Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §14.15.1-14.15.3

Praise for Dolabella's Measures and Travel Plans

Passage 400 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero praises Dolabella's decisive measures in punishing the instigators of Caesar's cult and removing the memorial column, feeling optimistic about the political situation. He also mentions his departure for Pompeii, leaving his villa to Pilia, and urges Atticus to persuade Brutus to stay at Astura.

§14.15.1o mirificum Dolabellam meum! iam enim dico meum; antea, crede mihi, subdubitabam.
Oh my wonderful Dolabella! For now I call him mine; before, believe me, I had some doubts.
magnam ἀναθεώρησιν res habet, de saxo, in crucem, columnam tollere, locum illum sternendum locare! quid quaeris? heroica.
The matter brings a great change of opinion: to cast down from the rock, to crucify, to take down the column, to contract for the paving of that site! What more do you ask? Heroic deeds.
sustulisse mihi videtur simulationem desideri adhuc quae serpebat in dies, et inveterata verebar ne periculosa nostris tyrannoctonis esset.
He seems to me to have swept away that pretense of mourning which was hitherto creeping on day by day, and which, if it became deep-rooted, I feared would be dangerous to our tyrant-killers.
§14.15.2nunc prorsus adsentior tuis litteris speroque meliora.
Now I entirely agree with your letter and hope for better things.
quamquam istos ferre non possum qui, dum se pacem velle simulant, acta nefaria defendunt.
Although I cannot tolerate those men who, while they pretend to want peace, defend heinous acts.
sed non possunt omnia simul.
But all things cannot be done at once.
incipit res melius ire quam putaram.
The matter is beginning to go better than I had thought.
nec vero discedam nisi cum tu me id honeste putabis facere posse.
And indeed I shall not depart unless when you think I can do so honorably.
Bruto certe meo nullo loco deero idque, etiam si mihi cum illo nihil fuisset, facerem propter eius singularem incredibilemque virtutem.
I shall certainly not fail my Brutus in any place, and I would do this, even if I had had nothing to do with him, on account of his singular and incredible virtue.
§14.15.3Piliae nostrae villam totam quaeque in villa sunt trado in Pompeianum ipse proficiscens K. Mai.
As I myself am setting out for my Pompeian villa on the Kalends of May, I hand over the whole villa and everything in it to our Pilia.
quam velim Bruto persuadeas ut Asturae sit!
How I wish you would persuade Brutus to stay at Astura!

Notes

  1. 14.15.1de saxo, in crucem, columnam tollere, locum illum sternendum locare! — A sequence of exclamatory infinitives (infinitivus exclamationis). Without a main finite verb, these infinitival phrases directly express the speaker's astonishment and admiration. Historically, they refer to Dolabella's actions in throwing the instigators from the Tarpeian Rock, crucifying others, removing the memorial column, and contracting for the paving of the site.
  2. 14.15.1inveterata — A perfect passive participle in the nominative feminine singular. Grammatically, it functions in apposition to the subject of the relative clause (referring to the feminine noun 'simulatio'), carrying a conditional nuance: 'if it should become deep-rooted or chronic.'
  3. 14.15.3quam — An exclamatory relative adverb modifying the subjunctive 'velim' to mean 'how much' or 'how greatly'. If interpreted as a relative pronoun in the accusative feminine singular referring back to 'villam' or 'Piliae', it would lack a grammatical construction, since 'persuadeas' takes the dative 'Bruto' and an 'ut' clause.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §14.15.1-14.15.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:14.15.1-14.15.3

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

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