Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 49 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
Please tell me, what is this? What is happening? I am in darkness. "We hold Cingulum," they say; "we have lost Ancona; Labienus has left Caesar." Are we speaking of a Roman commander or of Hannibal? What a mad and miserable man, never to have seen even the shadow of the honorable! And he says he is doing all this for dignity. But where is dignity except where there is moral right?
Is it honorable, then, to hold an army without any public authorization, to seize citizens' towns so that the road into the fatherland is easier, to plot debt cancellation, the return of exiles, and six hundred other crimes - all to win the gods' greatest gift, tyranny? Let him keep his fortune. By Hercules, I would rather have one hour sunning myself with you in that free sunlight of yours than every kingdom of that kind. Or rather, I would rather die a thousand times than once think of such a thing.
"What if you wanted it?" you ask. Come now, who is forbidden to want? But I think that wanting itself would be more miserable than being nailed to a cross. Only one thing is worse: to obtain what you have wanted in that way. Enough of that. In these troubles I am glad to pause with such reflections for a moment.
Let us return to our own side. By all the fortunes, what do you think of Pompey's plan? I mean his abandoning the city. I am at a loss. Nothing could be more absurd. You abandon the city? Would you do the same if the Gauls were coming? "The republic is not in its walls," he says. No, but it is in its altars and hearths. "Themistocles did it." Yes, because one city could not bear the whole flood of the barbarian world. But Pericles did not do it some fifty years later, when he held nothing except the walls. Our ancestors, when the rest of the city was taken, still held the citadel. That is the glory of the men of old we were taught.
On the other hand, from the indignation in the towns and from the talk of the people I meet, this plan seems likely to have some effect. People are complaining wonderfully that the city is without magistrates and without a Senate. I do not know whether it is the same there; make sure I do. In short, Pompey's flight is stirring people in a remarkable way. What more can I say? The issue has changed. They now think nothing should be conceded to Caesar. Explain to me what all this means.
I am in charge of a task that is not warlike. Pompey wants me to be the overseer for all Campania and the coast, the man to whom the levy and the whole business are referred. So I was thinking of staying on the move. I suppose by now you see Caesar's impulse, the people's mood, and the whole state of affairs. Please write these things to me, and, because they keep changing, write as often as possible. I find rest both in writing to you and in reading what you write.
What in the name of wonder is this? What is happening? I am in the dark. People say, "Cingulum is ours, Ancona is lost, Labienus has deserted from Caesar." Are we talking of a Roman officer or of Hannibal? Wretched madman never to have seen the shadow even of right! Yet all this, he says, is done to support his honour. Can there be honour without honesty: and is it honest to retain an army without sanction, to seize the cities of your country that you may strike the better at her heart, to contrive abolition of debts, the restoration of exiles, and scores of other crimes,
"To win God's greatest gift, a crown?"
Well, let him keep his fortune. For my part, let me bask one hour in your clime's free gift of sunlight, rather than win any kingdom of that sort. Better a thousand times to die than once to meditate such villainy. "Suppose you conceive a desire for it," you say. Desire is free to anyone; but I would rather be crucified than have such a desire. There is only one worse fate, to obtain your desire. But enough of this. It eases me to philosophize a trifle in our present straits.
To come back to Pompey. What, in heaven's name, do you think of his plan? I mean his desertion of Rome. I don't know what to make of it. Besides nothing could be more ridiculous. Leave the city? Would you then have done the same if the Gauls were coming? He may object that the state does not consist of lath and plaster. But it does consist of hearths and altars. "Themistocles abandoned Athens." Yes, because one city could not stand the flood of all the barbarians of the East. But Pericles did not desert her about fifty years later, though he held nothing but the walls. Once too our ancestors lost the rest of Rome, but they kept the citadel.
On the other hand to judge from the indignation in the towns and the talk of my acquaintances, it looks to me as if Pompey's flight would be a success. Here there is an extraordinary outcry (whether in
Rome also, I do not know: please tell me) at the city being left without magistrates and without the House. In fact Pompey's flight has made a marvellous stir. Men's attitude is really quite different: they object to any concession to Caesar. Explain to me what it all means.
My task is peaceful. Pompey wishes me to act as surveyor over the whole of the Campanian coast, to superintend the levy and all important business. So I expect to be a wanderer. I imagine you realize Caesar's policy, the temper of the people and the condition of affairs. Pray keep me informed, and, since things are in a changeable condition, as often as possible. It soothes me to write to you and read your letters.
quaeso, quid est hoc? aut quid agitur? mihi enim tenebrae sunt. 'Cingulum' inquit 'nos tenemus, Anconem amisimus; Labienus discessit a Caesare.' utrum de imperatore populi Romani an de Hannibale loquimur? O hominem amentem et miserum qui ne umbram quidem umquam tou kalou viderit! atque haec ait omnia facere se dignitatis causa. ubi est autem dignitas nisi ubi honestas? honestum igitur habere exercitum nullo publico consilio, occupare urbis civium quo facilior sit aditus ad patriam, chreon apokopas, phugadon kathodous, sescenta alia scelera moliri, ten theon megisten host' echein turannida—? sibi habeat suam fortunam! unam me hercule tecum apricationem in illo lucrativo tuo sole malim quam omnia istius modi regna vel potius mori miliens quam semel istius modi quicquam cogitare. 'quid si tu velis?' inquis. [2] age, quis est cui velle non liceat? sed ego hoc ipsum 'velle' miserius esse duco quam in crucem tolli. una res est ea miserior, adipisci quod ita volueris. sed haec hactenus. libenter enim in his molestiis enscholazo toson. [3] Redeamus ad nostrum. per fortunas! quale tibi consilium Pompei videtur? hoc quaero quod urbem reliquerit. ego enim aporo. tum nihil absurdius. urbem tu relinquas? ergo idem, si Galli venirent? 'non est' inquit 'in parietibus res publica.' at in aris et focis. 'fecit Themistocles.' fluctum enim totius barbariae ferre urbs una non poterat. at idem Pericles non fecit annum fere post quinquagesimum, cum praeter moenia nihil teneret; nostri olim urbe reliqua capta arcem tamen retinuerunt. houtos pou ton prosthen epeuthometha klea andron [4] rursus autem ex dolore municipali sermonibusque eorum quos convenio videtur hoc consilium exitum habiturum. mira hominum querela est (nescio (an) istic, sed facies ut sciam) sine magistratibus urbem esse, sine senatu. fugiens denique Pompeius mirabiliter homines movet. quid quaeris? alia causa facta est. nihil iam concedendum putant Caesari. haec tu mihi explica qualia sint. [5] ego negotio praesum non turbulento. vult enim me Pompeius esse quem tota haec Campania et maritima ora habeat episkopon, ad quem dilectus et summa negoti referatur. itaque vagus esse cogitabam. te puto iam videre quae sit horme Caesaris, qui populus, qui totius negoti status. ea velim scribas ad me et quidem, quoniam mutabilia sunt, quam saepissime. acquiesco enim et scribens ad te et legens tua.
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Please tell me, what is this? What is happening? I am in darkness. "We hold Cingulum," they say; "we have lost Ancona; Labienus has left Caesar." Are we speaking of a Roman commander or of Hannibal? What a mad and miserable man, never to have seen even the shadow of the honorable! And he says he is doing all this for dignity. But where is dignity except where there is moral right?
Is it honorable, then, to hold an army without any public authorization, to seize citizens' towns so that the road into the fatherland is easier, to plot debt cancellation, the return of exiles, and six hundred other crimes - all to win the gods' greatest gift, tyranny? Let him keep his fortune. By Hercules, I would rather have one hour sunning myself with you in that free sunlight of yours than every kingdom of that kind. Or rather, I would rather die a thousand times than once think of such a thing.
"What if you wanted it?" you ask. Come now, who is forbidden to want? But I think that wanting itself would be more miserable than being nailed to a cross. Only one thing is worse: to obtain what you have wanted in that way. Enough of that. In these troubles I am glad to pause with such reflections for a moment.
Let us return to our own side. By all the fortunes, what do you think of Pompey's plan? I mean his abandoning the city. I am at a loss. Nothing could be more absurd. You abandon the city? Would you do the same if the Gauls were coming? "The republic is not in its walls," he says. No, but it is in its altars and hearths. "Themistocles did it." Yes, because one city could not bear the whole flood of the barbarian world. But Pericles did not do it some fifty years later, when he held nothing except the walls. Our ancestors, when the rest of the city was taken, still held the citadel. That is the glory of the men of old we were taught.
On the other hand, from the indignation in the towns and from the talk of the people I meet, this plan seems likely to have some effect. People are complaining wonderfully that the city is without magistrates and without a Senate. I do not know whether it is the same there; make sure I do. In short, Pompey's flight is stirring people in a remarkable way. What more can I say? The issue has changed. They now think nothing should be conceded to Caesar. Explain to me what all this means.
I am in charge of a task that is not warlike. Pompey wants me to be the overseer for all Campania and the coast, the man to whom the levy and the whole business are referred. So I was thinking of staying on the move. I suppose by now you see Caesar's impulse, the people's mood, and the whole state of affairs. Please write these things to me, and, because they keep changing, write as often as possible. I find rest both in writing to you and in reading what you write.
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
quaeso, quid est hoc? aut quid agitur? mihi enim tenebrae sunt. 'Cingulum' inquit 'nos tenemus, Anconem amisimus; Labienus discessit a Caesare.' utrum de imperatore populi Romani an de Hannibale loquimur? O hominem amentem et miserum qui ne umbram quidem umquam tou kalou viderit! atque haec ait omnia facere se dignitatis causa. ubi est autem dignitas nisi ubi honestas? honestum igitur habere exercitum nullo publico consilio, occupare urbis civium quo facilior sit aditus ad patriam, chreon apokopas, phugadon kathodous, sescenta alia scelera moliri, ten theon megisten host' echein turannida—? sibi habeat suam fortunam! unam me hercule tecum apricationem in illo lucrativo tuo sole malim quam omnia istius modi regna vel potius mori miliens quam semel istius modi quicquam cogitare. 'quid si tu velis?' inquis. [2] age, quis est cui velle non liceat? sed ego hoc ipsum 'velle' miserius esse duco quam in crucem tolli. una res est ea miserior, adipisci quod ita volueris. sed haec hactenus. libenter enim in his molestiis enscholazo toson. [3] Redeamus ad nostrum. per fortunas! quale tibi consilium Pompei videtur? hoc quaero quod urbem reliquerit. ego enim aporo. tum nihil absurdius. urbem tu relinquas? ergo idem, si Galli venirent? 'non est' inquit 'in parietibus res publica.' at in aris et focis. 'fecit Themistocles.' fluctum enim totius barbariae ferre urbs una non poterat. at idem Pericles non fecit annum fere post quinquagesimum, cum praeter moenia nihil teneret; nostri olim urbe reliqua capta arcem tamen retinuerunt. houtos pou ton prosthen epeuthometha klea andron [4] rursus autem ex dolore municipali sermonibusque eorum quos convenio videtur hoc consilium exitum habiturum. mira hominum querela est (nescio (an) istic, sed facies ut sciam) sine magistratibus urbem esse, sine senatu. fugiens denique Pompeius mirabiliter homines movet. quid quaeris? alia causa facta est. nihil iam concedendum putant Caesari. haec tu mihi explica qualia sint. [5] ego negotio praesum non turbulento. vult enim me Pompeius esse quem tota haec Campania et maritima ora habeat episkopon, ad quem dilectus et summa negoti referatur. itaque vagus esse cogitabam. te puto iam videre quae sit horme Caesaris, qui populus, qui totius negoti status. ea velim scribas ad me et quidem, quoniam mutabilia sunt, quam saepissime. acquiesco enim et scribens ad te et legens tua.