quin Caesari praesto futuri in senatumque venturi sint.
Recentissima tua est epistula Kal. data, in qua optas congressum pacemque non desperas. Sed ego, cum haec scribebam, nec illos congressuros nec, si congressi essent, Pompeium ad ullam condicionem accessurum putabam. Quod videris non dubitare, si consules transeant, quid nos facere oporteat, certe transeunt vel, quo modo nunc est, transierunt. Sed memento praeter Appium neminem esse fere, qui non ius habeat transeundi. Nam aut cum imperio sunt ut Pompeius, ut Scipio, Sufenas, Fannius, Voconius, Sestius, ipsi consules, quibus more maiorum concessum est vel omnes adire provincias, aut legati sunt eorum. Sed nihil decerno; quid placeat tibi, et quid prope modum rectum sit, intellego.
Plura scriberem, si ipse possem. Sed, ut mihi videor, potero biduo. Balbi Corneli litterarum exemplum, quas eodem die accepi quo tuas, misi ad te, ut meam vicem doleres, cum me derideri videres.
XVa
BALBUS CICERONI IMP. SAL.
Obsecro te, Cicero, suscipe curam et cogitationem dignissimam tuae virtutis, ut Caesarem et Pompeium perfidia hominum distractos rursus in pristinam concordiam reducas. Crede mihi Caesarem non solum fore in tua potestate, sed etiam maximum beneficium te sibi dedisse iudicaturum, si hoc te reicis. Velim
decided to meet Caesar and to take their seats in the House.
In your last letter, dated the 1st of March, you long for a meeting between the two leaders, and have hopes of peace. But at the time of writing I fancy they will not meet, and that, if they do, Pompey will not agree to any terms. You seem to have no doubt as to what I ought to do, if the consuls go over-seas; well they will go, or rather have now gone. But bear in mind that of their number it is practically only Appius who has not a right to cross. The rest are either invested with military power, like Pompey, Scipio, Sufenas, Fannius, Voconius, Sestius and the consuls themselves, who by old custom may visit all the provinces; or else they are legates. However I have no positive views. I know what you approve and pretty well what it is right to do.
My letter would be longer, if I could write myself. I fancy I shall be able in two days' time. I have had Cornelius Balbus' letter, which I received on the same day as yours, copied, and I forward it to you, that you may sympathize with me on seeing me mocked.
XVa
BALBUS SALUTES CICERO THE IMPERATOR.
I beg you, Cicero, to consider a plan eminently suited to your character, namely to recall Caesar and Pompey to their former state of friendship, which has been broken by the treachery of others. Believe me that Caesar will not only meet your wishes, but will esteem any endeavours of yours in this matter as a very great service. I wish Pompey would take the same
idem Pompeius faciat. Qui ut adduci tali tempore ad ullam condicionem possit, magis opto quam spero. Sed, cum constiterit et timere desierit, tum incipiam non desperare tuam auctoritatem plurimum apud eum valituram.
Quod Lentulum consulem meum voluisti hic remanere, Caesari gratum, mihi vero gratissimum medius fidius fecisti. Nam illum tanti facio, ut non Caesarem magis diligam. Qui si passus esset nos secum, ut consueveramus, loqui et non se totum etiam ab sermone nostro avertisset, minus miser, quam sum, essem. Nam cave putes hoc tempore plus me quemquam cruciari, quod eum, quem ante me diligo, video in consulatu quidvis potius esse quam consulem. Quodsi voluerit tibi obtemperare et nobis de Caesare credere et consulatum reliquum Romae peragere, incipiam sperare etiam consilio senatus auctore te, illo relatore Pompeium et Caesarem coniungi posse. Quod si factum erit, me satis vixisse putabo.
Factum Caesaris de Corfinio totum te probaturum scio: et, quo modo in eius modi re, commodius cadere non potuit, quam ut res sine sanguine confieret. Balbi mei tuique adventu delectatum te valde gaudeo. Is quaecumque tibi de Caesare dixit, quaeque Caesar scripsit, scio, re tibi probabit, quaecumque fortuna eius fuerit, verissime scripsisse.
view; but it is rather a dream of mine than a hope, that he can be persuaded to come to terms at this time. When he becomes settled and recovers from fright, I shall have better hopes that your influence may avail with him.
In desiring my friend the consul Lentulus to remain in Rome, you have gratified Caesar, and myself too, I may assure you, in the highest degree. I value Lentulus as much as Caesar. If he had allowed me to renew my old intercourse, and had not again and again avoided conversation with me, I should be less unhappy than I am. For do not think that this crisis causes anyone more torment than it causes me, when I see him, to whom I am more devoted than to myself, acting in office in a way quite unfitted for a consul. If he only takes your advice and believes our professions about Caesar, and serves the remainder of his office in Rome, then I shall begin to hope that by the advice of the Senate, on your suggestion and at his formal motion, there may be effected a reconciliation between Pompey and Caesar. In that event I shall think my life's mission accomplished.
I know that you will approve entirely of Caesar's action about Corfinium. Under the circumstances there could have been nothing better than a settlement without bloodshed. I am delighted that you are pleased with the arrival of my and your Balbus. Whatever Balbus has told you about Caesar, and whatever Caesar has said to you in his letters, I am confident Caesar will convince you by his acts, be his fortune what it will, that his professions were quite sincere.
XVI
CICERO ATTICO,
Omnia mihi provisa sunt praeter occultum et tutum iter ad mare superum. Hoc enim mari uti non possumus hoc tempore anni. Illuc autem, quo spectat animus, et quo res vocat, qua veniam? Cedendum enim est celeriter, ne forte qua re impediar atque alliger. Nec vero ille me ducit, qui videtur; quem ego hominem ἀπολιτικώτατον omnium iam ante cognoram, nunc vero etiam ἀστρατηγητότατον. Non me igitur is ducit, sed sermo hominum, qui ad me a Philotimo scribitur. Is enim me ab optimatibus ait conscindi. Quibus optimatibus, di boni! qui nunc quo modo occurrunt, quo modo autem se venditant Caesari! Municipia vero deum; nec simulant, ut cum de illo aegroto vota faciebant. Sed plane, quicquid mali hic Pisistratus non fecerit, tam gratum erit, quam si alium facere prohibuerit. Propitium hunc sperant, illum iratum putant. Quas fieri censes ἀπαντήσεις ex oppidis, quos honores! "Metuunt," inquies. Credo, sed mehercule illum magis. Huius insidiosa elementia delectantur, illius iracundiam formidant. Iudices de CCCLX, qui praecipue Gnaeo nostro delectabantur, ex quibus cotidie aliquem video, nescio quas eius Lucerias horrent. Itaque quaero, qui sint isti optimates,
XVI
CICERO TO ATTICUS.
I have made provision for everything except a secret and safe passage to the Adriatic. The other route I cannot face at this time of the year. How can I get to that place on which my mind is set, and whither fate calls? My departure must be in haste, for fear some obstacle and hindrance should arise. It is not, as one might think, Pompey who induces me to go. I have long known him to be the poorest of statesmen, and I now see he is the poorest of generals. I am not induced by him, but by the common talk of which Philotimus informs me. He says that the loyalists are tearing me to tatters. Loyalists, good God! And see how they are running to meet Caesar, and selling themselves to him. The country towns are treating him as a god, and there is no pretence about it, as there was in the prayers for Pompey's recovery from illness. Any mischief this Pisistratus may leave undone will give as much satisfaction as if he had prevented another from doing it. People hope to placate Caesar; they think that Pompey is angered. What ovations from the towns and what honour is paid him! In fright I dare say, but they are more afraid of Pompey. They are delighted with the cunning kindness of Caesar, and afraid of the anger of his rival. Those who are on the jury list of 360 judges, the especial partisans of Pompey, some of whom I see daily, shudder at vague Lucerias[79] which they conjure up. So I ask what sort of loyalists are
[79] Cf. VIII, 11, where Pompey at Luceria is said to have talked of a proscription.
qui me exturbent, cum ipsi domi maneant. Sed tamen, quicumque sunt, αἰδέομαι Τρῶας,. Etsi, qua spe proficiscar, video, coniungoque me cum homine magis ad vastandum Italiam quam ad vincendum parato dominumque exspecto. Et quidem, cum haec scribebam, IIII Nonas, iam exspectabam aliquid a Brundisio. Quid autem "aliquid"? quam inde turpiter fugisset, et victor hic qua se referret et quo. Quod ubi audissem, si ille Appia veniret, ego Arpinum cogitabam.
these, to banish me, while they remain at home? Still whoever they are "I fear the Trojans." Yet I see clearly with what a prospect I set out, and I join myself with a man ready to devastate our country rather than to conquer its oppressor, and I look to serve a tyrant. And indeed on March 4, the date of this letter, I am expecting every moment some news from Brundisium. Why do I say "some news," when it is news of his disgraceful flight, and the route by which the victor is returning and the direction in which he is moving. On hearing that, I think of going to Arpinum, if Caesar comes by the Appian way.
M. TULLI CICERONIS EPISTULARUM AD ATTICUM LIBER NONUS
I CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Etsi, cum tu has litteras legeres, putabam fore ut scirem iam, quid Brundisi actum esset (nam Canusio VIIII Kal. profectus erat Gnaeus; haec autem scribebam pridie Nonas XIIII die post, quam ille Canusio moverat), tamen angebar singularum horarum exspectatione mirabarque nihil allatum esse ne rumoris quidem; nam erat mirum silentium. Sed haec fortasse κενόσπουδα sunt, quae tamen iam sciantur necesse est; illud molestum, me adhuc investigare non posse, ubi P. Lentulus noster sit, ubi Domitius. Quaero autem, quo facilius scire possim, quid acturi sint, iturine ad Pompeium et, si sunt, qua quandove ituri sint.
Urbem quidem iam refertam esse optimatium audio, Sosium et Lupum, quos Gnaeus noster ante putabat Brundisium venturos esse quam se, ius dicere. Hinc vero vulgo vadunt; etiam M'. Lepidus, quocum diem conterere solebam, eras cogitabat. Nos autem in Formiano morabamur, quo citius audiremus; deinde Arpinum volebamus; inde, iter qua maxime ἀναπάντητον esset, ad mare superum remotis sive omnino missis lictoribus. Audio enim bonis viris, qui et nunc
CICERO'S LETTERS TO ATTICUS BOOK IX
I
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
Although, when you read this letter, I think I shall know what has been done at Brundisium, since Pompey left Canusium on the 21st of February and I am writing this on the 6th of March, fourteen days after his departure from Canusium, still I am in agonies of suspense as to what each hour may bring, and I am astonished that I do not even get a rumour. There is a strange hush. But perhaps this is much ado about nothing, when we must know all about it soon enough. But it does worry me that so far I have been unable to discover the whereabouts of my friend Lentulus and of Domitius. I want to know, that I may be able to find out what they are going to do, whether they are going to Pompey, and, if so, by what route and on what date.
Town, I am told, is now crammed full with our party. Sosius and Lupus, who, Pompey thought, would reach Brundisium before himself, are, it appears, sitting as magistrates. From here there is a general move: even M'. Lepidus, with whom I used to spend the day, thinks of starting to-morrow. I am lingering in my villa at Formiae to get news the sooner. Then I intend to go to Arpinum: from Arpinum I proceed to the Adriatic, choosing the least frequented route and leaving behind or even dismissing my lictors. For I am told that certain
et saepe antea magno praesidio rei publicae fuerunt, hanc cunctationem nostram non probari multaque in me et severe in conviviis tempestivis quidem disputari.
Cedamus igitur et, ut boni cives simus, bellum Italiae terra marique inferamus et odia improborum rursus in nos, quae iam exstincta erant, incendamus et Luccei consilia ac Theophani persequamur. Nam Scipio vel in Syriam proficiscitur sorte vel cum genero honeste vel Caesarem fugit iratum. Marcelli quidem, nisi gladium Caesaris timuissent, manerent. Appius est eodem in timore et inimicitiarum recentium etiam. Praeter hunc et C. Cassium reliqui legati, Faustus pro quaestore; ego unus, cui utrumvis licet. Frater accedit, quem socium huius fortunae esse non erat aequum. Cui magis etiam Caesar irascetur, sed impetrare non possum, ut mancat. Dabimus hoc Pompeio, quod debemus. Nam me quidem alius nemo movet, non sermo bonorum, qui nulli sunt, non causa quae acta timide est, agetur improbe. Uni, uni hoc damus ne id quidem roganti nec suam causam, ut ait, agenti, sed publicam. Tu quid cogites de transeundo in Epirum, scire sane velim.
II
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Etsi Nonis Martiis die tuo, ut opinor, exspectabam epistulam a te longiorem, tamen ad eam ipsam brevem,
loyalists, who now and formerly have been a bulwark of the Republic, do not like my staying in Italy, and that they sit half the day over their festive boards making caustic remarks about me.
So I must depart, and, to be a good citizen, wage war on Italy, kindle against myself again the hatred of the disloyal which had died down, and follow the plans of Lucceius and Theophanes. For Scipio can be said to set out for Syria, his allotted province, or to accompany his son-in-law, which is an honourable excuse, or to flee from Caesar's anger. The Marcelli would of course have stayed, had they not feared the sword of Caesar. Appius has the same reason for alarm, and additional reason through a fresh quarrel. Except Appius and C. Cassius all the others hold military commands, Faustus being proquaestor. I am the only one who could go or stay as I like. Besides there is my brother, whom it is not fair to involve in my trouble. With him Caesar will be even more angry, but I cannot induce him to stay behind. This sacrifice I will make to Pompey, as loyalty bids. For no one else influences me, neither talk of loyalists—for there are none—nor our cause, which has been conducted in panic and will be conducted in disgrace. To one man, one only, I make this sacrifice, though he does not even ask it and though the battle he is fighting is, as he says, not his own but the State's, I should much like to know what you think about crossing into Epirus.
II
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
Though the 7th of March, the day I think for your attack of fever,[80] should bring me a longer letter
[80] Or "your birthday." Cf. ix, 5.
quam IIII Nonas ὑπὸ τὴν λῆψιν dedisti, rescribendum putavi. Gaudere ais te mansisse me et scribis in sententia te manere. Mihi autem superioribus litteris videbare non dubitare, quin cederem ita, si et Gnaeus bene comitatus conscendisset, et consules transissent. Utrum hoc tu parum commeministi, an ego non satis intellexi, an mutasti sententiam? Sed aut ex epistula, quam exspecto, perspiciam, quid sentias, aut alias abs te litteras eliciam. Brundisio nihildum erat allatum.
IIa
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
O rem difficilem planeque perditam! quam nihil praetermittis in consilio dando; quam nihil tamen, quod tibi ipsi placeat, explicas! Non esse me una cum Pompeio gaudes ac proponis, quam sit turpe me adesse, cum quid de illo detrahatur; nefas esse approbare. Certe; contra igitur? "Di," inquis, "averruncent!" Quid ergo fiet, si in altero scelus est, in altero supplicium? "Impetrabis," inquis, "a Caesare, ut tibi abesse liceat et esse otioso." Supplicandum igitur? Miserum. Quid, si non impetraro? "Et de triumpho erit," inquis, "integrum." Quid, si hoc ipso premar? accipiam? Quid foedius? Negem? Repudiari se totum, magis etiam quam olim in XX viratu, putabit. Ac solet, cum se purgat, in me
from you, still I suppose I ought to answer the shorter note, which you sent on the 4th on the eve of your attack. You say you are glad that I have stayed in Italy, and you write that you abide by your former view. But an earlier letter led me to think you had no doubt I ought to go, if Pompey embarked with a good following and the consuls crossed too. Have you forgotten this, or have I failed to understand you, or have you changed your mind? But I shall either learn your opinion from the letter I now await: or I shall extract another letter from you. From Brundisium so far there is no news.
IIa
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
What a difficult and calamitous business! Nothing passed over in the advice you give, nothing revealed as to your real opinion! You are glad that I am not with Pompey, and yet you lay down how wrong it would be for me to be present when he is criticized: it were shameful to approve his conduct. Agreed. Should I then speak against him? "Heaven forbid," you say. So, what can happen, if one way lies crime, and the other punishment? You advise me to get from Caesar leave of absence and permission to retire. Must I then beg and pray? That would be humiliating: and suppose I fail? You say the matter of my triumph will not be prejudiced. But what if I am hampered by that very thing? Accept it? What dishonour! Refuse it? Caesar will think that I am repudiating him entirely, more even than when I declined a place among his twenty land commissioners.[81] And it is his way, when he excuses himself
[81] The vigintiviri for the distribution of Campanian land in 59 B.C. Cf. II, 19.
conferre omnem illorum temporum culpam. Ita me sibi fuisse inimicum, ut ne honorem quidem a se accipere vellem. Quanto nunc hoc idem accipiet asperius! Tanto scilicet, quanto et honor hic illo est amplior et ipse robustior. Nam, quod negas te dubitare, quin magna in offensa sim apud Pompeium hoc tempore, non video causam, cur ita sit hoc quidem tempore. Qui enim amisso Corfinio denique certiorem me sui consilii fecit, is queretur Brundisium me non venisse, cum inter me et Brundisium Caesar esset? Deinde etiam scit ἀπαρρησίαστον esse in ea causa querelam suam. Me putat de municipiorum imbecillitate, de dilectibus, de pace, de urbe, de pecunia, de Piceno occupando plus vidisse quam se. Sin, cum potuero, non venero, tum erit inimicus, quod ego non eo vereor ne mihi noceat (quid enim faciet?
Τίς δ' ἐστὶ δοῦλος τοῦ θανεῖν ἄφροντις ὤν;),
sed quia ingrati animi crimen horreo. Confido igitur adventum nostrum illi, quoquo tempore fuerit, ut scribis, ἀσμενιστὸν fore. Nam, quod ais, si hic temperatius egerit, consideratius consilium te daturum, qui hic potest se gerere non perdite? Vetant vita,[82] mores, ante facta, ratio suscepti negotii, socii, vires bonorum aut etiam constantia.
[82] Vetant vita Purser: vita MSS.: vetant Boot.
Vixdum epistulam tuam legeram, cum ad me currens ad illum Postumus Curtius venit nihil nisi classes loquens et exercitus. Eripiebat Hispanias,
to throw on me all the blame for that period, and to say I was so bitter an enemy that I would not even take an office from him. How much more will this annoy him! Why, as much more as this honour is greater than that, and he himself is stronger. As for your remark that you have no doubt I am in bad odour with Pompey at this present time, I see no reason why it should be so, especially at this time. Pompey did not tell me his plans till after the loss of Corfinium, and he cannot complain of my not going to Brundisium, when Caesar was between me and Brundisium. Besides he knows that complaint on his part is stopped. He is of opinion that I saw clearer than he did about the weakness of the municipal towns, the levies, peace, the city, the public funds, occupying Pisenum. If however I do not go to him, when I can, he will certainly be angry. From that I shrink—not for fear of harm he may do me (for what can he do? And who
"Would be a slave but he who fears to die?"[83])
but because I shrink from being charged with ingratitude. So I trust my arrival will be, as you say, welcome to him, whenever I go. As for your remark "If Caesar's conduct be more temperate, you will weigh your advice more carefully," how can Caesar keep himself from a destructive policy? It is forbidden by his character, his previous career, the nature of his present enterprise, his associates, the material strength or even the moral firmness of the loyalist party.
[83] From an unknown play of Euripides.
I had scarcely read your letter, when up comes Curtius Postumus hurrying off to Caesar, talking of nothing but fleets and armies; "Caesar is wresting
tenebat Asiam, Siciliam, Africam, Sardiniam, confestim in Graeciam persequebatur. Eundum igitur est, nec tam ut belli quam ut fugae socii simus. Nec enim ferre potero sermones istorum, quicumque sunt; non sunt enim certe, ut appellantur, boni. Sed tamen id ipsum scire cupio, quid loquantur, idque ut exquiras meque certiorem facias, te vehementer rogo. Nos adhuc, quid Brundisi actum esset, plane nesciebamus. Cum sciemus, tum ex re et ex tempore consilium capiemus, sed utemur tuo.
III
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Domiti filius transiit Formias VIII Idus currens ad matrem Neapolim mihique nuntiari iussit patrem ad urbem esse, cum de eo curiose quaesisset servus noster Dionysius. Nos autem audieramus eum profectum sive ad Pompeium sive in Hispaniam. Id cuius modi sit, scire sane velim. Nam ad id, quod delibero, pertinet, si ille certe nusquam discessit, intellegere Gnaeum non esse faciles nobis ex Italia exitus, cum ea tota armis praesidiisque teneatur, hieme praesertim. Nam, si commodius anni tempus esset, vel infero mari liceret uti. Nunc nihil potest nisi supero tramitti, quo iter interclusum est. Quaeres igitur et de Domitio et de Lentulo.
A Brundisio nulla adhuc fama venerat, et erat hic
the Spains from Pompey, occupying Asia, Sicily, Africa, Sardinia, and forthwith pursuing Pompey into Greece." So I must set out to take part not so much in a war as in a flight. For I can never put up with the talk of your friends, whoever they are, for certainly they are not what they are called, loyalists. Still that is just what I want to know, what they do say, and I beg you earnestly to inquire and inform me. So far I know nothing of what has happened at Brundisium. When I know, I shall form my plans according to circumstances and the moment; but I shall use your advice.
III
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
The son of Domitius went through Formiae on the 8th of March hastening to his mother at Naples, and, when my slave Dionysius inquired particularly from him about his father, he sent me a message that he was outside the city. But I had heard that he had gone either to Pompey or to Spain. What the fact is, I should much like to know, for it has a bearing on the point I am now considering: if it is certain that Domitius has found no means of departure, Pompey may understand that my own departure from Italy is difficult, seeing that it is now beset with troops and garrisons, and especially in the winter season. For, were it a more convenient time of year, one could even cross the southern sea. Now there is no choice but the Adriatic, to which passage is barred. So please inquire both about Domitius and about Lentulus.
From Brundisium no news has come yet, and to-day
dies VII Idus, quo die suspicabamur aut pridie Brundisium venisse Caesarem. Nam Kal. Arpis manserat. Sed, si Postumum audire velles, persecuturus erat Gnaeum; transisse enim iam putabat coniectura tempestatum ac dierum. Ego nautas eum non putabam habiturum, ille confidebat, et eo magis, quod audita naviculariis hominis liberalitas esset. Sed, tota res Brundisina quo modo habeat se, diutius nescire non possum.
IV
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Ego etsi tam diu requiesco, quam diu aut ad te scribo aut tuas litteras lego, tamen et ipse egeo argumento epistularum et tibi idem accidere certo scio. Quae enim soluto animo familiariter scribi solent, ea temporibus his excluduntur, quae autem sunt horum temporum, ea iam contrivimus. Sed tamen, ne me totum aegritudini dedam, sumpsi mihi quasdam tamquam θέσεις, quae et πολιτικαὶ sunt et temporum horum, ut et abducam animum ab querelis et in eo ipso, de quo agitur, exercear. Eae sunt huius modi:
Εἰ μενετέον ἐν τῇ πατρίδι τυραννουμένης αὐτῆς. Εἰ παντὶ τρόπω τυραννίδος κατάλυσιν πραγματευτέον, κἄν
is the 9th of March. I expect Caesar reached Brundisium to-day or yesterday. He stayed at Arpi on the 1st. If you choose to listen to Postumus, Caesar meant to pursue Pompey; for, by calculating the state of the weather and the days, he concluded that Pompey had crossed the sea. I thought that Caesar would be unable to get crews, but Postumus was quite sure about that, and the more so because ship-owners had heard of Caesar's liberality. But it cannot be long now before I hear the full story of what has happened at Brundisium.
IV
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
Though now I rest only so long as I am writing to you or reading your letters, still I am in want of subject matter, and feel sure that you are in the same position, for the present crisis debars us from the free and easy topics of friendly correspondence, and the topics connected with the present crisis we have already exhausted. However, not to succumb entirely to low spirits, I have taken for myself certain theses, so to speak, which deal with la haute politique and are applicable to the present crisis, so that I may keep myself from querulous thoughts and may practise the subject. Here are some:
Whether one should remain in one's country, even under a tyranny. Whether any means are lawful to
μέλλῃ διὰ τοῦτο περὶ τῶν ὅλων ἡ πόλις κινδυνεύσειν. Εἰ εὐλαβητέον τὸν καταλύοντα μὴ αὐτὸς αἴρηται. Εἰ πειρατέον ἀρήγειν τῇ πατρίδι τυραννουμένῃ καιρῷ καὶ λογῳ μᾶλλον ἢ πολέμῳ. Εἰ πολιτικὸν τὸ ἡσυχάζειν ἀναχωρήσαντά ποι τῆς πατρίδος τυραννουμένης ἤ δὶα παντὂς ἰτέον κινδύνου τῆς ἐλευθερίας πέρι. Εἰ πόλεμον ἐπακτέον τῇ χώρᾳ καὶ πολιορκητέον αὐτὴν τυραννουμένην. Εἰ καὶ μὴ δοκιμάζοντα τὴν διὰ πολέμου κατάλυσιν τῆς τυραννίδος συναπογραπτέον ὅμως τοῖς ἀρίστοις. Εἰ τοῖς εὐεργέταις καὶ φίλοις συγκινδυνευτέον ἐν τοῖς πολιτικοῖς, κἂν μὴ δοκῶσιν εὖ βεβουλεῦσθαι περὶ τῶν ὃλων. Εἰ ὁ μεγάλα τὴν πατρίδα εὐεργετήσας, δἰ αὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο ἀνήκεστα παθὼν καὶ φθονηθεὶς, κινδυνεύσειεν ἄν ἐθελοντὴς ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος, ἤ ἐφετέον αὐτῷ ἑαυτοῦ ποτε καὶ τῶν οἰκειοτάτων ποιεῖσθαι πρόνοιαν ἀφεμένω τὰς πρὸς τοὺς ἰσχύοντας διαπολιτείας.
In his ego me consulationibus exercens et disserens in utramque partem tum Graece, tum Latine et abduco parumper animum a molestiis et τῶν προὔργου τι delibero. Sed vereor, ne tibi ἂκαιρος sim. Si enim recte ambulaverit is, qui hanc epistulam tulit, in ipsum tuum diem incidet.
abolish a tyranny, even if they endanger the existence of the State. Whether one ought to take care that one who tries to abolish it may not rise too high himself. Whether one ought to assist one's country, when under a tyranny, by seizing opportunities and by argument rather than by war. Whether one is doing one's duty to the State, if one retires to some other place and there remains inactive, when there is a tyranny; or whether one ought to run every risk for liberty. Whether one ought to invade the country and besiege one's native town, when it is under a tyranny. Whether one ought to enrol oneself in the ranks of the loyalists, even if one does not approve of war as a means of abolishing tyranny. Whether one ought in political matters to share the dangers of one's benefactors and friends, even if one does not believe their general policy to be wise. Whether one who has done good service for his country, and by it has won ill-treatment and envy, should voluntarily put himself into danger for that country, or may at length take thought for himself and his dear ones and avoid struggles against the powers that be.
By employing myself with such questions and discussing the pros and cons in Greek and Latin, I divert my thoughts a little from my troubles and at the same time consider a subject which is very pertinent. But I fear you may find me a nuisance. For, if the bearer makes proper headway, it will reach you on the very day you have your attack of ague.
V CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Natali die tuo scripsisti epistulam ad me plenam consilii summaeque cum benevolentiae tum etiam prudentiae. Eam mihi Philotimus postridie, quam a te acceperat, reddidit. Sunt ista quidem, quae disputas, difficillima, iter ad superum, navigatio infero, discessus Arpinum, ne hunc fugisse, mansio Formiis, ne obtulisse nos gratulationi videamur, sed miserius nihil quam ea videre, quae tamen iam, iam, inquam, videnda erunt.
Fuit apud me Postumus, scripsi ad te, quam gravis. Venit ad me etiam Q. Fufius quo vultu, quo spiritus properans Brundisium, scelus accusans Pompei, levitatem et stultitiam senatus. Haec qui in mea villa non feram, Curtium in curia potero ferre? Age, finge me quamvis εὐστομάχως haec ferentem, quid? illa "Dic, M. Tvlli" quem habebunt exitum? Et omitto causam rei publicae, quam ego amissam puto cum vulneribus suis tum medicamentis eis, quae parantur, de Pompeio quid agam? cui plane (quid enim hoc negem?) suscensui. Semper enim causae eventorum magis movent quam ipsa eventa. Haec igitur mala (quibus maiora esse quae possunt?) considerans, vel potius iudicans eius opera accidisse, et culpa, inimicior eram huic quam ipsi Caesari. Ut
V
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
On your birthday you wrote me a letter full of advice, full of great kindness and of great wisdom. Philotimus delivered it to me the day after he got it from you. The points you discuss are very difficult—the route to the upper sea, a voyage by the lower sea, departure to Arpinum, lest I should seem to have avoided Caesar, remaining at Formiae, lest I should appear to have put myself forward to congratulate him; but the most miserable thing of all will be to see what I tell you must very shortly be seen.
Curtius Postumus was with me. I wrote you how tiresome he was. Quintus Fufius also came to see me—what an air! what assurance!—hastening to Brundisium denouncing Pompey's wrong-doings and the careless folly of the House. When I cannot stand this under my own roof, how shall I be able to endure Curtius in the Senate? But suppose I put up with all this in good humour, what of the question "Your vote, M. Tullius?" What will come of it? I pass over the cause of the Republic, which I consider lost, both from the wounds dealt it and the cures prepared for them; but what am I to do about Pompey? It is no use denying that I am downright angry with him. For I am always more affected by the causes of events than by the events themselves. Therefore considering our incomparable woes, or rather concluding that they have happened by his doing and his mistakes, I am more angry with Pompey than with Caesar himself. Just as our ancestors
maiores nostri funestiorem diem esse voluerunt Aliensis pugnae quam urbis captae, quod hoc malum ex illo (itaque alter religiosus etiam nunc dies, alter in vulgus ignotus), sic ego decem annorum peccata recordans, in quibus inerat ille etiam annus, qui nos hoc non defendente, ne dicam gravius, adflixerat, praesentisque temporis cognoscens temeritatem, ignaviam, neglegentiam suscensebam. Sed ea iam mihi exciderunt; beneficia eiusdem cogito, cogito etiam dignitatem; intellego serius equidem, quam vellem, propter epistulas sermonesque Balbi, sed video plane nihil aliud agi, nihil actum ab initio, nisi ut hunc occideret. Ego igitur, sicut ille apud Homerum, cui et mater et dea dixisset:
Αὐτίκα γάρ τοι ἔπειτα μεθ' Ἐκτορα πότμος ἕτοιμος,
matri ipse respondit:
κτεινομένῳ ἐπαμῦναι.
Quid, si non ἑταίρῳ solum, sed etiam εὐεργέτῃ adde tali viro talem causam agenti? Ego vero haec officia mercanda vita puto. Optimatibus vero tuis nihil confido, nihil iam ne inservio quidem. Video, ut se huic dent, ut daturi sint. Quicquam tu illa putas fuisse de valetudine decreta municipiorum prae his de victoria gratulationibus? "Timent," inquies. At ipsi tum se timuisse dicunt. Sed videamus, quid actum sit Brundisi. Ex eo fortasse alia consilia nascentur aliaeque litterae.
thought that the day of the battle of Alia was blacker than the day of the capture of Rome, because the capture was but the consequence of the battle (and so the former day is still a black letter day and the latter is commonly unknown), so I too was angry in recalling his errors of the last ten years, which included the year of my affliction, when he gave me no help, to put it mildly, and recognizing his foolhardiness, sloth and carelessness at the present time. But all this I have forgotten. It is his kindness I think of, and I think of my own honour too. I understand, later indeed than I could have wished, from the letters and conversation of Balbus, but I see plainly, that the sole object is, and has been from the beginning, the death of Pompey. So I say the same as Achilles to his mother, when she said "For after Hector's death thy doom is fixed," and he replied, "Then let me die, since I have failed to save my friend."
And in my case it is not only a friend but a benefactor, a man so great and championing so great a cause. Indeed I hold that life should be paid for the kindnesses that he has done me. But in your loyal party I have no confidence: nor I do even acknowledge any allegiance to them now. I see how they surrender and will surrender themselves to Caesar. Do you think that those decrees of the towns about Pompey's health were anything compared with their congratulatory addresses to Caesar? You will say, "They are terrorized." Yes, but they themselves declare that they were terrorized on the former occasion. But let us see what has happened at Brundisium. Perhaps from that may spring different plans and a different letter.
VI
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Nos adhuc Brundisio nihil. Roma scripsit Balbus putare iam Lentulum consulem tramisisse, nec eum a minore Balbo conventum, quod is hoc iam Canusi audisset; inde ad se eum scripsisse; cohortesque sex, quae Albae fuissent, ad Curium via Minucia transisse; id Caesarem ad se scripsisse, et brevi tempore eum ad urbem futurum. Ergo utar tuo consilio neque me Arpinum hoc tempore abdam, etsi, Ciceroni meo togam puram cum dare Arpini vellem, hanc eram ipsam excusationem relicturus ad Caesarem. Sed fortasse in eo ipso offendetur, cur non Romae potius. Ac tamen, si est conveniendus, hic potissimum. Tum reliqua videbimus, id est et quo et qua et quando.
Domitius, ut audio, in Cosano est, et quidem, ut aiunt, paratus ad navigandum, si in Hispaniam, non probo, si ad Gnaeum, laudo; quovis potius certe, quam ut Curtium videat, quem ego patronus aspicere non possum. Quid alios? Sed, opinor, quiescamus, ne nostram culpam coarguamus, qui, dum urbem, id est patriam, amamus dumque rem conventuram putamus, ita nos gessimus, ut plane interclusi captique simus.
Scripta iam epistula Capua litterae sunt allatae hoc exemplo: "Pompeius mare transiit cum omnibus militibus, quos secum habuit. Hic numerus est
VI
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
No news yet from Brundisium. From Rome Balbus has written that he thinks the consul Lentulus has now gone over, and that the younger Balbus has not met him, because the latter has just heard the news at Canusium and from that town has written to him. He adds that the six cohorts which were at Alba have gone to Curius by the Minucian road, that Caesar has written to tell him so and will shortly be in Rome. So I shall follow your advice. I shall not go and bury myself in Arpinum at the present time, though, since I had wished to celebrate my son's coming of age there, I thought of leaving that as an excuse to Caesar. But perhaps that itself will give offence and he might ask why I should not do it at Rome. Still, if I must meet him, I would much rather meet him here. Then I shall see the other things, where I am to go, by what route and when.
Domitius, I hear, is at Cosa, and ready it is said to sail. If it is to Spain, I do not approve, but, if to Pompey, he has my praise. Better to go anywhere than to have to see Curtius, of whom, though I have defended him, I cannot bear the sight, not to speak of others. But I suppose I had better keep quiet, for fear of convicting myself of folly in managing to be cut off wholly and made captive through my love of my country and an idea that the matter could be patched up.
Just as I had finished writing, there came a letter from Capua, of which this is a copy: "Pompey has crossed the sea with all the soldiery he has. There
hominum milia triginta et consules duo et tribuni pl. et senatores, qui fuerunt cum eo, omnes cum uxoribus et liberis. Conscendisse dicitur a. d. IIII Nonas Martias. Ex ea die fuere septemtriones venti. Naves, quibus usus non est, omnes aut praecidisse aut incendisse dicunt."
De hac re litterae L. Metello tribuno pl. Capuam allatae sunt a Clodia socru, quae ipsa transiit. Ante sollicitus eram et angebar, sicut res scilicet ipsa cogebat, cum consilio explicare nihil possem; nunc autem, postquam Pompeius et consules ex Italia exierunt, non angor, sed ardeo dolore,
ἔμπεδον, ἀλλ' ἀλαλύκτημαι.
Non sum, inquam, mihi crede, mentis compos; tantum mihi dedecoris admisisse videor. Mene non primum cum Pompeio qualicumque consilio uso, deinde cum bonis esse quamvis causa temere instituta? praesertim cum ii ipsi, quoram ego causa timidius me fortunae committebam, uxor, filia, Cicerones pueri, me illud sequi mallent, hoc turpe et me indignum putarent. Nam Quintus quidem frater, quicquid mihi placeret, id rectum se putare aiebat, id animo aequissimo sequebatur.
Tuas nunc epistulas a primo lego. Hae me paulum recreant. Primae monent et rogant, ne me proiciam, proximae gaudere te ostendunt me remansisse. Eas cum lego, minus mihi turpis videor, sed tam diu, dum lego. Deinde emergit rursum dolor et ἀισχροῦ φαντασία. Quam ob rem obsecro te, mi Tite, eripe
are 30,000 men, two consuls, tribunes and the senators who were with him, all accompanied by wives and children. He is said to have embarked on the 4th of March. From that day there have been northerly winds. They say he disabled or burned all the ships he did not use."
[Sidennote Iliad x, 91]
On this matter a letter has been received at Capua by Lucius Metellus, the tribune of the plebs, from Clodia, his mother-in-law, who herself crossed the sea. I was anxious and distracted before, naturally enough under the circumstances, when I could find no solution of affairs. But, now that Pompey and the consuls have left Italy, I am not only distracted, but I blaze with indignation. "Steady my heart no more, but wild with grief." Believe me, I say I am no longer responsible, so great the shame I seem to have incurred. To think that in the first place I should not be with Pompey, whatever his plan, nor again with the loyalists, however rashly they have mismanaged their cause! Particularly when those very people, whose interests kept me cautious, my wife, my daughter and the boys, preferred that I should follow Pompey's fortunes, and thought Caesar's cause disgraceful and unworthy of me. As for my brother Quintus, whatever I thought right, he agreed to, and he followed my course with perfect contentment.
Your letters I am reading now from the beginning of the business. They afford me some little relief. The first warn and entreat me not to commit myself. The later ones show you are glad I stayed. While I read them, my conduct seems to me less discreditable; but only so long as I read: afterwards up rises sorrow again and a vision of shame. So I beseech you, Titus,