Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 49 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
You ask, "Am I to receive a letter from you every day?" Every day, if I have someone to give one to. "But you are already nearly here yourself." Then when I arrive, I will stop. I see that one letter from you did not reach me: my friend Lucius Quinctius was wounded and robbed near the tomb of Basilus while carrying it.
So consider whether there was anything in that letter I need to know, and at the same time help me untangle this very political problem. Either Caesar's candidacy must be allowed while he keeps his army, through the Senate or through the tribunes; or he must be persuaded to surrender his province and army and then become consul; or, if he cannot be persuaded, elections must be held without allowing his candidacy while he endures it and keeps his province; or, if he will not endure it and uses the tribunes but still keeps quiet, the matter will come to an interregnum; or, if because his candidacy is rejected he brings up his army, we must fight him.
In that case he may begin the war either at once, when we are less prepared, or at the time of the elections, when his friends have demanded that his candidacy be allowed under the law and have failed. He may take up arms for this one reason alone, that his candidacy has not been accepted; or he may add another pretext, if a tribune obstructing the Senate or stirring up the people is censured, restricted by a decree of the Senate, suspended, expelled, or says he has been expelled and flees to Caesar. Once war is begun, we must either hold the city or abandon it and cut him off from food and other supplies. Which of these evils - and one of them certainly has to be faced - do you think is the least?
You will certainly say: persuade him to hand over the army and become consul in that way. In itself, if he came down to that position, nothing could be said against it; and I am surprised he does not do it, if he cannot get his candidacy accepted while he keeps his army. But for us, as some think, nothing is more to be feared than Caesar as consul. "Better that," you will say, "than Caesar with an army." Certainly. Yet that very "better that" is, I know, regarded by someone as a great evil, and there is no remedy for it. We must yield if he wants it.
Look at him as consul a second time, when you saw him in his first consulship. "But then he was weak," someone says. He was stronger than the whole republic. What do you think now? And with him as consul, Pompey is certain to be in Spain. What a miserable business, if the worst option is precisely the one that cannot be refused - and the one by which, if he takes it, he may at once win the gratitude of all respectable men.
Let us set aside that option, then, since Pompey says Caesar cannot be brought to it. Of the remaining choices, what is worst? To concede what, as Pompey says, Caesar most shamelessly demands. And what could be more shameless? You held a province for ten years, granted not by the Senate but by yourself, through violence and faction. Your term - not the term set by law but by your own desire; let us even call it the law's term - has expired. A successor is decreed. You block it and say, "Allow my candidacy." You allow our case. Are you to keep an army longer than the people ordered, against the Senate's will? Either fight or yield.
If we fight, let it be with good hope, as Pompey says, either of winning or of dying free. If fighting is necessary, the time will depend on chance, the danger on circumstance, the plan on the moment. So I am not exercising you on that question. But if you have anything to add to what I have said, send it. I am tormented day and night.
You ask if you are going to get a letter from me every day. Every day, if I can find a messenger. True I am at hand myself. Well, I will stop writing
when I arrive. I see I have missed one of your letters: my friend L. Quinctius was wounded and robbed near the tomb of Basilus, while he was bringing it. So you must see if there was any news in it I ought to have, and you shall solve me this inevitable problem of politics to boot. It may be necessary for us to admit Caesar as a candidate while he keeps his army, be it by the favour of the House or the tribunes. Or we may have to persuade him to take office on condition of giving up his province and his troops. Or, if he will not yield to persuasion on that point, we may refuse to admit him as a candidate at the election, and he may endure the treatment and keep his province. Or, if he employs the tribunes to interfere, yet keeps the peace, a political deadlock may be brought about. Or, if he uses force, because we reject him as a candidate, we may have to fight and he may begin at once before we are ready, or when his friends fail to get his candidature allowed at the elections in accordance with his legal privilege. He may resort to arms solely on account of his rejection as a candidate, or for a further reason, if a tribune through using obstructionist tactics or an appeal to popular feeling incur a censure or a limitation of power or suspension or expulsion from office, or if some tribune fly to him with a tale of expulsion. War begun, we must either hold the city or abandon it and cut him off from food and supplies. Of these evils some one must be borne: consider which in your opinion is the lightest. Of course you will say, "Induce him to give up his army and so take the consulship." True there can be no objection to that, if he will condescend, and I wonder he does not, if he cannot get his candidature supported
while he keeps his army. But for us some think that nothing could be worse than Caesar in office. You may say, "Better so, than with an army." Certainly: but Pompey thinks that very "so" fatal, and there is no remedy for it. "We must submit to Caesar's will." But imagine him in office again after your experience of his former tenure. You will reflect that, weak as he was, he was too strong for the constitution. What about him now? And now, if Caesar is consul, Pompey will remain in Spain. What a plight! since the worst of all is the very alternative which we cannot refuse him, and the one which, if he takes it, will of itself win him the favour of the right party. This course it is said he will not accept; let us put it out of court. Which is the worst of the remaining alternatives? To concede his impertinent demand, as Pompey terms it? Impertinent it is indeed. You have had a province for ten years, not allotted by the Senate, but by yourself through force and insubordination. This term, not a legal term, but a term of your own will and pleasure—or say, this legal term—comes to an end. The House passes a decree for the appointment of a successor. You object and cry, "Consider my candidature." Consider our case. Are you to dare the House and keep your army longer than the nation sanctions? "You must fight or yield." Then as Pompey says, let us hope for victory, or death with freedom. If we must fight, the time depends on chance, the plan of campaign on circumstances. So I do not trouble you on that point. But make any suggestion you can on my remarks. Day and night I am tormented.
'cotidiene' inquis 'a te accipiendae litterae sunt?' si habebo cui dem, cotidie. 'at iam ipse ades.' tum igitur cum venero desinam. unas video mihi a te non esse redditas quas L. Quinctius familiaris meus cum ferret ad bustum Basili vulneratus et despoliatus est. [2] videbis igitur num quid fuerit in iis quod me scire opus sit et simul hoc dieukrineseis problema sane politikon. Cum sit necesse aut haberi Caesaris rationem illo exercitum vel per senatum vel per tribunos pl. obtinente, aut persuaderi Caesari ut tradat provinciam atque exercitum et ita consul fiat, aut, si id ei non persuadeatur, haberi comitia sine illius ratione illo patiente atque obtinente provinciam, aut, si per tribunos pl. non patiatur (et) tamen quiescat, rem adduci ad interregnum, aut, si ob eam causam quod ratio eius non habeatur exercitum adducat, armis cum eo contendere, illum autem initium facere armorum aut statim nobis minus paratis aut tum cum comitiis amicis eius postulantibus ut e lege ratio habeatur impetratum non sit, ire autem ad arma aut hanc unam ob causam quod ratio non habeatur aut addita causa si forte tribunus pl. senatum impediens aut populum incitans notatus aut senatus consulto circumscriptus aut sublatus aut expulsus sit dicensve se expulsum ad illum confugerit, suscepto autem bello aut tenenda sit urbs aut ea relicta ille commeatu et reliquis copiis interdudendus—quod horum malorum quorum aliquod certe subeundum est minimum putes. dices profecto persuaderi illi ut tradat exercitum et ita consul fiat. est omnino id eius modi ut, si ille eo descendat, contra dici nihil possit idque eum, si non obtinet ut ratio habeatur retinentis exercitum, noli facere miror. nobis autem, ut quidam putant, nihil est timendum magis quam ille consul. 'at sic malo' inquies 'quam cum exercitu.' certe; sed istud ipsum 'sic,' scio, magnum malum putat aliquis neque ei remedium est ullum 'cedendum est, si id volet.' vide consulem illum iterum quem vidisti consulatu priore 'at tum imbecillus plus' inquit valuit quam tota res publica.' quid nunc putas? et eo consule Pompeio certum est esse in Hispania. o rem miseram! si quidem id ipsum deterrimum est quod recusari non potest et quod ille si faciat, iam iam (a) bonis omnibus summam ineat gratiam. [4] tollamus igitur hoc quo illum posse adduci negat; de reliquis quid est deterrimum? concedere illi quod, ut idem dicit, impudentissime postulat. nam quid impudentius? tenuisti provinciam per annos decem non tibi a senatu sed a te ipso per vim et per factionem datos; praeteriit tempus non legis sed libidinis tuae, fac tamen legis; ut succedatur decernitur; impedis et ais, 'habe meam rationem.' habe tu nostram. exercitum tu habeas diutius quam populus iussit invito senatu? 'depugnes oportet, nisi concedis.' Cum bona quidem spe, ut ait idem, vel vincendi vel in libertate moriendi. iam si pugnandum est, quo tempore, in casu, quo consilio, in temporibus situm est. itaque te in ea quaestione non exerceo; ad ea quae dixi adfer si quid habes. equidem dies noctesque torqueor.
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You ask, "Am I to receive a letter from you every day?" Every day, if I have someone to give one to. "But you are already nearly here yourself." Then when I arrive, I will stop. I see that one letter from you did not reach me: my friend Lucius Quinctius was wounded and robbed near the tomb of Basilus while carrying it.
So consider whether there was anything in that letter I need to know, and at the same time help me untangle this very political problem. Either Caesar's candidacy must be allowed while he keeps his army, through the Senate or through the tribunes; or he must be persuaded to surrender his province and army and then become consul; or, if he cannot be persuaded, elections must be held without allowing his candidacy while he endures it and keeps his province; or, if he will not endure it and uses the tribunes but still keeps quiet, the matter will come to an interregnum; or, if because his candidacy is rejected he brings up his army, we must fight him.
In that case he may begin the war either at once, when we are less prepared, or at the time of the elections, when his friends have demanded that his candidacy be allowed under the law and have failed. He may take up arms for this one reason alone, that his candidacy has not been accepted; or he may add another pretext, if a tribune obstructing the Senate or stirring up the people is censured, restricted by a decree of the Senate, suspended, expelled, or says he has been expelled and flees to Caesar. Once war is begun, we must either hold the city or abandon it and cut him off from food and other supplies. Which of these evils - and one of them certainly has to be faced - do you think is the least?
You will certainly say: persuade him to hand over the army and become consul in that way. In itself, if he came down to that position, nothing could be said against it; and I am surprised he does not do it, if he cannot get his candidacy accepted while he keeps his army. But for us, as some think, nothing is more to be feared than Caesar as consul. "Better that," you will say, "than Caesar with an army." Certainly. Yet that very "better that" is, I know, regarded by someone as a great evil, and there is no remedy for it. We must yield if he wants it.
Look at him as consul a second time, when you saw him in his first consulship. "But then he was weak," someone says. He was stronger than the whole republic. What do you think now? And with him as consul, Pompey is certain to be in Spain. What a miserable business, if the worst option is precisely the one that cannot be refused - and the one by which, if he takes it, he may at once win the gratitude of all respectable men.
Let us set aside that option, then, since Pompey says Caesar cannot be brought to it. Of the remaining choices, what is worst? To concede what, as Pompey says, Caesar most shamelessly demands. And what could be more shameless? You held a province for ten years, granted not by the Senate but by yourself, through violence and faction. Your term - not the term set by law but by your own desire; let us even call it the law's term - has expired. A successor is decreed. You block it and say, "Allow my candidacy." You allow our case. Are you to keep an army longer than the people ordered, against the Senate's will? Either fight or yield.
If we fight, let it be with good hope, as Pompey says, either of winning or of dying free. If fighting is necessary, the time will depend on chance, the danger on circumstance, the plan on the moment. So I am not exercising you on that question. But if you have anything to add to what I have said, send it. I am tormented day and night.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
'cotidiene' inquis 'a te accipiendae litterae sunt?' si habebo cui dem, cotidie. 'at iam ipse ades.' tum igitur cum venero desinam. unas video mihi a te non esse redditas quas L. Quinctius familiaris meus cum ferret ad bustum Basili vulneratus et despoliatus est. [2] videbis igitur num quid fuerit in iis quod me scire opus sit et simul hoc dieukrineseis problema sane politikon. Cum sit necesse aut haberi Caesaris rationem illo exercitum vel per senatum vel per tribunos pl. obtinente, aut persuaderi Caesari ut tradat provinciam atque exercitum et ita consul fiat, aut, si id ei non persuadeatur, haberi comitia sine illius ratione illo patiente atque obtinente provinciam, aut, si per tribunos pl. non patiatur (et) tamen quiescat, rem adduci ad interregnum, aut, si ob eam causam quod ratio eius non habeatur exercitum adducat, armis cum eo contendere, illum autem initium facere armorum aut statim nobis minus paratis aut tum cum comitiis amicis eius postulantibus ut e lege ratio habeatur impetratum non sit, ire autem ad arma aut hanc unam ob causam quod ratio non habeatur aut addita causa si forte tribunus pl. senatum impediens aut populum incitans notatus aut senatus consulto circumscriptus aut sublatus aut expulsus sit dicensve se expulsum ad illum confugerit, suscepto autem bello aut tenenda sit urbs aut ea relicta ille commeatu et reliquis copiis interdudendus—quod horum malorum quorum aliquod certe subeundum est minimum putes. dices profecto persuaderi illi ut tradat exercitum et ita consul fiat. est omnino id eius modi ut, si ille eo descendat, contra dici nihil possit idque eum, si non obtinet ut ratio habeatur retinentis exercitum, noli facere miror. nobis autem, ut quidam putant, nihil est timendum magis quam ille consul. 'at sic malo' inquies 'quam cum exercitu.' certe; sed istud ipsum 'sic,' scio, magnum malum putat aliquis neque ei remedium est ullum 'cedendum est, si id volet.' vide consulem illum iterum quem vidisti consulatu priore 'at tum imbecillus plus' inquit valuit quam tota res publica.' quid nunc putas? et eo consule Pompeio certum est esse in Hispania. o rem miseram! si quidem id ipsum deterrimum est quod recusari non potest et quod ille si faciat, iam iam (a) bonis omnibus summam ineat gratiam. [4] tollamus igitur hoc quo illum posse adduci negat; de reliquis quid est deterrimum? concedere illi quod, ut idem dicit, impudentissime postulat. nam quid impudentius? tenuisti provinciam per annos decem non tibi a senatu sed a te ipso per vim et per factionem datos; praeteriit tempus non legis sed libidinis tuae, fac tamen legis; ut succedatur decernitur; impedis et ais, 'habe meam rationem.' habe tu nostram. exercitum tu habeas diutius quam populus iussit invito senatu? 'depugnes oportet, nisi concedis.' Cum bona quidem spe, ut ait idem, vel vincendi vel in libertate moriendi. iam si pugnandum est, quo tempore, in casu, quo consilio, in temporibus situm est. itaque te in ea quaestione non exerceo; ad ea quae dixi adfer si quid habes. equidem dies noctesque torqueor.