Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §13.35.1-13.35.2

Caesar's Expansion of Rome and the Books for Varro

Passage 366 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero expresses his indignation at Caesar's expansion of Rome, voices concern over Atticus already delivering the presentation books to Varro, and shares his joy in hearing of Brutus' continued goodwill.

§13.35.1o rem indignam! gentilis tuus urbem auget quam hoc biennio primum vidit et ei parum magna visa est quae etiam ipsum capere potuerit.
Oh, what a shameful thing! Your clansman is enlarging the city which he saw for the first time within these two years, and it seemed to him not large enough, although it might have held even him.
hac de re igitur exspecto litteras tuas.
Therefore, I am expecting your letter on this matter.
Varroni scribis te, simul ac venerit.
You write that you will present the books to Varro as soon as he arrives.
§13.35.2dati igitur iam sunt nec tibi integrum est, hui, si scias quanto periculo tuo! aut fortasse litterae meae te retardarunt; sed eas nondum legeras cum has proximas scripsisti.
Therefore they have already been given, and it is no longer an open question for you. Oh, if you only knew at how great a risk to yourself! Or perhaps my letter delayed you; but you had not yet read it when you wrote this last one.
scire igitur aveo quo modo res se habeat.
I am eager, therefore, to know how the matter stands.
de Bruti amore vestraque ambulatione etsi mihi nihil novi adfers sed idem quod saepe, tamen hoc audio libentius quo saepius, eoque mihi iucundius est quod tu eo laetaris certiusque eo est quod a te dicitur.
As for Brutus' affection and your walk together, although you bring me nothing new but only the same as often, still I hear this the more gladly the more often it is repeated; and it is the more pleasant to me because you rejoice in it, and the more certain because it is said by you.

Notes

  1. 13.35.1quae etiam ipsum capere potuerit — The relative pronoun "quae" refers back to "urbem," and the subjunctive "potuerit" carries a concessive force ("although it might have..."). The subject of the verb "capere" (to contain, to hold) is the city, and the object is "ipsum" (himself, i.e., the expander). It ironically suggests that the city was large enough to contain even him (his ambition or physical scale).
  2. 13.35.1Varroni scribis te — An infinitive in the accusative-and-infinitive construction (such as "daturum [esse]" or "missurum [esse]," referring to delivering the presentation copy of the *Academica* to Varro) is omitted. This corresponds with the following "dati ... sunt."
  3. 13.35.2dati igitur iam sunt — Although the subject is not explicitly stated, the masculine plural "dati" indicates that it refers to the books (*libri*, i.e., the presentation copy for Varro mentioned in the context), rather than letters (*litterae*, which is feminine).
  4. 13.35.2quanto periculo tuo — The ablative "periculo tuo" functions as an ablative of attendant circumstance or disadvantage, meaning "at how great a risk to yourself" or "to your great disadvantage."
  5. 13.35.2eoque mihi iucundius est quod tu eo laetaris certiusque eo est quod a te dicitur — The correlative construction "eo ... quod" is repeated twice. "eo" is an ablative of cause or measure of difference meaning "for that reason / so much the more," while the "quod" clause ("because...") supplies the specific reason.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §13.35.1-13.35.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:13.35.1-13.35.2

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.