Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §7.19.1

Disappointment in Caesar and Departure for Capua

Passage 159 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero expresses his confusion and alarm to Atticus upon receiving disappointing news about Caesar's attitude toward peace, and announces his departure for Capua.

§7.19.1nihil habeo quod ad te scribam qui etiam eam epistulam quam eram elucubratus ad te non dederim.
I have nothing to write to you, since I have not even sent you that letter which I had composed by lamplight.
erat enim plena spei bonae, quod et contionis voluntatem audieram et illum condicionibus usurum putabam, praesertim suis.
For it was full of good hope, because I had heard of the goodwill of the assembly and thought that he would accept the terms, especially his own.
ecce tibi iii Nonas Febr. inane accepi litteras tuas, Philotimi, Furni, Curionis ad Furnium, quibus inridet L. Caesaris legationem.
But look you, on the morning of February 3, I received your letter, and those of Philotimus, of Furnius, and of Curio to Furnius, in which he mocks the embassy of Lucius Caesar.
plane oppressi videmur nec quid consili capiam scio.
We seem utterly ruined, and I do not know what plan to adopt.
nec me hercule de me laboro, de pueris quid agam non habeo.
By Hercules, I do not worry about myself, but I have no idea what to do about the boys.
Capuam tamen proficiscebar haec scribens quo facilius de Pompei rebus cognoscerem.
Still, I am setting out for Capua as I write this, so that I may more easily learn about Pompey's affairs.

Notes

  1. §7.19.1qui ... non dederim — The subjunctive mood in the relative clause (dederim) introduced by qui expresses a causal or concessive relationship ('since I have not sent' / 'even though I have not sent').
  2. §7.19.1inane accepi — The manuscript reading 'inane' is widely emended by editors to 'mane' (in the morning) due to its coordination with the date 'iii Nonas Febr.' (February 3), thus meaning 'I received on the morning of February 3'.
  3. §7.19.1quid consili — consili is a partitive genitive qualifying the interrogative pronoun quid, together meaning 'what of plan' (i.e., 'what plan').
  4. §7.19.1de pueris quid agam non habeo — The construction of non habeo followed by an interrogative and a subjunctive (quid agam) is an idiomatic expression in colloquial and epistolary Latin meaning 'I do not know what to do' or 'I am at a loss'.
  5. §7.19.1proficiscebar — The imperfect proficiscebar is an 'epistolary tense', describing a present action from the future reader's point of view as a past event; it actually refers to Cicero's action of setting out at the moment of writing.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §7.19.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:7.19.1

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