CICEROLETTERS TO ATTICUS

INTRODUCTION

The letters contained in this volume begin with one written just after Caesar's final victory over the remains of the Pompeian party at Thapsus in April, 46 B.C., and cover three of the last four years of Cicero's life. When they open, Cicero was enjoying a restful interval after the troublous times of the Civil War. He had made his peace with Caesar and reconciled himself to a life of retirement and literary activity. In the Senate he never spoke except to deliver a speech pleading for the return from exile of his friend Marcellus; and his only other public appearance was to advocate the cause of another friend, Ligarius. In both he was successful; and, indeed, so he seems also to have been in private appeals to Caesar on behalf of friends. But their relations were never intimate,[1] and Cicero appears always to have felt ill at ease in Caesar's society,[2] disliking and fearing him as a possible tyrant or at least an anomaly in a Republican state. He evidently felt, too, some natural qualms at being too much of a turn-coat, as he dissuaded his son from joining

Caesar's expedition to Spain at the end of the year on that ground, and persuaded him to go to Athens to study instead.[3] No doubt he considered that it was more consonant with the dignity which he was always claiming for himself to take no part in public affairs at all than to play a secondary part where he had once been first. Consequently he spent the year 46 peacefully engaged in writing and in his

1. XIV. 1 and 2.

2. XIII. 52.

3. XII. 7.

Iprivate affairs; and even of those we hear little, as he was at Rome the greater part of the time. Somewhat under protest he wrote, apparently at the suggestion of the Caesarian party,[4] with most of whom he was on good terms, a work on Cato, which satisfied neither friend nor foe, as Brutus thought it necessary to write another himself, and Caesar composed an Anti-Cato. Of his other writings, two rhetorical works, the Brutus and the Orator, and one philosophical, the Paradoxa, fall in this year. In the early part of it he divorced Terentia, and at the end of it married his rich and youthful ward Publilia; but he soon separated from her. The unhappy marriage between his daughter Tullia and her profligate husband, Dolabella, was dissolved at much the same time, but she only survived for a few months. Her death, which occurred in February, 45 B.C., seems to have prostrated Cicero with grief, and a long series of daily letters, from March to August of that year, are largely filled with reiterations of his grief and projects for the erection of a

shrine in her honour. They are interesting for the light they cast on Atticus' treatment of Cicero when he was unstrung and excited. Atticus evidently disapproved entirely of the project; but from Cicero's answers one infers that he kept on humouring him and at the same time delaying action on his part by continual suggestions of a fresh site for the shrine, knowing that Cicero's ardour would cool and the scheme drop through, as it did.

4. XII. 4.

Much is said, too, in these letters about the literary work to which Cicero turned with more eagerness than ever to assuage his grief; and the output was enormous. A book on consolation in IItimes of sorrow, a general introduction to the philosophical works which followed, the De Finibus, the Academica—rewritten, three times[5]—and a small rhetorical treatise, the Partitiones Oratoriae, were published during the year, while the Tusculanae Disputationes, the De Natura Deorum and the De Senectute were projected and begun. Certainly Cicero was right in saying that he had no lack of words![6]

5. XIII. 13 and 16.

6. XII. 52.

Of political affairs little is said; indeed, in Caesar's absence there was not much to say. But there are occasional sneers at the honours paid to him[7] and at his projected extension of Rome.[8] For the latter part of the year, after Caesar's return from Spain, there are no letters in this collection except two amusing letters in December, one describing a conversation with his nephew, who was trying to make peace with his relatives after a violent quarrel,[9] and the other Cicero's entertainment of Caesar at Puteoli.[10]

7. XII. 45; XIII. 27 and 44.

8. XIII. 35.

9. XIII. 42.

10. XIII. 52.

Not long afterwards came the murder of Caesar, at which Cicero to his regret was not present, though he was in Rome and hastened to the Capitol to lend his support to the murderers. He found, however, the cold Brutus hard to stir into action, and after Antony's speech at the funeral he thought it wiser to retire from Rome. The letters written at the time are full of rejoicing at the death of a man, towards whom he never seems to have felt any attraction, in spite of the kindness he had received at his hands. But he soon realised the hopelessness of the Republican cause, which lacked both a leader and a following. He himself regained something IIIof his old position, and we find him not only consulted by Brutus and the rest of his party, but politely addressed by Antony in a note, asking his permission to recall Cicero's old enemy Clodius.[11] Cicero, taking the request as a demand, returned an equally polite note of assent;[12] but what he thought of the request and of Antony is shown by a letter sent to Atticus simultaneously.[13] For a while there

are occasional bursts of hope in a revival of the old constitution, for instance when Dolabella threw down the column erected in the forum in honour of Caesar;[14] but despair at the inactivity of Brutus and his friends and at Antony's growing influence and the respect shown for Caesar's enactment after his death prevail; and Cicero contemplated crossing to Greece to visit his son and escape from the war he foresaw. Octavian's arrival and opposition to Antony did not comfort him much, in spite of attentions paid to himself by the future emperor, as he mistrusted Octavian's youth, his abilities and his intentions. But, when just on the point of sailing, news reached him that there was a chance of Antony giving way and peace with something of the old conditions being restored; and he hurried back to Rome to take his part in its restoration.[15] There he found little chance of peace, but, once returned, he recovered sufficient courage to take the lead in the Senate and deliver his first Philippic against Antony. After that there are only a few letters written

towards the end of the year. In them he still expresses great mistrust for Octavian, who was continually appealing to him for his support;[16] and, in spite of his renewed entry into public affairs, one

11. XIV. 13a.

12. XIV. 13b.

13. XIV. 13.

14. XIV. 15.

15. XVI. 7.

16. XVI. 9 and 11

IVis rather surprised to find that he was still working at his philosophical treatises, writing the De Officiis to dedicate to his son,[17] and even eager to turn to history at the suggestion of Atticus.[18] Such is the last glimpse we get of him in the Letters to Atticus. Shortly afterwards he returned to Rome, and for some six months led the senatorial party in its opposition to Antony; but, when Octavian too turned against the party and the struggle became hopeless, he retired to Tusculum, where he lived until he was proscribed by the Triumvirs early in December. Then he contemplated flight to Greece, but was killed at Astura before he had succeeded in leaving Italy.

17. XVI. 11.

18. XVI. 13b.

I must again acknowledge my indebtedness in preparing the translation to Tyrrell's edition of the Letters and to Shuckburgh's translation, from both of which I have "conveyed" many a phrase. The text is as usual based on the Teubner edition, and textual notes have been mainly confined to passages where a reading not found in that edition was adopted. In those notes the following abbreviations are used:—

M = the Codex Mediceus 49, 18, written in the year 1389 A.D., and now preserved in the Laurentian Library at Florence. M1 denotes the reading of the first hand, and M2 that of a reviser.

Δ = the reading of M when supported by that of the Codex Urbinas 322, a MS. of the fifteenth century, preserved in the Vatican Library.

O = Codex 1, 5, 34 in the University Library at Turin, written in the fifteenth century. O1 denotes the reading of the first hand, and O2 that of a reviser.

VC = the marginal readings in Cratander's edition of 1528, drawn from a MS. which is lost.

Z = the readings of the lost Codex Tornaesianus. Zb, Zl, Zt, the readings of the same MS. when attested only by Bosius, Lambinus, or Turnebus respectively.

L (marg.) = readings in the margin of Lambinus' second edition.

Vict. = the editio Petri Victori (Venice, 1534-37).

M. TULLI CICERONISEPISTULARUM AD ATTICUMLIBER DUODECIMUS

I CICERO ATTICO SAL.

Undecimo die, postquam a te discesseram, hoc litterularum exaravi egrediens e villa ante lucem, atque eo die cogitabam in Anagnino, postero autem in Tusculano, ibi unum diem; V Kalend. igitur ad constitutum. Atque utinam continuo ad complexum meae Tulliae, ad osculum Atticae possim currere! Quod quidem ipsum scribe, quaeso, ad me, ut, dum consisto in Tusculano, sciam, quid garriat, sin rusticatur, quid scribat ad te; eique interea aut scribes salutem aut nuntiabis itemque Piliae. Et tamen, etsi continuo congressuri sumus, scribes ad me, si quid habebis.

Cum complicarem hanc epistulam, noctuabundus ad me venit cum epistula tua tabellarius; qua lecta de Atticae febricula scilicet valde dolui. Reliqua, quae exspectabam, ex tuis litteris cognovi omnia; sed, quod scribis "igniculum matutinum γεροντικόν," γεροντικώτερον est memoriola vacillare. Ego enim IIII Kal. Axio dederam, tibi III, Quinto, quo die venissem, id est V Kal. Hoc igitur habebis, novi nihil.

CICERO'S LETTERSTO ATTICUSBOOK XII

I CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.

On the eleventh day after parting from you I have scribbled these few lines while leaving my country house before daybreak. I am thinking of stopping to-day at my place at Anagnia, to-morrow at Tusculum and staying there one day. On the 26th then to our tryst; and I only wish I could run straight to the embraces of my Tullia and the lips of Attica. What those little lips are prattling, please write and let me know, while I am at Tusculum, or, if she is in the country, what she is writing to you: and in the meantime pay my respects by letter or in person to her, and to Pilia too. And all the same, though we are to meet at once, write to me, if you have anything to say.

As I was folding up this letter, a messenger came in the night to me with a letter of yours, and on reading it I was naturally very sorry to hear of Attica's slight attack of fever. Everything else I was wanting to hear, I learn from your letter. You say it is a sign of old age to want a bit of fire in the morning: it's a worse sign of old age to be a bit weak in your memory. I had arranged for the 27th with Axius, the 28th with you, and the 26th, the day I arrive, with Quintus. So please count on

4Quid ergo opus erat epistula? Quid, cum coram sumus et garrimus, quicquid in buccam? Est profecto quiddam λέσχη, quae habet, etiamsi nihil subest, collocutione ipsa suavitatem.

II CICERO ATTICO SAL.

Hic rumores tamen Murcum perisse naufragio, Asinium delatum vivum in manus militum, L navis delatas Uticam reflatu hoc, Pompeium non comparere nec in Balearibus omnino fuisse, ut Paciaecus adfirmat. Sed auctor nullius rei quisquam. Habes, quae, dum tu abes, locuti sint. Ludi interea Praeneste. Ibi Hirtius et isti omnes. Et quidem ludi dies VIII. Quae cenae, quae deliciae! Res interea fortasse transacta est. O miros homines! At Balbus aedificat; τί γὰρ αὐτῷ μέλει; Verum si quaeris, homini non recta, sed voluptaria quaerenti nonne βεβίωται? Tu interea dormis. Iam explicandum est πρόβλημα, si quid acturus es. Si quaeris, quid putem, ego fructum[19] puto. Sed quid multa? Iam te videbo,

19. fructum MSS.: peractum Moser: confectum Schütze: eluctum Ellis.

5that: there is no new arrangement.[20] What's the use of writing then? What's the use of our meeting and chattering about everything that comes into our heads? A bit of gossip is something after all, and, even if there is nothing in our talk, the mere fact of talking together has some charms.

20. Or, as Tyrrell suggests, "There's tit for tat. I have no news."

II CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.

All the same there are reports here that Murcus[21] has been lost at sea, that Asinius reached shore alive to fall into the soldiers'[22] hands, that 50 ships have been carried to Utica by this contrary wind, that Pompey[23] is nowhere to be found and never has been in the Baleares, as Paciaecus declares. But there is no definite authority for any of this. That is what people have been saying while you are away. Meanwhile there are the games at Praeneste. That's where Hirtius and all that crew are; and there are eight days of games! Picture their dinners and their extravagant goings on. Perhaps in the meantime the great question has been settled. What people they are! So Balbus is building: little he recks. But, if you ask me, is not life over and done with, when a man begins to look for pleasure rather than duty? In the meantime you slumber on. Now is the time the problem must be solved, if you mean to do anything. If you ask me what I think, I think "Gather ye roses."[24] But what's the good of going on? I shall see you at once, and I hope you

21. Statius Murcus, an officer in Caesar's army. He is mentioned again later in Fam. XII. 11, 1.

22. i.e. soldiers of Pompey, Asinius Pollio being another adherent of Caesar.

23. Cn. Pompeius, the eldest son of Pompey the Great.

24. Fructum may be the first word of some proverb; but probably the word is corrupt, as the sentiment seems rather at variance with that expressed just above.

6et quidem, ut spero, de via recta ad me. Simul enim et diem Tyrannioni constituemus, et si quid aliud.

III CICERO ATTICO SAL.

Unum te puto minus blandum esse quam me, et, si uterque nostrum est aliquando adversus aliquem, inter nos certe numquam sumus. Audi igitur me hoc ἀγοητεύτως dicentem. Ne vivam, mi Attice, si mihi non modo Tusculanum, ubi ceteroqui sum libenter, sed μακάρων νῆσοι tanti sunt, ut sine te sim tot dies. Quare obduretur hoc triduum, ut te quoque ponam in eodem πάθει; quod ita est profecto. Sed velim scire, hodiene statim de auctione, et quo die venias. Ego me interea cum libellis; ac moleste fero Vennoni me historiam non habere. Sed tamen, ne nihil de re, nomen illud, quod a Caesare, tres habet condiciones, aut emptionem ab hasta (perdere malo, etsi praeter ipsam turpitudinem hoc ipsum puto esse perdere) aut delegationem a mancipe annua die (quis erit, cui credam, aut quando iste Metonis annus veniet?) aut

7will come straight from the road to me. For we will arrange a day for Tyrannio at the same time,[25] and anything else there is to do.

25. To read a book he had written, possibly on accents. Cf. Att. XII. 6.

III CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.

You are the only person I know less given to flattery than myself, and, if we both fall into it sometimes in the case of other people, certainly we never use it to one another. So listen to what I am saying with all sincerity. On my life, Atticus, I don't count even the Isles of the Blest, let alone my place at Tusculum—though in other respects I'm comfortable enough there—worth so long a separation from you. So let us harden our hearts for these three days—assuming that you are affected as I am, which I am sure is the case. But I should like to know whether you are starting to-day[26] immediately after the auction, and on what day you are coming. In the meantime I am buried in my books, and annoyed that I have not got Vennonius' history. But, not to neglect business altogether, for that debt that Caesar assigned to me[27] there are three means I might use. I could buy the property at a public auction; but I would rather lose it—it comes to the same thing in the end, besides the disgrace. I might transfer my rights for a bond payable a year

hence by the buyer: but whom can I trust, and when would that "year of Meton"[28] come? Or I

26. Or, as Tyrrell and Shuckburgh, "whether you are coming to-day or, if not, on what day you are coming." But Cicero does not seem to have anticipated Atticus' arrival before three days.

27. Probably a debt owed to Cicero by some proscribed Pompeian.

28. Meton, an Athenian mathematician, of the beginning of the 5th century B.C., discovered the solar cycle of 19 years. "Meton's year" was proverbially used for an indefinitely long period.

8Vettieni condicione semissem. Σκέψαι igitur. Ac vereor, ne iste iam auctionem nullam faciat, sed ludis factis Ἀτύπῳ[29] subsidio currat, ne talis vir ἀλογηθῇ. Sed μελήσει. Tu Atticam, quaeso, cura et ei salutem et Piliae Tulliae quoque verbis plurimam.

29. Ἀτύπῳ Popma: clypo M: Olympo m.

IV CICERO ATTICO SAL.

O gratas tuas mihi iucundasque litteras! Quid quaeris? restitutus est mihi dies festus. Angebar enim, quod Tiro ἐνερευθέστερον te sibi esse visum dixerat. Addam igitur, ut censes, unum diem.

Sed de Catone πρόβλημα Ἀρχιμήδειον est. Non adsequor, ut scribam, quod tui convivae non modo libenter, sed etiam aequo animo legere possint; quin etiam, si a sententiis eius dictis, si ab omni voluntate consiliisque, quae de re publica habuit, recedam; ψιλῶςque velim gravitatem constantiamque eius laudare, hoc ipsum tamen istis odiosum ἄκουσμα sit. Sed vere laudari ille vir non potest, nisi haec ornata sint, quod ille ea, quae nunc sunt, et futura viderit, et, ne fierent, contenderit, et, facta ne videret, vitam reliquerit. Horum quid est, quod Aledio probare possimus? Sed cura, obsecro, ut valeas, eamque, quam ad omnes res adhibes, in primis ad convalescendum adhibe prudentiam.

9might accept Vettienus'[30] proposal and take half paid down. So look into the matter. The fact is I am afraid Caesar may not hold any auction now, but, as soon as his games are over, may run off to the aid of his stammering friend,[31] not to slight so important a person. But I will attend to the matter. Pray take care of Attica and give her and Pilia and Tullia my kindest greetings.

30. A banker (cf. Att. X. 5) who proposed to take over the debt, in return for present payment of half the sum owed.

31. Balbus, if the reading is right

IV CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.

How glad I was of your delightful letter! Why, it made my day a red-letter day after all. For I was anxious because Tiro had said you looked to him rather flushed. So I will stay another day, as you suggest.

But about Cato, that would puzzle a Philadelphian lawyer. I cannot manage to write anything that your boon companions could read, I won't say with pleasure, but even without annoyance. If I steer clear of his utterances in the House and of his entire political outlook and policy, and content myself with simply eulogizing his unwavering constancy, even that would be no pleasant hearing for them. But he is a man who cannot properly be eulogized, unless these points are fully treated, that he foresaw the present state of affairs, and tried to prevent it, and that he took his own life by preference to seeing it come about. Can I win Aledius' approval of any of that? But pray be careful of yourself and devote the common sense you devote to other things, before all to recovering your health.

V CICERO ATTICO SAL.

Quintus pater quartum vel potius millesimum nihil sapit, qui laetetur Luperco filio et Statio, ut cernat duplici dedecore cumulatam domum. Addo etiam Philotimum tertium. O stultitiam, nisi mea maior esset, singularem! quod autem os in hanc rem ἔρανον a te! Fac non ad "διψῶσαν κρήνην," sed ad Πειρήνην eum venisse, "ἄμπνευμα σεμνὸν Ἀλφειοῦ" in te "κρήνῃ," ut scribis, haurire, in tantis suis praesertim angustiis. Ποῖ ταῦτα ἄρα ἀποσκήψει; Sed ipse viderit.