
For I find no other place where I can both be absent from the Forum and be with you.
quanti autem, hoc mihi venit in mentem.
But at what price? This comes to my mind.
C. Albanius proximus est vicinus.
C. Albanius is the nearest neighbor.
is ciↃ iugerum de M. Pilio emit, ut mea memoria est, HS c_x_v_.
He bought a thousand iugera from M. Pilius, as my memory is, for 115,000 sesterces.
omnia scilicet nunc minoris.
Everything is of course cheaper now.
sed accedit cupiditas, in qua praeter Othonem non puto nos ullum adversarium habituros.
But eagerness is added, in which I do not think we shall have any rival besides Otho.
sed eum ipsum tu poteris movere, facilius etiam si Canum haberes.
But you will be able to move him himself, even more easily if you had Canus.
o gulam insulsam! pudet me patris.
Oh, what tasteless greed! I am ashamed of his father.
rescribes si quid voles.
Write back if you wish anything.

Notes

  1. §13.31.1ex quibus aut hodie aut cras te exspectare deberem — deberem is an imperfect subjunctive expressing obligation or propriety as of the past time when the letter was written ("I ought to have expected").
  2. §13.31.1idem ego qui exspecto tuum adventum morabor te — The main subject is 'idem ego' with 'morabor' as the main verb. The relative clause 'qui exspecto...' qualifies 'ego' prospectively, creating a characteristically Ciceronian contrast: 'I, the very same person who am waiting for you, will delay you.'
  3. §13.31.2cum poteris igitur — An elliptical expression typical of informal letters, where a verb of motion (such as 'venies' or 'venito') is omitted after the future perfect form 'poteris'.
  4. §13.31.2καταβάσεως — A Greek genitive singular referring to the title of Dicaearchus's work, "The Descent" (into the cave of Trophonius), standing in apposition or qualification to the preceding 'libros'.
  5. §13.31.3utrum liberet facere posse auctore me — An accusative with infinitive clause in indirect speech representing the content of 'suadebam'. 'auctore me' is an ablative absolute consisting of a noun and a pronoun, meaning 'with me as authority / with my advice'.
  6. §13.31.4ciↃ iugerum — The symbol 'ciↃ' represents the numeral 1,000. 'iugerum' is a genitive plural of the second declension noun 'iugerum' (or an archaic form for 'iugerorum'), meaning 'a thousand iugera'.
  7. §13.31.4omnia scilicet nunc minoris — 'minoris' is a genitive of value or price, with the verb 'sunt' being omitted. Literally, 'everything is of course of less value now.'
  8. §13.31.4o gulam insulsam! pudet me patris — 'o gulam insulsam' is an accusative of exclamation. 'pudet' is an impersonal verb taking the accusative of the person feeling shame ('me') and the genitive of the cause of shame ('patris'). It means 'I am ashamed of his father' or 'I feel shame on behalf of his father'.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §13.31.1-13.31.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:13.31.1-13.31.4

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