Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §15.27.1-15.27.3

Atticus's Tears and the Arrival of Young Quintus

Passage 436 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero comments on Sestius's reaction and Atticus's tears at their departure, shares his ongoing literary plans, and notes the sudden, late-hour arrival of his nephew Quintus.

§15.27.1gaudeo id te mihi suadere quod ego mea sponte pridie feceram.
I am glad that you are advising me to do the very thing that I had already done of my own accord the day before.
nam cum ad te VI Nonas darem, eidem tabellario dedi etiam ad Sestium scriptas πάνυ φιλοστόργωσ.
For when I was sending the letter to you six days before the Nones (July 2), I also gave to the same courier a letter written to Sestius, written very affectionately.
ille autem, quod Puteolos persequitur, humane, quod queritur, iniuste.
But as for him, in that he is following me to Puteoli, he acts kindly; but in that he complains, he acts unjustly.
non enim ego tam illum exspectare dum de Cosano rediret debui quam ille aut non ire ante quam me vidisset aut citius reverti.
For I ought not to have waited for him until he returned from his Cosan estate so much as he ought either not to have gone before he had seen me or to have returned more quickly.
sciebat enim me celeriter velle proficisci seseque ad me in Tusculanum scripserat esse venturum.
For he knew that I wanted to set out quickly and had written that he would come to me in my Tusculan villa.
§15.27.2te, ut a me discesseris, lacrimasse moleste ferebam.
I was grieved to hear that you wept when you parted from me.
quod si me praesente fecisses, consilium totius itineris fortasse mutassem.
If you had done that in my presence, I would perhaps have changed my plan for the whole journey.
sed illud praeclare quod te consolata est spes brevi tempore congrediendi; quae quidem exspectatio me maxime sustentat.
But it is excellent that the hope of meeting in a short time consoled you; and indeed, this expectation is what supports me most of all.
meae tibi litterae non deerunt.
My letters will not be wanting to you.
de Bruto scribam ad te omnia.
I will write to you everything about Brutus.
librum tibi celeriter mittam "de gloria. " excudam aliquid Ἡρακλείδειον quod lateat in thesauris tuis.
I will quickly send you the book "On Glory." I will forge something in the style of Heraclides, to lie hidden in your treasures.
de Planco memini.
I remember about Plancus.
§15.27.3Attica iure queritur.
Attica complains with good reason.
quod me de Bacchi, de statuarum coronis certiorem fecisti, valde gratum; nec quicquam posthac non modo tantum sed ne tantulum quidem praeterieris.
That you informed me about Bacchis and about the garlands of the statues is very pleasing; hereafter do not pass over anything, not only of such importance, but not even of the least significance.
et de Herode et Mettio meminero et de omnibus quae te velle suspicabor modo.
And I will be mindful of Herodes and Mettius, and of all things that I shall only suspect you wish.
o turpem sororis tuae filium! cum haec scriberem, adventabat αὐτῇ βουλύσει cenantibus nobis.
Oh, what a disgraceful son of your sister! As I was writing this, he was arriving at the very hour of unyoking, while we were dining.

Notes

  1. 15.27.1dum de Cosano rediret — The conjunction dum is used here in the sense of "until" with an implication of expectation or intention. Consequently, it takes the subjunctive imperfect (rediret) following the historical main verb debui.
  2. 15.27.2te, ut a me discesseris, lacrimasse moleste ferebam — The accusative and infinitive construction te... lacrimasse functions as the direct object of the verb of emotion moleste ferebam ("I was grieved that you wept"). The verb discesseris in the embedded temporal clause ut a me discesseris ("when you departed from me") is in the perfect subjunctive.
  3. 15.27.3nec quicquam posthac non modo tantum sed ne tantulum quidem praeterieris — This features the correlative construction non modo... sed ne... quidem with strong negation ("not only of such importance, but not even of the least significance"). The verb praeterieris is either a perfect subjunctive of polite prohibition or a future perfect serving as a mild command.
  4. 15.27.3cum haec scriberem, adventabat αὐτῇ βουλύσει cenantibus nobis — Features the ablative absolute construction cenantibus nobis ("while we were dining"). The Greek dative phrase αὐτῇ βουλύσει (literally, "at the very unyoking of oxen") is an idiomatic time expression meaning "at dusk" or "in the evening."

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §15.27.1-15.27.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:15.27.1-15.27.3

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

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