Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §8.10.1

Meeting with Dionysius and His Departure

Passage 177 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero reports to Atticus how Dionysius unexpectedly came to him, and after a conversation, how he let him go.

§8.10.1Dionysius cum ad me praeter opinionem meam venisset, locutus sum cum eo liberalissime; tempora exposui, rogavi ut diceret quid haberet in animo; me nihil ab ipso invito contendere.
When Dionysius had come to me contrary to my expectation, I spoke with him most liberally; I explained the circumstances, and asked him to say what he had in mind, adding that I was not trying to extort anything from him against his will.
respondit se quod in nummis haberet nescire quo loci esset; alios non solvere, aliorum diem nondum esse.
He replied that he did not know where what he had in cash was; that some did not pay, and for others the due date had not yet come.
dixit etiam alia quaedam de servulis suis qua re nobiscum esse non posset.
He also mentioned certain other things about his slaves as reasons why he could not be with us.
morem gessi; dimisi a me ut magistrum Ciceronum non libenter, ut hominem ingratum non invitus.
I humored him; I dismissed him from me, not willingly as the tutor of the young Ciceros, but not unwillingly as an ungrateful man.
volui te scire et quid ego de eius facto iudicarem.
I wanted you to know both this and what I thought of his behavior.

Notes

  1. §8.10.1me nihil ab ipso invito contendere — Accusative with infinitive in indirect speech following rogavi, with the introducing verb of saying implied. 'me' is the subject accusative of 'contendere'. 'ab ipso invito' means 'from him against his will', where 'invito' is an adjective agreeing with 'ipso'.
  2. §8.10.1quod in nummis haberet nescire quo loci esset — 'quo loci' is an idiomatic expression combining the interrogative adverb 'quo' with the partitive genitive 'loci' ('in what place' / 'where'), forming an indirect question dependent on 'nescire'. 'quod in nummis haberet' is a relative clause meaning 'what he had in cash'.
  3. §8.10.1alios non solvere, aliorum diem nondum esse — Accusative with infinitive clauses continuing the indirect speech introduced by 'respondit'. Here, 'diem' specifically refers to the 'due date' of financial obligations.
  4. §8.10.1ut magistrum Ciceronum non libenter, ut hominem ingratum non invitus — 'Ciceronum' is the genitive plural of Cicero, referring to Cicero's son and nephew (the two young Ciceros). 'ut' is used in the sense of 'as'. 'non libenter' (unwillingly) and 'non invitus' (not unwillingly, i.e., gladly, via litotes) are set in contrast.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §8.10.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:8.10.1

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