M. TULLI CICERONIS
EPISTULARUM AD ATTICUM
LIBER QUARTUS DECIMUS
I
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Deverti ad illum, de quo tecum mane. Nihil perditius; explicari rem non posse. "Etenim, si ille tali ingenio exitum non reperiebat, quis nunc reperiet?" Quid quaeris? perisse omnia aiebat (quod haud scio an ita sit; verum ille gaudens) adfirmabatque minus diebus XX tumultum Gallicum. In sermonem se post Idus Martias praeterquam Lepido venisse nemini. Ad summam non posse istaec sic abire. O prudentem Oppium! qui nihilo minus illum desiderat, sed loquitur nihil; quod quemquam bonum offendat. Sed haec hactenus.
Tu, quaeso, quicquid novi (multa autem exspecto), scribere ne pigrere, in his, de Sexto satisne certum, maxime autem de Bruto nostro. De quo quidem ille, ad quem deverti, Caesarem solitum dicere: "Magni refert, hic quid velit, sed, quicquid volt, valde volt"; idque eum animadvertisse, cum pro Deiotaro Nicaeae dixerit; valde vehementer eum visum et libere dicere;
CICERO'S LETTERS
TO ATTICUS
BOOK XIV
I
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
I have stopped for a visit with the man we were speaking of in the morning.[186] His view is that nothing could be more disgraceful and the thing was quite hopeless. "For, if Caesar with his genius could not find a solution, who will find it now?" In a word he said the end had come (which may be true, but he was pleased about it), and assured me that in less than twenty days there would be a rising in Gaul. He has not discussed the matter with anyone except Lepidus since the 15th of March: and, in fine, things cannot pass off like this. What a wise man is Oppius! He regrets Caesar quite as much, but says nothing that can offend any of the loyal party. So much for that.
186. C. Matius Calvena.
Pray do not delay in sending me any news—and I expect there is plenty: among other things whether we may be sure of Sextus, but especially about our friend Brutus. About him the man I am staying with says Caesar used to say: "What he wants is of great importance, but whatever he wants, he wants it badly"; and that he noticed it, when he pleaded for Deiotarus at Nicaea, for he seemed to speak with emphasis and with boldness. Again—I like to write
218atque etiam (ut enim quicque succurrit, libet scribere) proxime, cum Sesti rogatu apud eum fuissem exspectaremque sedens, quoad vocarer, dixisse eum: "Ego dubitem, quin summo in odio sim, cum M. Cicero sedeat nec suo commodo me convenire possit? Atqui, si quisquam est facilis, hic est. Tamen non dubito, quin me male oderit." Haec et eius modi multa. Sed ad propositum. Quicquid erit non modo magnum, sed etiam parvum, scribes. Equidem nihil intermittam.
II
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Duas a te accepi epistulas heri. Ex priore theatrum Publiliumque cognovi, bona signa consentientis multitudinis. Plausus vero L. Cassio datus etiam facetus mihi quidem visus est. Altera epistula de Madaro scripta, apud quem nullum φαλάκρωμα, ut putas. Processit enim, sed minus. Diutius sermone eius sum retentus. Quod autem ad te scripseram obscure fortasse, id eius modi est. Aiebat Caesarem secum, quo tempore Sesti rogatu veni ad eum, cum exspectarem sedens, dixisse: "Ego nunc tam sim stultus, ut hunc ipsum facilem hominem putem mihi esse amicum, cum tam diu sedens meum commodum exspectet?" Habes igitur φαλάκρωμα inimicissimum otii, id est Bruti.
the first thing that comes into my head—recently, when at Sestius' request I paid Caesar a visit and was sitting waiting to be called in, he remarked: "Can I doubt that I am heartily detested, when Cicero sits waiting and cannot visit me at his convenience? Yet, if ever there was a good-natured man, he is one. However, I have no doubt that he detests me." That and more to the same effect. But to return to the point. Write me anything there is to write, not only important matters, but even petty details. I shall not let anything escape me.
II
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
I had two letters from you yesterday. From the first I learned about the theatre and Publilius,[187] good signs of the unanimous feeling of the people. The applause given to Cassius I thought even overdone. The other letter was about Bald-pate,[188] though he is not so bald as you think. For he has advanced, though not very far. I have been detained too long by his talk. What I mentioned to you, perhaps a little obscurely, was like this. He said Caesar remarked to him, when I went to see him at Sestius' request and was sitting waiting: "Can I be foolish enough to think that this man, good-natured though he is, is friendly to me, when he has to sit and wait for my convenience so long." So you have in Bald-pate a bitter enemy of peace, that is to say, of Brutus.
187. i.e. the production of a mime by Publilius Syra.
188. Madaro = μαδαρῷ, "bald-pate," a pun on Calvena, Matius' agnomen. The reading and rendering of the rest of the sentence is doubtful.
220In Tusculanum hodie, Lanuvi cras, inde Asturae cogitabam. Piliae paratum est hospitium, sed vellem Atticam. Verum tibi ignosco. Quarum utrique salutem.
III
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Tranquillae tuae quidem litterae. Quod utinam diutius! nam Matius posse negabat. Ecce autem structores nostri ad frumentum profecti, cum inanes redissent, rumorem adferunt magnum Romae domum ad Antonium frumentum omne portari. Πανικὸν certe; scripsisses enim. Corumbus Balbi nullus adhuc. Est mihi notum nomen; bellus enim esse dicitur architectus.
Ad obsignandum tu adhibitus non sine causa videris. Volunt enim nos ita putare; nescio, cur non animo quoque sentiant. Sed quid haec ad nos? Odorare tamen Antoni διάθεσιν; quem quidem ego epularum magis arbitror rationem habere quam quicquam mali cogitare.
Tu, si quid pragmaticum habebis, scribes; sin minus, populi ἐπισημασίαν et mimorum dicta perscribito. Piliae et Atticae salutem.
IV
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Numquid putas me Lanuvi? At ego te istic cotidie aliquid novi suspicor. Tument negotia. Nam, cum Matius, quid censes ceteros? Equidem doleo, quod
I am thinking of going to Tusculum to-day, to Lanuvium to-morrow, and then to Astura. I am ready to entertain Pilia, though I should like Attica. However, I forgive you. So greet me to them both.
III
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
Your letter is full of peace, and I only hope peace may last some time. Matius does not think it can. Here are my builders, who had gone off harvesting, returning empty-handed and bringing a strong report that all the corn is being taken to Antony's house at Rome. Of course it is a false alarm, or I should have heard it from you. Not a sign as yet of Balbus' man Corumbus. I know the name; he is said to be a good architect.
It appears to me there was reason in their asking you to be present at the sealing of that will: for they want us to think them friendly, and I don't see why that should not be their real feeling. But what does it matter to us? However, scent out Antony's intentions; I fancy he is more concerned about his banquets than about plotting any harm.
If you have any news of practical importance, let me hear it; if not, give me full details as to who were cheered by the people at the mimes, and the epigrams of the actors. My love to Pilia and Attica.
IV
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
Do you suppose I get any news at Lanuvium? But I suspect you hear something fresh every day in town. The trouble is coming to a head: for when Matius thinks so, what do you suppose others think? What
222numquam in ulla civitate accidit, non una cum libertate rem publicam recuperatam. Horribile est, quae loquantur, quae minitentur. Ac vereor Gallica etiam bella, ipse Sextus quo evadat. Sed omnia licet concurrant, Idus Martiae consolantur. Nostri autem ἥρωες, quod per ipsos confici potuit, gloriosissime et magnificentissime confecerunt; reliquae res opes et copias desiderant, quas nullas habemus. Haec ego ad te. Tu, si quid novi (nam cotidie aliquid exspecto), confestim ad me, et, si novi nihil, nostro more tamen ne patiamur intermitti litterulas. Equidem non committam.
V
CICERO ATTICO S. D.
Spero tibi iam esse, ut volumus, quoniam quidem ἠσίτησας, cum leviter commotus esses; sed tamen velim scire, quid agas. Signa bella, quod Calvena moleste fert se suspectum esse Bruto; illa signa non bona, si cum signis legiones veniunt e Gallia. Quid tu illas putas, quae fuerunt in Hispania? nonne idem postulaturas? quid, quas Annius transportavit? C. Asinium volui, sed μνημονικὸν ἁμάρτημα. Ab aleatore[189] φυρμὸς πολύς. Nam ista quidem Caesaris libertorum coniuratio facile opprimeretur, si recta saperet Antonius. O meam stultam verecundiam! qui legari noluerim ante res prolatas, ne deserere viderer hunc
189. a balneatore some MSS. and editors: in which case it refers to the Pseudo-Marius.
worries me is what never happened in any other state, that the constitution has not been recovered when freedom has. It is frightful to listen to the rumours and the threats: and I am afraid of a war in Gaul and of what side Sextus will take. But though all the world conspire against us, the Ides of March console me. Our heroes accomplished most gloriously and magnificently all that they could accomplish by themselves; the other matters require money and forces, and we have neither. That is all I have to say to you. If you have any news (for I expect something every day), let me know quickly, and, even if there is no news, don't let us break our custom and not exchange notes. I will see that I don't.
V
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
I hope you are as well as I wish you to be by now, as you were fasting owing to a slight indisposition: but I should like to know how you are. It is a good sign that Calvena is annoyed at Brutus' suspicions; but it will be by no means a good sign if the legions come from Gaul with their ensigns. What do you think about those that were in Spain? Won't they make the same demands? And what of those that Annius took across? I meant to say C. Asinius, but I had a lapsus memoriae. A fine mess the gambler[190] is making. For that conspiracy of Caesar's freedmen might have been put down easily, if Antony had his wits about him. How foolish were my scruples in refusing a free legation before the vacation for fear of appearing to shirk this turmoil. Of course, if I could
190. Antony.
224rerum tumorem; cui certe si possem mederi, desse non deberem. Sed vides magistratus, si quidem illi magistratus, vides tamen tyranni satellites in imperiis, vides eiusdem exercitus, vides in latere veteranos, quae sunt εὐρίπιστα omnia, eos autem, qui orbis terrae custodiis non modo saepti, verum etiam magni[191] esse debebant, tantum modo laudari atque amari, sed parietibus contineri. Atque illi quoquo modo beati, civitas misera. Sed velim scire, qui adventus Octavi, num qui concursus ad eum, num quae νεωτερισμοῦ suspicio. Non puto equidem, sed tamen, quicquid est, scire cupio. Haec scripsi ad te proficiscens Astura III Idus.
191. For magni Manutius proposed vagi, Orelli ἅγιοι, and Reid muniti.
VI
CICERO ATTICO S. D.
Pridie Idus Fundis accepi tuas litteras cenans. Primum igitur melius esse, deinde meliora te nuntiare. Odiosa illa enim fuerant, legiones venire. Nam de Octavio susque deque. Exspecto, quid de Mario; quem quidem ego sublatum rebar a Caesare. Antoni conloquium cum heroibus nostris pro re nata non incommodum. Sed tamen adhuc me nihil delectat praeter Idus Martias. Nam, quoniam Fundis sum cum Ligure nostro, discrucior Sextili fundum a verberone Curtilio possideri. Quod cum dico, de toto genere dico. Quid enim miserius quam ea nos
have helped to remedy it, I had no right to fail in my duty. But you see the magistrates, if they can be called magistrates; you see, in spite of all, the tyrant's satellites in authority; you see his army, you see his veterans on our flank. All these can easily be fanned into flame. But those who ought to be hedged about and even honoured by the watchful care of the whole world, are only praised and admired—and confined to their houses. And they, be that as it may, are happy, while the state is in misery. But I should like to know about Octavius' arrival, whether there was a rush to meet him and whether there was any suspicion of a coup d'état. I don't suppose there was, but still I should like to know, whatever happened. I am writing this as I leave Astura on the 11th of April.
VI
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
On the 12th I received your letter at Fundi during dinner. First you are better, and secondly you send better news. For the news about the coming of the legions was annoying. That about Octavius is neither here nor there. I am anxious to hear about Marius. I thought Caesar had got rid of him. Antony's conversation with our heroes is not unsatisfactory under the circumstances. However, nothing at present gives me any pleasure except the Ides of March. For now that I am at Fundi with our friend Ligur, I am annoyed at an estate of a Sextilius being in the hands of a knave like Curtilius. In mentioning this instance I am speaking of a whole class. For can there be a more wretched state of affairs than
226tueri, propter quae illum oderamus? etiamne consules et tribunes pl. in biennium, quos ille voluit? Nullo modo reperio, quem ad modum possim πολιτεύεσθαι. Nihil enim tam σόλοικον quam tyrannoctonos in caelo esse, tyranni facta defendi. Sed vides consules, vides reliquos magistratus, si isti magistratus, vides languorem bonorum. Exsultant laetitia in municipiis. Dici enim non potest, quanto opere gaudeant, ut ad me concurrant, ut audire cupiant mea verba de re p. Nec ulla interea decreta. Sic enim πεπολιτεύμεθα, ut victos metueremus.
Haec ad te scripsi apposita secunda mensa; plura et πολιτικώτερα postea, et tu, quid agas, quidque agatur.
VII
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Postridie Idus Paulum Caietae vidi. Is mihi de Mario et de re publica quaedam sane pessima. A te scilicet nihil; nemo enim meorum. Sed Brutum nostrum audio visum sub Lanuvio. Ubi tandem est futurus? Nam cum reliqua tum de hoc scire aveo omnia. Ego e Formiano exiens XVII Kal., ut inde altero die in Puteolanum, scripsi haec.
A Cicerone mihi litterae sane πεπινωμέναι et bene longae. Cetera autem vel fingi possunt, πίνος litterarum significat doctiorem. Nunc magno opere a te
that we should keep up the things for which we detested him? Are we to have consuls and tribunes, too, for the next two years selected by him? I don't see how I can possibly take part in politics. For nothing could be more topsy-turvy than to belaud the slayers of the tyrant to the skies and to defend the tyrant's acts. But you see the consuls; you see the other magistrates, if they can be called magistrates; you see the indifference of the loyalists. In the country towns they are jumping for joy. I cannot describe their rejoicing, how they flock round me, how they want to hear what I have to say about the state. And in the meantime no senatorial decrees. For our policy is this, that we are afraid of the conquered party.
This I have written during dessert. I will write fuller and more about politics later, and do you write what you are doing and what is being done.
VII
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
I saw Paulus at Caieta on the 14th. He told me about Marius and gave me very bad news about the State. From you, of course, I have nothing, as none of my men have arrived. But I hear our friend Brutus has been seen near Lanuvium. Where on earth is he going to be? For I want to know among other things everything about him. I am writing this as I leave Formiae on the 15th, and I hope to reach Puteoli on the next day.
I have had a letter from my son in quite the best style, and fairly long. Other things may be put on, but the style of the letter shows that he is learning something. Now I appeal to you earnestly to see
228peto, de quo sum nuper tecum locutus, ut videas, ne quid ei desit. Id cum ad officium nostrum pertinet tum ad existimationem et dignitatem; quod idem intellexi tibi videri. Omnino, si ego, ut volo, mense Quinctili in Graeciam, sunt omnia faciliora; sed, cum sint ea tempora, ut certi nihil esse possit, quid honestum mihi sit, quid liceat, quid expediat, quaeso, da operam, ut illum quam honestissime copiosissimeque tueamur.
Haec et cetera, quae ad nos pertinebunt, ut soles, cogitabis ad meque aut, quod ad rem pertineat, aut, si nihil erit, quod in buccam venerit, scribes.
VIII
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Tu me iam rebare, cum scribebas, in actis esse nostris, et ego accepi XVII Kal. in deversoriolo Sinuessano tuas litteras. De Mario probe, etsi doleo L. Crassi nepotem. Optime iam etiam Bruto nostro probari Antonium. Nam, quod Iuniam scribis moderate et amice scriptas litteras attulisse, mihi Paulus dicit ad se a fratre missas; quibus in extremis erat sibi insidias fieri; se id certis auctoribus comperisse. Hoc nec mihi placebat et multo illi minus. Reginae fuga mihi non molesta est. Clodia quid egerit, scribas ad me velim. De Byzantiis curabis ut cetera et Pelopem ad te arcesses. Ego, ut postulas, Baiana
that he wants for nothing: I had already mentioned the point to you. It is a point that concerns my duty and my reputation and dignity as well; and I see you take that view yourself. Of course, if I go to Greece, as I should like, in July, everything will be easier: but, as the times are such that I cannot be sure what will be honourable, possible, or expedient for me, I beg you to be careful that we supply him with a reasonable and liberal income.
As usual you will consider these points and others that concern me, and will write and tell me the pertinent facts or, if there are none, whatever comes into your head.
VIII
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
When you wrote, you thought I was already in one of my seaside houses, and I have received your letter on the 15th in my lodge at Sinuessa. I am glad about Marius, though I am sorry for the grandson of L. Crassus.[192] It is a very good thing that Antony is so approved of even by our friend Brutus. You say Junia brought a letter written in a moderately friendly tone: Paulus tells me it was sent to him by his brother,[193] and that at the end of it there was a statement that there was a plot against him, which he had ascertained on excellent authority. I was annoyed about that and he was still more annoyed. I see nothing to object to in Cleopatra's flight. I should like you to tell me what Clodia has done. You must look after the people of Byzantium like everything else, and get Pelops[194] to call on you. I
192. The Pseudo-Marius had just been put to death by Antony.
193. Both letters came from M. Lepidus, husband of Junia—the one to Brutus, the other to L. Aemilius (Lepidus) Paulus.
194. Possibly the Pelops mentioned by Plutarch (Cic. 25), to whom Cicero wrote about some honours the Byzantines proposed to confer on him.
230negotia chorumque illum, de quo scire vis, cum perspexero, tum scribam, ne quid ignores. Quid Galli, quid Hispani, quid Sextus agat, vehementer exspecto. Ea scilicet tu declarabis, qui cetera. Nauseolam tibi tuam causam otii dedisse facile patiebar. Videbare enim mihi legenti tuas litteras requiesse paulisper. De Bruto semper ad me omnia perscribito, ubi sit, quid cogitet. Quem quidem ego spero iam tuto vel solum tota urbe vagari posse. Verum tamen ——.
IX
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
De re publica multa cognovi ex tuis litteris; quas quidem multiiuges accepi uno tempore a Vestori liberto. Ad ea autem, quae requiris, brevi respondebo. Primum vehementer me Cluviana delectant. Sed quod quaeris, quid arcessierim Chrysippum, tabernae mihi duae corruerunt, reliquaeque rimas agunt, itaque non solum inquilini, sed mures etiam migraverunt. Hanc ceteri calamitatem vocant, ego ne incommodum quidem. O Socrates et Socratici viri! numquam vobis gratiam referam. Di immortales, quam mihi ista pro nihilo! Sed tamen ea ratio aedificandi initur consiliario quidem et auctore Vestorio, ut hoc damnum quaestuosum sit.
Hic turba magna est eritque, ut audio, maior.
will look into all that lot of fellows[195] at Baiae, about whom you wish to know, as you ask me, and will let you know all about them. I am very anxious to hear what the Gauls, and the Spaniards, and Sextus are doing. You will, of course, inform me of that as of other things. I am not sorry your slight attack of sickness gave you an excuse for rest, for, judging by your letters, you seem to have taken a little holiday. Always give me full news about Brutus, his movements and his intentions. I hope he will soon be able to walk about the whole city safely even by himself. However ——.
195. negotium here seems to be used as a contemptuous term in the sense of "fellow," for which cf. Att. I. 12 and V. 18; and to refer to Hirtius, Pansa, and Balbus who were idling at Baiae.
IX
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
From your letters I have learned much about politics. I had a whole batch of them at the same time from the freedman of Vestorius. However, I will answer your questions shortly. Firstly, I am delighted about the Cluvian property. You ask why I sent for Chrysippus. Two of my shops have fallen down and the rest are cracking: so not only the tenants, but even the mice, have migrated. Other people call it a calamity, but I don't count it even a nuisance. O Socrates and followers of Socrates, I can never thank you sufficiently. Ye gods! how insignificant I count all such things. However, at the advice and on the suggestion of Vestorius I have adopted a plan of rebuilding which will make my loss a profit.
There are lots of people here, and I hear there
232Duo quidem quasi designati consules. O di boni! vivit tyrannis, tyrannus occidit! Eius interfecti morte laetamur, cuius facta defendimus! Itaque quam severe nos M. Curtius accusat, ut pudeat vivere, neque iniuria. Nam mori miliens praestitit quam haec pati; quae mihi videntur habitura etiam vetustatem.
Et Balbus hic est multumque mecum. Ad quem a Vetere litterae datae pridie Kal. Ianuar., cum a se Caecilius circumsederetur et iam teneretur, venisse cum maximis copiis Pacorum Parthum; ita sibi esse eum ereptum multis suis amissis. In qua re accusat Volcacium. Ita mihi videtur bellum illud instare. Sed Dolabella et Nicias viderint. Idem Balbus meliora de Gallia. XXI die litteras habebat Germanos illasque nationes re audita de Caesare legates misisse ad Aurelium, qui est praepositus ab Hirtio, se, quod imperatum esset, esse facturos. Quid quaeris? omnia plena pacis, aliter ac mihi Calvena dixerat.
X
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Itane vero? hoc meus et tuus Brutus egit, ut Lanuvi esset, ut Trebonius itineribus deviis proficisceretur in provinciam, ut omnia facta, scripta, dicta, promissa, cogitata Caesaris plus valerent, quam si ipse viveret? Meministine me clamare illo ipso primo
will be more. Two of them are the so-called consuls designate. Good God, the tyranny lives though the tyrant is dead! We rejoice at his assassination and defend his actions. So see how severely M. Curtius criticizes us! We feel ashamed to live, and he is perfectly right. For to die is a thousand times better than to suffer such things, which seem to me to be likely to continue for some considerable time.
Balbus, too, is here, and is often with me. He has had a letter from Vetus, dated the last of December, saying that when Caecilius was besieged and already within his grasp, the Parthian Pacorus came with a large force, and so Caecilius was snatched from his hands and he lost many men. For that he blames Volcacius. So I suppose there is a war imminent there. But that is Dolabella's and Nicias' look out. Balbus also has better news about Gaul. Twenty-one days ago he had a letter that the Germans and the tribes there, on hearing about Caesar, sent ambassadors to Aurelius, who was appointed by Hirtius, saying that they would do as they were bidden. In fact everything seems peaceable there, contrary to what Calvena said.
X
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
Is this what it comes to? Is this what our hero Brutus, my hero and yours, has achieved, that he should have to stay at Lanuvium, that Trebonius must make his way to his province by roundabout routes; that all the acts, notes, words, promises, and projects of Caesar should have more validity than if he were alive? Do you remember that I cried aloud
234Capitolino die debere senatum in Capitolium a praetoribus vocari? Di immortales, quae tum opera effici potuerunt laetantibus omnibus bonis, etiam sat bonis, fractis latronibus! Liberalia tu accusas. Quid fieri tum potuit? iam pridem perieramus. Meministine te clamare causam perisse, si funere elatus esset? At ille etiam in foro combustus, laudatusque miserabiliter, servique et egentes in tecta nostra cum facibus immissi. Quae deinde? ut audeant dicere: "Tune contra Caesaris nutum?" Haec et alia ferre non possum. Itaque "γῆν πρὸ γῆς" cogito; tua tamen ὑπηνέμιος.
Nausea iamne plane abiit? Mihi quidem ex tuis litteris coniectanti ita videbatur. Redeo ad Tebassos, Scaevas, Frangones. Hos tu existimas confidere se illa habituros stantibus nobis? in quibus plus virtutis putarunt, quam experti sunt. Pacis isti scilicet amatores et non latrocinii auctores. At ego, cum tibi de Curtilio scripsi Sextilianoque fundo, scripsi de Censorino, de Messalla, de Planco, de Postumo, de genere toto. Melius fuit perisse illo interfecto, quod numquam accidisset, quam haec videre.
Octavius Neapolim venit XIIII Kal. Ibi eum Balbus
on that first day on the Capitol[196] that the Senate should be summoned thither by the praetors? Ye gods! what might we not have accomplished then, when all the loyalists were rejoicing, and even the half loyal, while the knaves were crushed. You blame the Liberalia.[197] What could have been done then? We were done for already. Do you remember you exclaimed our cause was lost if the funeral took place? But he was even burned in the forum and a moving oration was delivered in his praise, and slaves and paupers were incited to attack our houses with torches. And the end of it all is that they dare to say: "Are you going to oppose Caesar's will?" Such things as these I cannot bear. So I am thinking of shifting from land to land. But your land[198] is too exposed.
196. The murderers of Caesar barricaded themselves on the Capitol after the murder, and were visited by Cicero and others.
197. At a meeting of the Senate on March 17 it was decreed that Caesar's acta should be confirmed, that he should have a public funeral, and that his will should be read.
198. Greece.
Has your sickness left you entirely now? So far as I can guess from your letters it has. I return to the Tebassi, Scaevae, and Frangones.[199] Do you suppose they will have any confidence in their homesteads, while we have any power? They have found us to have less courage than they expected. I suppose we must hold them lovers of peace and not a gang of brigands. But, when I wrote to you of Curtilius and Sextilianus' farm, I wrote of Censorinus, Messalla, Plancus, Postumus, and all such cases. It were better to have perished when he was slain—though it would never have come to that[200]—than to see such things.
199. Veterans of Caesar's army, who had had lands of the Pompeian party given to them.
200. Cicero implies that the republican party would have prevailed, if they had been bolder after Caesar's death.
Octavius came to Naples on the 18th of April. There Balbus met him the next morning, and the
236mane postridie, eodemque die mecum in Cumano, illum hereditatem aditurum. Sed, ut scribis, ῥιξόθεμιν magnam cum Antonio. Buthrotia mihi tua res est, ut debet, eritque curae. Quod quaeris, iamne ad centena Cluvianum, adventare videtur. Scilicet primo anno LXXX detersimus.
Quintus pater ad me gravia de filio, maxime quod matri nunc indulgeat, cui antea bene merenti fuerit inimicus. Ardentes in eum litteras ad me misit. Ille autem quid agat, si scis, nequedum Roma es profectus, scribas ad me velim, et hercule si quid aliud. Vehementer delector tuis litteris.
XI
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Nudius tertius dedi ad te epistulam longiorem; nunc ad ea, quae proxime. Velim mehercule, Asturae Brutus. Ἀκολασίαν istorum scribis. An censebas aliter? Equidem etiam maiora exspecto. Cum contionem lego "de tanto viro, de clarissimo civi," ferre non queo. Etsi ista iam ad risum. Sed memento, sic alitur consuetudo perditarum contionum, ut nostri illi non heroes, sed di futuri quidem in gloria sempiterna sint, sed non sine invidia, ne sine periculo quidem. Verum illis magna consolatio conscientia
same day he was with me at Cumae and said Octavius would accept that inheritance.[201] But as you say, there will be a crow to pick with Antony. I am attending to your business at Buthrotum,[202] as I ought, and I will continue to do so. You ask if Cluvius' legacy amounts to £1,000 yet. Well, in the first year I cleared about £800.[203]
201. Left in Caesar's will.
202. Saving the people of Buthrotum from confiscation of their land for distribution among Caesar's veterans.
203. 100,000 and 80,000 sesterces respectively.
Quintus is grumbling to me about his son, chiefly because he is now making much of his mother, while formerly he disliked her in spite of all she did for him. The letter against him he sent me was written in a blazing fury. If you know what the youth is doing, and have not left Rome yet, I should be glad to hear from you, and uncommonly glad for any other news too. Your letters give me so much pleasure.
XI
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
Two days ago I sent you a fairly long letter: now I answer your last. I wish to heaven Brutus were at Astura. You speak of the wild conduct of the Caesareans. Did you expect anything else? For my part I look for worse. When I read a speech about "so great a man, so illustrious a citizen," it is more than I can bear, though now such talk is an absurdity. But take note, the habit of wild public speaking is so fostered nowadays, that, though eternal glory will be the portion of those friends of ours, who will be held not merely heroes but gods, they will not escape dislike or even danger. However, they have the great consolation of being
238maximi et clarissimi facti, nobis quae, qui interfecto rege liberi non sumus? Sed haec fortuna viderit, quoniam ratio non gubernat.
De Cicerone quae scribis, iucunda mihi sunt; velim sint prospera. Quod curae tibi est, ut ei suppeditetur ad usum et cultum copiose, per mihi gratum est, idque ut facias, te etiam atque etiam rogo. De Buthrotiis et tu recte cogitas, et ego non dimitto istam curam. Suscipiam omnem etiam actionem, quam video cotidie faciliorem. De Cluviano, quoniam in re mea me ipsum diligentia vincis, res ad centena perducitur. Ruina rem non fecit deteriorem, haud scio an etiam fructuosiorem.
Hic mecum Balbus, Hirtius, Pansa. Modo venit Octavius et quidem in proximam villam Philippi mihi totus deditus. Lentulus Spinther hodie apud me. Cras mane vadit.
XII
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
O mi Attice, vereor, ne nobis Idus Martiae nihil dederint praeter laetitiam et odii poenam ac doloris. Quae mihi istim adferuntur! quae hic video!
Scis, quam diligam Siculos et quam illam clientelam honestam iudicem. Multa illis Caesar neque me
conscious of a heroic and magnificent deed, but what have we, who have killed a king and yet are not free? However, this lies in fortune's hands, since reason no longer rules.
What you tell me of my son is welcome news; I hope all will go well. I am exceedingly grateful to you for arranging that he shall be supplied with sufficient for luxury as well as necessities, and I beg you again and again to continue to do so. You are right about the people of Buthrotum, and I am not remitting my attention. I will undertake their whole case, which is daily looking simpler. As for Cluvius' inheritance, since you are more anxious about my affairs than I am myself, it is approaching £1,000.[204] The fall of some houses did not depreciate it; indeed, I am not sure it did not make it better.
204. 100,000 sesterces.
Balbus, Hirtius, and Pansa are here with me. Octavius has just come to stay, and that, too, in the very next house, Philippus' place, and he is devoted to me. Lentulus Spinther is staying with me to-day. To-morrow early he is going.
XII
CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.
My dear Atticus, I fear the Ides of March may have given us nothing but our joy and satisfaction of our hatred and resentment. What news I get from Rome! What things I see here! "The deed was fair but its result is naught."
You know how fond I am of the Sicilians, and how great an honour I count it to be their patron. Caesar granted them many privileges, and I was pleased at
240invito, etsi Latinitas erat non ferenda. Verum tamen. Ecce autem Antonius accepta grandi pecunia fixit legem a dictatore comitiis latam, qua Siculi cives Romani; cuius rei vivo illo mentio nulla. Quid? Deiotari nostri causa non similis? Dignus ille quidem omni regno, sed non per Fulviam. Sescenta similia. Verum illuc redeo. Tam claram tamque testatam rem tamque iustam Buthrotiam non tenebimus aliqua ex parte? et eo quidem magis, quo iste plura?
Nobiscum hic perhonorifice et peramice Octavius. Quem quidem sui Caesarem salutabant, Philippus non, itaque ne nos quidem; quem nego posse bonum civem. Ita multi circumstant, qui quidem nostris mortem minitantur. Negant haec ferri posse. Quid censes, cum Romam puer venerit, ubi nostri liberatores tuti esse non possunt? Qui quidem semper erunt clari, conscientia vero facti sui etiam beati. Sed nos, nisi me fallit, iacebimus. Itaque exire aveo, "ubi nec Pelopidarum," inquit. Haud amo vel hos designatos, qui etiam declamare me coëgerunt, ut ne apud aquas quidem acquiescere liceret. Sed hoc meae nimiae facilitatis. Nam id erat quondam quasi necesse, nunc, quoquo modo se res habet, non est item.
Quam dudum nihil habeo, quod ad te scribam! Scribo tamen, non ut delectem his litteris, sed ut
it, though to give them the Latin rights was intolerable. However ——. But here is Antony taking a huge bribe and posting up a law said to have been carried by the dictator in the Comitia, which gives the Sicilians the citizenship, though there was no mention of such a thing when Caesar was alive. Again, is not our friend Deiotarus' case just the same? He is certainly worthy of any kingdom, but not of one bought through Fulvia. There are thousands of other cases. However, to return to my point. Shall I not be able to maintain to some extent my case for the people of Buthrotum, since it is so well supported by witnesses and so just, especially as he is free with his grants?
Octavius is here with us on terms of respect and friendship. His people address him as Caesar, but Philippus does not, and so I do not either. I hold that it is impossible for a loyal citizen to do so. We are surrounded by so many who threaten death to our friends, and declare they cannot bear the present state of affairs. What do you think will happen, when this boy comes to Rome, where those who have set us free cannot live in safety. They, indeed, will ever be famous, and even happy in the consciousness of their deed. But we, unless I am much mistaken, shall be crushed. So I long to go "where no bruit of the sons of Pelops may reach my ears,"[205] as the saying is. I have no love even for these consuls designate, who have forced me to declaim to them, so that I can't have peace even by the sea. But that is due to my excess of good nature. For at one time declamation was more or less a necessity; now, however things turn out, it is not.
205. The full quotation, which comes from the Pelops of Accius, runs:
"evolem, ubi nec Pelopidarum nomen nec facta aut famam audiam."
How long it is since I have had anything to write to you! However, I write, not to charm you with