Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 49 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
Caesar has sent me a very short letter; I have copied it below. From the letter's brevity you will be able to know how heavily occupied he is, since he wrote so briefly about so important a matter. If there is any further news, I will write to you at once.
"Caesar to Oppius and Cornelius, greetings. On March 9 I came to Brundisium and placed my camp by the wall. Pompey is at Brundisium. He sent Numerius Magius to me about peace. I replied as seemed best. I wanted you to know this immediately. When I have come to hope that I can achieve something about a settlement, I will inform you at once."
How do you think I am now being tortured, my dear Cicero, after I have come again into hope of peace, fearing that something may prevent their settlement? What I can do while absent, I do: I hope for it. If I were there with them, perhaps I would seem able to accomplish something. As it is, I am tormented by waiting.
Caesar has sent me a very short letter of which I subjoin a copy. From the shortness of the letter you can infer that he is greatly occupied, to write so briefly about a matter of such importance. If there is any further news, I will write you immediately.
"CAESAR TO OPPIUS, CORNELIUS, GREETING.
"On the 9th of March I came to Brundisium, and under its walls pitched my camp. Pompey is at Brundisium. He sent N. Magius to me to talk of peace. I replied as I thought fit. I wanted you to know this at once. When I have hopes of settled terms, I will inform you immediately."
My dear Cicero, you can imagine my torture, after I again had hopes of peace, for fear anything should prevent an arrangement. I long for peace. It is all I can do in my absence from the scene of action.
If I were there, perhaps I might succeed in seeming to be of use. Now I am tormented with waiting.
[1] Caesar nobis litteras perbrevis misit; quarum exemplum subscripsi. brevitate epistulae scire poteris eum valde esse distentum qui tanta de re tam breviter scripserit. si quid praeterea novi fuerit, statim tibi scribam. CAESAR OPPIO CORNELIO SAL. A. d. vii Idus Martias Brundisium veni, ad murum castra posui. Pompeius est Brundisi. misit ad me N. Magium de pace. quae visa sunt respondi. hoc vos statim scire volui. quom in spem venero de compositione aliquid me conficere, statim vos certiores faciam. [2] quo modo me nunc putas, mi Cicero, torqueri, postquam rursus in spem pacis veni, ne qua res eorum compositionem impediat? namque quod absens facere possum opto. quod si una essem, aliquid fortasse proficere posse mi viderer. nunc exspectatione crucior.
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Caesar has sent me a very short letter; I have copied it below. From the letter's brevity you will be able to know how heavily occupied he is, since he wrote so briefly about so important a matter. If there is any further news, I will write to you at once.
"Caesar to Oppius and Cornelius, greetings. On March 9 I came to Brundisium and placed my camp by the wall. Pompey is at Brundisium. He sent Numerius Magius to me about peace. I replied as seemed best. I wanted you to know this immediately. When I have come to hope that I can achieve something about a settlement, I will inform you at once."
How do you think I am now being tortured, my dear Cicero, after I have come again into hope of peace, fearing that something may prevent their settlement? What I can do while absent, I do: I hope for it. If I were there with them, perhaps I would seem able to accomplish something. As it is, I am tormented by waiting.
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
[1] Caesar nobis litteras perbrevis misit; quarum exemplum subscripsi. brevitate epistulae scire poteris eum valde esse distentum qui tanta de re tam breviter scripserit. si quid praeterea novi fuerit, statim tibi scribam. CAESAR OPPIO CORNELIO SAL. A. d. vii Idus Martias Brundisium veni, ad murum castra posui. Pompeius est Brundisi. misit ad me N. Magium de pace. quae visa sunt respondi. hoc vos statim scire volui. quom in spem venero de compositione aliquid me conficere, statim vos certiores faciam. [2] quo modo me nunc putas, mi Cicero, torqueri, postquam rursus in spem pacis veni, ne qua res eorum compositionem impediat? namque quod absens facere possum opto. quod si una essem, aliquid fortasse proficere posse mi viderer. nunc exspectatione crucior.