Cicero · Letters to Atticus §6.7.1-6.7.2

Family Reconciliation, Return Journey, and Tiro's Health

Passage 134 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero reports that his nephew Quintus reconciled his parents, discusses his private financial affairs regarding Milo's debts, and outlines his journey home while expressing deep worry over his sick secretary Tiro.

§6.7.1Quintus filius pie sane, me quidem certe multum hortante, sed currentem animum patris sui sorori tuae reconciliavit.

My nephew Quintus, quite dutifully indeed—with me, of course, urging him on strongly, though he was already so inclined—reconciled his father’s mind to your sister.

eum valde tuae litterae excitarunt.

Your letter had greatly stimulated him.

quid quaeris? confido rem ut volumus esse.

Need I say more? I trust that the matter is as we wish.

bis ad te antea scripsi de re mea familiari, si modo tibi redditae litterae sunt, Graece ἐν αἰνιγμοῖσ.

I wrote to you twice before about my private financial affairs, if only the letters were delivered to you, in Greek in riddles.

scilicet nihil est movendum; sed tamen ἀφελῶσ percontando de nominibus Milonis et ut expediat ut mihi receperit hortando aliquid †aut† proficies

Of course, nothing should be disturbed; but still, by casually inquiring about Milo’s debts and by urging him to settle them as he promised me, you will make some progress.

§6.7.2ego Laodiceae quaestorem Mescinium exspectare iussi, ut confectas rationes lege Iulia apud duas civitates possem relinquere.

I ordered the quaestor Mescinius to wait at Laodicea, so that I could leave the completed accounts in two cities according to the Julian law.

Rhodum volo puerorum causa, inde quam primum Athenas, etsi etesiae valde reflant; sed plane volo his magistratibus quorum voluntatem in supplicatione sum expertus.

I wish to go to Rhodes for the sake of the boys, and from there as soon as possible to Athens, although the Etesian winds are blowing hard against us; but I plainly wish to arrive while those magistrates are still in office whose goodwill I experienced in the matter of the thanksgiving.

tu tamen mitte mihi, quaeso, obviam litteras numquid putes rei publicae nomine tardandum esse nobis.

But you, I pray, send a letter to meet me, to let me know whether you think I ought to delay at all on public grounds.

Tiro ad te dedisset litteras, nisi eum graviter aegrum Issi reliquissem.

Tiro would have given you a letter, if I had not left him seriously ill at Issus.

sed nuntiant melius esse.

But they report that he is better.

ego tamen angor; nihil enim illo adulescente castius, nihil diligentius.

Nevertheless, I am anxious; for nothing is more virtuous, nothing more diligent than that young man.

Notes

6.7.1currentem animum — The present participle currentem ('running') is a metaphorical expression indicating that his father's mind was already spontaneously inclining toward reconciliation. It means 'urging on a mind that was already moving of its own accord.'
6.7.1ut expediat ut mihi receperit — The clause ut expediat acts as a noun clause dependent on hortando ('by urging'), meaning 'to settle.' Within it, ut mihi receperit functions like a relative clause meaning 'as he had guaranteed to me' (where ut means 'as').
6.7.2Rhodum volo — An infinitive of motion (such as ire 'to go' or navigare 'to sail') is omitted after volo before the accusative of destination Rhodum. In Latin epistolary style, it is common to express travel plans using volo with an accusative of place whither.
6.7.2his magistratibus — Functions as an ablative absolute or an ablative of time, meaning 'during the term of office of these magistrates.' It serves as the antecedent to the relative clause that follows, which is modified by voluntatem... expertus.
6.7.2Tiro ad te dedisset litteras, nisi... — A contrary-to-fact conditional sentence in the past, using the pluperfect subjunctive (apodosis: dedisset, protasis: nisi... reliquissem). It expresses a hypothesis contrary to past fact: 'Tiro would have written you a letter, if I had not left him...'

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §6.7.1-6.7.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:6.7.1-6.7.2

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