Marcus Tullius Cicero→Quintus Cornificius|c. 43 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Africa|Human translated
I received your letter on the festival of Liber; Cornificius delivered it, as he said, on the twenty-first day. There was no meeting of the senate that day, nor on the next. On the Quinquatria, at a well-attended senate, I pleaded your cause, not against Minerva's wishes; for on that very day the senate decreed that our Minerva, the guardian of the city, which a storm had knocked down, should be restored. Pansa read out your letter; great applause from the senate followed, to my very great joy and to the annoyance of the Minotaur, that is, Calvisius and Taurus. An honorable decree of the senate was passed about you. There was a demand that they too be censured, but Pansa was more lenient. From the very first day, my dear Cornificius, when I entered upon the hope of liberty, on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of January, while everyone else hesitated, I laid the foundations of the republic, and on that very day I looked far ahead and took account of your dignity. For the senate agreed with me about retaining the provinces. And indeed afterward I did not cease to undermine the man who, with the greatest injustice to you and insult to the republic, was holding his province while absent. And so he could not endure my frequent, or rather daily, attacks, and retreated into the city against his will. And he has been dislodged not merely from hope but from the actual thing and its possession by my most just and honorable denunciation. That you have maintained your dignity with the greatest virtue and have been honored with the most distinguished marks of respect by the province, I am very glad. As for your clearing yourself with me about Sempronius, I accept the excuse; for that was a Greek period, as it were, of servitude. I, the advocate of your counsels and supporter of your dignity, was being carried off to Greece in anger at the times, despairing of liberty, when the Etesian winds, like good citizens, refused to escort one who was abandoning the republic, and a contrary south wind with a mighty blast drove me back to Rhegium, to your fellow tribesmen; and from there by wind and oar I hurried home with all speed, and on the next day, when all the rest were in slavery, I alone was free. I attacked Antonius so fiercely that he could not bear it and poured all his drunken fury upon me alone, sometimes wishing to lure me into an occasion for murder, sometimes trying me with plots. I drove him, belching and nauseated, into the nets of Caesar Octavianus; for that remarkable young man first assembled a force of protection for himself and for us, and then for the republic as a whole. Had he not existed, Antonius's return from Brundisium would have been the ruin of the country. What was done afterward, I suppose you know. But let us return to the point from which we digressed. I accept your excuse about Sempronius; for in such a great upheaval you could not have made any settled decision. Now this day brings a different life and demands different manners, as Terence says. Therefore, my dear Quintus, come aboard with us, and indeed to the stern; there is now one ship for all good men, and we are doing our best to keep it on course. May the voyage be prosperous! But whatever winds may blow, our skill at least will not be lacking; for what else can virtue guarantee? See to it that you are of great and lofty spirit, and consider that all your dignity ought to be joined with the republic. I commend to you my friend Publius Lucceius, whom I shall diligently protect in whatever ways I can. We have lost Hirtius and Pansa, our colleagues, men who were the salvation of the republic in their consulship, at a most inopportune time -- the republic having been freed indeed from Antonius's brigandage, but not yet fully extricated. I shall defend it, if I am allowed, in my customary manner, although I am now quite exhausted. But no weariness ought to impede duty and loyalty. But enough of this; I prefer you to learn about me from others rather than from myself. About you we were hearing what we most wished. About Gnaeus Minucius, whom you praised to the skies in certain letters, rather harsh rumors were circulating. Please let me know the truth of this and indeed everything that is happening there.
DCCCXLVII (Fam. XII, 25) TO QUINTUS CORNIFICIUS (IN AFRICA) ROME (MAY) You recommend P. Lucceius to me, whom I will assist in whatever ways I shall have the power. Yes indeed, it is a most unfortunate time in which to have lost our colleagues Hirtius and Pansa , whose consular administration was beneficial to the Republic, when, though relieved from the Antonian violence, it has not yet been put on a thoroughly sound footing. For my part, if the power is given me, I shall continue to defend it, though by this time I am desperately weary. But no amount of fatigue ought to stand in the way of duty and honour. However, enough of this. I would rather you learnt about me from others than myself. What I hear of you exactly answers to my wishes. About Cn. Minucius , whom in one of your letters you praised to the skies, there are somewhat unfavourable rumours. What the truth of the matter is, and in general what is going on in your province, please let me know.
XXV. Scr. Romae sive XIV. Kal. Apriles sive paullo post a.u.c. 711. CICERO CORNIFICIO SAL.
Liberalibus litteras accepi tuas, quas mihi Cornificius altero vicesimo die, ut dicebat, reddidit: eo die non fuit senatus neque postero. Quinquatribus frequenti senatu causam tuam egi non invita Minerva; etenim eo ipso die senatus decrevit, ut Minerva nostra, custos urbis, quam turbo deiecerat, restitueretur. Pansa tuas litteras recitavit: magna senatus approbatio consecuta est cum summo meo gaudio et offensione Minotauri, id est Calvisii et Tauri; factum de te senatus consultum honorificum. Postulabatur, ut etiam illi notarentur; sed Pansa clementior. Ego, mi Cornifici, quo die primum in spem libertatis ingressus sum et cunctantibus ceteris a. d. XIII K. Ian. fundamenta ieci rei publicae, eo ipso die providi multum atque habui rationem dignitatis tuae; mihi enim est assensus senatus de obtinendis provinciis; nec vero postea destiti labefactare eum, qui summa cum tua iniuria contumeliaque rei publicae provinciam absens obtinebat; itaque crebras vel potius quotidianas compellationes meas non tulit seque in urbem recepit invitus; neque solem spe, sed certa re iam et possessione deturbatus est meo iustissimo honestissimoque convicio. Te tuam dignitatem summa tua virtute tenuisse provinciaeque honoribus amplissimis affectum vehementer gaudeo. Quod te mihi de Sempronio purgas, accipio excusationem; fuit enim illud quoddam graecum tempus servitutis. Ego, tuorum consiliorum auctor dignitatisque fautor, iratus temporibus in Graeciam desperata libertate rapiebar, quum me etesiae quasi boni cives relinquentem rem publicam prosequi noluerunt, austerque adversus maximo flatu me ad tribules tuos Regium rettulit, atque inde ventis remis in patriam omni festinatione properavi postridieque in summa reliquorum servitute liber unus fui. Sic sum in Antonium invectus, ut ille non ferret omnemque suum vinulentum furorem in me unum effunderet meque tum elicere vellet ad caedis causam, tum temptaret insidiis; quem ego ructantem et nauseantem conieci in Caesaris Octaviani plagas; puer enim egregius praesidium sibi primum et nobis, deinde summae rei publicae comparavit; qui nisi fuisset, Antonii reditus a Brundisio pestis patriae fuisset. Quae deinceps acta sint, scire te arbitror. Sed redeamus illuc, unde devertimus: accipio excusationem tuam de Sempronio; neque enim statui quid in tanta perturbatione habere potuisti. Nunc hic dies aliam vitam affert, alios mores postulat, ut ait Terentius; quamobrem, mi Quinte, conscende nobiscum, et quidem ad puppim: una navis est iam bonorum omnium, quam quidem nos damus operam ut rectam teneamus; utinam prospero cursu! sed, quicumque venti erunt, ars nostra certe non aberit; quid enim praestare aliud virtus potest? Tu fac ut magno animo sis et excelso cogitesque omnem dignitatem tuam cum re publica coniunctam esse debere. (Scr. post V Kal. Mai. a. 711.) P. Lucceium mihi meum commendas, quem, quibuscumque rebus potero, diligenter tuebor. Hirtium quidem et Pansam, collegas nostros, homines in consulatu rei publicae salutares, alieno sane tempore amisimus, re publica Antoniano quidem latrocinio liberata, sed nondum omnino explicata; quam nos, si licebit, more nostro tuebimur, quamquam admodum sumus iam defetigati; sed nulla lassitudo impedire officium et fidem debet. Verum haec hactenus: ab aliis te de me quam a me ipso malo cognoscere. De te audiebamus ea, quae maxime vellemus. De Cn. Minucio, quem tu quibusdam litteris ad caelum laudibus extulisti, rumores duriores erant: id quale sit omninoque quid istic agatur facias me velim certiorem.
◆
I received your letter on the festival of Liber; Cornificius delivered it, as he said, on the twenty-first day. There was no meeting of the senate that day, nor on the next. On the Quinquatria, at a well-attended senate, I pleaded your cause, not against Minerva's wishes; for on that very day the senate decreed that our Minerva, the guardian of the city, which a storm had knocked down, should be restored. Pansa read out your letter; great applause from the senate followed, to my very great joy and to the annoyance of the Minotaur, that is, Calvisius and Taurus. An honorable decree of the senate was passed about you. There was a demand that they too be censured, but Pansa was more lenient. From the very first day, my dear Cornificius, when I entered upon the hope of liberty, on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of January, while everyone else hesitated, I laid the foundations of the republic, and on that very day I looked far ahead and took account of your dignity. For the senate agreed with me about retaining the provinces. And indeed afterward I did not cease to undermine the man who, with the greatest injustice to you and insult to the republic, was holding his province while absent. And so he could not endure my frequent, or rather daily, attacks, and retreated into the city against his will. And he has been dislodged not merely from hope but from the actual thing and its possession by my most just and honorable denunciation. That you have maintained your dignity with the greatest virtue and have been honored with the most distinguished marks of respect by the province, I am very glad. As for your clearing yourself with me about Sempronius, I accept the excuse; for that was a Greek period, as it were, of servitude. I, the advocate of your counsels and supporter of your dignity, was being carried off to Greece in anger at the times, despairing of liberty, when the Etesian winds, like good citizens, refused to escort one who was abandoning the republic, and a contrary south wind with a mighty blast drove me back to Rhegium, to your fellow tribesmen; and from there by wind and oar I hurried home with all speed, and on the next day, when all the rest were in slavery, I alone was free. I attacked Antonius so fiercely that he could not bear it and poured all his drunken fury upon me alone, sometimes wishing to lure me into an occasion for murder, sometimes trying me with plots. I drove him, belching and nauseated, into the nets of Caesar Octavianus; for that remarkable young man first assembled a force of protection for himself and for us, and then for the republic as a whole. Had he not existed, Antonius's return from Brundisium would have been the ruin of the country. What was done afterward, I suppose you know. But let us return to the point from which we digressed. I accept your excuse about Sempronius; for in such a great upheaval you could not have made any settled decision. Now this day brings a different life and demands different manners, as Terence says. Therefore, my dear Quintus, come aboard with us, and indeed to the stern; there is now one ship for all good men, and we are doing our best to keep it on course. May the voyage be prosperous! But whatever winds may blow, our skill at least will not be lacking; for what else can virtue guarantee? See to it that you are of great and lofty spirit, and consider that all your dignity ought to be joined with the republic. I commend to you my friend Publius Lucceius, whom I shall diligently protect in whatever ways I can. We have lost Hirtius and Pansa, our colleagues, men who were the salvation of the republic in their consulship, at a most inopportune time -- the republic having been freed indeed from Antonius's brigandage, but not yet fully extricated. I shall defend it, if I am allowed, in my customary manner, although I am now quite exhausted. But no weariness ought to impede duty and loyalty. But enough of this; I prefer you to learn about me from others rather than from myself. About you we were hearing what we most wished. About Gnaeus Minucius, whom you praised to the skies in certain letters, rather harsh rumors were circulating. Please let me know the truth of this and indeed everything that is happening there.
Human translation - ToposText / Shuckburgh
Latin / Greek Original
XXV. Scr. Romae sive XIV. Kal. Apriles sive paullo post a.u.c. 711. CICERO CORNIFICIO SAL.
Liberalibus litteras accepi tuas, quas mihi Cornificius altero vicesimo die, ut dicebat, reddidit: eo die non fuit senatus neque postero. Quinquatribus frequenti senatu causam tuam egi non invita Minerva; etenim eo ipso die senatus decrevit, ut Minerva nostra, custos urbis, quam turbo deiecerat, restitueretur. Pansa tuas litteras recitavit: magna senatus approbatio consecuta est cum summo meo gaudio et offensione Minotauri, id est Calvisii et Tauri; factum de te senatus consultum honorificum. Postulabatur, ut etiam illi notarentur; sed Pansa clementior. Ego, mi Cornifici, quo die primum in spem libertatis ingressus sum et cunctantibus ceteris a. d. XIII K. Ian. fundamenta ieci rei publicae, eo ipso die providi multum atque habui rationem dignitatis tuae; mihi enim est assensus senatus de obtinendis provinciis; nec vero postea destiti labefactare eum, qui summa cum tua iniuria contumeliaque rei publicae provinciam absens obtinebat; itaque crebras vel potius quotidianas compellationes meas non tulit seque in urbem recepit invitus; neque solem spe, sed certa re iam et possessione deturbatus est meo iustissimo honestissimoque convicio. Te tuam dignitatem summa tua virtute tenuisse provinciaeque honoribus amplissimis affectum vehementer gaudeo. Quod te mihi de Sempronio purgas, accipio excusationem; fuit enim illud quoddam graecum tempus servitutis. Ego, tuorum consiliorum auctor dignitatisque fautor, iratus temporibus in Graeciam desperata libertate rapiebar, quum me etesiae quasi boni cives relinquentem rem publicam prosequi noluerunt, austerque adversus maximo flatu me ad tribules tuos Regium rettulit, atque inde ventis remis in patriam omni festinatione properavi postridieque in summa reliquorum servitute liber unus fui. Sic sum in Antonium invectus, ut ille non ferret omnemque suum vinulentum furorem in me unum effunderet meque tum elicere vellet ad caedis causam, tum temptaret insidiis; quem ego ructantem et nauseantem conieci in Caesaris Octaviani plagas; puer enim egregius praesidium sibi primum et nobis, deinde summae rei publicae comparavit; qui nisi fuisset, Antonii reditus a Brundisio pestis patriae fuisset. Quae deinceps acta sint, scire te arbitror. Sed redeamus illuc, unde devertimus: accipio excusationem tuam de Sempronio; neque enim statui quid in tanta perturbatione habere potuisti. Nunc hic dies aliam vitam affert, alios mores postulat, ut ait Terentius; quamobrem, mi Quinte, conscende nobiscum, et quidem ad puppim: una navis est iam bonorum omnium, quam quidem nos damus operam ut rectam teneamus; utinam prospero cursu! sed, quicumque venti erunt, ars nostra certe non aberit; quid enim praestare aliud virtus potest? Tu fac ut magno animo sis et excelso cogitesque omnem dignitatem tuam cum re publica coniunctam esse debere. (Scr. post V Kal. Mai. a. 711.) P. Lucceium mihi meum commendas, quem, quibuscumque rebus potero, diligenter tuebor. Hirtium quidem et Pansam, collegas nostros, homines in consulatu rei publicae salutares, alieno sane tempore amisimus, re publica Antoniano quidem latrocinio liberata, sed nondum omnino explicata; quam nos, si licebit, more nostro tuebimur, quamquam admodum sumus iam defetigati; sed nulla lassitudo impedire officium et fidem debet. Verum haec hactenus: ab aliis te de me quam a me ipso malo cognoscere. De te audiebamus ea, quae maxime vellemus. De Cn. Minucio, quem tu quibusdam litteris ad caelum laudibus extulisti, rumores duriores erant: id quale sit omninoque quid istic agatur facias me velim certiorem.