Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 49 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
After I had sent you a letter so that you would know Caesar would be at Capua on March 26, word was brought to me from Capua that he would be either here with me or at Curio's Alban estate on March 28. When I have seen him, I will go on to Arpinum. If he gives me the permission I ask for, I will use his terms. If not, I will obtain something from myself. As he wrote to me, he has placed one legion each at Brundisium, Tarentum, and Sipontum. He seems to me to be closing off exits by sea, and yet to be looking more toward Greece himself than toward Spain.
But those matters are farther off. What now spurs me is this meeting, and it is truly at hand; and I shudder at his first actions. He will want, I suppose, a decree of the Senate and a decree of the augurs. We will either be dragged to Rome or harassed in absence, so that the praetor may ask the people to elect consuls or name a dictator, neither of which is lawful. Yet if Sulla could have himself named dictator by an interrex, why could Caesar not do the same? I can find no outcome except to fall either at Caesar's hands like Quintus Mucius or at Pompey's like Lucius Scipio.
When you read this, perhaps I will already have met the man. "Endure." Even our own exile was not the harsher stroke. Then there was hope of a return close at hand, and people complained on our behalf. Now I want to leave, with no hope of return ever coming into my mind. Not only is there no complaint from town or country people; on the contrary, they fear Pompey as cruel and angry. And yet nothing is more miserable to me than having stayed, and nothing more desirable than to fly away, not so much to share his war as to share his flight. But you were postponing every plan until we knew what happened at Brundisium. We do know, and still we are stuck. I scarcely hope Caesar will give me permission, though I bring many just reasons for obtaining it. I will send you at once, in full detail, every word of his conversation and mine.
Now strive with all your affection to help me with your care and wisdom. He is rushing here so suddenly that I cannot even see Titus Rebilius, as I had arranged. Everything must be done while we are unprepared. Still, as the poet says, some things I myself will do, and some a god will suggest. Whatever I do, you will know immediately. I do not have the instructions Caesar sent to the consuls and to Pompey, for which you ask. I sent you earlier the copies that were brought from the road; from those the instructions can be understood. Philippus is at Naples, Lentulus at Puteoli. As you are doing, inquire about Domitius: where he is and what he is planning.
You write that I wrote about Dionysius more harshly than my character allows. See how old-fashioned I am. By heaven, I thought you would take this matter more seriously than I did. Besides the fact that I think you ought to be moved by any injury done to me by anyone, he has in a way violated you too by treating me so outrageously. But what weight you give the matter is for your judgment, and I place no burden on you here. I always thought the man mentally unsound; now I also think him foul and wicked, though not more hostile to me than to himself. You handled Philargyrus well. You certainly had a true and good case: that I had been left behind rather than had left anyone.
After I had already sent the letter on March 25, the slaves whom I had sent with Matius and Trebatius brought me a letter in this form:
"Matius and Trebatius to Cicero Imperator, greetings. After we left Capua, we heard on the road that Pompey had set out from Brundisium on March 17 with all the forces he had; that Caesar entered the town the next day, addressed the troops, and hurried from there to Rome, intending to be at the city before April 1, to stay there a few days, and then to set out for Spain. Since we had certain news of Caesar's arrival, it seemed right for us to send your slaves back to you, so that you might know this as quickly as possible. Your instructions are our concern, and we will act as the time requires. Trebatius is working hard to get ahead of him. After the letter was written, we were told that Caesar would stay at Beneventum on March 25, at Capua on March 26, and at Sinuessa on March 27. We take this as certain."
After I had sent you a letter informing you that Caesar would be at Capua on the 26th, a letter reached me from Capua saying that Caesar would see me either here or in Curio's place at Alba on the 28th. When I have seen him, I shall go to Arpinum. If he should grant me the privilege I ask, I shall put up with his terms. If not, then I shall consult myself as to what to do. As Caesar wrote to me, he has stationed one legion each at Brundisium, Tarentum and Sipontum. He seems to me to be cutting off retreat by sea and yet himself to have Greece in view rather than Spain. But these are remote considerations. Now I am stirred by the thought of meeting him; for the meeting is close at hand, and I am alarmed at the first steps he
will take, for he will want, I am sure, a decree of the Senate and a decree of the augurs (we shall be hurried off to Rome or harassed, if we are absent), so that the praetor may hold an election of consuls or name a dictator, both acts unconstitutional. Though, if Sulla could arrange to be named dictator by an interrex, why should not Caesar? I can see no solution of the problem except by meeting the fate of Mucius at the hand of Caesar, or that of Scipio at the hands of Pompey.
When you read this, perhaps I shall have met the man. "Endure." My own exile was no "unkinder cut"; for I had prospects of speedy return and was consoled by the popular outcry. Now I long to go away and it never strikes me that there is any chance of return. Not only is there no outcry of any in town or country, but on the contrary all are afraid of Pompey as cruel in his anger. Nothing causes me more wretchedness than my having remained, and there is nothing that I want more than to flee to him to share not his fighting but his flight. But now what becomes of your counsel to put off decision till we knew how things went at Brundisium? We do know, but are as badly stuck as ever. I can scarcely hope that Caesar will give me privilege, though many are the good reasons I can bring for granting it. But I will send you immediately a report of our conversation word for word. Use all your affection to help me with your careful advise. He is coming so fast that I cannot see even T. Rebilus, as I had arranged. I
have to do everything impromptu. But nevertheless as the poet has it, "Some things I'll venture and some things God will prompt." Whatever I do you shall know forthwith. The demands Caesar sent to Pompey and the consuls, for which you ask, are not with me. The copies that were brought I sent on to you at once. From them I think you can gather what those demands were. Philippus is at Naples. Lentulus at Puteoli. As to Domitius, go on inquiring where he is and what he intends to do.
You write that my remarks about Dionysius are more bitter than suits my character. See how old-fashioned I am. Upon my honour I thought that you would be more angered than I: for, apart from the fact that I think you should be stirred by any injury done by anyone to me, this man in a way outraged you in treating me so badly. But it is for you to decide what weight you should give to the matter. I will not put anything upon you. I always thought the fellow was not quite sane: now I think he is an abandoned blackguard. But he is as much his own enemy as mine. You did well with Philargyrus. You certainly had a good and true case in contending that I had not abandoned but rather had been abandoned.
When I had dispatched my letter on the 25th, the servants I had sent to Matius and Trebatius brought me a letter in the following terms:
"MATIUS AND TREBATIUS TO CICERO IMPERATOR, GREETING.
"After leaving Capua we heard on the way that Pompey with all the forces he had set out from
Brundisium on the 17th of March: that Caesar on the next day entered the town, made a speech and went off at full speed to Rome, meaning to be at the city before the 1st of April, to remain there a few days and then to set out for Spain. It seemed proper since we had sure news of Caesar's approach to send your servants back to you to give information as early as possible. Your charges have our attention, and we will act as circumstances demand. Trebatius is trying hard to reach you before Caesar.
"When this letter had been written, news came to us that Caesar would stop on the 25th at Beneventum, at Capua on the 26th, on the 27th at Sinuessa. This we consider certain."
[1] Cum dedissem ad te litteras ut scires Caesarem Capuae vii Kal. fore, adlatae mihi Capua sunt + et hoc mihi et+ in Albano apud Curionem v K. fore. Eum cum videro, Arpinum pergam. si mihi veniam quam peto dederit, utar illius condicione; si minus, impetrabo aliquid a me ipso. ille, ut ad me scripsit, legiones singulas posuit Brundisi, Tarenti, Siponti. claudere mihi videtur maritimos exitus et tamen ipse Graeciam spectare potius quam Hispanias. [2] sed haec longius absunt. me nunc et congressus huius stimulat (is vero adest) et primas eius actiones horreo. volet enim, credo, S. C. facere, volet augurum decretum (rapiemur aut absentes vexabimur), vel ut consules roget praetor vel dictatorem dicat; quorum neutrum ius est. etsi, si Sulla potuit efficere ab interrege ut dictator diceretur [et magister equitum], cur hic non possit? nihil expedio nisi ut aut ab hoc tamquam Q. Mucius aut ab illo tamquam L. Scipio. [3] Cum tu haec leges, ego illum fortasse convenero. 'Tetlathi' 'Kunteron' ne illud quidem nostrum proprium. erat enim spes propinqui reditus, erat hominum querela. nunc exire cupimus, qua spe reditus mihi quidem numquam in mentem venit. non modo autem nulla querela est municipalium hominum ac rusticorum sed contra metuunt ut crudelem, iratum. nec tamen mihi quicquam est miserius quam remansisse nec optatius quam evolare non tam ad belli quam ad fugae societatem. + sed tu omnia qui+ consilia differebas in id tempus cum sciremus quae Brundisi acta essent. scimus nempe; haeremus nihilo minus. vix enim spero mihi hunc veniam daturum, etsi multa adfero iusta ad impetrandum. sed tibi omnem illius meumque sermonem omnibus verbis expressum statim mittam. [4] tu nunc omni amore enitere ut nos cura tua et prudentia iuves. ita subito accurrit ut ne T. Rebilum quidem, ut constitueram, possim videre; omnia nobis imparatis agenda. sed tamen 'alla men autos,' ut ait ille, 'alla de kai daimon hupothesetai.' quicquid egero continuo scies. mandata Caesaris ad consules et ad Pompeium quae rogas, nulla habeo + et descripta attulit illa e via+ misi ad te ante; e quibus mandata intellegi posse. Philippus Neapoli est, Lentulus Puteolis. de Domitio, ut facis, sciscitare ubi sit, quid cogitet. [5] quod scribis asperius me quam mei patiantur mores de Dionysio scripsisse, vide quam sim antiquorum hominum. te medius fidius hanc rem gravius putavi laturum esse quam me. nam praeter quam quod te moveri arbitror oportere iniuria quae mihi a quoquam facta sit, praeterea te ipsum quodam modo hic violavit cum in me tam improbus fuit. sed tu id quanti aestimes tuum iudicium est; nec tamen in hoc tibi quicquam oneris impono. ego autem illum male sanum semper putavi, nunc etiam impurum et sceleratum puto nec tamen mihi inimiciorem quam sibi. Philargyro bene curasti. causam certe habuisti et veram et bonam, relictum esse me potius quam reliquisse. [6] Cum dedissem iam litteras a. d. viii Kal., pueri quos cum Matio et Trebatio miseram epistulam mihi attulerunt hoc exemplo: MATIVS ET TREBATIVS CICERONI IMP. SAL. Cum Capua exissemus, in itinere audivimus Pompeium Brundisio a. d. xvi K. Aprilis cum omnibus copiis quas habuerit profectum esse; Caesarem postero die in oppidum introisse , contionatum esse, inde Romam contendisse, velle ante K. esse ad urbem et pauculos dies ibi commorari, deinde in Hispanias proficisci. nobis non alienum visum est , quoniam de adventu Caesaris pro certo habebamus, pueros tuos ad te remittere, ut id tu quam primum scires. mandata tua nobis curae sunt eaque ut tempus postularit agemus. Trebatius sedulo facit ut antecedat. epistula conscripta nuntiatum est nobis Caesarem a. d. viii K. Aprilis Beneventi mansurum, a. d. vii Capuae, a. d. vi Sinuessae. hoc pro certo putamus.
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After I had sent you a letter so that you would know Caesar would be at Capua on March 26, word was brought to me from Capua that he would be either here with me or at Curio's Alban estate on March 28. When I have seen him, I will go on to Arpinum. If he gives me the permission I ask for, I will use his terms. If not, I will obtain something from myself. As he wrote to me, he has placed one legion each at Brundisium, Tarentum, and Sipontum. He seems to me to be closing off exits by sea, and yet to be looking more toward Greece himself than toward Spain.
But those matters are farther off. What now spurs me is this meeting, and it is truly at hand; and I shudder at his first actions. He will want, I suppose, a decree of the Senate and a decree of the augurs. We will either be dragged to Rome or harassed in absence, so that the praetor may ask the people to elect consuls or name a dictator, neither of which is lawful. Yet if Sulla could have himself named dictator by an interrex, why could Caesar not do the same? I can find no outcome except to fall either at Caesar's hands like Quintus Mucius or at Pompey's like Lucius Scipio.
When you read this, perhaps I will already have met the man. "Endure." Even our own exile was not the harsher stroke. Then there was hope of a return close at hand, and people complained on our behalf. Now I want to leave, with no hope of return ever coming into my mind. Not only is there no complaint from town or country people; on the contrary, they fear Pompey as cruel and angry. And yet nothing is more miserable to me than having stayed, and nothing more desirable than to fly away, not so much to share his war as to share his flight. But you were postponing every plan until we knew what happened at Brundisium. We do know, and still we are stuck. I scarcely hope Caesar will give me permission, though I bring many just reasons for obtaining it. I will send you at once, in full detail, every word of his conversation and mine.
Now strive with all your affection to help me with your care and wisdom. He is rushing here so suddenly that I cannot even see Titus Rebilius, as I had arranged. Everything must be done while we are unprepared. Still, as the poet says, some things I myself will do, and some a god will suggest. Whatever I do, you will know immediately. I do not have the instructions Caesar sent to the consuls and to Pompey, for which you ask. I sent you earlier the copies that were brought from the road; from those the instructions can be understood. Philippus is at Naples, Lentulus at Puteoli. As you are doing, inquire about Domitius: where he is and what he is planning.
You write that I wrote about Dionysius more harshly than my character allows. See how old-fashioned I am. By heaven, I thought you would take this matter more seriously than I did. Besides the fact that I think you ought to be moved by any injury done to me by anyone, he has in a way violated you too by treating me so outrageously. But what weight you give the matter is for your judgment, and I place no burden on you here. I always thought the man mentally unsound; now I also think him foul and wicked, though not more hostile to me than to himself. You handled Philargyrus well. You certainly had a true and good case: that I had been left behind rather than had left anyone.
After I had already sent the letter on March 25, the slaves whom I had sent with Matius and Trebatius brought me a letter in this form:
"Matius and Trebatius to Cicero Imperator, greetings. After we left Capua, we heard on the road that Pompey had set out from Brundisium on March 17 with all the forces he had; that Caesar entered the town the next day, addressed the troops, and hurried from there to Rome, intending to be at the city before April 1, to stay there a few days, and then to set out for Spain. Since we had certain news of Caesar's arrival, it seemed right for us to send your slaves back to you, so that you might know this as quickly as possible. Your instructions are our concern, and we will act as the time requires. Trebatius is working hard to get ahead of him. After the letter was written, we were told that Caesar would stay at Beneventum on March 25, at Capua on March 26, and at Sinuessa on March 27. We take this as certain."
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] Cum dedissem ad te litteras ut scires Caesarem Capuae vii Kal. fore, adlatae mihi Capua sunt + et hoc mihi et+ in Albano apud Curionem v K. fore. Eum cum videro, Arpinum pergam. si mihi veniam quam peto dederit, utar illius condicione; si minus, impetrabo aliquid a me ipso. ille, ut ad me scripsit, legiones singulas posuit Brundisi, Tarenti, Siponti. claudere mihi videtur maritimos exitus et tamen ipse Graeciam spectare potius quam Hispanias. [2] sed haec longius absunt. me nunc et congressus huius stimulat (is vero adest) et primas eius actiones horreo. volet enim, credo, S. C. facere, volet augurum decretum (rapiemur aut absentes vexabimur), vel ut consules roget praetor vel dictatorem dicat; quorum neutrum ius est. etsi, si Sulla potuit efficere ab interrege ut dictator diceretur [et magister equitum], cur hic non possit? nihil expedio nisi ut aut ab hoc tamquam Q. Mucius aut ab illo tamquam L. Scipio. [3] Cum tu haec leges, ego illum fortasse convenero. 'Tetlathi' 'Kunteron' ne illud quidem nostrum proprium. erat enim spes propinqui reditus, erat hominum querela. nunc exire cupimus, qua spe reditus mihi quidem numquam in mentem venit. non modo autem nulla querela est municipalium hominum ac rusticorum sed contra metuunt ut crudelem, iratum. nec tamen mihi quicquam est miserius quam remansisse nec optatius quam evolare non tam ad belli quam ad fugae societatem. + sed tu omnia qui+ consilia differebas in id tempus cum sciremus quae Brundisi acta essent. scimus nempe; haeremus nihilo minus. vix enim spero mihi hunc veniam daturum, etsi multa adfero iusta ad impetrandum. sed tibi omnem illius meumque sermonem omnibus verbis expressum statim mittam. [4] tu nunc omni amore enitere ut nos cura tua et prudentia iuves. ita subito accurrit ut ne T. Rebilum quidem, ut constitueram, possim videre; omnia nobis imparatis agenda. sed tamen 'alla men autos,' ut ait ille, 'alla de kai daimon hupothesetai.' quicquid egero continuo scies. mandata Caesaris ad consules et ad Pompeium quae rogas, nulla habeo + et descripta attulit illa e via+ misi ad te ante; e quibus mandata intellegi posse. Philippus Neapoli est, Lentulus Puteolis. de Domitio, ut facis, sciscitare ubi sit, quid cogitet. [5] quod scribis asperius me quam mei patiantur mores de Dionysio scripsisse, vide quam sim antiquorum hominum. te medius fidius hanc rem gravius putavi laturum esse quam me. nam praeter quam quod te moveri arbitror oportere iniuria quae mihi a quoquam facta sit, praeterea te ipsum quodam modo hic violavit cum in me tam improbus fuit. sed tu id quanti aestimes tuum iudicium est; nec tamen in hoc tibi quicquam oneris impono. ego autem illum male sanum semper putavi, nunc etiam impurum et sceleratum puto nec tamen mihi inimiciorem quam sibi. Philargyro bene curasti. causam certe habuisti et veram et bonam, relictum esse me potius quam reliquisse. [6] Cum dedissem iam litteras a. d. viii Kal., pueri quos cum Matio et Trebatio miseram epistulam mihi attulerunt hoc exemplo: MATIVS ET TREBATIVS CICERONI IMP. SAL. Cum Capua exissemus, in itinere audivimus Pompeium Brundisio a. d. xvi K. Aprilis cum omnibus copiis quas habuerit profectum esse; Caesarem postero die in oppidum introisse , contionatum esse, inde Romam contendisse, velle ante K. esse ad urbem et pauculos dies ibi commorari, deinde in Hispanias proficisci. nobis non alienum visum est , quoniam de adventu Caesaris pro certo habebamus, pueros tuos ad te remittere, ut id tu quam primum scires. mandata tua nobis curae sunt eaque ut tempus postularit agemus. Trebatius sedulo facit ut antecedat. epistula conscripta nuntiatum est nobis Caesarem a. d. viii K. Aprilis Beneventi mansurum, a. d. vii Capuae, a. d. vi Sinuessae. hoc pro certo putamus.