Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 46 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
It had occurred to me to urge you to do the very thing you are doing. For I thought you could handle that same business more conveniently at home, with interruptions removed. As I wrote to you before, I have decided to stay at Lanuvium on the day after the Ides, and from there to go either to Rome or to my place at Tusculum; you will know in advance which it is to be. You write that the matter will be a relief: you do well, and you may believe me that it is so to a degree you cannot imagine. The thing itself shows how greatly I desire it, since I dare to confess it to you, whom I suppose not to approve of it all that strongly. But you must bear with this error of mine in the matter. Bear with it? No, rather you must even help it along. [2] About Otho I have my doubts, perhaps because I want it so. Yet still the matter is even greater than our means, especially with an opponent who is eager, wealthy, and an heir besides. The next best thing is that I should want Clodia's property. But if those purchases can less easily be carried through, manage it however you can. I consider myself bound by a stricter scruple than anyone ever was by any vow. You will also look at the Trebonian property [the estate of the Trebonii], although the owners are away. But, as I wrote to you yesterday, you will also give thought to the Tusculan matter, so that the summer does not slip away; that certainly must not be allowed to happen.
About Mustela, do as you say, though it will be a big business. For that
reason I incline more to Clodia; though in both cases we must find out
about Faberius' debt. There will be no harm in your speaking to Balbus
about it and telling him, what is the truth, that we want to buy, but
cannot without getting in that debt, and dare not, until something is
settled. But when is Clodia going to be in Rome, and how much do you
think it will cost? Why I turn my thoughts to it is not that I should
not prefer the other, but it is a big venture and it is difficult to
contend with one who is eager for it, rich and one of the heirs. As far
as eagerness goes, I yield to no one, but in the other respects we are
worse off. However of this when we meet.
venerat mihi in mentem monere te ut id ipsum quod facis faceres. putabam enim commodius te idem istud domi agere posse interpellatione sublata. ego postridie Idus, ut scripsi ad te ante, Lanuvi manere constitui, inde aut Romae aut in Tusculano; scies ante utrum quod scies recte illam rem fore levamento, bene facis cum id esse mihi crede perinde ut existimare tu non potes. res indicat quanto opere id cupiam, quom tibi audeam confiteri quem id non ita valde probare arbitrer. sed ferendus tibi in hoc meus error. ferendus? immo vero etiam adiuvandus. [2] de Othone diffido, fortasse quia cupio. sed tamen maior etiam res est quam facultates nostrae, praesertim adversario et cupido et locuplete et herede. proximum est ut velim Clodiae. sed si ista minus confici possunt, effice quidvis. ego me maiore religione quam quisquam fuit ullius voti obstrictum puto. videbis etiam Trebonianos, etsi absunt domini. sed, ut ad te heri scripsi, considerabis etiam de Tusculano ne aestas effluat; quod certe non est committendum.
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It had occurred to me to urge you to do the very thing you are doing. For I thought you could handle that same business more conveniently at home, with interruptions removed. As I wrote to you before, I have decided to stay at Lanuvium on the day after the Ides, and from there to go either to Rome or to my place at Tusculum; you will know in advance which it is to be. You write that the matter will be a relief: you do well, and you may believe me that it is so to a degree you cannot imagine. The thing itself shows how greatly I desire it, since I dare to confess it to you, whom I suppose not to approve of it all that strongly. But you must bear with this error of mine in the matter. Bear with it? No, rather you must even help it along. [2] About Otho I have my doubts, perhaps because I want it so. Yet still the matter is even greater than our means, especially with an opponent who is eager, wealthy, and an heir besides. The next best thing is that I should want Clodia's property. But if those purchases can less easily be carried through, manage it however you can. I consider myself bound by a stricter scruple than anyone ever was by any vow. You will also look at the Trebonian property [the estate of the Trebonii], although the owners are away. But, as I wrote to you yesterday, you will also give thought to the Tusculan matter, so that the summer does not slip away; that certainly must not be allowed to happen.
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
venerat mihi in mentem monere te ut id ipsum quod facis faceres. putabam enim commodius te idem istud domi agere posse interpellatione sublata. ego postridie Idus, ut scripsi ad te ante, Lanuvi manere constitui, inde aut Romae aut in Tusculano; scies ante utrum quod scies recte illam rem fore levamento, bene facis cum id esse mihi crede perinde ut existimare tu non potes. res indicat quanto opere id cupiam, quom tibi audeam confiteri quem id non ita valde probare arbitrer. sed ferendus tibi in hoc meus error. ferendus? immo vero etiam adiuvandus. [2] de Othone diffido, fortasse quia cupio. sed tamen maior etiam res est quam facultates nostrae, praesertim adversario et cupido et locuplete et herede. proximum est ut velim Clodiae. sed si ista minus confici possunt, effice quidvis. ego me maiore religione quam quisquam fuit ullius voti obstrictum puto. videbis etiam Trebonianos, etsi absunt domini. sed, ut ad te heri scripsi, considerabis etiam de Tusculano ne aestas effluat; quod certe non est committendum.