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Cicero · Letters to Atticus §13.7A.1

Report of Brutus's Arrival at Tusculum

Passage 338 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero reports that Brutus arrived at his Tusculan villa, regrets that Atticus is not there, and notes that he informed Brutus of Atticus's eagerness to meet him.

§13.7A.1Brutus heri venit in Tusculanum post horam decimam.
Brutus arrived at my Tusculan villa yesterday after the tenth hour.
hodie igitur me videbit ac vellem tum tu adesses.
Today, therefore, he will see me, and I wish you were present then.
iussi equidem ei nuntiari te, quoad potuisses, exspectasse eius adventum venturumque si audisses meque, ut facio, continuo te certiorem esse facturum.
Indeed, I ordered him to be informed that you had expected his arrival as long as you could, and that you would have come if you had heard of it, and that I would, as I am doing, immediately inform you.

Notes

  1. §13.7A.1vellem tum tu adesses — 'vellem' is the imperfect subjunctive of 'volo', expressing a wish that is unaccomplished or impossible in the present. The dependent clause 'adesses' (imperfect subjunctive of 'adsum') is governed by 'vellem' with the conjunction 'ut' omitted, representing the content of the present wish.
  2. §13.7A.1iussi equidem ei nuntiari te... exspectasse — 'iussi' (perfect of 'iubeo') is followed by the passive infinitive 'nuntiari' ('to be announced'), meaning 'I ordered that it be announced to him (ei = Brutus)'. This passive infinitive then governs the accusative and infinitive construction of indirect speech, starting with 'te exspectasse' ('that you had expected'). 'exspectasse' is a syncopated form of 'exspectavisse' (perfect active infinitive).
  3. §13.7A.1venturumque si audisses — A contraction for 'te venturum [esse]', a future infinitive in indirect speech. Accompanied by the conditional clause 'si audisses' (pluperfect subjunctive), it expresses a past contrary-to-fact situation or a future-less-vivid condition viewed from the past standpoint: 'that you would have come if you had heard of it.'

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §13.7A.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:13.7A.1

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