Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 44 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
I stopped to visit the man we were discussing this morning. No one could be more despairing. He says the situation cannot be untangled: "If Caesar, with that mind of his, could not find a way out, who will find one now?" In short, he said everything was lost, and perhaps it is, though he was glad of it. He insists that there will be a disturbance in Gaul in fewer than twenty days. Since March 15 he has discussed the matter with no one except Lepidus. In sum, he says these things cannot simply pass away like this.
How wise Oppius is. He misses Caesar no less, but says nothing that could offend any good citizen. Enough of that.
Please do not be slow in writing whatever news there is, and I expect a great deal: among other things, whether we can be certain about Sextus, but above all about our Brutus. The man I am staying with says Caesar used to say of him, "It matters greatly what this man wants; whatever he wants, he wants intensely." He noticed this, he said, when Brutus spoke for Deiotarus at Nicaea; Brutus seemed to speak with great force and freedom. And again, since I like writing whatever comes into my head, recently, when I had gone to Caesar at Sestius' request and was sitting there waiting until I was called, Caesar said, "Can I doubt that I am deeply hated when Marcus Cicero has to sit and wait, unable to meet me at his own convenience? And yet, if anyone is easy-tempered, it is he. Still, I do not doubt that he hates me bitterly." He said many things like that.
But back to the point. Write whatever there is, not only large matters but small ones too. I, for my part, will let nothing pass.
I have stopped for a visit with the man we were speaking of in the morning. His view is that nothing could be more disgraceful and the thing was quite hopeless. "For, if Caesar with his genius could not find a solution, who will find it now?" In a word he said the end had come (which may be true, but he was pleased about it), and assured me that in less than twenty days there would be a rising in Gaul. He has not discussed the matter with anyone except Lepidus since the 15th of March: and, in fine, things cannot pass off like this. What a wise man is Oppius! He regrets Caesar quite as much, but says nothing that can offend any of the loyal party. So much for that.
Pray do not delay in sending me any news—and I expect there is plenty: among other things whether we may be sure of Sextus, but especially about our friend Brutus. About him the man I am staying with says Caesar used to say: "What he wants is of great importance, but whatever he wants, he wants it badly"; and that he noticed it, when he pleaded for Deiotarus at Nicaea, for he seemed to speak with emphasis and with boldness. Again—I like to write
the first thing that comes into my head—recently, when at Sestius' request I paid Caesar a visit and was sitting waiting to be called in, he remarked: "Can I doubt that I am heartily detested, when Cicero sits waiting and cannot visit me at his convenience? Yet, if ever there was a good-natured man, he is one. However, I have no doubt that he detests me." That and more to the same effect. But to return to the point. Write me anything there is to write, not only important matters, but even petty details. I shall not let anything escape me.
deverti ad illum de quo tecum mane. nihil perditius; explicari rem non posse. 'etenim si ille tali ingenio exitum non reperiebat, quis nunc reperiet?' quid quaeris? perisse omnia aiebat (quod haud scio an ita sit; verum ille gaudens) adfirmatque minus diebus xx tumultum Gallicum. in sermonem se post Idus Martias praeterquam Lepido venisse nemini. ad summam non posse istaec sic abire. O prudentem Oppium! qui nihilo minus illum desiderat, sed loquitur nihil quod quemquam bonum offendat. sed haec hactenus. [2] tu, quaeso, quicquid novi (multa autem exspecto) scribere ne pigrere, in his de Sexto satisne certum, maxime autem de Bruto nostro. de quo quidem ille ad quem deverti, Caesarem solitum dicere, ' Magni refert hic quid velit, sed quicquid vult valde vult'; idque eum animadvertisse cum pro Deiotaro Nicaeae dixerit; valde vehementer eum visum et libere dicere; atque etiam (ut enim quidque succurrit libet scribere) proxime, cum Sesti rogatu apud eum fuissem exspectaremque sedens quoad vocarer, dixisse eum, 'ego dubitem quin summo in odio sim quom M. Cicero sedeat nec suo commodo me convenire possit? atqui si quisquam est facilis, hic est. tamen non dubito quin me male oderit.' haec et eius modi multa. sed ad propositum. quicquid erit non modo magnum sed etiam parvum scribes. equidem nihil intermittam.
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I stopped to visit the man we were discussing this morning. No one could be more despairing. He says the situation cannot be untangled: "If Caesar, with that mind of his, could not find a way out, who will find one now?" In short, he said everything was lost, and perhaps it is, though he was glad of it. He insists that there will be a disturbance in Gaul in fewer than twenty days. Since March 15 he has discussed the matter with no one except Lepidus. In sum, he says these things cannot simply pass away like this.
How wise Oppius is. He misses Caesar no less, but says nothing that could offend any good citizen. Enough of that.
Please do not be slow in writing whatever news there is, and I expect a great deal: among other things, whether we can be certain about Sextus, but above all about our Brutus. The man I am staying with says Caesar used to say of him, "It matters greatly what this man wants; whatever he wants, he wants intensely." He noticed this, he said, when Brutus spoke for Deiotarus at Nicaea; Brutus seemed to speak with great force and freedom. And again, since I like writing whatever comes into my head, recently, when I had gone to Caesar at Sestius' request and was sitting there waiting until I was called, Caesar said, "Can I doubt that I am deeply hated when Marcus Cicero has to sit and wait, unable to meet me at his own convenience? And yet, if anyone is easy-tempered, it is he. Still, I do not doubt that he hates me bitterly." He said many things like that.
But back to the point. Write whatever there is, not only large matters but small ones too. I, for my part, will let nothing pass.
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
deverti ad illum de quo tecum mane. nihil perditius; explicari rem non posse. 'etenim si ille tali ingenio exitum non reperiebat, quis nunc reperiet?' quid quaeris? perisse omnia aiebat (quod haud scio an ita sit; verum ille gaudens) adfirmatque minus diebus xx tumultum Gallicum. in sermonem se post Idus Martias praeterquam Lepido venisse nemini. ad summam non posse istaec sic abire. O prudentem Oppium! qui nihilo minus illum desiderat, sed loquitur nihil quod quemquam bonum offendat. sed haec hactenus. [2] tu, quaeso, quicquid novi (multa autem exspecto) scribere ne pigrere, in his de Sexto satisne certum, maxime autem de Bruto nostro. de quo quidem ille ad quem deverti, Caesarem solitum dicere, ' Magni refert hic quid velit, sed quicquid vult valde vult'; idque eum animadvertisse cum pro Deiotaro Nicaeae dixerit; valde vehementer eum visum et libere dicere; atque etiam (ut enim quidque succurrit libet scribere) proxime, cum Sesti rogatu apud eum fuissem exspectaremque sedens quoad vocarer, dixisse eum, 'ego dubitem quin summo in odio sim quom M. Cicero sedeat nec suo commodo me convenire possit? atqui si quisquam est facilis, hic est. tamen non dubito quin me male oderit.' haec et eius modi multa. sed ad propositum. quicquid erit non modo magnum sed etiam parvum scribes. equidem nihil intermittam.