Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §3.16.1

Awaiting Atticus's Letter and Request for Plain Truth

Passage 64 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero explains that waiting for Atticus's letters makes his travel plans uncertain, notes that repeated reading of the letters diminishes his hope as they balance comfort with truth, and requests Atticus to write the plain facts.

§3.16.1totum iter mihi incertum facit exspectatio litterarum vestrarum Kal. Sextil. datarum.
The expectation of your letter sent on the Kalends of August makes my whole journey uncertain for me.
nam si spes erit, Epirum, si minus, Cyzicum aut aliud aliquid sequemur.
For if there is hope, we shall make for Epirus; if not, Cyzicus or some other place.
tuae quidem litterae quo saepius a me leguntur, hoc spem faciunt mihi minorem; quae cum lectae sunt, tum id quod attulerunt ad spem infirmant, ut facile appareat te et consolationi servire et veritati.
Indeed, the more often your letter is read by me, the less hope it gives me; when it is read, at that moment it weakens what it brought toward hope, so that it easily appears that you are serving both consolation and truth.
itaque te rogo plane ut ad me quae scies ut erunt, quae putabis ita scribas.
Therefore, I ask you plainly to write to me what you know as it is, and what you think as such.
data xii Kal.
Given on the 12th day before the Kalends.

Notes

  1. §3.16.1totum iter mihi incertum facit exspectatio — Hyperbaton. The accusative phrase `totum iter` at the beginning (along with its complement `incertum`) is the object of the transitive verb `facit`, while the nominative `exspectatio` at the end of the clause is its subject.
  2. §3.16.1quo saepius ... hoc ... minorem — A correlative construction using the ablatives of measure of difference `quo` and `hoc` with comparatives, meaning "the more... the less...".
  3. §3.16.1quae cum lectae sunt, tum — `quae` is a connecting relative pronoun referring back to `tuae litterae` in the previous sentence. Although `cum ... tum ...` often functions as a correlative ("both... and..."), here it expresses a temporal or logical correspondence ("when they are read, at that very moment...").
  4. §3.16.1consolationi servire et veritati — The verb `servire` (to serve, pay attention to) takes the dative case, with `consolationi` and `veritati` functioning as its objects. It forms part of an accusative with infinitive construction with `te` as its subject.
  5. §3.16.1quae scies ut erunt, quae putabis ita — Two object clauses in parallel construction. The phrase `ut erunt` (as they are) corresponds to `quae scies` (what you will know), and the adverb `ita` (thus/so) corresponds to `quae putabis` (what you will think), both modifying the verb `scribas`.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §3.16.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:3.16.1

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