Bibulus and your conversation with Juno, and about that “fast” dinner
too. So remember my ears are thirsting for news, and come quickly.
However, the thing I am most afraid of at the present moment is that our
friend the Pasha may run amuck as soon as he realizes that every one is
railing at him and laying it on to him, and that these new measures are
quite easy to upset. For myself, however, I have grown so slack that I
should prefer to waste my life in my present ease under a despotism than
to take part in the struggle however bright the prospect of success. As
for the writing, for which you so incessantly clamour, it is impossible.
My house is so crowded with the townsfolk that it is a
atque imparem basilica tribui Aemiliae.[74] Sed omitto vulgus; post
horam quartam molesti ceteri non sunt. C. Arrius proximus est vicinus,
immo ille quidem iam contubernalis, qui etiam se idcirco Romam ire
negat, ut hic mecum totos dies philosophetur. Ecce ex altera parte
Sebosus, ille Catuli familiaris. Quo me vertam? Statim mehercule Arpinum
irem, ni te in Formiano commodissime exspectari viderem dumtaxat ad pr.
Nonas Maias; vides enim, quibus hominibus aures sint deditae meae. O
occasionem mirificam, si qui nunc, dum hi apud me sunt, emere de me
fundum Formianum velit! Et tamen illud probem: “Magnum quid aggrediamur
et multae cogitationis atque otii”? Sed tamen satis fiet a nobis, neque
parcetur labori.
XV
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. in Formiano inter XI et III K. Mai a. 695_]
Ut scribis, ita video non minus incerta in re publica quam in epistula
tua, sed tamen ista ipsa me varietas sermonum opinionumque delectat.
Romae enim videor esse, cum tuas litteras lego, et, ut fit in tantis
rebus, modo hoc, modo illud audire. Illud tamen explicare non possum,
quidnam invenire possit nullo recusante ad facultatem agrariam. Bibuli
autem ista magnitudo animi in comitiorum dilatione quid habet nisi
ipsius iudicium sine ulla correctione rei
Footnote 74:
ad quam partem basilicae tribum Aemiliam _M: the text follows Boot’s
emendation_.
public hall rather than a private house: and too small at that for the
Aemilian tribe. But—to omit the common herd, for others don’t bother me
after ten o’clock—C. Arrius is my next door neighbour, or rather he
lives with me, declaring that he has forborne to go to Rome, expressly
for the purpose of spending his whole day philosophizing with me here.
Then on the other side there is Sebosus, Catulus’ intimate friend. Which
way can I turn? Upon my word I would go to Arpinum straight away, if I
did not see that Formiae is the most convenient place to wait for your
visit: but only up to the 6th of May, for you see what bores my ears are
condemned to endure. Now’s the time to bid for my Formian estate, while
these people are pestering me. And in spite of this am I to make good my
promise “Let me attempt something great, requiring much thought and
leisure”? Still I will satisfy you and not spare my labour.
XV
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
[Sidenote: _Formiae, between April 20 and 28_, B.C. _59_]
I fully realize that, as you say, your letter only reflects the general
uncertainty of public affairs: but still that very variety of talk and
opinion has its charm: for I feel as though I was at Rome, when I read
your letter, and was hearing first one thing and then another, as one
does on questions of importance. But what I can’t make out is how Caesar
can possibly find any solution of the land question which will not meet
with opposition. As to Bibulus’ firmness in impeding the comitia, it
amounts to nothing but an expression of his opinion and does not improve
publicae? Nimirum in Publio spes est. Fiat, fiat tribunus pl., si nihil
aliud, ut eo citius tu ex Epiro revertare; nam, ut illo tu careas, non
video posse fieri, praesertim si mecum aliquid volet disputare. Sed id
quidem non dubium est, quin, si quid erit eius modi, sis advolaturus.
Verum, ut hoc non sit, tamen, sive ruet sive eriget[75] rem publicam,
praeclarum spectaculum mihi propono, modo te consessore spectare liceat.
Cum haec maxime scriberem, ecce tibi Sebosus! Nondum plane ingemueram,
“salve,” inquit Arrius. Hoc est Roma decedere! Quos ego homines effugi
cum in hos incidi! Ego vero
“In montes patrios et ad incunabula nostra”
pergam. Denique, si solus non potuero, cum rusticis potius quam cum his
perurbanis, ita tamen, ut, quoniam tu certi nihil scribis, in Formiano
tibi praestoler usque ad III Nonas Maias.
Terentiae pergrata est adsiduitas tua et diligentia in controversia
Mulviana. Nescit omnino te communem causam defendere eorum, qui agros
publicos possideant; sed tamen tu aliquid publicanis pendis, haec etiam
id recusat. Ea tibi igitur et Κικέρων, ἀριστοκρατικώτατος παῖς, salutem
dicunt.
Footnote 75:
sive eriget _Corradus_: get _CZ_: ΔΣ. _omit the word_.
the position of affairs at all. Upon my word our only hope rests in
Publius. Let him by all means become tribune; if for no other reason, to
make you return all the sooner from Epirus. For I don’t see how you can
possibly keep away from him, especially if he should choose to quarrel
with me. But of course I have no doubt that you would fly to my side, if
anything of the kind were to happen. But, even if this does not happen,
I am looking forward to a sight worth seeing, whether he runs amuck or
saves the state, if I can watch it with you sitting by my side.
Just as I was writing these words, in comes Sebosus: and I had hardly
fetched a sigh, when there was Arrius saying “Good day.” This is going
out of town! Is it escaping from society to run into people like this? I
shall certainly be off to “My native hills, the cradle of my youth.” To
put it shortly, if I can’t be alone, I would rather be with countryfolk
than with these ultra-city men. However, as you send no definite date, I
will wait for you at Formiae till the 5th of May.
Terentia is much gratified by the attention and care you have bestowed
on her dispute with Mulvius. She has not the least idea that you are
supporting the common cause of all the owners of public land. However
you do pay something to the tax-collectors; while she refuses to pay a
penny. Accordingly she and my boy, a most conservative lad, send their
respects.
XVI
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. in Formiano in. m. Maio a. 695_]
Cenato mihi et iam dormitanti pridie K. Maias epistula est illa reddita,
in qua de agro Campano scribis. Quid quaeris? primo ita me pupugit, ut
somnum mihi ademerit, sed id cogitatione magis quam molestia; cogitanti
autem haec fere succurrebant. Primum ex eo, quod superioribus litteris
scripseras, ex familiari te illius audisse prolatum iri aliquid, quod
nemo improbaret, maius aliquid timueram. Hoc mihi eius modi non
videbatur. Deinde, ut me egomet consoler, omnis exspectatio largitionis
agrariae in agrum Campanum videtur esse derivata, qui ager, ut dena
iugera sint, non amplius hominum quinque milia potest sustinere; reliqua
omnis multitudo ab illis abalienetur necesse est. Praeterea si ulla res
est, quae bonorum animos, quos iam video esse commotos, vehementius
possit incendere, haec certe est et eo magis, quod portoriis Italiae
sublatis, agro Campano diviso quod vectigal superest domesticum praeter
vicensimam? quae mihi videtur una contiuncula clamore pedisequorum
nostrorum esse peritura. Gnaeus quidem noster iam plane quid cogitet
nescio;
φυσᾷ γὰρ οὐ σμικροῖσιν αὐλίσκοις ἔτι,
ἀλλ’ ἀγρίαις φύσαισι φορβειᾶς ἄτερ.
qui quidem etiam istuc adduci potuerit. Nam adhuc
XVI
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
[Sidenote: _Formiae, May_, B.C. _59_]
As I was taking a nap after dinner on the last of April, your letter
about the Campanian land arrived. Well, at first it startled me so that
it banished all desire to sleep, though it was thought rather than
uneasiness that kept me awake. The result of my cogitations was
something of this sort. First, when you said in your last letter you had
heard from a great friend of Caesar’s that some proposal was going to be
made to which no one could object, I had feared some sweeping measure;
but this I don’t consider anything of the kind. Secondly—and that is
some consolation to me—all hope of agrarian distribution seems to have
been diverted to the Campanian land. Supposing that the allotments are
about 6 acres apiece, that land will not hold more than 5,000 people; so
they have to offend all the rest of the masses. Besides, if anything is
calculated to arouse a fiercer pitch of indignation in the minds of the
conservatives, who are obviously getting roused already, this is the
very thing that will; all the more so because there won’t be any home
tax left except the 5 per cent.,[76] now that the customs duties have
been abolished, if the Campanian land is distributed: and that, I fancy,
it would take only one petty harangue assisted by the cheers of our
lacqueys to abolish. What on earth our friend Gnaeus is thinking of in
letting himself be carried so far, I cannot tell:
He blows no more on slender pipe of reed,
But fierce unmodulated trumpet-blasts.
Footnote 76:
On manumitted slaves.
haec ἐσοφίζετο, se leges Caesaris probare, actiones ipsum praestare
debere; agrariam legem sibi placuisse, potuerit intercedi necne, nihil
ad se pertinere; de rege Alexandrino placuisse sibi aliquando confici,
Bibulus de caelo tum servasset necne, sibi quaerendum non fuisse; de
publicanis voluisse se illi ordini commodare, quid futurum fuerit, si
Bibulus tum in forum descendisset, se divinare non potuisse. Nunc vero,
Sampsicerame, quid dices? vectigal te nobis in monte Antilibano
constituisse, agri Campani abstulisse? Quid? hoc quem ad modum
obtinebis? “Oppressos vos,” inquit, “tenebo exercitu Caesaris.” Non
mehercule me tu quidem tam isto exercitu quam ingratis animis eorum
hominum, qui appellantur boni, qui mihi non mode praemiorum, sed ne
sermonum quidem umquam fructum ullum aut gratiam rettulerunt. Quodsi in
eam me partem incitarem, profecto iam aliquam reperirem resistendi viam.
Nunc prorsus hoc statui, ut, quoniam tanta controversia est Dicaearcho,
familiari tuo, cum Theophrasto, amico meo, ut ille tuus τὸν πρακτικὸν
βίον longe omnibus anteponat, hic autem τὸν θεωρητικόν, utrique a me mos
gestus esse videatur. Puto enim me Dicaearcho adfatim satis fecisse;
respicio nunc ad hanc familiam, quae mihi non modo, ut requiescam,
permittit, sed reprehendit, quia non semper quierim. Quare incumbamus, o
noster Tite, ad illa praeclara studia et
For up to now he has chopped logic about the matter, saying that he
approved of Caesar’s laws, but it was for Caesar to see to their
passing: that the agrarian law was sound enough to his mind, but whether
it could be vetoed by a tribune or not did not matter to him: he thought
it was high time the question was settled with the king of Alexandria:
whether Bibulus had been watching for omens or not at that particular
moment was no business of his: as for the tax-gatherers, they were a
class that he wished to oblige: what was going to happen, if Bibulus
came down to the forum on that occasion, he could not have prophesied.
But now what has the Pasha got to say for himself? That he imposed a tax
on Antilibanus and took it off the Campanian land? Well, I don’t see how
he will make it good. “I will keep you in check with Caesar’s army,” he
says. No, not me at least; that army will not restrain me so much as the
ungrateful minds of the so-called constitutionalists, who have not
repaid my services even by thanks, much less by more substantial
rewards. But, if I were really to rouse myself to energy against that
party, I would certainly find some means of resisting them. As it is,
since there is such an endless controversy between your intimate
Dicaearchus and my friend Theophrastus, Dicaearchus giving the
preference to a practical life, Theophrastus to a contemplative, I have
set my mind on making it clear that I have humoured them both. I take it
I have fully satisfied Dicaearchus: now I am turning my eye to the other
school, which not only gives me permission to take my ease now, but
blames me for ever having done anything else. So, my dear Titus, let me
throw myself heart and soul into those excellent studies,
eo, unde discedere non oportuit, aliquando revertamur.
Quod de Quinti fratris epistula scribis, ad me quoque fuit πρόσθε λέων,
ὄπιθεν δὲ—[77]quid dicam, nescio; nam ita deplorat primis versibus
mansionem suam, ut quemvis movere possit, ita rursus remittit, ut me
roget, ut annales suos emendem et edam. Illud tamen, quod scribis,
animadvertas velim de portorio circumvectionis; ait se de consilii
sententia rem ad senatum reiecisse. Nondum videlicet meas litteras
legerat, quibus ad eum re consulta et explorata perscripseram non
deberi. Velim, si qui Graeci iam Romam ex Asia de ea causa venerunt,
videas et, si tibi videbitur, iis demonstres, quid ego de ea re sentiam.
Si possum discedere, ne causa optuma in senatu pereat, ego satis faciam
publicanis; εἰ δὲ μή (vere tecum loquar), in hac re malo universae Asiae
et negotiatoribus; nam eorum quoque vehementer interest. Hoc ego sentio
valde nobis opus esse. Sed tu id videbis. Quaestores autem, quaeso, num
etiam de cistophoro dubitant? Nam, si aliud nihil erit, cum erimus omnia
experti, ego ne illud quidem contemnam, quod extremum est. Te in
Arpinati videbimus et hospitio agresti accipiemus, quoniam maritumum hoc
contempsisti.
Footnote 77:
Iliad vi, 181, ending δράκων, μέσση δὲ χίμαιρα.
and at length seek the home that I ought never to have left.
As for your complaints about my brother Quintus’ letter, to me, too, it
seemed “a lion before, behind”—heaven knows what. For the groans in the
first lines about his long absence would touch anybody’s heart: then
afterwards he calms down sufficiently to ask me to touch up and edit his
journal. Please pay some attention to the point you mention about the
dues on goods transferred from port to port. He says he referred it to
the Senate by the advice of his assessors. Evidently he had not read my
letter, in which I told him after careful consideration and research
that no tax was legally due. If any Greeks have come from Asia to Rome
about it, please see them, and, it you think fit, tell them my opinion.
If I can recant, I will do as the tax collectors wish, rather than see
the good cause worsted in the House: but, if not, I candidly confess I
prefer the interests of the whole of Asia and the merchants, for I feel
it is really a matter of great importance to them. I think, however, it
is a case of necessity for us. But you will see to it. Are the
quaestors, then, still debating about the currency? If there is no
escape from it in spite of all our efforts, I shouldn’t turn up my nose
at the Asiatic coins as the last resource. I shall see you at Arpinum,
and give you a country welcome, since you have despised this at the
seaside.
XVII
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. in Formiano in m. Mai. a. 695_]
Prorsus, ut scribis, ita sentio, turbatur Sampsiceramus. Nihil est, quod
non timendum sit; ὁμολογουμένως τυραννίδα συσκευάζεται. Quid enim ista
repentina adfinitatis coniunctio, quid ager Campanus, quid effusio
pecuniae significant? Quae si essent extrema, tamen esset nimium mali,
sed ea natura rei est, ut haec extrema esse non possint. Quid enim? eos
haec ipsa per se delectare possunt? Numquam huc venissent, nisi ad alias
res pestiferas aditus sibi compararent. Verum, ut scribis, haec in
Arpinati a. d. VI circiter Idus Maias non deflebimus, ne et opera et
oleum philologiae nostrae perierit; sed conferemus tranquillo animo. Di
immortales neque tam me εὐελπιστία consolatur ut antea quam ἀδιαφορία,
qua nulla in re tam utor quam in hac civili et publica. Quin etiam, quod
est subinane in nobis et non ἀφιλόδοξον (bellum est enim sua vitia
nosse), id adficitur quadam delectatione. Solebat enim me pungere, ne
Sampsicerami merita in patriam ad annos sescentos maiora viderentur quam
nostra. Hac quidem cura certe iam vacuus sum; iacet enim ille sic, ut
πτῶσις[78] Curiana stare videatur. Sed haec coram. Tu tamen videris mihi
Romae fore ad nostrum adventum, quod sane facile patiar, si tuo commodo
fieri possit; sin, ut scribis, ita venies, velim ex Theophane
Footnote 78:
πτῶσις _Bosius_: phocis _codd._
XVII
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
[Sidenote: _Formiae, May_, B.C. _59_]
I agree entirely with what you say in your letter. The Pasha is running
amuck. We may anticipate anything: he is quite clearly setting up a
tyranny. What else is the meaning of this sudden marriage-contract,[79]
of the proposals about the Campanian land, of this reckless expenditure
of money? If that were the end of it, it would be disastrous enough: but
the nature of the case makes it impossible that this should be the end.
These things in themselves cannot possibly give them any pleasure: and
they would never have taken this step except as the first to other
pernicious acts. But, as you say, we will discuss these questions
rationally at Arpinum about the 10th of May, and not prove all the
labour and the midnight oil we have spent on our studies wasted by
weeping over them. Heaven help us! I derive consolation not so much from
hope, as I did formerly, as from a spirit of indifference, which I call
to my service especially in civic and political matters. Nay more, the
little strain of vanity and thirst for fame that there is in me—it is a
good thing to recognize one’s own faults—even experiences a pleasurable
sensation. For the thought that the Pasha’s services to the country
might in the dim future be reckoned higher than mine, used to prick me
to the heart: but now I rest quite easy on that score. He has fallen so
low that the fallen Curius in comparison seems to stand erect. But of
this when we meet. It seems now as though you will be at Rome when I
arrive: for which I shall not be at all sorry, if it is
Footnote 79:
Of Pompey with Caesar’s daughter.
expiscere, quonam in me animo sit Arabarches. Quaeres scilicet κατὰ τὸ
κηδεμονικὸν et ad me ab eo quasi ὑποθήκας adferes, quem ad modum me
geram. Aliquid ex eius sermone poterimus περὶ τῶν ὅλων suspicari.
XVIII
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. Romae m. Iun. aut in. Quint. a. 695_]
Accepi aliquot epistulas tuas; ex quibus intellexi, quam suspenso animo
et sollicito scire averes, quid esset novi. Tenemur undique neque iam,
quo minus serviamus, recusamus, sed mortem et eiectionem quasi maiora
timemus, quae multo sunt minora. Atque hic status, quasi[80] una voce
omnium gemitur neque verbo cuiusquam sublevatur. Σκοπὸς est, ut
suspicor, illis, qui tenent, nullam cuiquam largitionem relinquere. Unus
loquitur et palam adversatur adulescens Curio. Huic plausus maximi,
consalutatio forensis perhonorifica, signa praeterea benevolentiae
permulta a bonis impertiuntur. Fufium clamoribus et conviciis et sibilis
consectantur. His ex rebus non spes, sed dolor est maior, cum videas
civitatis voluntatem solutam, virtutem alligatam. Ac, ne forte quaeras
κατὰ λεπτὸν de singulis rebus, universa res eo est deducta, spes ut
nulla sit aliquando non modo privatos, verum etiam magistratus liberos
fore. Hac tamen in oppressione sermo in circulis dumtaxat
Footnote 80:
quasi _Schiche_: qui _codd._
convenient to you. But if you come to see me, as you promise in your
note, I wish you would fish out of Theophanes how the Sheikh is disposed
to me. You will of course use your usual care in inquiring, and will
deliver to me a kind of Whole Duty by which to regulate my conduct. From
his conversation we shall be able to get an inkling of the entire
situation.
XVIII
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
[Sidenote: _Rome, June or July_, B.C. _59_]
I have received several letters of yours, and from them I see with what
tense anxiety you are looking forward to news. We are hemmed in on every
side; yet we do not rebel at servitude, fearing death and exile as
though they were greater evils, whereas they are really far lesser
evils. Yes, that is the position, and though every one groans about it,
not a voice is raised to relieve it. The object, I presume, of those who
hold the reins is to leave nothing for anyone else to give away. One man
only opens his mouth and opposes them publicly, and that is young Curio.
The loyal party cheers him loudly, greets him in the forum with the
highest respect, and shows its good-will to him in many other ways,
while Fufius is pursued with shouts and jeers and hisses. But this
raises not one’s hope so much as one’s disgust at seeing the people’s
will so free and their courage so enslaved. And, not to enter into
details with you, affairs have come to such a pass that there is no hope
of ever again having free magistrates, let alone a free people. But in
the midst of this tyranny speech is freer than ever, at any rate in
clubs and over our
et in conviviis est liberior quam fuit. Vincere incipit timorem dolor,
sed ita, ut omnia sint plenissima desperationis. Habet etiam Campana lex
exsecrationem candidatorum, si mentionem in contione fecerint, quo
aliter ager possideatur atque ut ex legibus Iuliis. Non dubitant iurare
ceteri; Laterensis existimatur laute fecisse, quod tribunatum pl. petere
destitit, ne iuraret.
Sed de re publica non libet plura scribere. Displiceo mihi nec sine
summo scribo dolore. Me tueor ut oppressis omnibus non demisse, ut
tantis rebus gestis parum fortiter. A Caesare valde liberaliter invitor
in legationem illam, sibi ut sim legatus, atque etiam libera legatio
voti causa datur. Sed haec et praesidii apud pudorem Pulchelli non habet
satis et a fratris adventu me ablegat, illa et munitior est et non
impedit, quo minus adsim, cum velim. Hanc ego teneo, sed usurum me non
puto, neque tamen scit quisquam. Non lubet fugere, aveo pugnare. Magna
sunt hominum studia. Sed nihil adfirmo; tu hoc silebis.
De Statio manu misso et non nullis aliis rebus angor equidem, sed iam
prorsus occallui. Tu vellem
cups. Disgust is beginning to conquer fear, though it still leaves the
blankest despair everywhere. The Campanian law goes so far as to impose
upon candidates a formula of execration upon themselves if they propose
any different occupation of the land to that laid down by the Julian
laws, to be used by them in their speech as candidates. The others
showed no compunction in taking the oath: but Laterensis is thought a
hero because he threw up his candidature for the tribunate rather than
take it.
I have no heart to write more about politics. I am disgusted with myself
and it is agony to me to write. I stand my ground without losing
self-respect considering the universal servility, but with less courage
than I could wish considering my past record. Caesar most liberally
invites me to take a place on his personal staff: and I even have an
offer of a free travelling pass nominally to fulfil a vow.[81] But it is
hardly safe to trust to that Beauty’s delicacy to that extent. Besides
it would mean that I should not be here for my brother’s return. The
other post is much safer, and does not prevent me from being here when I
wish. The free pass I have, but I don’t think I shall use it. No one
knows of it however. I don’t want to run away; I long to fight. I have
plenty of ardent admirers. But I won’t take my oath on anything, and
please don’t mention what I’ve said.
I am much distressed about the manumission of Statius and some other
things, but I’ve become thick-skinned by now. I wish you were here, I
long for
Footnote 81:
The _libera legatio_ was a pseudo-embassy at state expense, granted to
senators who wished to pay a vow, receive an inheritance, or exact a
debt.
ego vel cuperem adesses; nec mihi consilium nec consolatio deesset. Sed
ita te para, ut, si inclamaro, advoles.
XIX
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. Romae m. Quint. a. 695_]
Multa me sollicitant et ex rei publicae tanto motu et ex iis periculis,
quae mihi ipsi intenduntur et sescenta sunt; sed mihi nihil est
molestius quam Statium manu missum:
“Nec meum imperium, ac mitto imperium non simultatem meam
Revereri saltem!”
Nec, quid faciam, scio, neque tantum est in re, quantus est sermo. Ego
autem ne irasci possum quidem iis, quos valde amo; tantum doleo ac
mirifice quidem. Cetera in magnis rebus. Minae Clodi contentionesque,
quae mihi proponuntur, modice me tangunt; etenim vel subire eas videor
mihi summa cum dignitate vel declinare nulla cum molestia posse. Dices
fortasse: “Dignitatis ἅλις tamquam δρυός, saluti, si me amas, consule.”
Me miserum! cur non ades? nihil profecto te praeteriret. Ego fortasse
τυφλώττω et nimium τῷ καλῷ προσπέπονθα. Scito nihil umquam fuisse tam
infame, tam turpe, tam peraeque omnibus generibus, ordinibus, aetatibus
offensum quam hunc statum, qui nunc est, magis mehercule, quam vellem,
non modo quam putarem. Populares isti iam etiam
it. I should no longer feel the lack of advice or consolation. However,
hold yourself ready to come quickly, if I call for you.
XIX
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
[Sidenote: _Rome, July_, B.C. _59_]
I have many causes for anxiety, both from the troubled state of the
constitution and from the innumerable personal dangers which threaten
me. But nothing annoys me more than Statius’ manumission:
[Sidenote: Terence, _Phorm._ 232]
That my authority—nay, I let that be—
That my displeasure should be counted nought!
But what I am to do, I don’t know; and the matter is more talk than
anything. I can never be angry with those I really love: I can only feel
sorrow, and very deep sorrow too. My other cares are for important
matters. Clodius’ threats and the struggle I have to face do not affect
me much: for I think I can face the music with dignity or avoid the
danger without unpleasantness. Perhaps you will say: “Hang dignity. It’s
prehistoric.[82] For mercy’s sake look after your safety,” Alas! Why
aren’t you here? You would notice everything: while I perhaps am blinded
by my passion for high ideals. Nothing was ever so scandalous, so
disgraceful, and so objectionable to every rank and class of men young
or old as this present state of affairs, far more so than I expected,
nay upon my soul it is more so than I could wish. The popular party have
taught even the
Footnote 82:
Lit. “enough of the oak,” a proverb alluding to a supposed acorn diet
in the days before the use of corn was discovered.
modestos homines sibilare docuerunt. Bibulus in caelo est, nec, quare,
scio, sed ita laudatur, quasi
“Unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem.”
Pompeius, nostri amores, quod mihi summo dolori est, ipse se adflixit.
Neminem tenent voluntate; ne metu necesse sit iis uti, vereor. Ego autem
neque pugno cum illa causa propter illam amicitiam neque approbo, ne
omnia improbem, quae antea gessi; utor via. Populi sensus maxime theatro
et spectaculis perspectus est; nam gladiatoribus qua dominus qua
advocati sibilis conscissi; ludis Apollinaribus Diphilus tragoedus in
nostrum Pompeium petulanter invectus est:
“Nostra miseria tu es magnus—”
miliens coactus est dicere;
“Eandem virtutem istam veniet tempus cum graviter gemes”
totius theatri clamore dixit itemque cetera. Nam et eius modi sunt ii
versus, uti in tempus ab inimico Pompei scripti esse videantur:
“Si neque leges neque mores cogunt—,”
et cetera magno cum fremitu et clamore sunt dicta. Caesar cum venisset
mortuo plausu, Curio filius est insecutus. Huic ita plausum est, ut
salva re publica Pompeio plaudi solebat. Tulit Caesar graviter. Litterae
Capuam ad Pompeium volare dicebantur. Inimici
moderate men to hiss. Bibulus is exalted to the sky, though I don’t know
why. However he is as much bepraised as though
“His wise delay alone did save the state.”[83]
To my infinite sorrow, my pet, Pompey, has shattered his own reputation.
They have no hold on anyone by affection: and I am afraid they may find
it necessary to try the effect of fear. I do not quarrel with them on
account of my friendship for him, though I refrain from showing approval
not to stultify all my previous actions. I keep to the high-road. The
popular feeling can be seen best in the theatre and at public
exhibitions. For at the gladiatorial show both the leader[84] and his
associates were overwhelmed with hisses: at the games in honour of
Apollo the actor Diphilus made an impertinent attack on Pompey, “By our
misfortunes thou art Great,” which was encored again and again. “A time
will come when thou wilt rue that might” he declaimed amid the cheers of
the whole audience, and so on with the rest. For indeed the verses do
look as though they had been written for the occasion by an enemy of
Pompey: “If neither law nor custom can constrain,” etc. was received
with a tremendous uproar and outcry. At Caesar’s entry the applause
dwindled away; but young Curio who followed was applauded as Pompey used
to be when the constitution was still sound. Caesar was much annoyed:
and it is said a letter flew post haste to Pompey at Capua.
Footnote 83:
So Ennius speaking of Q. Fabius Maximus.
Footnote 84:
Probably Pompey, Caesar being the chief of the _socii_, though some
take it to refer to Gabinius, who gave the show, or to Caesar.
erant equitibus, qui Curioni stantes plauserant, hostes omnibus; Rosciae
legi, etiam frumentariae minitabantur. Sane res erat perturbata. Equidem
malueram, quod erat susceptum ab illis, silentio transiri, sed vereor,
ne non liceat. Non ferunt homines, quod videtur esse tamen ferendum; sed
est iam una vox omnium magis odio firmata quam praesidio.
Noster autem Publius mihi minitatur, inimicus est. Impendet negotium, ad
quod tu scilicet advolabis. Videor mihi nostrum illum consularem
exercitum bonorum omnium, etiam satis bonorum habere firmissimum.
Pompeius significat studium erga me non mediocre; idem adfirmat verbum
de me illum non esse facturum; in quo non me ille fallit, sed ipse
fallitur. Cosconio mortuo sum in eius locum invitatus. Id erat vocari in
locum mortui. Nihil me turpius apud homines fuisset neque vero ad istam
ipsam ἀσφάλειαν quicquam alienius. Sunt enim illi apud bonos invidiosi,
ego apud improbos meam retinuissem invidiam, alienam adsumpsissem.
Caesar me sibi vult esse legatum. Honestior declinatio haec periculi;
sed ego hoc non repudio. Quid ergo est? pugnare malo. Nihil tamen certi.
Iterum dico “utinam adesses!” Sed tamen, si erit necesse, arcessemus
They are annoyed with the knights who stood up and clapped Curio, and
their hand is against every man’s. They are threatening the Roscian law
and even the corn law. Things are in a most disturbed condition. I used
to think it would be best silently to ignore their doings, but I am
afraid that will be impossible. The public cannot put up with things,
and yet it looks as though they would have to put up with them. The
whole people speak now with one voice, but the unanimity has no
foundation but common hate.
Anyhow our friend Publius is threatening me and making hostile advances:
there is trouble ahead, and you must fly to the rescue. I think I have
at my back the same firm bodyguard of all the sound men and even the
moderately sound, as I had in my consulship. The affection Pompey shows
me is more than ordinary. He declares Clodius will not say a word
against me: but there he is deceiving himself not me. I have been asked
to fill Cosconius’ place[85] now he is dead. That would be stepping into
a dead man’s shoes, with a vengeance! I should disgrace myself utterly
in the world’s eyes: and nothing could be more opposed to the state of
safety you keep talking of. For that board is unpopular with the loyal
party, and so I should keep my unpopularity with the disloyal and take
up another’s burden too. Caesar wants me to go as his lieutenant. That
would be a more honourable way of getting out of danger. But I don’t
want to shirk it, for the very good reason that I prefer fighting.
However nothing is settled, I repeat, I wish you were here. However,
Footnote 85:
As one of the twenty commissioners for the distribution of public
land.
Quid aliud? quid? Hoc opinor. Certi sumus perisse omnia; quid enim
ἀκκιζόμεθα tam diu?
Sed haec scripsi properans et mehercule timide. Posthac ad te aut, si
perfidelem habebo, cui dem, scribam plane omnia, aut, si obscure
scribam, tu tamen intelleges. In iis epistulis me Laelium, te Furium
faciam; cetera erunt ἐν αἰνιγμοῖς. Hic Caecilium colimus et observamus
diligenter. Edicta Bibuli audio ad te missa. Iis ardet dolore et ira
noster Pompeius.
XX
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. Romae m. Quint. a. 695_]
Anicato, ut te velle intellexeram, nullo loco defui. Numestium ex
litteris tuis studiose scriptis libenter in amicitiam recepi. Caecilium,
quibus rebus possum, tueor diligenter. Varro satis facit nobis. Pompeius
amat nos carosque habet. “Credis?” inquies. Credo; prorsus mihi
persuadet; sed, quia volgo pragmatici homines omnibus historiis,
praeceptis, versibus denique cavere iubent et vetant credere, alterum
facio, ut caveam, alterum, ut non credam, facere non possum. Clodius
adhuc mihi denuntiat periculum. Pompeius adfirmat non esse periculum,
adiurat; addit etiam se prius occisum iri ab eo quam me violatum iri.
Tractatur
if it is necessary. I will send for you. Anything else? One thing, I
think: I am sure the country is lost. It is no use mincing matters[86]
any longer.
However I have written this in a hurry, and, I may say, in a fright too.
Some time I will give you a clear account, if I find a very trusty
messenger; or, if I veil my meaning, you will manage to understand it.
In these letters I will call myself Laelius and you Furius: and convey
the rest in riddles. Here I am cultivating Caecilius and paying him
elaborate attention. I hear Bibulus’ edicts have been sent to you.
Pompey is blazing with wrath and indignation at them.
XX
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
[Sidenote: _Rome, July_, B.C. _59_]
I have done all I could for Anicatus, knowing you wanted me to do so,
and have willingly adopted Numestius as a friend on the strength of the
earnest recommendation in your letter. To Caecilius I take care to pay
every suitable attention. Varro is as good as I can expect; and Pompey
shows me friendship and affection. Can I believe him, you ask. I do
believe him; he quite convinces me. But since men of the world are
always advising one in their histories and precepts and even in their
verses to beware and forbidding one to believe, I do the one and beware,
but to the other—not to believe—I cannot persuade myself. Clodius is
still threatening me with danger, while Pompey asserts that there is no
danger. He swears it, adding even that he will not see me injured if it
costs him his life. The point is under
Footnote 86:
Lit. “to be coy,” or “to coquet.”
res. Simul et quid erit certi, scribam ad te. Si erit pugnandum,
arcessam ad societatem laboris; si quies dabitur, ab Amalthea te non
commovebo.
De re publica breviter ad te scribam; iam enim, charta ipsa ne nos
prodat, pertimesco. Itaque posthac, si erunt mihi plura ad te scribenda,
ἀλληγορίαις obscurabo. Nunc quidem novo quodam morbo civitas moritur,
ut, cum omnes ea, quae sunt acta, improbent, querantur, doleant,
varietas nulla in re sit, aperteque loquantur et iam clare gemant, tamen
medicina nulla adferatur. Neque enim resisti sine internecione posse
arbitramur nec videmus, qui finis cedendi praeter exitium futurus sit.
Bibulus hominum admiratione et benevolentia in caelo est; edicta eius et
contiones describunt et legunt. Novo quodam genere in summam gloriam
venit. Populare nunc nihil tam est quam odium popularium. Haec quo sint
eruptura, timeo; sed, si dispicere quid coepero, scribam ad te apertius.
Tu, si me amas tantum, quantum profecto amas, expeditus facito ut sis,
si inclamaro, ut accurras; sed do operam et dabo, ne sit necesse. Quod
scripseram me tibi ut[87] Furio scripturum, nihil necesse est tuum nomen
mutare; me faciam Laelium et te Atticum neque utar meo chirographo neque
signo, si modo erunt eius modi litterae, quas in alienum incidere nolim.
Footnote 87:
me tibi ut _Wesenberg_: et _M_.
negotiation: as soon as any certain conclusion is reached, I will write
to you. If I have to fight, I will summon you to share my labour: but if
I am left in peace, I will not rout you out of your Amalthea.
Political matters I shall only touch on briefly: for I am beginning to
be afraid that the very paper may betray me. So in future, if I have to
write in fuller detail to you, I shall hide my meaning under covert
language. Now the State is dying of a new disease. The measures that
have been passed cause universal discontent and grumbling and
indignation: there is no disagreement on the point and people are now
venting their opinion and their disapproval openly and loudly, yet no
remedy is applied. Resistance seems impossible without bloodshed: nor
can we see any other end to concession except destruction. Bibulus is
exalted to the skies amid universal admiration and popularity. His
edicts and speeches are copied out and read. He has attained the height
of glory in quite a novel way. Nothing is so popular now as hatred of
the popular party. I have my fears about the issue of all this. But I
will write more clearly, if I get any definite views. Do you, if your
affection for me is as real as I know it to be, hold yourself ready to
run to my call, when it comes. But I am doing my best, and will continue
to do it, to prevent any necessity. I said I would call you Furius in my
letters, but there is no need to alter your name. I will call myself
Laelius and you Atticus, and I won’t use my own handwriting or seal, at
any rate if the letters are such that I should not like them to fall
into a stranger’s hands.
Diodotus mortuus est; reliquit nobis HS fortasse centiens. Comitia
Bibulus cum Archilochio edicto in ante diem XV Kal. Novembr. distulit. A
Vibio libros accepi. Poeta ineptus et tamen scit nihil, sed est non
inutilis. Describe et remitto.
XXI
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. Romae post VIII K. Sext., ante XV K. Nov. a. 695_]
De re publica quid ego tibi subtiliter? Tota periit atque hoc est
miserior, quam reliquisti, quod tum videbatur eius modi dominatio
civitatem oppressisse, quae iucunda esset multitudini, bonis autem ita
molesta, ut tamen sine pernicie, nunc repente tanto in odio est omnibus,
ut, quorsus eruptura sit, horreamus. Nam iracundiam atque intemperantiam
illorum sumus experti, qui Catoni irati omnia perdiderunt, sed ita
lenibus uti videbantur venenis, ut posse videremur sine dolore interire;
nunc vero sibilis volgi, sermonibus honestorum, fremitu Italiae vereor
ne exarserint. Equidem sperabam, ut saepe etiam loqui tecum solebam, sic
orbem rei publicae esse conversum, ut vix
Diodotus is dead: he left me about £88,000.[88] Bibulus has written a
scathing edict putting off the elections till the 18th of October. I
have received the books from Vibius: he[89] is a wretched poet, and
indeed has nothing in him; still he is of some use to me. I am going to
copy the work out and send it back.
XXI
CICERO TO ATTICUS; GREETING.
[Sidenote: _Rome, between July 25 and Oct. 18_, B.C. _59_]
To enter into details about politics would be superfluous. The whole
country has gone to rack and ruin: and affairs are in one respect worse
than when you left. Then it looked as though we were oppressed with a
tyranny which was popular with the lower classes, and, though annoying
to the upper, still comparatively harmless: but now it has become
suddenly so universally detested that I tremble for the issue. For we
have had an experience of the wrath and recklessness of the Triumvirs,
and in their indignation with Cato, they have ruined the state. The
poisons they used seemed to be so slow that I thought we could die
painlessly. But now I am afraid they have been roused to energy by the
hisses of the crowd, the talk of the loyalists, and the murmurs of
Italy. I had hopes, as I used often to say to you, that the wheel of
state had turned so smoothly that we could
Footnote 88:
10,000,000 sesterces. But it seems too large a sum for Diodotus, a
stoic who lived in Cicero’s house for some time, to have left. Tyrrell
therefore suggests _centum_, _i.e_. 100,000 sesterces, about £880.
Footnote 89:
Not Vibius himself, but Alexander of Ephesus, author of a
Cosmographia; cf. Att. II, 22, 7.
sonitum audire, vix impressam orbitam videre possemus; et fuisset ita,
si homines transitum tempestatis exspectare potuissent. Sed, cum diu
occulte suspirassent, postea iam gemere, ad extremum vero loqui omnes et
clamare coeperunt. Itaque ille amicus noster insolens infamiae, semper
in laude versatus, circumfluens gloria, deformatus corpore, fractus
animo, quo se conferat, nescit; progressum praecipitem, inconstantem
reditum videt; bonos inimicos habet, improbos ipsos non amicos.
Ac vide mollitiem animi. Non tenui lacrimas; cum illum a. d. VIII Kal.
Sextiles vidi de edictis Bibuli contionantem. Qui antea solitus esset
iactare se magnificentissime illo in loco summo cum amore populi,
cunctis faventibus, ut ille tum humilis, ut demissus erat, ut ipse etiam
sibi, non iis solum, qui aderant, displicebat! O spectaculum uni Crasso
iucundum, ceteris non item! Nam, quia deciderat ex astris, lapsus quam
progressus potius videbatur, et, ut Apelles, si Venerem, aut Protogenes,
si Ialysum illum suum caeno oblitum videret, magnum, credo, acciperet
dolorem, sic ego hunc omnibus a me pictum et politum artis coloribus
subito deformatum non sine magno dolore vidi. Quamquam nemo putabat
propter Clodianum negotium me illi amicum esse debere, tamen tantus fuit
amor, ut exhauriri nulla posset
scarcely catch the sound of its motion, and scarcely see the track of
its path: and that is what would have happened, if people could only
have waited for the storm to pass. But for a while they stifled their
sighs; then they began to groan aloud; and finally all set about airing
their grievances at the top of their voices. And so our friend, being
unused to unpopularity, and having always lived in an atmosphere of
flattery and glory, disfigured in person and broken in spirit, does not
know what to do with himself: he sees that to advance is dangerous, to
retreat a confession of weakness: the respectable parties are his
enemies, the very riff-raff not his friends.
Yet see how soft-hearted I am. I could not restrain my tears, when I saw
him on the 25th of July delivering a speech on the subject of the edicts
of Bibulus. He used to carry himself with such a lofty bearing, enjoying
unbounded popularity and universal respect: and now, how humble he was,
how cast down, and what discontent he aroused in himself as well as in
his hearers! What a sight! Crassus may have enjoyed it, but no one else.
For seeing that he had fallen from the stars, one could not but
attribute his swift descent to accident rather than to voluntary motion.
And, just as Apelles or Protogenes, if they had seen their Venus or
Ialysus smeared with mud, would, I imagine, have been cut to the heart,
so I myself could not but feel poignant grief at seeing the idol on
whose adornment I had lavished all the colours of my art suddenly
disfigured. For though no one looked on it as my duty to retain my
friendship with him after the Clodian affair, my affection for him was
such that no slight could extinguish
iniuria. Itaque Archilochia in illum edicta Bibuli populo ita sunt
iucunda, ut eum locum, ubi proponuntur, prae multitudine eorum, qui
legunt, transire nequeamus, ipsi ita acerba, ut tabescat dolore, mihi
mehercule molesta, quod et eum, quem semper dilexi, nimis excruciant, et
timeo, tam vehemens vir tamque acer in ferro et tam insuetus contumeliae
ne omni animi impetu dolori et iracundiae pareat.
Bibuli qui sit exitus futurus, nescio. Ut nunc res se habet, admirabili
gloria est. Qui cum comitia in mensem Octobrem distulisset, quod solet
ea res populi voluntatem offendere, putarat Caesar oratione sua posse
impelli contionem, ut iret ad Bibulum; multa cum seditiosissime diceret,
vocem exprimere non potuit. Quid quaeris? sentiunt se nullam ullius
partis voluntatem tenere. Eo magis vis nobis est timenda.
Clodius inimicus est nobis. Pompeius confirmat eum nihil esse facturum
contra me. Mihi periculosum est credere, ad resistendum me paro. Studia
spero me summa habiturum omnium ordinum. Te cum ego desidero, tum vero
res ad tempus illud vocat. Plurimum consilii, animi, praesidii denique
mihi, si te ad tempus videro, accesserit. Varro mihi satis facit.
Pompeius loquitur divinitus. Spero nos aut certe cum summa gloria aut
etiam sine molestia discessuros. Tu quid agas, quem ad modum te
oblectes, quid cum Sicyoniis egeris, ut sciam, cura.
it. The result, is that now Bibulus’ scathing[90] edicts against him are
so popular, that one can’t pass the place where they are posted up for
the crowd of people reading them. Pompey finds them so distressing that
he is wasting away with grief; and I myself am much annoyed with them,
partly because they cause so much pain to a man whom I have always
loved, and partly for fear that being so impulsive and ready to draw the
sword, as well as so unused to abuse, he may give full reins to his
indignation and wrath.
I don’t know what will be the end of Bibulus. As things stand at present
his reputation is extraordinarily high. When he put off the elections
till October, which generally annoys the populace, Caesar thought he
could induce the people by a speech to attack Bibulus: but in spite of
all his seditious talk, he could not ring a word out of anybody. In
short they feel that they have lost the good-will of all parties: and so
violent action on their part is all the more to be feared.
Clodius is hostile to me. Pompey assures me he will do nothing against
me: but I am afraid to trust him and am getting ready for resistance. I
hope I shall have very strong support from all classes. For your
presence I have a longing myself and circumstances call for it to meet
the crisis. If I see you in time, I shall feel it a great accession to
my policy, my courage and my safety. Varro is very obliging; and Pompey
talks like an angel. I hope that in the end I shall either be certain of
a glorious victory, or even escape unmolested. Let me know what you are
doing, how you are enjoying yourself, and what has happened as regards
the Sicyonians.
Footnote 90:
Archilochus was a Greek poet of Paros, who wrote scathing iambic
verses.
XXII
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. Romae post VIII K. Sext., ante XV K. Nov. a. 695_]
Quam vellem Romae! Mansisses profecto, si haec fore putassemus. Nam
Pulchellum nostrum facillime teneremus aut certe, quid esset facturus,
scire possemus. Nunc se res sic habet. Volitat, furit; nihil habet
certi, multis denuntiat, quod fors obtulerit, id acturus videtur; cum
videt, quo sit in odio status hic rerum, in eos, qui haec egerunt,
impetum facturus videtur; cum autem rursus opes eorum et vim et
exercitus recordatur, convertit se in bonos, nobis autem ipsis tum vim,
tum iudicium minatur. Cum hoc Pompeius egit et, ut ad me ipse referebat
(alium enim habeo neminem testem), vehementer egit, cum diceret in summa
se perfidiae et sceleris infamia fore, si mihi periculum crearetur ab
eo, quem ipse armasset, cum plebeium fieri passus esset. Fidem recepisse
sibi et ipsum et Appium de me. Hanc si ille non servaret, ita laturum,
ut omnes intellegerent nihil sibi antiquius amicitia nostra fuisse. Haec
et in eam sententiam cum multa dixisset, aiebat illum primo sane diu
multa contra, ad extremum autem
XXII
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
[Sidenote: _Rome, between July 25 and October 18_, B.C. _59_]
How I wish you were in town! You would certainly have stayed, if we had
thought this was going to happen. For then we could have easily kept
that little Beauty in order or at any rate should have known what he was
going to do. As it is he flits about in a frenzy and doesn’t know what
he is doing; he threatens lots of people, but will probably do whatever
turns up. When he sees the general abhorrence of the present state of
affairs he seems to meditate an attack on the authors of it; but when he
remembers the armed force behind them, he turns his wrath against the
loyalists. As for me, he threatens me now with brute force, and now with
a prosecution. Pompey spoke to him about it, and according to his own
account—for he is the only witness I have—he remonstrated strongly with
him, saying that he would become a byword for treachery and
underhandedness, if my life were threatened by one whose weapons he
himself had forged by acquiescing in his transference to the plebs: that
both he and Appius had pledged their word for me: and that, unless
Clodius respected their promise, he would be so annoyed that he would
make it plain to the world that he prized my friendship beyond
everything. He declared that after he had said this and much more to the
same effect, Clodius at first persisted in arguing the point at length,
but finally gave way and
manus dedisse et adfirmasse nihil se contra eius voluntatem esse
facturum. Sed postea tamen ille non destitit de nobis asperrime loqui.
Quodsi non faceret, tamen ei nihil crederemus atque omnia, sicut
facimus, pararemus.
Nunc ita nos gerimus, ut in dies singulos et studia in nos hominum et
opes nostrae augeantur; rem publicam nulla ex parte attingimus, in
causis atque in illa opera nostra forensi summa industria versamur; quod
egregie non modo iis, qui utuntur opera, sed etiam in vulgus gratum esse
sentimus. Domus celebratur, occurritur, renovatur memoria consulatus,
studia significantur; in eam spem adducimur, ut nobis ea contentio; quae
impendet, interdum non fugienda videatur.
Nunc mihi et consiliis opus est tuis et amore et fide. Quare advola.
Expedita mihi erunt omnia, si te habebo. Multa per Varronem nostrum agi
possunt, quae te urgente erunt firmiora, multa ab ipso Publio elici,
multa cognosci, quae tibi occulta esse non poterunt, multa etiam—sed
absurdum est singula explicare, cum ego requiram te ad omnia. Unum illud
tibi persuadeas velim, omnia mihi fore explicata, si te videro; sed
totum est in eo, si ante, quam ille ineat magistratum. Puto Pompeium
Crasso urgente, si tu aderis, qui per βοῶπιν ex ipso intellegere possis,
qua fide ab illis agatur; nos aut sine molestia aut certe
promised he would not do anything to offend him. Since then, however, he
has not ceased to speak very unpleasantly about me: but, even if he did
not, I should not believe him and should continue the preparations which
I am making.
At the present time I am managing things so that my popularity and the
strength of my position increases daily. Politics I am not touching at
all, but am busily engaged in the law courts and in my other forensic
work: and thereby I find I win extraordinary favour not only with those
who enjoy my services, but with the people in general too. My house is
thronged with folk; processions meet me; the days of my consulship are
recalled; friendships are not disguised: and my hopes are so raised that
I often think there is no reason for me to shrink from the struggle
which threatens.
What I want now is your advice and your affection and loyalty: so fly to
me. It will simplify everything, if I have you with me. Varro can render
me many services, but they would be far surer if you were here to
support them: a great deal of information can be extracted from Publius
himself, and a great deal found out, which could not possibly be kept
from your ears: besides a great deal more—but it is absurd to specify
details, when I want you for everything. The one point I want you to
grasp is that the mere sight of you would simplify everything for me;
but it all depends on your coming before he enters on his office. I
think that, though Crassus is egging on Pompey, if you were here and
could find out from the enemy through Juno how far the great men are to
be trusted, I should either escape molestation altogether or at any rate
I should no longer be
sine errore futuros. Precibus nostris et cohortatione non indiges; quid
mea voluntas, quid tempus, quid rei magnitudo postulet, intellegis.
De re publica nihil habeo ad te scribere nisi summum odium omnium
hominum in eos, qui tenent omnia. Mutationis tamen spes nulla. Sed, quod
facile sentias, taedet ipsum Pompeium vehementerque paenitet. Non
provideo satis, quem exitum futurum putem; sed certe videntur haec
aliquo eruptura.
Libros Alexandri, neglegentis hominis et non boni poetae, sed tamen non
inutilis, tibi remisi. Numerium Numestium libenter accepi in amicitiam
et hominem gravem et prudentem et dignum tua commendatione cognovi.
XXIII
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. Romae ante XV K. Nov. a. 695_]
Numquam ante arbitror te epistulam meam legisse nisi mea manu scriptam.
Ex eo colligere poteris, quanta occupatione distinear. Nam, cum vacui
temporis nihil haberem, et cum recreandae voculae causa necesse esset
mihi ambulare, haec dictavi ambulans. Primum igitur illud te scire volo,
Sampsiceramum, nostrum amicum, vehementer sui status paenitere
restituique in eum locum cupere, ex quo decidit, doloremque suum
impertire nobis et medicinam interdum aperte quaerere, quam ego possum
invenire nullam; deinde omnes illius partis auctores ac socios nullo
adversario consenescere, consensionem universorum
in a fog. There is no need of prayers and exhortations between you and
me: you know what I wish and what the gravity of the occasion demands.
I have no political news except that the present masters of the world
have the world’s hatred: and yet there is no hope of a change. But, as
you can easily imagine, Pompey is disgusted and heartily sick of it all.
I can’t see what the end of it will be, but I am pretty sure there will
be an explosion of some sort.
I have sent back the works of Alexander, who is a careless writer and
not much of a poet: still there is some use in him. Numerius Numestius I
have admitted to my friendship with pleasure and find he has plenty of
sober good sense and is quite worthy of your recommendation.
XXIII
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
[Sidenote: _Rome, before Oct. 18_, B.C. _59_]
I don’t think you ever before read a letter of mine which I had not
written myself. That will show you how I am plagued to death by
business. As I haven’t a moment to spare, and must take some exercise to
refresh my poor voice, I am dictating this as I walk.
Well, the first thing I have to tell you, is that our friend the Pasha
is heartily sick of his position and wants to be restored to the place
from which he fell. He confides his sorrows to me, and at times openly
looks for a remedy; but for the life of me I cannot find any. Secondly,
the whole of that party, both the principals and their followers, are
losing their strength, though no one opposes them; and there
nec voluntatis nec sermonis maiorem umquam fuisse.
Nos autem (nam id te scire cupere certo scio) publicis consiliis nullis
intersumus totosque nos ad forensem operam laboremque contulimus. Ex
quo, quod facile intellegi possit, in multa commemoratione earum rerum,
quas gessimus, desiderioque versamur. Sed βοώπιδος nostrae consanguineus
non mediocres terrores iacit atque denuntiat et Sampsiceramo negat,
ceteris prae se fert et ostentat. Quam ob rem, si me amas tantum,
quantum profecto amas, si dormis, expergiscere, si stas, ingredere, si
ingrederis, curre, si curris, advola. Credibile non est, quantum ego in
consiliis et prudentia tua, quodque maximum est, quantum in amore et
fide ponam. Magnitudo rei longam orationem fortasse desiderat,
coniunctio vero nostrorum animorum brevitate contenta est. Permagni
nostra interest te, si comitiis non potueris, at declarato illo esse
Romae. Cura, ut valeas.
XXIV
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. Romae ante XV K. Nov. a. 695_]
Quas Numestio litteras dedi, sic te iis evocabam, ut nihil acrius neque
incitatius fieri posset. Ad illam celeritatem adde etiam, si quid potes.
Ac ne sis perturbatus (novi enim te et non ignoro, “quam sit amor omnis
sollicitus atque anxius”)—sed res est, ut
never was a greater unanimity of sentiment or of the popular expression
of it than there is now.
As for me—for I am sure you want to hear about myself—I take no part in
public deliberations and devote myself entirely to my law-court
practice, which arouses, as you can easily conceive, many a memory of my
past achievements and much regret for them. But our dear Juno’s brother
is venting most alarming threats and, though he denies them to the
Pasha, he openly parades them to others. So, if your affection is as
real as I know it is, wake up, if you are sleeping, start moving, if you
are standing still, run, if you are moving, and fly, if you are running.
I set greater store than you can possibly believe by your advice and
your wisdom, and, what is still more, by your love and your loyalty. The
importance of the theme would perhaps demand a long disquisition; but
our hearts are so united that a word is enough. It is of the highest
importance to me that you should be in Rome after the elections, if you
can’t get here before them. Take care of yourself.
XXIV
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
[Sidenote: _Rome, before Oct. 18_, B.C. _59_]
In the letter I gave to Numestius I made a most urgent and pressing
appeal to you to come. To the speed I then enjoined add something, if
you possibly can. And don’t be alarmed (for I know you and don’t forget
that to love “It is to be all made of sighs and tears”[91]): the matter
I hope is one that will
Footnote 91:
_quam ... anxius_ seems to be a quotation from some drama; and Jeans
happily translates by this verse from Shakespeare’s _As you like it_.
spero, non tam exitu molesta quam aditu. Vettius ille, ille noster
index, Caesari, ut perspicimus, pollicitus est sese curaturum, ut in
aliquam suspicionem facinoris Curio filius adduceretur. Itaque
insinuavit in familiaritatem adulescentis et cum eo, ut res indicat,
saepe congressus rem in eum locum deduxit, ut diceret sibi certum esse
cum suis servis in Pompeium impetum facere eumque occidere. Hoc Curio ad
patrem detulit, ille ad Pompeium. Res delata ad senatum est. Introductus
Vettius primo negabat se umquam cum Curione constitisse, neque id sane
diu; nam statim fidem publicam postulavit. Reclamatum est. Tum exposuit
manum fuisse iuventutis duce Curione, in qua Paulus initio fuisset et Q.
Caepio hic Brutus et Lentulus, flaminis filius, conscio patre; postea C.
Septimium, scribam Bibuli, pugionem sibi a Bibulo attulisse. Quod totum
irrisum est, Vettio pugionem defuisse, nisi ei consul dedisset, eoque
magis id eiectum est, quod a. d. III Idus Mai. Bibulus Pompeium fecerat
certiorem, ut caveret insidias; in quo ei Pompeius gratias egerat.
Introductus Curio filius dixit ad ea, quae Vettius dixerat, maximeque in
eo tum quidem Vettius est reprehensus, quod dixerat id fuisse
adulescentium consilium, ut in foro gladiatoribus Gabini Pompeium
adorirentur; in eo principem Paulum fuisse, quem constabat eo tempore in
Macedonia fuisse. Fit senatus
not be so troublesome at the end as at the beginning. That fellow
Vettius, my famous informer, promised Caesar, so far as we can see, that
he would get some criminal suspicion thrown on young Curio. So he wormed
his way into intimacy with the young man and after meeting him often, as
events prove, he went so far as to declare that he was determined to
make an attack on Pompey with the assistance of his slaves, and to slay
him. Curio told his father of this, and he told Pompey. The affair was
reported to the Senate. Vettius was summoned before them and at first
denied that he had ever had an appointment with Curio. However he did
not stick to that tale long; but at once claimed the privilege of king’s
evidence. Amid cries of “no,” he began to explain that there had been a
confederacy of the younger men under the leadership of Curio, to which
Paulus at first belonged and Q. Caepio, Brutus I mean, and Lentulus, the
flamen’s son, with his father’s consent; and then that C. Septimius,
Bibulus’ secretary, had brought him a dagger from Bibulus. The idea of
Vettius not having a dagger, unless the consul gave him one, and the
rest of it, was too much for anybody’s gravity: and the charge was
scouted the more because Bibulus had warned Pompey on the 13th of May to
be on his guard against plots; and Pompey had thanked him for the
advice.
Young Curio was brought in and repelled Vettius’ assertions: and the
point for which Vettius was especially jumped on was saying that the
young men’s intention was to attack Pompey in the forum at the
gladiatorial show which Gabinius gave, and that Paulus was to be the
leader, when it was well known that he was in Macedonia at the time. The
House decreed
consultum, ut Vettius, quod confessus esset se cum telo fuisse, in
vincula coniceretur; qui emisisset, eum contra rem publicam esse
facturum. Res erat in ea opinione, ut putarent id esse actum, ut Vettius
in foro cum pugione et item servi eius comprehenderentur cum telis,
deinde ille se diceret indicaturum. Idque ita factum esset, nisi
Curiones rem ante ad Pompeium detulissent. Tum senatus consultum in
contione recitatum est. Postero autem die Caesar, is qui olim, praetor
cum esset, Q. Catulum ex inferiore loco iusserat dicere, Vettium in
rostra produxit eumque in eo loco constituit, quo Bibulo consuli
adspirare non liceret. Hic ille omnia, quae voluit de re publica, dixit,
et qui illuc factus institutusque venisset, primum Caepionem de oratione
sua sustulit, quem in senatu acerrime nominarat, ut appareret noctem et
nocturnam deprecationem intercessisse. Deinde, quos in senatu ne
tenuissima quidem suspicione attigerat, eos nominavit, L. Lucullum, a
quo solitum esse ad se mitti C. Fannium, illum qui in P. Clodium
subscripserat, L. Domitium, cuius domum constitutam fuisse, unde eruptio
fieret. Me non nominavit, sed dixit consularem disertum vicinum consulis
sibi dixisse Ahalam Servilium aliquem aut Brutum opus esse reperiri.
Addidit ad extremum, cum iam dimissa contione revocatus a Vatinio
fuisset, se audisse a Curione his de rebus conscium esse Pisonem,
generum meum, et M. Laterensem.
Nunc reus erat apud Crassum Divitem Vettius de vi et, cum esset
damnatus, erat indicium postulaturus.
that Vettius should be committed on his own confession of having carried
a weapon; and that it should be high treason to release him. The view
most generally held is that it was a put up job: Vettius was to be
discovered in the forum with a dagger and his slaves round him with
weapons, and then he was to turn king’s evidence: and it would have come
off, if the Curios had not reported the matter to Pompey. Then the
senatorial decree was read aloud to an assembly. On the next day,
however, Caesar, the man who as praetor some years ago had bidden Q.
Catulus speak from the floor, brought Vettius out on the rostra, and set
him in a place which was beyond Bibulus’ aspiration, though a consul.
Here he said anything he liked about public affairs; and, as he had come
ready primed and tutored, he omitted all mention of Caepio, though he
had named him most emphatically in the House: so it was obvious that a
night and a nocturnal appeal had intervened. Then he mentioned people on
whom he had not cast the slightest suspicion in the House,—L. Lucullus,
who, he said, generally used to send to him C. Fannius, the man who once
supported a prosecution of P. Clodius, and L. Domitius, whose house was
to be the basis of operations. My name he did not mention, but he said
that an eloquent ex-consul, a neighbour of the consul, had remarked to
him that we stood in need of a Servilius Ahala or a Brutus. He added at
the end, when he had been called back by Vatinius after the assembly was
dismissed, that he had heard from Curio that Piso, my son-in-law, was in
the plot, and M. Laterensis too.
Now Vettius is on trial for violence before Crassus Dives, and, when he
is condemned, he will claim to turn
Quod si impetrasset, iudicia fore videbantur. Ea nos, utpote qui nihil
contemnere soleremus, non pertimescebamus. Hominum quidem summa erga nos
studia significabantur; sed prorsus vitae taedet; ita sunt omnia omnium
miseriarum plenissima. Modo caedem timueramus quam oratio fortissimi
senis, Q. Considi, discusserat: ea, ea, inquam, quam[92] cotidie timere
potueramus, subito exorta est. Quid quaeris? nihil me infortunatius,
nihil fortunatius est Catulo cum splendore vitae tum mortis tempore. Nos
tamen in his miseriis erecto animo et minime perturbato sumus
honestissimeque et dignitatem et auctoritatem nostram magna cura tuemur.
Pompeius de Clodio iubet nos esse sine cura et summam in nos
benevolentiam omni oratione significat. Te habere consiliorum auctorem,
sollicitudinum socium, omni in cogitatione coniunctum cupio. Quare, ut
Numestio mandavi, tecum ut ageret, item atque eo, si potest, acrius, te
rogo, ut plane ad nos advoles. Respiraro, si te videro.
XXV
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. Romae ante K. Nov. a. 695_]
Cum aliquem apud te laudaro tuorum familiarium, volam illum scire ex te
me id fecisse, ut nuper me scis scripsisse ad te de Varronis erga me
officio, te ad me rescripsisse eam rem summae tibi voluptati esse. Sed
ego mallem ad illum scripsisses mihi illum
Footnote 92:
ea inquam _M_^1; eam quam _M_^2; ea, ea inquam, quam _Tyrrell_.
king’s evidence. If he is successful there may very well be some
prosecutions. Of that—though to be sure I never despise anything—I’m not
much afraid. Everybody is showing me the greatest kindness; but I am
sick of life; the whole world is so thoroughly out of joint. Just lately
we were afraid of a massacre, but it was averted by a speech of that
gallant old man Q. Considius: and now the disaster of which we had been
in daily fear has suddenly happened. In fact, nothing could be more
deplorable than my situation, nothing more enviable than that of
Catulus, considering his glorious life and his timely end. However, I
keep up my heart in spite of my miseries, and don’t show the white
feather, and, with an exercise of caution, I maintain my position and
authority with honour.
Pompey tells me to have no fear of Clodius, and shows me the greatest
good-will whenever he speaks. I am longing to have you to advise my
actions, to be the partner of my anxieties, to share my every thought.
So I have commissioned Numestius to plead with you, and now add, if
possible, even more urgent prayers of my own, that you literally fly to
me. I shall breathe again when I see you.
XXV
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
[Sidenote: _Rome, before Nov. 1_, B.C. _59_]
When I write to you praising any of your friends, I wish you would let
them know I have done so. For example, I mentioned in a letter lately
Varro’s kindness to me, and you answered that you were delighted to hear
it. But I had much rather you had written to him saying he was doing all
I wished—not
satis facere, non quo faceret, sed ut faceret; mirabiliter enim moratus
est, sicut nosti, ἑλικτὰ καὶ οὐδέν—Sed nos tenemus praeceptum illud τὰς
τῶν κρατούντων—. At hercule alter tuus familiaris, Hortalus, quam plena
manu, quam ingenue, quam ornate nostras laudes in astra sustulit, cum de
Flacci praetura et de illo tempore Allobrogum diceret! Sic habeto, nec
amantius nec honorificentius nec copiosius potuisse dici. Ei te hoc
scribere a me tibi esse missum sane volo. Sed quid tu scribas? quem iam
ego venire atque adesse arbitror; ita enim egi tecum superioribus
litteris. Valde te exspecto, valde desidero neque ego magis, quam ipsa
res et tempus poscit.
His de negotiis quid scribam ad te nisi idem quod saepe? re publica
nihil desperatius, iis, quorum opera, nihil maiore odio. Nos, ut opinio
et spes et coniectura nostra fert, firmissima benevolentia hominum
muniti sumus. Quare advola; aut expedies nos omni molestia aut eris
particeps. Ideo sum brevior, quod, ut spero, coram brevi tempore
conferre, quae volumus, licebit. Cura, ut valeas.
that he was, but to make him do it. For, as you know, he is an odd
creature, “all tortuous thoughts and no—”.[93] But I hold to the maxim,
“A great man’s follies.”[94] However, your other friend, Hortalus, most
certainly lauded me to the skies in the most liberal, open-hearted and
elaborate manner, when he was delivering a speech on Flaccus’
praetorship and that incident of the Allobroges. You may take my word
for it that he could not have expressed himself in more affectionate and
laudatory terms, nor more fully. I should much like you to write and
tell him that I sent you word of it. But I hope you won’t have to write,
and are now on your way and quite close after the appeals in my former
letter. I am eagerly looking out for you, and in sore need of you: and
circumstances and the times call for you as much as I do.
On these affairs I have nothing new to say: the country is in the most
desperate position possible, and nothing could exceed the unpopularity
of those who are responsible for it. I myself, as I think, hope and
imagine, am safeguarded by the staunchest support. So hasten your
coming: you will either relieve all my cares or share them with me. If I
am rather brief, it is because I hope that I may soon be able to discuss
anything I wish with you face to face. Take care of yourself.
Footnote 93:
Euripides, And. 448, ἑλικτὰ κοὐδὲν ὑγιὲς ἀλλὰ πᾶν πέριξ φρονοῦντες:
“Thinking tortuous thoughts, naught honest, but all roundabout.”
Footnote 94:
Euripides, Phoen. 393, τὰς τῶν κρατούντων ἀμαθίας φέρειν χρεῶν. “One
needs must bear the follies of those in power.”
M. TULLI CICERONIS
EPISTULARUM AD ATTICUM
LIBER TERTIUS
I
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. in itinere in. m. Apr. a. 696_]
Cum antea maxime nostra interesse arbitrabar te esse nobiscum, tum vero,
ut legi rogationem, intellexi ad iter id, quod constitui, nihil mihi
optatius cadere posse, quam ut tu me quam primum consequerere, ut, cum
ex Italia profecti essemus, sive per Epirum iter esset faciendum, tuo
tuorumque praesidio uteremur, sive aliud quid agendum esset, certum
consilium de tua sententia capere possemus. Quam ob rem te oro, des
operam, ut me statim consequare. Facilius potes, quoniam de provincia
Macedonia perlata lex est. Pluribus verbis tecum agerem, nisi pro me
apud te res ipsa loqueretur.
II
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
[Sidenote: _Scr. in itinere VI Id. Apr. a. 696_]
Itineris nostri causa fuit, quod non habebam locum, ubi pro meo iure
diutius esse possem quam in fundo Siccae, praesertim nondum rogatione
correcta, et simul intellegebam ex eo loco, si te haberem, posse me
Brundisium referre, sine te autem non esse nobis illas partes tenendas
propter Autronium. Nunc, ut ad te antea scripsi, si ad nos veneris,
consilium totius rei capiemus. Iter esse molestum scio, sed tota
calamitas omnes molestias habet. Plura scribere non possum; ita sum
animo perculso et abiecto. Cura, ut valeas. Data VI Idus Apriles Narib.
Luc.
CICERO’S LETTERS
TO ATTICUS