Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 49 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
After I sent you the letter about Dionysius before dawn on February 22, Dionysius himself came to me that same evening, moved by your authority, I suspect. What else should I think? Still, he often repents when he has done something frantic, and he has never been more out of his mind than in this affair. What I had not written to you was that I later heard he had gone three miles from Rome, hurling many useless curses into the air - many curses, I say, upon his own head, as people say.
But look at my mildness. I had put into the packet, together with yours, a forceful letter to him. I want that brought back to me, and for no other reason I have sent my footman Pollux to Rome. So I write to you: if that letter has happened to be delivered to you, see that it is returned to me and does not come into his hands.
If there had been any news, I would have written it. My mind hangs suspended in expectation of the business at Corfinium, where the safety of the republic will be decided. Please make sure the packet addressed to Manius Curius reaches him. Commend Tiro to Curius, and ask him to give Tiro whatever money he needs.
After I sent you a letter before daybreak on the 22nd about Dionysius, on the evening of the same day came Dionysius himself. I cannot but think that it was by your influence, though he is wont to repent of his fits of temper, and this is the maddest business he has had a hand in. I did not tell you before, but I heard later, that, when he had got three miles from Rome, he took fright,
I mean he cursed roundly. May his curses fall on his own head, as the saying goes. But look at my good nature. I enclosed in your packet a strong letter for him. I should be glad to have it returned; and
only for that reason have I sent my footman Pollux to Rome. So I write to you that, if it has come into your hands, you may return it and not let it fall into his possession.
I would write any fresh news, if there were any. I am a-tiptoe with anxiety as to the business at Corfinium, which will decide the fate of the constitution. Please send the packet addressed to M'. Curius, and please recommend Tiro to Curius, and ask him to supply his wants.
Cum ante lucem viii Kal. litteras ad te de Dionysio dedissem, vesperi ad nos eodem die venit ipse Dionysius auctoritate tua permotus, ut suspicor; quid enim putem aliud? etsi solet eum, cum aliquid furiose fecit, paenitere. numquam autem cerritior fuit quam in hoc negotio. nam quod ad te non scripseram, postea audivi a tertio miliario tum eum isse polla maten keraessin es eera thumenanta, multa, inquam, mala cum dixisset: suo capiti, ut aiunt. sed en meam mansuetudinem! Coniecenim in fasciculum una cum tua vehementem ad illum epistulam. hanc ad me referri volo nec ullam ob aliam causam Pollicem servum a pedibus meum Romam misi. eo autem ad te scripsi ut, si tibi forte reddita esset, mihi curares referendam, ne in illius manus perveniret. [2] Novi si quid esset scripsissem. pendeo animi exspectatione (de re) Corfiniensi, in qua de salute rei publicae decernetur. tu fasciculum, qui est M'. Curio inscriptus, velim cures ad eum perferendum Tironemque Curio commendes et ut det ei si quid opus erit in sumptum roges.
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After I sent you the letter about Dionysius before dawn on February 22, Dionysius himself came to me that same evening, moved by your authority, I suspect. What else should I think? Still, he often repents when he has done something frantic, and he has never been more out of his mind than in this affair. What I had not written to you was that I later heard he had gone three miles from Rome, hurling many useless curses into the air - many curses, I say, upon his own head, as people say.
But look at my mildness. I had put into the packet, together with yours, a forceful letter to him. I want that brought back to me, and for no other reason I have sent my footman Pollux to Rome. So I write to you: if that letter has happened to be delivered to you, see that it is returned to me and does not come into his hands.
If there had been any news, I would have written it. My mind hangs suspended in expectation of the business at Corfinium, where the safety of the republic will be decided. Please make sure the packet addressed to Manius Curius reaches him. Commend Tiro to Curius, and ask him to give Tiro whatever money he needs.
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
Cum ante lucem viii Kal. litteras ad te de Dionysio dedissem, vesperi ad nos eodem die venit ipse Dionysius auctoritate tua permotus, ut suspicor; quid enim putem aliud? etsi solet eum, cum aliquid furiose fecit, paenitere. numquam autem cerritior fuit quam in hoc negotio. nam quod ad te non scripseram, postea audivi a tertio miliario tum eum isse polla maten keraessin es eera thumenanta, multa, inquam, mala cum dixisset: suo capiti, ut aiunt. sed en meam mansuetudinem! Coniecenim in fasciculum una cum tua vehementem ad illum epistulam. hanc ad me referri volo nec ullam ob aliam causam Pollicem servum a pedibus meum Romam misi. eo autem ad te scripsi ut, si tibi forte reddita esset, mihi curares referendam, ne in illius manus perveniret. [2] Novi si quid esset scripsissem. pendeo animi exspectatione (de re) Corfiniensi, in qua de salute rei publicae decernetur. tu fasciculum, qui est M'. Curio inscriptus, velim cures ad eum perferendum Tironemque Curio commendes et ut det ei si quid opus erit in sumptum roges.