Cicero · Letters to Atticus §8.5.1-8.5.2

Return of Dionysius and Anxiety over Corfinium

Passage 172 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero relates that Dionysius unexpectedly returned to him, prompts the retrieval of a harsh letter sent to him by dispatching a slave to Rome, and expresses his deep anxiety over the upcoming battle at Corfinium, which will decide the state's fate.

§8.5.1cum ante lucem viii Kal. litteras ad te de Dionysio dedissem, vesperi ad nos eodem die venit ipse Dionysius auctoritate tua permotus, ut suspicor;

When I had sent a letter to you about Dionysius before dawn on the eighth day before the Kalends, Dionysius himself came to us on the evening of the same day, moved, as I suspect, by your authority; for what else should I think?

quid enim putem aliud? etsi solet eum, cum aliquid furiose fecit, paenitere.

Although he is accustomed to repent when he has done something madly.

numquam autem cerritior fuit quam in hoc negotio.

However, he was never more crazed than in this business.

nam quod ad te non scripseram, postea audivi a tertio miliario tum eum isse " πολλὰ μάτην κεράεσσιν ἐσ ἠέρα θυμήναντα, " multa, inquam, mala cum dixisset: suo capiti, ut aiunt.

For, what I had not written to you, I afterwards heard that from the third milestone he had gone, "πολλὰ μάτην κεράεσσιν ἐσ ἠέρα θυμήναντα, "having said, I say, many evil words: "upon his own head," as they say.

sed en meam mansuetudinem! coniecerim in fasciculum una cum tua vehementem ad illum epistulam.

But behold my leniency! I had cast into the packet, along with your letter, a vehement letter to him.

hanc ad me referri volo nec ullam ob aliam causam Pollicem servum a pedibus meum Romam misi.

I want this to be returned to me, and for no other reason have I sent my footman slave Pollex to Rome.

eo autem ad te scripsi ut, si tibi forte reddita esset, mihi curares referendam, ne in illius manus perveniret.

I have therefore written to you so that, if by chance it has been delivered to you, you may take care to have it returned to me, lest it should come into his hands.

§8.5.2novi si quid esset scripsissem.

If there were anything new, I would have written.

pendeo animi exspectatione de re Corfiniensi, in qua de salute rei publicae decernetur.

I am in suspense of mind with expectation about the affair at Corfinium, in which the safety of the republic will be decided.

tu fasciculum, qui est M'.

I would like you to take care that the packet, which is addressed to M'.

Curio inscriptus, velim cures ad eum perferendum Tironemque Curio commendes et ut det ei si quid opus erit in sumptum roges.

Curius, be delivered to him, and to recommend Tiro to Curius, and ask him to give him whatever will be necessary for his expenses.

Notes

8.5.1viii Kal. — Abbreviation for viii Kalendas (Martias), meaning the eighth day before the Kalends of March, which corresponds to February 22. In the Roman calendar, counting inclusively, eight days before March 1 is February 22.
8.5.1suo capiti — A dative expression with an omitted verb (such as eveniant or recidant). It means 'upon his own head [may it fall],' a colloquial formula used to turn back an adversary's curses or insults onto themselves.
8.5.1servum a pedibus — Literally 'a slave from the feet,' a technical term referring to a footman, courier, or messenger slave employed to deliver letters and run errands.
8.5.2novi si quid — A hyperbaton of the standard word order 'si quid novi'. 'novi' is a partitive genitive qualifying the neuter pronoun 'quid' (if there were anything of new). Together with 'scripsissem' (I would have written), it forms a past counterfactual conditional sentence.
8.5.2pendeo animi — The word 'animi' is a locative case. The phrase literally means 'I hang in mind,' an idiomatic expression signifying a state of intense suspense, anxiety, or hesitation.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §8.5.1-8.5.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:8.5.1-8.5.2

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