Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 60 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
I do indeed desire, and have long desired, to visit Alexandria and the rest of Egypt, and at the same time to get away from this surfeit men have of us and to return with some sense of being missed; but at this time, and with these men sending me, I feel shame before the Trojans and the Trojan women with trailing robes [Homer, Iliad VI]. For what would our aristocrats say, if any are left? That I was drawn from my conviction by some bribe? Polydamas first of all will cast reproach upon me [Homer, Iliad XXII]—that Cato of ours, who alone counts with me for a hundred thousand. And what indeed will the histories proclaim about me a six hundred years hence? Of these I am far more afraid than of the petty gossip of the men who are alive today. But, I think, let us wait and watch. For if it is offered, there will be a certain power in our hands, and then we shall deliberate. Indeed, by Hercules, there is even no little glory in not accepting. Therefore, if Theophanes happens to discuss anything with you, do not reject it altogether. [2] About those affairs I am awaiting your letter: what Arrius reports, with what feeling he bears having been passed over, and what consuls are being prepared—whether, as the popular talk has it, Pompey and Crassus, or, as is written to me, Servius Sulpicius along with Gabinius; and whether there are any new laws, and whether there is anything new at all; and, since Nepos is setting out, to whom the augurship will be given—by that one thing alone can I be caught by those men. See my frivolity. But why do I speak of these things, which I desire to lay aside and with my whole mind and all my care to pursue philosophy? Such, I say, is my intention; I could wish it had been so from the beginning, but now indeed, since I have learned by experience how empty were the things I thought splendid, I am minded to reckon with all the Muses. [3] You, however, write back to me more definitely about Curtius, and now who is being prepared in his place, and what is being done about Publius Clodius, and write everything, as you promise, at your leisure, and I should like you to write to me on what day you think you will leave Rome, so that I may inform you in what places I shall be; and send a letter at once about the matters concerning which I have written to you. For I am eagerly awaiting your letter.
I am eager, and have long been eager to pay a visit to Alexandria and the rest of Egypt, and also to get away from here, where people are sick of seeing me, and return when they miss me a little: but
considering the circumstances, and the people who are sending me.
What will our conservative friends say, if there are any of them left? That I have been bribed out of my opinions?
that friend of ours, Cato, who alone outweighs a hundred thousand in my eyes. What would history be saying of me six hundred years hence? And that is a thing I fear much more than the petty gossip of those who are alive to-day. But I suppose I can only lie low and see what turns up. If an offer is made to me, the decision will to some extent rest in my own hands, and then I will consider the question. Upon my word there is some little glory even in refusing: so, if Theophanes should happen to consult you, don’t decline point blank.
This is what I am hoping to hear from you in your letter:—what Arrius has to say for himself, and how he takes Caesar’s desertion of him, whether popular report is right in speaking of Pompey and Crassus as the favourites for the consulship, or a correspondent of mine who mentions Gabinius and Servius Sulpicius, whether there are any new laws or any news at all, and to whom the augurship will be offered, now that Nepos is going away. That is the only bait with which they could catch me. You see how cheap I am going. But this is a forbidden subject. I mean to forget it, and devote myself heart and soul to philosophy. That, I assure you, is my intention; and I only wish I had always practised it. Now that I have sampled the vanity of what I once thought
glory, I am thinking of confining my attention exclusively to the Muses. For all that you must post me up in news of Curtius and who will succeed to his position, and what is happening about P. Clodius. Take your time, and write fully about things in general, as you promise. Please let me know on what day you are leaving Rome, so that I can tell you where I shall be: and let me have a letter at once on the points I have mentioned, for I look forward to your letters very eagerly.
cupio equidem et iam pridem cupio Alexandream reliquamque Aegyptum visere et simul ab hac hominum satietate nostri discedere et cum aliquo desiderio reverti; sed hoc tempore et his mittentibus aideomai Troas kai Troiadas helkesipeplous quid enim nostri optimates, si qui reliqui sunt, loquentur? an me aliquo praemio de sententia esse deductum? Pouludamas moi protos elencheien anathesei, Cato ille noster qui mihi unus est pro centum milibus. quid vero historiae de nobis ad annos Dc praedicabunt? quas quidem ego multo magis vereor quam eorum hominum qui hodie vivunt rumusculos. sed, opinor, excipiamus et exspectemus. si enim deferetur, erit quaedam nostra potestas et tum deliberabimus. etiam hercule est in non accipiendo non nulla gloria. qua re si quid Theophanes tecum forte contulerit ne omnino repudiaris. [2] de istis rebus exspecto tuas litteras, quid Arrius narret, quo animo se destitutum ferat, et qui consules parentur, utrum, ut populi sermo, Pompeius et Crassus an, ut mihi scribitur, cum Gabinio Servius Sulpicius, et num quae novae leges et num quid novi omnino, et quoniam Nepos proficiscitur, cuinam auguratus deferatur; quo quidem uno ego ab istis capi possum. vide levitatem meam. sed quid ego haec quae cupio deponere et toto animo atque omni cura philosophein? sic inquam in animo est; vellem ab initio, nunc vero, quoniam quae putavi esse praeclara expertus sum quam essent inania, cum omnibus Musis rationem habere cogito. [3] tu tamen de Curtio ad me rescribe certius, et nunc quis in eius locum paretur, et quid de P. Clodio fiat, et omnia, quem ad modum polliceris, epi scholes scribe, et quo die Roma te exiturum putes velim ad me scribas, ut certiorem te faciam quibus in locis futurus sim, epistulamque statim des de iis rebus de quibus ad te scripsi. valde enim exspecto tuas litteras.
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I do indeed desire, and have long desired, to visit Alexandria and the rest of Egypt, and at the same time to get away from this surfeit men have of us and to return with some sense of being missed; but at this time, and with these men sending me, I feel shame before the Trojans and the Trojan women with trailing robes [Homer, Iliad VI]. For what would our aristocrats say, if any are left? That I was drawn from my conviction by some bribe? Polydamas first of all will cast reproach upon me [Homer, Iliad XXII]—that Cato of ours, who alone counts with me for a hundred thousand. And what indeed will the histories proclaim about me a six hundred years hence? Of these I am far more afraid than of the petty gossip of the men who are alive today. But, I think, let us wait and watch. For if it is offered, there will be a certain power in our hands, and then we shall deliberate. Indeed, by Hercules, there is even no little glory in not accepting. Therefore, if Theophanes happens to discuss anything with you, do not reject it altogether. [2] About those affairs I am awaiting your letter: what Arrius reports, with what feeling he bears having been passed over, and what consuls are being prepared—whether, as the popular talk has it, Pompey and Crassus, or, as is written to me, Servius Sulpicius along with Gabinius; and whether there are any new laws, and whether there is anything new at all; and, since Nepos is setting out, to whom the augurship will be given—by that one thing alone can I be caught by those men. See my frivolity. But why do I speak of these things, which I desire to lay aside and with my whole mind and all my care to pursue philosophy? Such, I say, is my intention; I could wish it had been so from the beginning, but now indeed, since I have learned by experience how empty were the things I thought splendid, I am minded to reckon with all the Muses. [3] You, however, write back to me more definitely about Curtius, and now who is being prepared in his place, and what is being done about Publius Clodius, and write everything, as you promise, at your leisure, and I should like you to write to me on what day you think you will leave Rome, so that I may inform you in what places I shall be; and send a letter at once about the matters concerning which I have written to you. For I am eagerly awaiting your letter.
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
cupio equidem et iam pridem cupio Alexandream reliquamque Aegyptum visere et simul ab hac hominum satietate nostri discedere et cum aliquo desiderio reverti; sed hoc tempore et his mittentibus aideomai Troas kai Troiadas helkesipeplous quid enim nostri optimates, si qui reliqui sunt, loquentur? an me aliquo praemio de sententia esse deductum? Pouludamas moi protos elencheien anathesei, Cato ille noster qui mihi unus est pro centum milibus. quid vero historiae de nobis ad annos Dc praedicabunt? quas quidem ego multo magis vereor quam eorum hominum qui hodie vivunt rumusculos. sed, opinor, excipiamus et exspectemus. si enim deferetur, erit quaedam nostra potestas et tum deliberabimus. etiam hercule est in non accipiendo non nulla gloria. qua re si quid Theophanes tecum forte contulerit ne omnino repudiaris. [2] de istis rebus exspecto tuas litteras, quid Arrius narret, quo animo se destitutum ferat, et qui consules parentur, utrum, ut populi sermo, Pompeius et Crassus an, ut mihi scribitur, cum Gabinio Servius Sulpicius, et num quae novae leges et num quid novi omnino, et quoniam Nepos proficiscitur, cuinam auguratus deferatur; quo quidem uno ego ab istis capi possum. vide levitatem meam. sed quid ego haec quae cupio deponere et toto animo atque omni cura philosophein? sic inquam in animo est; vellem ab initio, nunc vero, quoniam quae putavi esse praeclara expertus sum quam essent inania, cum omnibus Musis rationem habere cogito. [3] tu tamen de Curtio ad me rescribe certius, et nunc quis in eius locum paretur, et quid de P. Clodio fiat, et omnia, quem ad modum polliceris, epi scholes scribe, et quo die Roma te exiturum putes velim ad me scribas, ut certiorem te faciam quibus in locis futurus sim, epistulamque statim des de iis rebus de quibus ad te scripsi. valde enim exspecto tuas litteras.