Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §8.7.1-8.7.3

Disappointment at Pompey's Flight and Travel Funds

Passage 174 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero expresses his deep disappointment at Pompey's impending flight without aiding Domitius, regrets his past support for him, and mentions practical arrangements regarding his travel expenses.

§8.7.1unum etiam restat amico nostro ad omne dedecus ut Domitio non subveniat.
One thing still remains for our friend to complete his utter disgrace: that he should not come to the aid of Domitius.
"at nemo dubitat quin subsidio venturus sit. " ego non puto.
"But no one doubts that he will come to his rescue." I do not think so.
"deseret igitur talem civem et eos quos una scis esse cum habeat praesertim is ipse cohortis triginta?" nisi me omnia fallunt, deseret.
"Will he then desert such a citizen and those who you know are with him, especially when he himself has thirty cohorts?" Unless everything deceives me, he will desert them.
incredibiliter pertimuit, nihil spectat nisi fugam.
He is incredibly terrified; he looks to nothing but flight.
§8.7.2quoi tu (video enim quid sentias) me comitem putas debere esse.
To this man you think I ought to be a companion (for I see what you feel).
ego vero quem fugiam habeo, quem sequar non habeo.
Indeed, I have someone to flee from, but I have no one to follow.
quod enim tu meum laudas et memorandum dicis, malle quod dixerim me cum Pompeio vinci quam cum istis vincere, ego vero malo sed cum illo Pompeio qui tum erat aut qui mihi esse videbatur, cum hoc vero qui ante fugit quam scit aut quem fugiat aut quo, qui nostra tradidit, qui patriam reliquit, Italiam relinquit, si malui, contigit, victus sum.
For as to what you praise of mine and call memorable—that I said I would rather be conquered with Pompey than conquer with those men—I indeed prefer it, but with that Pompey who then was, or who seemed to me to be. But with this one, who flees before he knows either whom he is fleeing or where, who has betrayed our cause, abandoned his fatherland, and is leaving Italy—if I preferred this, it has come to pass; I am conquered.
quod superest, nec ista videre possum quae numquam timui ne viderem nec me hercule istum propter quem mihi non modo meis sed memet ipso carendum est.
As for what remains, I can neither look upon those things which I never feared I would see, nor, by Hercules, upon that man because of whom I must lack not only my family but even my very self.
§8.7.3ad Philotimum scripsi de viatico sive a Moneta (nemo enim solvit) sive ab Oppiis tuis contubernalibus.
I have written to Philotimus about my traveling expenses, either from the Mint (for no one is paying) or from your friends the Oppii.
cetera apposita tibi mandabo.
Other matters, as they arise, I will entrust to you.

Notes

  1. §8.7.1ut Domitio non subveniat — A noun clause functioning as the subject of the impersonal verb "restat" (it remains). It is introduced by "ut" with the subjunctive, and its negative is "ut non" rather than "ne", similar to clauses of result.
  2. §8.7.2quoi — An archaic spelling of "cui", the dative singular of the relative pronoun "qui". Its antecedent is "amico nostro" (Pompey) from the preceding section.
  3. §8.7.2si malui, contigit, victus sum — A conditional sentence using the indicative perfect. It presupposes Cicero's past statement ("I preferred to be conquered with Pompey") and ironically concludes: "if I indeed preferred it, it has actually happened (contigit) and I am already a defeated man."
  4. §8.7.2mihi ... carendum est — An impersonal passive periphrastic construction expressing necessity or obligation. The agent is expressed in the dative (mihi), and the things lacked are in the ablative (meis, memet ipso), governed by the verb "careo".

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §8.7.1-8.7.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:8.7.1-8.7.3

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

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