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Cicero · Letters to Atticus §15.15.1-15.15.4

Dislike of the Queen and Financial Arrangements for His Son

Passage 424 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero discusses various financial arrangements and expresses his intense dislike for Queen Cleopatra, while requesting Atticus to arrange a monetary remittance for his son studying in Athens, as his own funds are short due to Eros's mismanagement.

§15.15.1L. Antonio male sit, si quidem Buthrotiis molestus est! ego testimonium composui quod cum voles obsignabitur.
Ill fortune to Lucius Antonius, if indeed he is troublesome to the Buthrotians! I have drawn up a written statement which will be sealed when you wish.
nummos Arpinatium, si L. Fadius aedilis petet, vel omnis reddito.
As for the money of the Arpinates, if Lucius Fadius the aedile requests it, return even all of it.
ego ad te alia epistula scripsi de HS C_X_ quae Statio curarentur.
I wrote to you in another letter about the 110,000 sesterces which were to be paid to Statius.
si ergo petet Fadius, ei volo reddi, praeter Fadium nemini.
If, therefore, Fadius requests it, I wish it to be returned to him, to no one besides Fadius.
apud me †item puto depositum† id scripsi ad Erotem ut redderet.
As for the money which †I think was likewise deposited† with me, I have written to Eros to return it.
§15.15.2reginam odi.
I hate the Queen.
id me iure facere scit sponsor promissorum eius Ammonius, quae quidem erant φιλόλογα et dignitatis meae ut vel in contione dicere auderem.
The sponsor of her promises, Ammonius, knows that I do so with good reason; and indeed those promises were literary and worthy of my dignity, so that I would even dare to declare them in a public assembly.
Saran autem, praeterquam quod nefarium hominem, cognovi praeterea in me contumacem.
As for Sara, besides the fact that he is a wicked man, I have found him moreover to be insolent toward me.
semel eum omnino domi meae vidi.
I saw him only once in all at my house.
cum φιλοφρόνωσ ex eo quaererem quid opus esset, Atticum se dixit quaerere.
When I asked him in a friendly manner what he needed, he said he was looking for Atticus.
superbiam autem ipsius reginae, cum esset trans Tiberim in hortis, commemorare sine magno dolore non possum.
But the pride of the Queen herself, when she was in her gardens across the Tiber, I cannot recall without great pain.
nihil igitur cum istis; nec tam animum me quam stomachum habere arbitrantur.
Therefore, I will have nothing to do with those people; and they do not think that I have a stomach (anger) as much as a mind (forbearance).
§15.15.3profectionem meam, ut video, Erotis dispensatio impedit.
My departure, as I see, is hindered by Eros's stewardship.
nam cum ex reliquis quae Nonis Aprilibus fecit abundare debeam, cogor mutuari, quodque ex istis fructuosis rebus receptum est, id ego ad illud fanum sepositum putabam.
For although I ought to have plenty of money from the balance which he made on the Nones of April, I am forced to borrow; and what has been received from those profitable properties, I thought was set aside for that shrine.
sed haec Tironi mandavi quem ob eam causam Romam misi; te nolui impeditum impedire.
But I have entrusted these matters to Tiro, whom I sent to Rome for this very reason; I did not wish to hinder you when you are already hindered.
§15.15.4Cicero noster quo modestior est eo me magis commovet.
Our young Cicero, the more modest he is, the more he disquiets me.
ad me enim de hac re nihil scripsit ad quem nimirum potissimum debuit; scripsit hoc autem ad Tironem, sibi post Kalend. Aprilis (sic enim annuum tempus confici) nihil datum esse.
For he wrote nothing to me about this matter, to whom surely he ought most of all to have written; but he wrote this to Tiro, that nothing has been given to him since the Kalends of April (for thus, he said, the year's term was completed).
tibi pro tua natura semper placuisse teque existimasse †id etiam ad dignitatem meam pertinere eum non modo perliberaliter a nobis sed etiam ornate cumulateque tractari.
You, in accordance with your nature, always approved and thought that †it also concerned my dignity† that he should be treated by us not only very generously but even handsomely and abundantly.
qua re velim cures (nec tibi essem molestus, si per alium hoc agere possem) ut permutetur Athenas quod sit in annuum sumptum ei.
Therefore, I would wish you to see to it (nor would I trouble you if I could do this through someone else) that the money which is for his annual expense be remitted to Athens.
scilicet Eros numerabit.
Of course, Eros will pay it.
eius rei causa Tironem misi.
I sent Tiro for this reason.
curabis igitur et ad me si quid tibi de eo videbitur scribes.
You will therefore see to it, and write to me if you have any thoughts about him.

Notes

  1. 15.15.1L. Antonio male sit — male sit is a present subjunctive of wish or imprecation (third person singular, with L. Antonio as the dative of disadvantage), forming the expression 'may it go badly for Lucius Antonius' or 'ill fortune to Lucius Antonius'.
  2. 15.15.2dignitatis meae — A genitive of description (or characteristic) used predicatively with the copula erant, meaning 'worthy of my dignity' or 'befitting my dignity'.
  3. 15.15.2nec tam animum me quam stomachum habere arbitrantur — stomachum here does not mean the anatomical stomach but is a metaphor for 'anger, bile, or resentment'. The phrase means 'they do not think I have a stomach (capacity for resentment) as much as I have a mind (disposition for forbearance),' implying they think Cicero is too soft to ever get angry.
  4. 15.15.3Erotis dispensatio — dispensatio refers to the management, accounting, or stewardship of finances. Cicero here critically refers to the financial administration of his freedman Eros, whose calculations left Cicero short of cash despite having apparent surpluses.
  5. 15.15.4quo modestior est eo me magis commovet — A correlative construction with comparatives (quo... eo..., meaning 'the more... the more...'). The more modest and uncomplaining his son is about the lack of funds, the more it disquiets Cicero and moves him to worry.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §15.15.1-15.15.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:15.15.1-15.15.4

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

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