Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §2.11.1

Request for Rome's News and Plans at Formiae

Passage 39 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero complains to Atticus that being in his villa without news from Rome feels like exile, asking for a long and informative letter, while discussing his upcoming travel plans and a potential meeting in Rome.

§2.11.1narro tibi, plane relegatus mihi videor postea quam in Formiano sum.
I tell you, I feel completely exiled since I have been in my Formian villa.
dies enim nullus erat, Anti cum essem, quo die non melius scirem Romae quid ageretur quam ii qui erant Romae.
For when I was at Antium, there was no day on which I did not know better what was going on in Rome than those who were in Rome.
etenim litterae tuae non solum quid Romae sed etiam quid in re publica, neque solum quid fieret verum etiam quid futurum esset indicabant.
Indeed, your letters showed not only what was happening in Rome, but also what was happening in the state, and not only what was being done, but also what was going to happen.
nunc nisi si quid ex praetereunte viatore exceptum est, scire nihil possumus.
Now, unless something has been gathered from a passing traveler, we can know nothing.
qua re quamquam iam te ipsum exspecto, tamen isti puero quem ad me statim iussi recurrere da ponderosam aliquam epistulam plenam omnium non modo actorum sed etiam opinionum tuarum, ac diem quo Roma sis exiturus cura ut sciam.
Therefore, although I am already expecting you in person, yet give to that boy, whom I ordered to run back to me immediately, some weighty letter full of all not only of the events but also of your opinions, and take care that I know on which day you are to leave Rome.
nos in Formiano esse volumus usque ad prid. Nonas Maias.
We wish to be in our Formian villa until the day before the Nones of May.
eo si ante eam diem non veneris, Romae te fortasse videbo; nam Arpinum quid ego te invitem? " τρηχεῖ', ἀλλ' ἀγαθὴ κουροτρόφος, οὔτ' ἄρ' ἔγωγε ἧσ γαίησ δύναμαι γλυκερώτερον ἄλλο ἰδέσθαι. " haec igitur.
If you do not come there before that day, I shall perhaps see you in Rome; for why should I invite you to Arpinum? "Rough, but a good nurse of youth; for my part, I can see nothing sweeter than one's own land." So much for this.
cura ut valeas.
Take care of your health.

Notes

  1. 2.11.1postea quam in Formiano sum — The present tense sum with the conjunction posteaquam indicates a state that began in the past and continues into the present ("since I have been in the Formian villa").
  2. 2.11.1prid. Nonas Maias — Abbreviation for pridie Nonas Maias. The prepositional adverb pridie governs the accusative case, referring to the day before the Nones of May (May 7th), which is May 6th.
  3. 2.11.1Arpinum quid ego te invitem? — The verb invitem is a deliberative subjunctive. Arpinum is the accusative of place to which without a preposition. It functions as a rhetorical question: "Why should I invite you to Arpinum?"
  4. 2.11.1τρηχεῖ', ἀλλ' ἀγαθὴ κουροτρόφος, οὔτ' ἄρ' ἔγωγε ἧσ γαίησ δύναμαι γλυκερώτερον ἄλλο ἰδέσθαι — A quotation from Homer's Odyssey (9.27-28), where Odysseus describes Ithaca. Cicero playfully applies this to his own rugged birthplace, Arpinum, explaining why he hesitates to invite Atticus to such a rough mountainous place despite his own affection for it.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §2.11.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:2.11.1

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

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.