Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 49 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
Everything you did was welcome to me: you wrote what you had heard, you did not believe reports unworthy of my diligence, and you warned me of what you thought. I sent one letter to Caesar from Capua, answering what he had raised with me about his gladiators. It was brief but friendly, not only without insult but with the highest praise for Pompey. That was required by the position I was taking, since I was urging him toward agreement. If Caesar has sent that letter anywhere, I would like him to post it in public.
I sent another to him on the same day as this one to you. I could not avoid it, since both Caesar himself and Balbus had written to me. I have sent you a copy. I do not think you will find anything to criticize. If you do, teach me how I can escape blame.
"You should have written nothing at all," you will say. How is that a better way to escape people who want to invent charges? Still, I will do that as far as I can. Your urging me to remember my deeds, words, and even writings is friendly and deeply pleasing to me. But in this cause you seem to judge one course honorable and worthy of me, while I judge another.
To me, no public leader or commander in any nation has ever done anything more disgraceful than our friend has done. I am grieving for him: he left the city, that is, the fatherland for which and in which it would have been glorious to die. You seem not to understand how great a disaster this is. You are still in your own house, but you cannot remain there much longer except by permission of the most desperate men. What could be more miserable or more shameful?
We wander in need with our wives and children. All our hopes rest on the life of one man, who every year falls dangerously ill. We were not driven out of the fatherland but summoned out of it, and we left it not to be preserved until our return but to be plundered and burned. Are so many with us? Are they not in their suburban houses, in their gardens, in the city itself? And if they are there now, will they not remain there?
Meanwhile we are not even at Capua but at Luceria. We will abandon even the coast and wait for Afranius and Petreius; Labienus has too little standing. Here you may miss in me something you want. I say nothing about myself; let others see to that. But what standing is there here? You good men are in your homes and will remain there. Who did not show himself to me then? Who is present now in this war - for that is what it must already be called?
So far Vibullius has done the most important things. You will learn that from Pompey's letter; notice the passage where I have marked it. You will see what Vibullius himself thinks of our Gnaeus.
Where, then, is this speech going? I can gladly die for Pompey; I value no human being more. But I do not, as you seem to do, place the hope of the republic's safety in him alone. You indicate something different from your usual view, that if he leaves Italy, you think I must leave too. I think that is useful neither to the republic nor to my children, and besides it is neither right nor honorable.
"Can you bear to see a tyrant?" you ask. As if it mattered whether I hear of him or see him, or as if I needed an authority richer than Socrates, who did not set foot outside the gate when there were thirty tyrants. I have, besides, a special reason for staying. How I wish I could speak with you about it.
On February 17, after writing this letter at Formiae by the same lamp with which I burned yours, I was about to set out for Pompey. If the matter is peace, I may be useful. If it is war, what will I be?
Many thanks for everything: for writing me your news, for not believing a report, which reflected on my energy, and for the expression of your opinion. I sent Caesar one letter from Capua in answer to his inquiries about his gladiators. It was short but friendly, and, so far from abusing Pompey,
praised him highly. I had to do that, as I was an advocate of peace between them. If Caesar has passed on my letter, good: I should like him to placard it in public. I have sent him another letter on the date on which I dispatch this to you. I could not help doing so when he and Balbus wrote to me. I send you a copy of the letter. I don't think you can find any fault. If you can find any, tell me how I can escape criticism. You will say I should have sent no letter at all. What better plan to escape malicious tongues? However I will do so as long as I can. Your exhortations to remember my deeds and words and even writings are friendly and very pleasant; but you seem to have a different idea to mine as to honour and propriety in this business. To my mind, no statesman or general has ever been guilty of conduct so disgraceful as Pompey's. I am sorry for him. He left Rome, his country, for which and in which it were glorious to die. You don't seem to me to realize what a disaster that is. You yourself are still in your own house; but you cannot stay there any longer without the consent of villains and traitors. It is the depth of misery and shame. We wander in want with wives and children. Our sole hope lies in the life of one man, who falls dangerously sick every year. We are not driven, but summoned to leave our country. And our country which we have left will not be kept in safety against our return, but abandoned to fire and plunder. So many Pompeians are with us, not in their suburban villas, not in Rome, and, if some are still in Rome, they will soon go. Meantime I shall not stay at Capua, but at Luceria, and of course I shall abandon the coast at once. I shall wait for the move of Afranius and Petreius: for Labienus is a
man of little standing. You may say that I am too. I say nothing of myself: I leave that to others. Who has standing here? All you loyalists stay at home, and will continue to stay there. Who failed me in the old days? Who supports me now in this war, as I must call it.
So far Vibullius' achievements have been fine. You will see that from Pompey's letter. Vide the passage marked. You will see Vibullius' own opinion of Pompey. My point is that I can gladly die for Pompey's sake—there is no one I hold dearer; but not in that way. In him I see no hope for the safety of the state. You express a view different from your usual view, that I must even leave Italy, if he does. That course seems to me of no advantage to the state or to my children, and, moreover, neither right nor honourable. But why do you say, "Will you be able to see a tyrant"? As if it mattered whether I hear of him or see him, or as if I wanted a better example than Socrates, who never set foot out of gate during the reign of the Thirty tyrants. Besides I have a special reason for staying. I wish I could talk it over with you.
After writing this letter on the 17th, by the same lamp as that in which I burned yours, I set out from Formiae to go to Pompey, and I may be of use, if the talk is of peace: but, if of war, of what use shall I be?
mihi vero omnia grata, et quod scripsisti ad me quae audieras et quod non credidisti quae digna diligentia mea non erant et quod monuisti quod sentiebas. ego ad Caesarem unas Capua litteras dedi quibus ad ea rescripsi quae mecum ille de gladiatoribus suis egerat, brevis sed benevolentiam significantis, non modo sine contumelia sed etiam cum maxima laude Pompei. id enim illa sententia postulabat qua illum ad concordiam hortabar. eas si quo ille misit, in publico proponat velim. alteras eodem die dedi quo has ad te. non potui non dare, cum et ipse ad me scripsisset et Balbus. earum exemplum ad te misi. nihil arbitror fore quod reprehendas. si qua erunt, doce me quo modo mempsin effugere possim. [2] 'nihil' inquies 'omnino scripseris.' qui magis effugias eos qui volent fingere? verum tamen ita faciam, quoad fieri poterit. nam quod me hortaris ad memoriam factorum, dictorum, . scriptorum etiam meorum, facis amice tu quidem mihique gratissimum sed mihi videris aliud tu honestum meque dignum in hac causa iudicare atque ego existimem. mihi enim nihil ulla in gente umquam ab ullo auctore rei publicae ac duce turpius factum esse videtur quam a nostro amico factum est. quoius ego vicem doleo; qui urbem reliquit, id est patriam, pro qua et in qua mori praeclarum fuit. ignorare mihi videris haec quanta sit clades. [3] es enim etiam nunc domi tuae sed invitis perditissimis hominibus esse diutius non potes. hoc miserius, hoc turpius quicquam? vagamur egentes cum coniugibus et liberis; in unius hominis quotannis periculose aegrotantis anima positas omnis nostras spes habemus non expulsi sed evocati ex patria; quam non servandam ad reditum nostrum sed diripiendam et inflammandam reliquimus. ita multi nobiscum sunt? non in suburbanis? non in hortis? non in ipsa (urbe)? et, si nunc sunt, non erunt? nos interea ne Capuae quidem sed Luceriae, et oram quidem maritimam iam relinquemus, Afranium exspectabimus (et) Petreium. nam in Labieno parum est dignitatis. hic tu in me . . . illud desideras. nihil de me dico, alii viderint. hic quidem quae est . . .? domi vestrae estis et eritis omnes boni. quis tum se mihi non ostendit? quis nunc adest hoc bello? sic enim iam appellandum est. [4] Vibulli res gestae sunt adhuc maximae. id ex Pompei litteris cognosces; in quibus animadvertito illum locum ubi erit diplei. videbis de Gnaeo nostro ipse Vibullius quid existimet. quo igitur haec spectat oratio? ego pro Pompeio libenter emori possum; facio pluris omnium hominum neminem; sed non ita (ut tu) uno in eo iudico spem de salute rei publicae. significas enim aliquanto secus quam solebas, ut etiam Italia, si ille cedat, putes cedendum. quod ego nec rei publicae puto esse utile nec liberis meis, praeterea neque rectum neque honestum +sed cur+. 'poterisne igitur videre tyrannum?' quasi intersit audiam an videam, aut locupletior mihi sit quaerendus auctor quam Socrates qui, cum xxx tyranni essent, pedem porta non extulit. est mihi praeterea praecipua causa manendi. de qua utinam aliquando tecum loquar! ego xiii Kalend., cum eadem lucerna hanc epistulam scripsissem qua inflammaram tuam, Formiis ad Pompeium, si de pace agetur, profecturus, si de bello, quid ero?
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Everything you did was welcome to me: you wrote what you had heard, you did not believe reports unworthy of my diligence, and you warned me of what you thought. I sent one letter to Caesar from Capua, answering what he had raised with me about his gladiators. It was brief but friendly, not only without insult but with the highest praise for Pompey. That was required by the position I was taking, since I was urging him toward agreement. If Caesar has sent that letter anywhere, I would like him to post it in public.
I sent another to him on the same day as this one to you. I could not avoid it, since both Caesar himself and Balbus had written to me. I have sent you a copy. I do not think you will find anything to criticize. If you do, teach me how I can escape blame.
"You should have written nothing at all," you will say. How is that a better way to escape people who want to invent charges? Still, I will do that as far as I can. Your urging me to remember my deeds, words, and even writings is friendly and deeply pleasing to me. But in this cause you seem to judge one course honorable and worthy of me, while I judge another.
To me, no public leader or commander in any nation has ever done anything more disgraceful than our friend has done. I am grieving for him: he left the city, that is, the fatherland for which and in which it would have been glorious to die. You seem not to understand how great a disaster this is. You are still in your own house, but you cannot remain there much longer except by permission of the most desperate men. What could be more miserable or more shameful?
We wander in need with our wives and children. All our hopes rest on the life of one man, who every year falls dangerously ill. We were not driven out of the fatherland but summoned out of it, and we left it not to be preserved until our return but to be plundered and burned. Are so many with us? Are they not in their suburban houses, in their gardens, in the city itself? And if they are there now, will they not remain there?
Meanwhile we are not even at Capua but at Luceria. We will abandon even the coast and wait for Afranius and Petreius; Labienus has too little standing. Here you may miss in me something you want. I say nothing about myself; let others see to that. But what standing is there here? You good men are in your homes and will remain there. Who did not show himself to me then? Who is present now in this war - for that is what it must already be called?
So far Vibullius has done the most important things. You will learn that from Pompey's letter; notice the passage where I have marked it. You will see what Vibullius himself thinks of our Gnaeus.
Where, then, is this speech going? I can gladly die for Pompey; I value no human being more. But I do not, as you seem to do, place the hope of the republic's safety in him alone. You indicate something different from your usual view, that if he leaves Italy, you think I must leave too. I think that is useful neither to the republic nor to my children, and besides it is neither right nor honorable.
"Can you bear to see a tyrant?" you ask. As if it mattered whether I hear of him or see him, or as if I needed an authority richer than Socrates, who did not set foot outside the gate when there were thirty tyrants. I have, besides, a special reason for staying. How I wish I could speak with you about it.
On February 17, after writing this letter at Formiae by the same lamp with which I burned yours, I was about to set out for Pompey. If the matter is peace, I may be useful. If it is war, what will I be?
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
mihi vero omnia grata, et quod scripsisti ad me quae audieras et quod non credidisti quae digna diligentia mea non erant et quod monuisti quod sentiebas. ego ad Caesarem unas Capua litteras dedi quibus ad ea rescripsi quae mecum ille de gladiatoribus suis egerat, brevis sed benevolentiam significantis, non modo sine contumelia sed etiam cum maxima laude Pompei. id enim illa sententia postulabat qua illum ad concordiam hortabar. eas si quo ille misit, in publico proponat velim. alteras eodem die dedi quo has ad te. non potui non dare, cum et ipse ad me scripsisset et Balbus. earum exemplum ad te misi. nihil arbitror fore quod reprehendas. si qua erunt, doce me quo modo mempsin effugere possim. [2] 'nihil' inquies 'omnino scripseris.' qui magis effugias eos qui volent fingere? verum tamen ita faciam, quoad fieri poterit. nam quod me hortaris ad memoriam factorum, dictorum, . scriptorum etiam meorum, facis amice tu quidem mihique gratissimum sed mihi videris aliud tu honestum meque dignum in hac causa iudicare atque ego existimem. mihi enim nihil ulla in gente umquam ab ullo auctore rei publicae ac duce turpius factum esse videtur quam a nostro amico factum est. quoius ego vicem doleo; qui urbem reliquit, id est patriam, pro qua et in qua mori praeclarum fuit. ignorare mihi videris haec quanta sit clades. [3] es enim etiam nunc domi tuae sed invitis perditissimis hominibus esse diutius non potes. hoc miserius, hoc turpius quicquam? vagamur egentes cum coniugibus et liberis; in unius hominis quotannis periculose aegrotantis anima positas omnis nostras spes habemus non expulsi sed evocati ex patria; quam non servandam ad reditum nostrum sed diripiendam et inflammandam reliquimus. ita multi nobiscum sunt? non in suburbanis? non in hortis? non in ipsa (urbe)? et, si nunc sunt, non erunt? nos interea ne Capuae quidem sed Luceriae, et oram quidem maritimam iam relinquemus, Afranium exspectabimus (et) Petreium. nam in Labieno parum est dignitatis. hic tu in me . . . illud desideras. nihil de me dico, alii viderint. hic quidem quae est . . .? domi vestrae estis et eritis omnes boni. quis tum se mihi non ostendit? quis nunc adest hoc bello? sic enim iam appellandum est. [4] Vibulli res gestae sunt adhuc maximae. id ex Pompei litteris cognosces; in quibus animadvertito illum locum ubi erit diplei. videbis de Gnaeo nostro ipse Vibullius quid existimet. quo igitur haec spectat oratio? ego pro Pompeio libenter emori possum; facio pluris omnium hominum neminem; sed non ita (ut tu) uno in eo iudico spem de salute rei publicae. significas enim aliquanto secus quam solebas, ut etiam Italia, si ille cedat, putes cedendum. quod ego nec rei publicae puto esse utile nec liberis meis, praeterea neque rectum neque honestum +sed cur+. 'poterisne igitur videre tyrannum?' quasi intersit audiam an videam, aut locupletior mihi sit quaerendus auctor quam Socrates qui, cum xxx tyranni essent, pedem porta non extulit. est mihi praeterea praecipua causa manendi. de qua utinam aliquando tecum loquar! ego xiii Kalend., cum eadem lucerna hanc epistulam scripsissem qua inflammaram tuam, Formiis ad Pompeium, si de pace agetur, profecturus, si de bello, quid ero?