Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 45 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
What incredible duplicity! To his father he says he must keep away from home on account of his mother; to his mother he sends a letter full of filial devotion. But now he is already going soft and admits that his father is justly angry with him. [2] Still, I will follow your advice; for I see that you are pleased with the oblique approach [Greek: skolia, "crooked" or roundabout ways]. I will come to Rome, as you think I should, but reluctantly; for I am deeply stuck in my writing. "Brutus," you say, "is doing the same." No doubt; but if it were not for this, that business of yours would not be forcing me to it. For he did not come from the quarter I should have preferred, nor was he away for long, nor has he sent me a single line. All the same, I am eager to know what the upshot of his whole journey was for him. Please send me the books I wrote to you about earlier, and above all Phaedrus's On the Gods [Greek: Phaidrou peri theon] and the Pallas [Greek: Pallidos, a work "of Pallas/Athena"].
I sent Quintus your letter for your sister. When he complained that his
son was at daggers drawn with his mother and said he should give up the
house to his son on that account, I said young Quintus had sent an
amiable letter to his mother and none to you. He was surprised at the
first, but said it was his fault about you, as he had often written in
anger to his son about your unfairness to him. However, he said his
anger had abated, so I read your letter, and "by crooked ways" hinted
that I should not bear malice. For then he began to mention Cana.
To be sure, if that plan found favour, we should have to make it up;
but, as you say, we must consider our dignity, and we ought to concert
our plans together, though his attacks on me were the worst and
certainly the most public. If Brutus, too, should come to our aid, we
need not hesitate. But we must discuss it together; for it is an
important matter and requires great caution. So to-morrow, unless you
give me furlough.
O incredibilem vanitatem! ad patrem 'domo sibi carendum propter matrem,' <ad matrem> plenam pietatis. hic autem iam languescit et ait sibi illum iure iratum. [2] sed utar tuo consilio; ' skolia\ ' enim tibi video placere. Romam, ut censes, veniam sed invitus; valde enim in scribendo haereo. 'Brutum' inquis 'eadem.' scilicet; sed nisi hoc esset, res me ista non cogeret. nec enim inde venit unde mallem neque diu afuit neque ullam litteram ad me. sed tamen scire aveo qualis ei totius itineris summa fuerit. libros mihi de quibus ad te antea scripsi velim mittas et maxime Fai/drou peri\ Qew= et PELLIDOS .
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What incredible duplicity! To his father he says he must keep away from home on account of his mother; to his mother he sends a letter full of filial devotion. But now he is already going soft and admits that his father is justly angry with him. [2] Still, I will follow your advice; for I see that you are pleased with the oblique approach [Greek: skolia, "crooked" or roundabout ways]. I will come to Rome, as you think I should, but reluctantly; for I am deeply stuck in my writing. "Brutus," you say, "is doing the same." No doubt; but if it were not for this, that business of yours would not be forcing me to it. For he did not come from the quarter I should have preferred, nor was he away for long, nor has he sent me a single line. All the same, I am eager to know what the upshot of his whole journey was for him. Please send me the books I wrote to you about earlier, and above all Phaedrus's On the Gods [Greek: Phaidrou peri theon] and the Pallas [Greek: Pallidos, a work "of Pallas/Athena"].
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
O incredibilem vanitatem! ad patrem 'domo sibi carendum propter matrem,' <ad matrem> plenam pietatis. hic autem iam languescit et ait sibi illum iure iratum. [2] sed utar tuo consilio; ' skolia\ ' enim tibi video placere. Romam, ut censes, veniam sed invitus; valde enim in scribendo haereo. 'Brutum' inquis 'eadem.' scilicet; sed nisi hoc esset, res me ista non cogeret. nec enim inde venit unde mallem neque diu afuit neque ullam litteram ad me. sed tamen scire aveo qualis ei totius itineris summa fuerit. libros mihi de quibus ad te antea scripsi velim mittas et maxime Fai/drou peri\ Qew= et PELLIDOS .