Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 56 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
I see you know that I came to my Tusculan villa on November 14. Dionysius was there to meet me. I want to be in Rome on November 17. What do I mean, "want"? I am forced to be there: Milo's wedding. There is some talk of elections. Even if that proves true, I am not sorry to have missed the exchanges in the Senate that I hear about. I would either have defended what I disapproved of, or failed someone I ought not to fail.
But by Hercules, please write me as fully as you can about those matters, about the present state of the republic, and about the spirit in which the consuls are bearing all this turmoil. I am ravenous for news, and if you ask me, I suspect everything. They say our friend Crassus set out in military dress with less dignity than Lucius Paulus once did, though Paulus was his equal in age and also twice consul. What a worthless fellow.
I have worked carefully on the books on oratory. They were in my hands for a long time and received a great deal of attention. You may have them copied. Again and again I ask you: sketch the present situation for me, so that I do not arrive there like a stranger.
I see you know of my arrival at my Tusculum villa on the 14th of
November. There I was met by Dionysius. I want to be back in Rome on the
17th. When I say want, I mean I have to be in town for Milo’s wedding.
There is some idea of an election. Even if it has come off, I am not at
all sorry to have missed the disputes which I hear have taken place in
the Senate. For I should either have had to give my support against my
conscience, or neglect my bounden duty. But I hope to goodness you will
write me as full a description as possible of that affair and of the
present state of politics and tell me how the consuls are taking all
this pother. I am ravenous for news, and, to tell you the truth, I
suspect everything. They say our friend Crassus made a less dignified
start in his uniform than L. Paulus of old, who rivalled him in age
and in his two consulships. What a poor thing he is! I have been working
hard at the books on oratory: and have had them on hand a long time and
done a lot to them: you can have them copied. Again I beg you to send me
a sketch of the present situation, that I may not feel an utter stranger
when I get back.
nos in Tusculanum venisse a. d. xvii Kal. Dec. video te scire. ibi Dionysius nobis praesto fuit. Romae a. d. xiiii Kal. volumus esse. quid dico 'volumus'? immo vero cogimur. Milonis nuptiae. comitiorum non nulla opinio est. ego, ut sit rata, afuisse me in altercationibus quas in senatu factas audio fero non moleste. nam aut defendissem quod non placeret aut defuissem cui non oporteret. sed me hercule velim res istas et praesentem statum rei publicae et quo animo consules ferant hunc skulmon scribas ad me quantum pote. valde sum oxupeinos et, si quaeris, omnia mihi sunt suspecta. [2] Crassum quidem nostrum minore dignitate aiunt profectum paludatum quam olim aequalem eius L. Paulum, item iterum consulem. O hominem nequam! de libris oratoriis factum est a me diligenter. diu multumque in manibus fuerunt. describas licet. illud (etiam atque) etiam te rogo, ten parousan katastasin tupodos, ne istuc hospes veniam.
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I see you know that I came to my Tusculan villa on November 14. Dionysius was there to meet me. I want to be in Rome on November 17. What do I mean, "want"? I am forced to be there: Milo's wedding. There is some talk of elections. Even if that proves true, I am not sorry to have missed the exchanges in the Senate that I hear about. I would either have defended what I disapproved of, or failed someone I ought not to fail.
But by Hercules, please write me as fully as you can about those matters, about the present state of the republic, and about the spirit in which the consuls are bearing all this turmoil. I am ravenous for news, and if you ask me, I suspect everything. They say our friend Crassus set out in military dress with less dignity than Lucius Paulus once did, though Paulus was his equal in age and also twice consul. What a worthless fellow.
I have worked carefully on the books on oratory. They were in my hands for a long time and received a great deal of attention. You may have them copied. Again and again I ask you: sketch the present situation for me, so that I do not arrive there like a stranger.
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
nos in Tusculanum venisse a. d. xvii Kal. Dec. video te scire. ibi Dionysius nobis praesto fuit. Romae a. d. xiiii Kal. volumus esse. quid dico 'volumus'? immo vero cogimur. Milonis nuptiae. comitiorum non nulla opinio est. ego, ut sit rata, afuisse me in altercationibus quas in senatu factas audio fero non moleste. nam aut defendissem quod non placeret aut defuissem cui non oporteret. sed me hercule velim res istas et praesentem statum rei publicae et quo animo consules ferant hunc skulmon scribas ad me quantum pote. valde sum oxupeinos et, si quaeris, omnia mihi sunt suspecta. [2] Crassum quidem nostrum minore dignitate aiunt profectum paludatum quam olim aequalem eius L. Paulum, item iterum consulem. O hominem nequam! de libris oratoriis factum est a me diligenter. diu multumque in manibus fuerunt. describas licet. illud (etiam atque) etiam te rogo, ten parousan katastasin tupodos, ne istuc hospes veniam.