Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 49 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
You hear of our troubles before I do, since they spread from your quarter. From here there is no good news to expect. I came to Capua on February 5, as the consuls had ordered. Lentulus arrived late that day. The other consul had not arrived at all by the 7th; on that day I left Capua and stayed at Cales. From there, before dawn the next day, I sent this letter.
This is what I learned while I was at Capua: there is nothing in the consuls, no levy anywhere. The recruiting officers do not dare show their faces while Caesar is near; on the other side, our leader is nowhere and is doing nothing. Men are not giving in their names. It is not goodwill that is failing, but hope.
And our Gnaeus - what a wretched and unbelievable thing - how completely he has collapsed. There is no spirit, no plan, no force, no diligence. I pass over his shameful flight from the city, his timid public speeches in the towns, his ignorance not only of the enemy's forces but even of his own. But what about this?
On February 7, Gaius Cassius the tribune of the plebs came to Capua and brought instructions to the consuls: they were to come to Rome, remove the money from the reserve treasury, and leave immediately. Having abandoned the city, they are to return - with what protection? Then they are to leave - who will allow that? The consul wrote back that Pompey himself should first go to Picenum. But that whole district had already been lost; no one knew it except me, from Dolabella's letter. I had no doubt that Caesar would at any moment be in Apulia and our Gnaeus on a ship.
What I am to do is a great problem. By Hercules, it would be no problem for me if everything had not been managed so shamefully, and I had no part in any plan; still, the question is what becomes me. Caesar himself urges me toward peace, but his letter is older than his rush forward. Dolabella and Caelius say that I am very satisfactory to him. A strange helplessness tortures me. Help me with advice if you can, and yet, as far as possible, make provision on your side. In such confusion I have nothing to write. I am waiting for your letter.
Of our troubles you hear sooner than I. It is from your quarter they come. No good news can be expected from here. I reached Capua on the 5th of February, as the consuls bade. Lentulus arrived late in the day. The other consul had not arrived at all on the 7th: for on that day I left Capua and stayed at Cales. On the 8th before daybreak I dispatch you this letter from there. The discovery I made at Capua was that no reliance is to be placed on the consuls, and that no levy is being made anywhere. For recruiting officers do not dare to show their faces
when Caesar is at hand, and our leader is nowhere to be found and takes no action. No one enlists. It is not good will that is lacking, but hope. What an inconceivable plight is Pompey's, and how utterly he has broken down! He has neither spirit nor plan, nor forces, nor energy. I say nothing of his most disgraceful flight from the city, his timorous speeches in the towns, his ignorance not only of the strength of his opponent but of his own forces: but what of this? On the 7th of February C. Cassius the tribune came to Capua, and brought an order to the consuls to come to Rome, carry off the money from the reserve treasury and leave at once. On quitting the city they are to return—but they have no escort: then there is the getting out of the city—who is going to give them leave? Lentulus replied that Pompey must first come to Picenum. No one except myself knows it; but Dolabella has written to me that that district is totally lost. I have no doubt but that Caesar is on the point of entering Apulia and that Pompey is on board ship.
What I am to do is a big problem. It would be no problem for me at all, if everything had not been disgracefully managed; and I had no part in the plan: still my proper course is a problem. Caesar himself invites to peace: but the letter is dated before he began to run amuck. Dolabella and Caelius declare that he is well satisfied with me. I am at my wits'
end. Assist me with your advice, if you can, but guard against events as much as possible. I have nothing to say in such an anxious crisis: but I am looking for your letter.
de malis nostris tu prius audis quam ego. istim enim emanant. boni autem hinc quod exspectes nihil est. veni Capuam ad Nonas Febr. ita ut iusserant consules. eo die Lentulus venit sero. alter consul omnino non venerat vii Idus. eo enim die ego Capua discessi et mansi Calibus. Inde has litteras postridie ante lucem dedi. haec Capuae dum fui cognovi, nihil in consulibus, nullum usquam dilectum nec enim conquisitores phainoprosopein audent cum ille adsit, contraque noster dux nusquam sit, nihil agat, nec nomina dant. deficit enim non voluntas sed spes. Gnaeus autem noster (O rem miseram et incredibilem!) ut totus iacet! non animus est, non consilium, non copiae, non diligentia. Mittam illa, fugam ab urbe turpissimam, timidissimas in oppidis contiones, ignorationem non solum adversari sed etiam suarum copiarum; hoc cuius modi est? [2] vii Idus Febr. Capuam C. Cassius tribunus pl. venit, adtulit mandata ad consules ut Romam venirent, pecuniam de sanctiore aerario auferrent, statim exirent. urbe relicta redeant; quo praesidio? deinde exeant; quis sinat? consul ei rescripsit ut prius ipse in Picenum. at illud totum erat amissum; sciebat nemo praeter me ex litteris Dolabellae. mihi dubium non erat quin ille iam iamque foret in Apulia, Gnaeus noster in navi. [3] ego quid agam skemma magnum—neque me hercule mihi quidem ullum, nisi omnia essent acta turpissime, neque ego ullius consili particeps—sed tamen quod me deceat. ipse me Caesar ad pacem hortatur; sed antiquiores litterae quam ruere coepit. Dolabella, Caelius me illi valde satis facere. mira me aporia torquet. iuva me consilio si potes, et tamen ista quantum potes provide. nihil habeo tanta rerum perturbatione quod scribam. tuas litteras exspecto.
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You hear of our troubles before I do, since they spread from your quarter. From here there is no good news to expect. I came to Capua on February 5, as the consuls had ordered. Lentulus arrived late that day. The other consul had not arrived at all by the 7th; on that day I left Capua and stayed at Cales. From there, before dawn the next day, I sent this letter.
This is what I learned while I was at Capua: there is nothing in the consuls, no levy anywhere. The recruiting officers do not dare show their faces while Caesar is near; on the other side, our leader is nowhere and is doing nothing. Men are not giving in their names. It is not goodwill that is failing, but hope.
And our Gnaeus - what a wretched and unbelievable thing - how completely he has collapsed. There is no spirit, no plan, no force, no diligence. I pass over his shameful flight from the city, his timid public speeches in the towns, his ignorance not only of the enemy's forces but even of his own. But what about this?
On February 7, Gaius Cassius the tribune of the plebs came to Capua and brought instructions to the consuls: they were to come to Rome, remove the money from the reserve treasury, and leave immediately. Having abandoned the city, they are to return - with what protection? Then they are to leave - who will allow that? The consul wrote back that Pompey himself should first go to Picenum. But that whole district had already been lost; no one knew it except me, from Dolabella's letter. I had no doubt that Caesar would at any moment be in Apulia and our Gnaeus on a ship.
What I am to do is a great problem. By Hercules, it would be no problem for me if everything had not been managed so shamefully, and I had no part in any plan; still, the question is what becomes me. Caesar himself urges me toward peace, but his letter is older than his rush forward. Dolabella and Caelius say that I am very satisfactory to him. A strange helplessness tortures me. Help me with advice if you can, and yet, as far as possible, make provision on your side. In such confusion I have nothing to write. I am waiting for your letter.
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
de malis nostris tu prius audis quam ego. istim enim emanant. boni autem hinc quod exspectes nihil est. veni Capuam ad Nonas Febr. ita ut iusserant consules. eo die Lentulus venit sero. alter consul omnino non venerat vii Idus. eo enim die ego Capua discessi et mansi Calibus. Inde has litteras postridie ante lucem dedi. haec Capuae dum fui cognovi, nihil in consulibus, nullum usquam dilectum nec enim conquisitores phainoprosopein audent cum ille adsit, contraque noster dux nusquam sit, nihil agat, nec nomina dant. deficit enim non voluntas sed spes. Gnaeus autem noster (O rem miseram et incredibilem!) ut totus iacet! non animus est, non consilium, non copiae, non diligentia. Mittam illa, fugam ab urbe turpissimam, timidissimas in oppidis contiones, ignorationem non solum adversari sed etiam suarum copiarum; hoc cuius modi est? [2] vii Idus Febr. Capuam C. Cassius tribunus pl. venit, adtulit mandata ad consules ut Romam venirent, pecuniam de sanctiore aerario auferrent, statim exirent. urbe relicta redeant; quo praesidio? deinde exeant; quis sinat? consul ei rescripsit ut prius ipse in Picenum. at illud totum erat amissum; sciebat nemo praeter me ex litteris Dolabellae. mihi dubium non erat quin ille iam iamque foret in Apulia, Gnaeus noster in navi. [3] ego quid agam skemma magnum—neque me hercule mihi quidem ullum, nisi omnia essent acta turpissime, neque ego ullius consili particeps—sed tamen quod me deceat. ipse me Caesar ad pacem hortatur; sed antiquiores litterae quam ruere coepit. Dolabella, Caelius me illi valde satis facere. mira me aporia torquet. iuva me consilio si potes, et tamen ista quantum potes provide. nihil habeo tanta rerum perturbatione quod scribam. tuas litteras exspecto.