Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §3.18.1-3.18.2

Pompey's Promised Support and Request for Plain Truth

Passage 66 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero asks Atticus about the progress of Varro's assurance that Pompey would support his restoration, and appeals to Atticus to provide an accurate report of the situation given his distress.

§3.18.1exspectationem nobis non parvam attuleras cum scripseras Varronem tibi pro amicitia confirmasse causam nostram Pompeium certe suscepturum et, simul a Caesare ei litterae quas exspectaret remissae essent, actorem etiam daturum.
You had raised no small expectation in us when you wrote that Varro had assured you, on the ground of your friendship, that Pompey would certainly take up our cause and, as soon as the letter he was expecting from Caesar was sent back, would even provide an advocate.
utrum id nihil fuit, an adversatae sunt Caesaris litterae, an est aliquid in spe? etiam illud scripseras eundem "secundum comitia" dixisse. §3.18.2fac, si vides quantis in malis iaceam et si putas esse humanitatis tuae, me fac de tota causa nostra certiorem.
Was that nothing, or did Caesar's letter stand in the way, or is there something to hope for? You had also written that the same man said "after the elections." Do, if you see in what great evils I lie and if you think it belongs to your humanity, make me more certain about our whole cause.
nam Quintus frater, homo mirus, qui me tam valde amat, omnia mittit spei plena metuens, credo, defectionem animi mei; tuae autem litterae sunt variae; neque enim me desperare vis nec temere sperare.
For my brother Quintus, a wonderful man who loves me so dearly, sends everything full of hope, fearing, I believe, the failing of my spirit; but your letters are varied, for you neither want me to despair nor to hope blindly.
fac, obsecro te, ut omnia quae perspici a te possunt sciamus.
Do, I beseech you, make us know everything that can be discerned by you.

Notes

  1. §3.18.1confirmasse causam nostram Pompeium certe suscepturum — confirmasse (a syncopated form of confirmavisse) introduces an indirect statement, taking the accusative infinitive clause with Pompeium as the subject and the future participle suscepturum (esse) as the verb.
  2. §3.18.1simul a Caesare — simul functions as the conjunction simul ac / simul atque (as soon as). The verb of the subordinate clause remissae essent is in the pluperfect subjunctive, representing a future perfect action from a past perspective.
  3. §3.18.2humanitatis tuae — A predicative genitive of characteristic (or duty) with esse: 'it belongs to your humanity' or 'it is characteristic of your kindness'.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §3.18.1-3.18.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:3.18.1-3.18.2

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