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Cicero · Letters to Atticus §14.5.1-14.5.3

Movements of Legions and Watchfulness on Octavius

Passage 388 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero writes to Atticus, expressing concern for their health, reporting on the tense political situation in Rome including military movements and Antonius's inadequacy, and asking for updates on Octavius's arrival.

§14.5.1spero tibi iam esse ut volumus, quoniam quidem ἠσίτησασ quom leviter commotus esses; sed tamen velim scire quid agas.
I hope you are now as we wish, since you fasted (ἠσίτησασ) when you were slightly indisposed; but still I should like to know how you are doing.
signa bella quod Calvena moleste fert se suspectum esse Bruto; illa signa non bona si cum signis legiones veniunt e Gallia.
It is a good sign (signa bella) that Calvena is annoyed at being suspected by Brutus; those are not good signs (signa non bona) if the legions are coming from Gallia with their standards (signis).
quid tu illas putas quae fuerunt in Hispania? nonne idem postulaturas? quid, quas Annius transportavit? C. Asinium volui sed μνημονικὸν ἁμάρτημα.
What do you think of those that were in Hispania? Will they not make the same demands? What of those whom Annius transported? I meant C. Asinius, but it was a slip of memory (μνημονικὸν ἁμάρτημα).
a balneatore φυρμὸς πολύσ.
From the bath-keeper there is a great bustle (φυρμὸς πολύσ).
nam ista quidem Caesaris libertorum coniuratio facile opprimeretur, si recte saperet Antonius.
For that conspiracy indeed of Caesar's freedmen would be easily suppressed, if Antonius were in his right mind.
§14.5.2o meam stultam verecundiam! qui legari noluerim ante res prolatas ne deserere viderer hunc rerum tumorem; cui certe si possem mederi, desse non deberem.
Oh my foolish shame! I who would not accept a free legation before the adjournment, lest I should seem to desert this swelling tide of affairs; though surely, if I could cure it, I ought not to be wanting.
sed vides magistratus, si quidem illi magistratus, vides tamen tyranni satellites in imperiis, vides eiusdem exercitus, vides in latere veteranos, quae sunt εὐρίπιστα omnia, eos autem qui orbis terrae custodiis non modo saepti verum etiam magni esse debebant tantum modo laudari atque amari sed parietibus contineri.
But you see the magistrates, if indeed they are magistrates; you see, however, the tyrant's satellites in power, you see his armies, you see the veterans at their side, all of which are easily swayed (εὐρίπιστα); while those who ought not only to be protected by the guards of the whole world but also to be great, are only praised and loved, but confined within walls.
atque illi quoquo modo beati, civitas misera.
And they, in whatever way, are happy, but the state is miserable.
§14.5.3sed velim scire quid adventus Octavi, num qui concursus ad eum, num quae νεωτερισμοῦ suspicio.
But I should like to know what the arrival of Octavius means, whether there is any crowd flocking to him, whether there is any suspicion of a revolution (νεωτερισμοῦ).
non puto equidem, sed tamen, quicquid est, scire cupio.
I do not think so indeed, but yet, whatever it is, I wish to know.
haec scripsi ad te proficiscens Astura iii Idus.
I wrote this to you as I was setting out from Astura on the third day before the Ides.

Notes

  1. 14.5.1tibi iam esse ut volumus — An impersonal use of 'esse' with the dative 'tibi' meaning 'to be in a certain state (for you)'. Here it refers to Atticus's health being 'as we wish' (i.e., recovered), as supported by the subsequent reference to his fasting (ἠσίτησασ) due to illness.
  2. 14.5.1signa bella ... cum signis — A wordplay (pun) on 'signa' (signs/omens) and 'signis' (standards/military colors). The 'good sign' of Brutus's suspicion is contrasted with the 'bad signs' of legions coming with their 'standards'.
  3. 14.5.1C. Asinium volui — The infinitive 'dicere' (to say) is omitted after 'volui'. It means 'I meant (to say) C. Asinius'. Cicero is correcting his slip of the pen in the previous sentence where he wrote 'Annius' instead of 'Asinius'.
  4. 14.5.2qui legari noluerim — The relative pronoun 'qui' refers to the first-person singular pronoun implied in the accusative of exclamation 'meam stultam verecundiam'. The subjunctive 'noluerim' (perfect) in the relative clause is causal or characteristic, explaining his self-reproach.
  5. 14.5.2eos autem ... laudari ... contineri — An accusative with infinitive (AcI) construction, functioning as the object of 'vides' carried over from the previous sentences. The structure is parallel to 'vides magistratus', 'vides satellites', and finally 'vides eos... laudari... contineri'.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §14.5.1-14.5.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:14.5.1-14.5.3

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

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