Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 60 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
In the letter I gave to Numestius, I summoned you by means of it in such a way that nothing could be done more pressingly or more urgently. To that speed add still more, if you can. And do not be alarmed (for I know you, and I am not unaware how anxious and full of worry all affection is)-but the matter is, as I hope, not so troublesome in its outcome as in its onset. [2] That Vettius, that informer of ours, promised Caesar, as we plainly perceive, that he would see to it that young Curio should be brought under some suspicion of a crime. And so he insinuated himself into the young man's intimacy, and, having met with him frequently, as the affair shows, he led the matter to such a point that he declared he was resolved to make an attack upon Pompey with his slaves and to kill him. This Curio reported to his father, and the father to Pompey. The matter was brought before the senate. Vettius, when brought in, at first denied that he had ever had any dealings with Curio, and indeed not for very long; for he immediately demanded a guarantee of public protection. There was an outcry against it. Then he set forth that there had been a band of young men under Curio's leadership, in which Paulus had been at the start, and Quintus Caepio (this man is Brutus), and Lentulus, the son of the flamen, with his father privy to it; and that afterward Gaius Septimius, Bibulus's secretary, had brought him a dagger from Bibulus. This whole thing was laughed at-that Vettius would have lacked a dagger unless the consul had given him one-and it was the more thrown out because on the third day before the Ides of May Bibulus had warned Pompey to beware of treachery; for which Pompey had thanked him. [3] Young Curio, brought in, made reply to the things which Vettius had said, and at that point especially Vettius was then refuted because he had said that the young men's plan was to attack Pompey in the forum with Gabinius's gladiators; that the leader in this was Paulus, who was established to have been in Macedonia at that time. A decree of the senate is passed that Vettius, since he had confessed that he had been armed with a weapon, should be thrown into chains; and that whoever released him would be acting against the commonwealth. The matter stood under this impression, that people thought this had been the design: that Vettius should be seized in the forum with a dagger, and likewise his slaves with weapons, and that then he should say he would turn informer. And so it would have been done, had not the Curios reported the affair to Pompey beforehand. Then the decree of the senate was read out before the assembly. But on the following day Caesar-he who once, when he was praetor, had ordered Quintus Catulus to speak from a lower place-brought Vettius forth onto the rostra and set him in that place which it was not permitted to the consul Bibulus even to approach. Here that fellow said everything he wished about the commonwealth, inasmuch as he had come there made and primed for the purpose; first he removed Caepio from his speech, whom he had named most fiercely in the senate, so that it was apparent that a night and a nocturnal pleading had intervened. Then men whom he had not touched in the senate with even the slightest suspicion, these he named: Lucius Lucullus, by whom he said Gaius Fannius (the one who had signed the indictment against Publius Clodius) had been accustomed to be sent to him; Lucius Domitius, whose house, he said, had been appointed as the place from which the sally should be made. Me he did not name, but he said that a consular, an eloquent man, a neighbor of the consul, had told him that some Servilius Ahala or a Brutus needed to be found. He added at the end-when, after the assembly had now been dismissed, he had been called back by Vatinius-that he had heard from Curio that my son-in-law Piso and Marcus Laterensis were privy to these matters. [4] Now Vettius was a defendant before Crassus Dives [the Rich] on a charge of violence, and, once he had been condemned, he was going to demand to turn informer. And if he had obtained this, there seemed likely to be prosecutions. These things we, being people who are accustomed to despise nothing, <were not despising but> were not terrified of. The very great zeal of men toward us was indeed being shown; but we are utterly weary of life; so completely is everything most full of every kind of misery. Just lately we had feared slaughter +and the speech of that bravest of old men, Quintus Considius, had dispelled it; these things, I say, we could have feared daily+, when suddenly it arose. What more do you want? Nothing is more <unfortunate than I, nothing more> fortunate than Catulus, both in the splendor of his life and at +this+ time. We, however, amid these miseries are of upright and least disturbed spirit, and most honorably and with great care we safeguard our dignity. [5] Pompey bids us be without care concerning Clodius and shows the greatest goodwill toward us in every speech. I long to have you as the adviser of my counsels, the partner of my anxieties, joined with me in every thought. Wherefore, as I charged Numestius to deal with you, likewise and-if it is possible-more pressingly than that, I beg you plainly to fly to us. I shall breathe again if I see you.
In the letter I gave to Numestius I made a most urgent and pressing appeal to you to come. To the speed I then enjoined add something, if you possibly can. And don’t be alarmed (for I know you and don’t forget that to love “It is to be all made of sighs and tears”): the matter I hope is one that will
not be so troublesome at the end as at the beginning. That fellow Vettius, my famous informer, promised Caesar, so far as we can see, that he would get some criminal suspicion thrown on young Curio. So he wormed his way into intimacy with the young man and after meeting him often, as events prove, he went so far as to declare that he was determined to make an attack on Pompey with the assistance of his slaves, and to slay him. Curio told his father of this, and he told Pompey. The affair was reported to the Senate. Vettius was summoned before them and at first denied that he had ever had an appointment with Curio. However he did not stick to that tale long; but at once claimed the privilege of king’s evidence. Amid cries of “no,” he began to explain that there had been a confederacy of the younger men under the leadership of Curio, to which Paulus at first belonged and Q. Caepio, Brutus I mean, and Lentulus, the flamen’s son, with his father’s consent; and then that C. Septimius, Bibulus’ secretary, had brought him a dagger from Bibulus. The idea of Vettius not having a dagger, unless the consul gave him one, and the rest of it, was too much for anybody’s gravity: and the charge was scouted the more because Bibulus had warned Pompey on the 13th of May to be on his guard against plots; and Pompey had thanked him for the advice.
Young Curio was brought in and repelled Vettius’ assertions: and the point for which Vettius was especially jumped on was saying that the young men’s intention was to attack Pompey in the forum at the gladiatorial show which Gabinius gave, and that Paulus was to be the leader, when it was well known that he was in Macedonia at the time. The House decreed
that Vettius should be committed on his own confession of having carried a weapon; and that it should be high treason to release him. The view most generally held is that it was a put up job: Vettius was to be discovered in the forum with a dagger and his slaves round him with weapons, and then he was to turn king’s evidence: and it would have come off, if the Curios had not reported the matter to Pompey. Then the senatorial decree was read aloud to an assembly. On the next day, however, Caesar, the man who as praetor some years ago had bidden Q. Catulus speak from the floor, brought Vettius out on the rostra, and set him in a place which was beyond Bibulus’ aspiration, though a consul. Here he said anything he liked about public affairs; and, as he had come ready primed and tutored, he omitted all mention of Caepio, though he had named him most emphatically in the House: so it was obvious that a night and a nocturnal appeal had intervened. Then he mentioned people on whom he had not cast the slightest suspicion in the House,—L. Lucullus, who, he said, generally used to send to him C. Fannius, the man who once supported a prosecution of P. Clodius, and L. Domitius, whose house was to be the basis of operations. My name he did not mention, but he said that an eloquent ex-consul, a neighbour of the consul, had remarked to him that we stood in need of a Servilius Ahala or a Brutus. He added at the end, when he had been called back by Vatinius after the assembly was dismissed, that he had heard from Curio that Piso, my son-in-law, was in the plot, and M. Laterensis too.
Now Vettius is on trial for violence before Crassus Dives, and, when he is condemned, he will claim to turn
king’s evidence. If he is successful there may very well be some prosecutions. Of that—though to be sure I never despise anything—I’m not much afraid. Everybody is showing me the greatest kindness; but I am sick of life; the whole world is so thoroughly out of joint. Just lately we were afraid of a massacre, but it was averted by a speech of that gallant old man Q. Considius: and now the disaster of which we had been in daily fear has suddenly happened. In fact, nothing could be more deplorable than my situation, nothing more enviable than that of Catulus, considering his glorious life and his timely end. However, I keep up my heart in spite of my miseries, and don’t show the white feather, and, with an exercise of caution, I maintain my position and authority with honour.
Pompey tells me to have no fear of Clodius, and shows me the greatest good-will whenever he speaks. I am longing to have you to advise my actions, to be the partner of my anxieties, to share my every thought. So I have commissioned Numestius to plead with you, and now add, if possible, even more urgent prayers of my own, that you literally fly to me. I shall breathe again when I see you.
quas Numestio litteras dedi, sic te iis evocabam ut nihil acrius neque incitatius fieri posset. ad illam celeritatem adde etiam si quid potes. ac ne sis perturbatus (novi enim te et non ignoro quam sit amor omnis sollicitus atque anxius)—sed res est, ut spero, non tam exitu molesta quam aditu. [2] Vettius ille, ille noster index, Caesari, ut perspicimus, pollicitus est sese curaturum ut in aliquam suspicionem facinoris Curio filius adduceretur. itaque insinuavit in familiaritatem adulescentis et cum eo ut res indicat, saepe congressus rem in eum locum deduxit ut diceret sibi certum esse cum suis servis in Pompeium impetum facere eumque occidere. hoc Curio ad patrem detulit, ille ad Pompeium. res delata ad senatum est. introductus Vettius primo negabat se umquam cum Curione constitisse, neque id sane diu; nam statim fidem publicam postulavit. reclamatum est. tum exposuit manum fuisse iuventutis duce Curione, in qua Paulus initio fuisset et Q. Caepio hic Brutus et Lentulus, flaminis filius, conscio patre; postea C. Septimium scribam Bibuli pugionem sibi a Bibulo attulisse. quod totum inrisum est, Vettio pugionem defuisse nisi ei consul dedisset, eoque magis id eiectum est quod a. d. iii Idus Maias Bibulus Pompeium fecerat certiorem ut caveret insidias; in quo ei Pompeius gratias egerat. [3] introductus Curio filius dixit ad ea quae Vettius dixerat, maximeque in eo tum quidem Vettius est reprehensus quod dixerat adulescentium consilium ut in foro [cum] gladiatoribus Gabini Pompeium adorirentur; in eo principem Paulum fuisse, quem constabat eo tempore in Macedonia fuisse. fit senatus consultum ut Vettius, quod confessus esset se cum telo fuisse, in vincula coniceretur; qui emisisset, eum contra rem publicam esse facturum. res erat in ea opinione ut putarent id esse actum ut Vettius in foro cum pugione et item servi eius comprehenderentur cum telis, deinde ille se diceret indicaturum. idque ita factum esset nisi Curiones rem ante ad Pompeium detulissent. tum senatus consultum in contione recitatum est. postero autem die Caesar, is qui olim praetor cum esset Q. Catulum ex inferiore loco iusserat dicere, Vettium in rostra produxit eumque in eo loco constituit quo Bibulo consuli adspirare non liceret. hic ille omnia quae voluit de re publica dixit, ut qui illuc factus institutusque venisset primum Caepionem de oratione sua sustulit, quem in senatu acerrime nominarat, ut appareret noctem et nocturnam deprecationem intercessisse. deinde quos in senatu ne tenuissima quidem suspicione attigerat, eos nominavit, L. Lucullum, a quo solitum esse ad se mitti C. Fannium, illum qui in P. Clodium subscripserat, L. Domitium, cuius domum constitutam fuisse unde eruptio fieret. me non nominavit sed dixit consularem disertum vicinum consulis sibi dixisse Ahalam Servilium aliquem aut Brutum opus esse reperiri. addidit ad extremum, cum iam dimissa contione revocatus a Vatinio fuisset, se audisse a Curione his de rebus consciunt esse Pisonem generum meum et M. Laterensem. [4] nunc reus erat apud Crassum divitem Vettius de vi et, cum esset damnatus, erat indicium postulaturus. quod si impetrasset, iudicia fore videbantur. ea nos, utpote qui nihil contemnere soleremus, <non contemnabamus sed> non pertimescebamus. hominum quidem summa erga nos studia significabantur; sed prorsus vitae taedet; ita sunt omnia omnium miseriarum plenissima. modo caedem timueramus +que oratio fortissimi senis, Q. Considi, discusserat ea inquam cotidie timere potueramus+, subito exorta est. quid quaeris? nihil me <infortunatus, nihil> fortunatius est Catulo cum splendore vitae tum +hoc+ tempore. nos tamen in his miseriis erecto animo et minime perturbato sumus honestissimeque et dignitatem nostram magna cura tuemur. . [5] Pompeius de Clodio iubet nos esse sine cura et summam in nos benevolentiam omni oratione significat. te habere consiliorum auctorem, sollicitudinum socium, omni in cogitatione coniunctum cupio. qua re ut Numestio mandavi tecum ut ageret, item atque eo, si potest, acrius te rogo ut plane ad nos advoles. Respiraro si te videro.
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In the letter I gave to Numestius, I summoned you by means of it in such a way that nothing could be done more pressingly or more urgently. To that speed add still more, if you can. And do not be alarmed (for I know you, and I am not unaware how anxious and full of worry all affection is)-but the matter is, as I hope, not so troublesome in its outcome as in its onset. [2] That Vettius, that informer of ours, promised Caesar, as we plainly perceive, that he would see to it that young Curio should be brought under some suspicion of a crime. And so he insinuated himself into the young man's intimacy, and, having met with him frequently, as the affair shows, he led the matter to such a point that he declared he was resolved to make an attack upon Pompey with his slaves and to kill him. This Curio reported to his father, and the father to Pompey. The matter was brought before the senate. Vettius, when brought in, at first denied that he had ever had any dealings with Curio, and indeed not for very long; for he immediately demanded a guarantee of public protection. There was an outcry against it. Then he set forth that there had been a band of young men under Curio's leadership, in which Paulus had been at the start, and Quintus Caepio (this man is Brutus), and Lentulus, the son of the flamen, with his father privy to it; and that afterward Gaius Septimius, Bibulus's secretary, had brought him a dagger from Bibulus. This whole thing was laughed at-that Vettius would have lacked a dagger unless the consul had given him one-and it was the more thrown out because on the third day before the Ides of May Bibulus had warned Pompey to beware of treachery; for which Pompey had thanked him. [3] Young Curio, brought in, made reply to the things which Vettius had said, and at that point especially Vettius was then refuted because he had said that the young men's plan was to attack Pompey in the forum with Gabinius's gladiators; that the leader in this was Paulus, who was established to have been in Macedonia at that time. A decree of the senate is passed that Vettius, since he had confessed that he had been armed with a weapon, should be thrown into chains; and that whoever released him would be acting against the commonwealth. The matter stood under this impression, that people thought this had been the design: that Vettius should be seized in the forum with a dagger, and likewise his slaves with weapons, and that then he should say he would turn informer. And so it would have been done, had not the Curios reported the affair to Pompey beforehand. Then the decree of the senate was read out before the assembly. But on the following day Caesar-he who once, when he was praetor, had ordered Quintus Catulus to speak from a lower place-brought Vettius forth onto the rostra and set him in that place which it was not permitted to the consul Bibulus even to approach. Here that fellow said everything he wished about the commonwealth, inasmuch as he had come there made and primed for the purpose; first he removed Caepio from his speech, whom he had named most fiercely in the senate, so that it was apparent that a night and a nocturnal pleading had intervened. Then men whom he had not touched in the senate with even the slightest suspicion, these he named: Lucius Lucullus, by whom he said Gaius Fannius (the one who had signed the indictment against Publius Clodius) had been accustomed to be sent to him; Lucius Domitius, whose house, he said, had been appointed as the place from which the sally should be made. Me he did not name, but he said that a consular, an eloquent man, a neighbor of the consul, had told him that some Servilius Ahala or a Brutus needed to be found. He added at the end-when, after the assembly had now been dismissed, he had been called back by Vatinius-that he had heard from Curio that my son-in-law Piso and Marcus Laterensis were privy to these matters. [4] Now Vettius was a defendant before Crassus Dives [the Rich] on a charge of violence, and, once he had been condemned, he was going to demand to turn informer. And if he had obtained this, there seemed likely to be prosecutions. These things we, being people who are accustomed to despise nothing, <were not despising but> were not terrified of. The very great zeal of men toward us was indeed being shown; but we are utterly weary of life; so completely is everything most full of every kind of misery. Just lately we had feared slaughter +and the speech of that bravest of old men, Quintus Considius, had dispelled it; these things, I say, we could have feared daily+, when suddenly it arose. What more do you want? Nothing is more <unfortunate than I, nothing more> fortunate than Catulus, both in the splendor of his life and at +this+ time. We, however, amid these miseries are of upright and least disturbed spirit, and most honorably and with great care we safeguard our dignity. [5] Pompey bids us be without care concerning Clodius and shows the greatest goodwill toward us in every speech. I long to have you as the adviser of my counsels, the partner of my anxieties, joined with me in every thought. Wherefore, as I charged Numestius to deal with you, likewise and-if it is possible-more pressingly than that, I beg you plainly to fly to us. I shall breathe again if I see you.
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
quas Numestio litteras dedi, sic te iis evocabam ut nihil acrius neque incitatius fieri posset. ad illam celeritatem adde etiam si quid potes. ac ne sis perturbatus (novi enim te et non ignoro quam sit amor omnis sollicitus atque anxius)—sed res est, ut spero, non tam exitu molesta quam aditu. [2] Vettius ille, ille noster index, Caesari, ut perspicimus, pollicitus est sese curaturum ut in aliquam suspicionem facinoris Curio filius adduceretur. itaque insinuavit in familiaritatem adulescentis et cum eo ut res indicat, saepe congressus rem in eum locum deduxit ut diceret sibi certum esse cum suis servis in Pompeium impetum facere eumque occidere. hoc Curio ad patrem detulit, ille ad Pompeium. res delata ad senatum est. introductus Vettius primo negabat se umquam cum Curione constitisse, neque id sane diu; nam statim fidem publicam postulavit. reclamatum est. tum exposuit manum fuisse iuventutis duce Curione, in qua Paulus initio fuisset et Q. Caepio hic Brutus et Lentulus, flaminis filius, conscio patre; postea C. Septimium scribam Bibuli pugionem sibi a Bibulo attulisse. quod totum inrisum est, Vettio pugionem defuisse nisi ei consul dedisset, eoque magis id eiectum est quod a. d. iii Idus Maias Bibulus Pompeium fecerat certiorem ut caveret insidias; in quo ei Pompeius gratias egerat. [3] introductus Curio filius dixit ad ea quae Vettius dixerat, maximeque in eo tum quidem Vettius est reprehensus quod dixerat adulescentium consilium ut in foro [cum] gladiatoribus Gabini Pompeium adorirentur; in eo principem Paulum fuisse, quem constabat eo tempore in Macedonia fuisse. fit senatus consultum ut Vettius, quod confessus esset se cum telo fuisse, in vincula coniceretur; qui emisisset, eum contra rem publicam esse facturum. res erat in ea opinione ut putarent id esse actum ut Vettius in foro cum pugione et item servi eius comprehenderentur cum telis, deinde ille se diceret indicaturum. idque ita factum esset nisi Curiones rem ante ad Pompeium detulissent. tum senatus consultum in contione recitatum est. postero autem die Caesar, is qui olim praetor cum esset Q. Catulum ex inferiore loco iusserat dicere, Vettium in rostra produxit eumque in eo loco constituit quo Bibulo consuli adspirare non liceret. hic ille omnia quae voluit de re publica dixit, ut qui illuc factus institutusque venisset primum Caepionem de oratione sua sustulit, quem in senatu acerrime nominarat, ut appareret noctem et nocturnam deprecationem intercessisse. deinde quos in senatu ne tenuissima quidem suspicione attigerat, eos nominavit, L. Lucullum, a quo solitum esse ad se mitti C. Fannium, illum qui in P. Clodium subscripserat, L. Domitium, cuius domum constitutam fuisse unde eruptio fieret. me non nominavit sed dixit consularem disertum vicinum consulis sibi dixisse Ahalam Servilium aliquem aut Brutum opus esse reperiri. addidit ad extremum, cum iam dimissa contione revocatus a Vatinio fuisset, se audisse a Curione his de rebus consciunt esse Pisonem generum meum et M. Laterensem. [4] nunc reus erat apud Crassum divitem Vettius de vi et, cum esset damnatus, erat indicium postulaturus. quod si impetrasset, iudicia fore videbantur. ea nos, utpote qui nihil contemnere soleremus, <non contemnabamus sed> non pertimescebamus. hominum quidem summa erga nos studia significabantur; sed prorsus vitae taedet; ita sunt omnia omnium miseriarum plenissima. modo caedem timueramus +que oratio fortissimi senis, Q. Considi, discusserat ea inquam cotidie timere potueramus+, subito exorta est. quid quaeris? nihil me <infortunatus, nihil> fortunatius est Catulo cum splendore vitae tum +hoc+ tempore. nos tamen in his miseriis erecto animo et minime perturbato sumus honestissimeque et dignitatem nostram magna cura tuemur. . [5] Pompeius de Clodio iubet nos esse sine cura et summam in nos benevolentiam omni oratione significat. te habere consiliorum auctorem, sollicitudinum socium, omni in cogitatione coniunctum cupio. qua re ut Numestio mandavi tecum ut ageret, item atque eo, si potest, acrius te rogo ut plane ad nos advoles. Respiraro si te videro.