Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §15.16A.1

Desire to Return to Tusculum and Brutus's Schedule

Passage 425 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero acknowledges the quiet charm of Astura but expresses his desire to return to his Tusculan villa out of a longing for home, and asks Atticus for Brutus's schedule.

§15.16A.1narro tibi, haec loca venusta sunt, abdita certe et, si quid scribere velis, ab arbitris libera.
I tell you, this place is charming, certainly secluded and, if you wish to write anything, free from onlookers.
sed nescio quo modo οἶκος φίλοσ.
But somehow or other "home is sweet" (οἶκος φίλοσ).
itaque me referunt pedes in Tusculanum.
And so my feet carry me back to my Tusculan villa.
et tamen haec ῤωπογραφία ripulae videtur habitura celerem satietatem.
And yet, this "still life" (ῤωπογραφία) of a tiny shore seems likely to bring speedy satiety.
equidem etiam pluvias metuo, si "Prognostica" nostra vera sunt; rarae enim ῤητορεύουσιν.
Indeed I even fear rains, if our "Prognostica" is true; for they (the frogs) are speechifying (ῤητορεύουσιν) as they rarely do.
tu, quaeso, fac sciam ubi Brutum nostrum et quo die videre possim.
Please, let me know where and on what day I can see our Brutus.

Notes

  1. §15.16A.1οἶκος φίλοσ — A reference to the Greek proverb "οἶκος φίλος [εἰκός]" (home is sweet), equivalent to "Home, sweet home." It expresses Cicero's feeling that no matter how pleasant a temporary retreat may be, his own familiar home (here, his Tusculan villa) is best.
  2. §15.16A.1ῤωπογραφία — A Greek term meaning "painting of trivial objects" or "still life." Cicero uses it metaphorically to self-deprecatingly describe the monotonous seaside scenery of Astura and the trivial, quiet retired life he is leading there.
  3. §15.16A.1rarae enim ῤητορεύουσιν — The feminine plural adjective `rarae` agrees with the contextually omitted `ranae` (frogs). The Greek verb `ῤητορεύουσιν` ("they speechify") is a humorous, personified expression for the frogs croaking loudly. This is based on Aratus's meteorological poem *Prognostica* (which Cicero himself translated), where the croaking of frogs is a sign of rain. `rarae` is used adverbially to mean "in an extraordinary/unusual manner."

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §15.16A.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:15.16A.1

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