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Cicero · Letters to Atticus §13.7.1

Caesar's Stay in Rome and the Divorce of Lentulus

Passage 337 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Sestius and Theopompus visit Cicero, bringing news that Caesar has decided to stay in Rome and that Lentulus has divorced Metella. Cicero asks Atticus for further updates.

§13.7.1Sestius apud me fuit et Theopompus pridie.
Sestius was at my place, and Theopompus too, yesterday.
venisse a Caesare narrabat litteras; hoc scribere, sibi certum esse Romae manere causamque eam ascribere quae erat in epistula nostra, ne se absente leges suae neglegerentur sicut esset neglecta sumptuaria (est εὔλογον idque eram suspicatus. sed istis mos gerendus est, nisi placet hanc ipsam sententiam nos persequi), et Lentulum cum Metella certe fecisse divortium.
He was reporting that a letter had come from Caesar; [that Caesar] wrote this: that he was resolved to remain in Rome, and assigned that very reason which was in my letter, lest in his absence his laws should be neglected, just as the sumptuary law had been neglected (it is reasonable, and I had suspected it; but we must humor them, unless we prefer to pursue this very opinion), and that Lentulus had certainly divorced Metella.
haec omnia tu melius.
All this you [know] better.
rescribes igitur quicquid voles, dum modo aliquid.
You will write back, therefore, whatever you wish, as long as [you write] something.
iam enim non reperio quid te rescripturum putem, nisi forte de Mustela aut si Silium videris
For now I do not find what I think you will write back about, unless perhaps about Mustela, or if you have seen Silius.

Notes

  1. §13.7.1hoc scribere — Accusative and infinitive construction in indirect speech dependent on 'narrabat' (or referring to the contents of 'litteras'). The subject accusative is Caesar: '[Sestius reported that Caesar] wrote this'.
  2. §13.7.1esset neglecta — The pluperfect subjunctive (passive) is used because it is in a subordinate clause (introduced by 'sicut') within an indirect statement ('sibi certum esse...' and 'ascribere...').
  3. §13.7.1istis mos gerendus est — The phrase 'mos gerere' (to humor, comply with) takes the dative, hence 'istis' is in the dative case. Combined with the gerundive 'gerendus est', it means 'we must humor them' (literally, 'humor must be shown to them').
  4. §13.7.1haec omnia tu melius — A brief epistolary expression with the ellipsis of the verb (such as 'scis' or 'nosti'). It means 'All this you [know] better'.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §13.7.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:13.7.1

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