Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §7.5.1-7.5.5

Concern for Health and Attitude Toward the Political Crisis

Passage 144 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero thanks Atticus for his multiple letters and expresses concern for the health of Atticus, Pilia, and his freedman Tiro. He also outlines his upcoming travel itinerary, the growing crisis in the republic, the criticism of Pompey, and his own political stance.

§7.5.1multas uno tempore accepi epistulas tuas; quae mihi, quamquam recentiora audiebam ex iis qui ad me veniebant, tamen erant iucundae; studium enim et benevolentiam declarabant.
I received many of your letters at one time; although I was hearing more recent news from those who came to me, they were nevertheless pleasing to me; for they declared your zeal and goodwill.
valetudine tua moveor et Piliam in idem genus morbi delapsam curam tibi adferre maiorem sentio.
I am moved by your health, and I feel that Pilia, having fallen into the same kind of illness, brings you greater anxiety.
§7.5.2date igitur operam ut valeatis.
Therefore, take care that you both are well.
de Tirone video tibi curae esse.
Concerning Tiro, I see that he is a care to you.
quem quidem ego, etsi mirabilis utilitates mihi praebet, cum valet, in omni genere vel negotiorum vel studiorum meorum, tamen propter humanitatem et modestiam malo salvum quam propter usum meum.
Indeed, although he provides wonderful usefulness to me when he is well, in every kind of either my business or my studies, nevertheless on account of his humanity and modesty I prefer him to be safe rather than on account of my own use.
§7.5.3Philogenes mecum nihil umquam de Luscenio locutus est; de ceteris rebus habes Dionysium.
Philogenes has never spoken to me at all about Luscenius; concerning the other matters you have Dionysius.
sororem tuam non venisse in Arcanum miror.
I wonder that your sister did not come to Arcanum.
de Chrysippo meum consilium probari tibi non moleste fero.
I am glad that my plan concerning Chrysippus is approved by you.
ego in Tusculanum nihil sane hoc tempore; devium est τοῖς ἀπαντῶσιν et habet alia δύσχρηστα.
I am not going to my Tusculan villa at all at this time; it is out of the way for those who meet me, and has other inconveniences.
sed de Formiano Tarracinam pridie Kal. Ian. inde Pomptinam summam, inde in Albanum Pompei.
But from my Formian villa I shall go to Tarracina on the day before the Kalends of January, thence to the height of the Pomptine marshes, thence to Pompey's Alban villa.
ita ad urbem iii Nonas natali meo.
Thus I shall be near the city on the 3rd of January, on my birthday.
§7.5.4de re publica cotidie magis timeo.
Concerning the republic I fear more day by day.
non enim boni, ut putantur, consentiunt.
For the "good men," as they are thought to be, do not agree.
quos ego equites Romanos, quos senatores vidi, qui acerrime cum cetera tum hoc iter Pompei vituperarent! pace opus est.
What Roman knights, what senators have I seen, who were most bitterly censuring not only other things but especially this journey of Pompey! There is need of peace.
ex victoria cum multa mala tum certe tyrannus exsistet.
From victory, as many evils will arise, so certainly a tyrant will emerge.
sed haec propediem coram.
But we shall discuss these things in person very soon.
iam plane mihi deest quod ad te scribam; nec enim de re publica quod uterque nostrum scit eadem, et domestica nota sunt ambobus.
Indeed, I now lack anything to write to you; for neither concerning the republic do we each know other than the same things, and domestic matters are well known to both of us.
§7.5.5reliquum est iocari, si hic sinat.
It remains to joke, if this man allows.
nam ego is sum qui illi concedi putem utilius esse quod postulat quam signa conferri.
For I am the sort of person who thinks it is more useful for what he demands to be granted to him than for standards to be joined in battle.
sero enim resistimus ei quem per annos decem aluimus contra nos.
For we are resisting him too late, whom we have nourished against ourselves for ten years.
"quid senties igitur?" inquis.
"What will you vote then?" you say.
nihil scilicet nisi de sententia tua nec prius quidem quam nostrum negotium aut confecerimus aut deposuerimus.
Nothing, of course, except in accordance with your opinion, nor indeed before we have either finished or abandoned our business.
cura igitur ut valeas.
Take care, therefore, to be well.
aliquando ἀπότριψαι quartanam istam diligentia quae in te summa est.
Shake off that quartan fever at some time with that diligence of yours which is greatest.

Notes

  1. §7.5.1quae — The neuter plural relative pronoun `quae` refers to the preceding feminine plural `epistulas`, representing a constructio ad sensum where the letters are treated conceptually as neuter "written things" or "contents."
  2. §7.5.2malo salvum — An accusative with infinitive construction (A.C.I.) dependent on `malo`, with the infinitive `esse` omitted. `salvum` is the accusative predicate modifying the understood subject `Tironem`.
  3. §7.5.3ego in Tusculanum nihil sane hoc tempore — A verb of motion (such as `ibo` or `cogito ire`) is omitted in this clause. The omission of verbs of motion with prepositional phrases indicating destination is a common colloquialism in epistolary Latin.
  4. §7.5.3τοῖς ἀπαντῶσιν — The Greek present participle in the dative plural `τοῖς ἀπαντῶσιν` (from `ἀπαντάω`, "to meet") acts as a dative of reference or disadvantage modifying `devium` ("out of the way"), equivalent to the Latin `iis qui occurrunt` ("for those who come to meet me").
  5. §7.5.4quos ego equites Romanos... vidi, qui — An exclamatory sentence with accusatives of exclamation (`quos... equites Romanos, quos senatores`). The relative clause `qui... vituperarent` takes the subjunctive imperfect to characterize the people Cicero saw ("the sort of men who were censuring...").
  6. §7.5.5qui... putem — The subjunctive `putem` in the relative clause is a subjunctive of characteristic after `is sum` ("I am the sort of person who thinks...").
  7. §7.5.5ἀπότριψαι — The Greek form `ἀπότριψαι` is the second-person singular aorist imperative middle of `ἀποτρίβω` ("to rub off", "to shake off"). It is a metaphorical medical usage equivalent to the Latin `excute` or `depelle`, meaning "to shake off" the fever.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §7.5.1-7.5.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:7.5.1-7.5.5

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.