§1.17.1scribis mihi mirari Ciceronem quod nihil significem umquam de suis actis.
You write to me that Cicero wonders that I never make any mention of his actions.
quoniam me flagitas, coactu tuo scribam quae sentio.
Since you demand it of me, I will write what I think under your compulsion.
omnia fecisse Ciceronem optimo animo scio;
I know that Cicero did everything with the best intention; for what can be more certain to me than his mind toward the republic?
quid enim mihi exploratius esse potest quam illius animus in rem publicam? sed quaedam mihi videtur— quid dicam? imperite vir omnium prudentissimus an ambitiose fecisse qui valentissimum Antonium suscipere pro re publica non dubitarit inimicum.
But it seems to me that the most prudent of all men did certain things—shall I say foolishly or ambitiously?—he who did not hesitate to take upon himself the most powerful Antonius as an enemy for the sake of the republic.
nescio quid scribam tibi nisi unum, pueri et cupiditatem et licentiam potius esse inritatam quam repressam a Cicerone, tantumque eum tribuere huic indulgentiae ut se maledictis non abstineat iis quidem quae in ipsum dupliciter recidunt, quod et pluris occidit uno seque prius oportet fateatur sicarium quam obiciat Cascae quod obicit et imitatur in Casca Bestiam.
I do not know what to write to you except one thing: that the boy's desire and license have been irritated rather than repressed by Cicero, and that he attributes so much to this indulgence that he does not abstain from those insults which indeed recoil doubly upon himself, because he himself killed more than one, and he ought first to confess himself an assassin before he objects to Casca what he objects, and he imitates Bestia in Casca.
an quia non omnibus horis iactamus Idus Martias similiter atque ille Nonas Decembris suas in ore habet, eo meliore condicione Cicero pulcherrimum factum vituperabit quam Bestia et Clodius reprehendere illius consulatum soliti sunt?
Or because we do not boast of the Ides of March at all hours, just as he has his Nones of December in his mouth, will Cicero on that account censure the most beautiful deed under a better condition than Bestia and Clodius were accustomed to reprehend his consulship?
§1.17.2sustinuisse mihi gloriatur bellum Antoni togatus Cicero noster! quid hoc mihi prodest, si merces Antoni oppressi poscitur in Antoni locum successio et si vindex illius mali auctor exstitit alterius fundamentum et radices habituri altiores, si patiamur? ut iam ista quae facit dominationem an dominum timentis sint.
Our Cicero boasts to me that he, wearing the toga, has sustained the war of Antonius! What does this profit me, if the reward for suppressing Antonius is demanded as the succession to Antonius' place, and if the avenger of that evil has stood forth as the author of another destined to have deeper foundations and roots, if we tolerate it? It is as if those things which he is now doing are characteristic of one who fears tyranny or one who fears a master.
ego autem gratiam non habeo si quis, dum ne irato serviat, rem ipsam non deprecatur.
But I have no gratitude if someone, provided he does not serve an angry master, does not reject servitude itself.
immo triumphus et stipendium et omnibus decretis hortatio ne eius pudeat concupiscere fortunam cuius nomen susceperit, consularis aut Ciceronis est?
On the contrary, is a triumph, and pay, and the exhortation in all decrees not to be ashamed of coveting the fortune of him whose name he has assumed, characteristic of a consular or of Cicero?
§1.17.3quoniam mihi tacere non licuit, leges quae tibi necesse est molesta esse.
Since it was not permitted to me to keep silent, you will read what must of necessity be annoying to you.
etenim ipse sentio quanto cum dolore haec ad te scripserim, nec ignoro quid sentias in re publica et quam desperatam quoque sanari putes posse.
For indeed I myself feel with how much pain I have written these things to you, nor am I ignorant of what you think in the republic and how you believe it can be healed, however desperate.
nec me hercule te, Attice, reprehendo.
Nor, by Hercules, do I find fault with you, Atticus.
aetas enim, mores, liberi segnem efficiunt; quod quidem etiam ex Flayio nostro perspexi.
For age, habits, and children make one inactive; which indeed I have perceived clearly also from our Flavius.
§1.17.4sed redeo ad Ciceronem.
But I return to Cicero.
quid inter Salvidienum et eum interest? quid autem amplius ille decerneret?
timet,
inquis,
etiam nunc reliquias belli civilis. quisquam ergo ita timet profligatum ut neque potentiam eius qui exercitum victorem habeat neque temeritatem pueri putet extimescendam esse? an hoc ipsum ea re facit, quod illi propter amplitudinem omnia iam ultroque deferenda putat? 0 magnam stultitiam timoris, id ipsum quod verearis ita cavere ut, cum vitare fortasse potueris, ultro arcessas et attrahas.
What difference is there between Salvidienus and him? Or what more would that man decree? "He fears," you say, "even now the remnants of the civil war." Does anyone, then, so fear a defeated enemy that he thinks neither the power of him who has a victorious army nor the rashness of a boy is to be dreaded? Or does he do this very thing for the reason that, because of his importance, he thinks all things and even more should now be voluntarily yielded to him? O great folly of fear, to guard against the very thing you dread in such a way that, though you might perhaps have avoided it, you voluntarily summon and draw it upon yourself!
nimium timemus mortem et exsilium et paupertatem.
We fear death and exile and poverty too much.
haec nimirum videntur Ciceroni ultima esse in malis et, dum habeat a quibus impetret quae velit et a quibus colatur ac laudetur, servitutem, honorificam modo, non aspernatur, si quicquam in extrema ac miserrima contumelia potest honorificum esse.
These indeed seem to Cicero to be the ultimate evils, and, as long as he has those from whom he may obtain what he wants and by whom he may be courted and praised, he does not reject servitude, provided it is honorable, if anything can be honorable in the ultimate and most miserable disgrace.
§1.17.5licet ergo patrem appellet Octavius Ciceronem, referat omnia, laudet, gratias agat, tamen illud apparebit verba rebus esse contraria.
Therefore, although Octavius calls Cicero father, refers all things to him, praises him, and thanks him, yet it will be apparent that words are contrary to deeds.
quid enim tam alienum ab humanis sensibus est quam eum patris habere loco qui ne liberi quidem hominis numero sit? atqui co tendit, id agit, ad eum exitum properat vir optimus ut sit illi Octavius propitius.
For what is so alien to human feelings as to hold in the place of a father one who is not even numbered among free men? And yet the best of men tends there, acts for that, and hastens to that end, so that Octavius may be propitious to him.
ego vero iam iis artibus nihil tribuo quibus Ciceronem scio instructissimum esse.
But I now attribute nothing to those arts with which I know Cicero is most highly equipped.
quid enim illi prosunt quae pro libertate patriae, de dignitate, quae de morte, exsilio, paupertate scripsit copiosissime? quanto autem magis illa callere videtur Philippus qui privigno minus tribuerit quam Cicero qui alieno tribuat! desinat igitur gloriando etiam insectari dolores nostros.
For what do those things profit him which he wrote most copiously about the freedom of the fatherland, about dignity, about death, exile, and poverty? How much more, however, does Philippus seem to understand those matters, who yielded less to his stepson than Cicero, who yields to a stranger! Let him therefore cease by boasting to attack our griefs as well.
quid enim nostra victum esse Antonium, si victus est ut alii vacaret quod ille obtinuit?
For what does it profit us that Antonius has been defeated, if he has been defeated so that what he held might be vacant for another?
§1.17.6tametsi tuae litterae dubia etiam nunc significant.
Although your letters indicate things that are even now uncertain.
vivat hercule Cicero, qui potest, supplex et obnoxius, si neque aetatis neque honorum neque rerum gestarum pudet; ego certe quin cum ipsa re bellum geram, hoc est cum regno et imperiis extraordinariis et dominatione et potentia quae supra leges se esse velit, nulla erit tam bona condicio serviendi qua deterrear, quamvis sit vir bonus, ut scribis, †Antonius†; quod ego numquam existimavi.
By Hercules, let Cicero live, if he can, supplicant and dependent, if he is ashamed neither of his age, nor of his honors, nor of his deeds; I certainly shall never be deterred by any condition of servitude, however good it may be—even though, as you write, Antonius is a good man, which I have never believed—from waging war with the thing itself, that is, with kingship, extraordinary commands, tyranny, and power that wishes to be above the laws.
sed dominum ne parentem quidem maiores nostri voluerunt esse.
But our ancestors did not want a master to exist even if he were a parent.
te nisi tantum amarem quantum Ciceroni persuasum est diligi ab Octavio, haec ad te non scripsissem.
If I did not love you as much as Cicero is persuaded he is loved by Octavius, I would not have written these things to you.
dolet mihi quod tu nunc stomacharis amantissimus cum tuorum omnium tum Ciceronis; sed persuade tibi de voluntate propria mea nihil esse remissum, de iudicio largiter.
It grieves me that you, who are most loving of all your friends and of Cicero, are now vexed; but persuade yourself that nothing has been relaxed of my own will, but much has been conceded regarding my judgment.
neque enim impetrari potest quin quale quidque videatur ei talem quisque de illo opinionem habeat.
For it cannot be prevented that each person should have such an opinion about each thing as it appears to him.
§1.17.7vellem mihi scripsisses quae condiciones essent Atticae nostrae; potuissem aliquid tibi de meo sensu perscribere.
I wish you had written to me what the circumstances of our Attica were; I could have written something to you of my own feeling.
valetudinem Porciae meae tibi curae esse non miror.
I do not wonder that the health of my Porcia is of concern to you.
denique quod petis faciam libenter; nam etiam sorores me rogant.
Finally, what you request I will do gladly; for my sisters also ask me.
et hominem noro et quid sibi voluerit.
I know both the man and what he intended for himself.