Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 46 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
As for the business with Silius, although the terms are not unknown to me, still I expect to learn the whole of it today from Sicca. As for Cotta's place, which you say you don't know: it lies beyond Silius's villa, which I think is familiar to you. It is a shabby little farm, very cramped, with no land to speak of, and big enough for nothing except the one purpose I have in mind. What I am after is a frequented spot. But if the matter of Silius's gardens goes through, that is, if you bring it through (for the whole thing rests on you), then there is of course no reason for us to give any thought to Cotta's place.
About Cicero [his son, young Marcus], I shall do as you write; I shall leave the question of timing to him. You will see to it that as much money as is needed gets transferred. From Aledius, if you find out anything worth writing, you will write. And I notice from your letters, and you surely notice from mine, that we have nothing to write about: the same things every day, things that by now are worn threadbare. Still, I cannot keep myself from sending to you every day, so that I may receive a letter from you.
About Brutus, however, write if you have anything. For I think it is known by now where he is waiting for Pansa. If, as is usual, it is at the frontier of his province, he looks likely to be here around the first of the month. I should prefer it later, for I am very much fleeing the city, for many reasons. And so I am in doubt whether to prepare some excuse to offer him on that very point; I do see that this is easy enough, but we have time enough to think it over. My greetings to Pilia and to Attica.
You say you will see Silius to-day; so to-morrow, or as soon as you can,
write, if anything comes of your meeting. I am not trying to avoid
Brutus, though I don't expect to get any consolation from him. But there
are reasons why I do not want to go there at this particular time. If
those reasons continue to exist, I shall have to find some excuse to
offer him, and by the look of things at present, I think they will
continue.
As for the gardens, please finish the business. The main point is what
you know. A further consideration is that I myself want something of the
kind; for I cannot exist in a crowd, nor can I be far from you. For my
purpose I cannot see anything better adapted than that particular place,
and I should like to know what your opinion is. I am quite sure,
especially as I see you think so too, that Oppius and Balbus are very
fond of me. Let them know how eager I am for the gardens and why; but
that it is only possible, if the business with Faberius is settled; and
ask whether they will go bail for the payment. Even if I must bear some
loss in return for getting ready money, draw them on as far as they will
go: for there is no chance of getting the full debt. In fact, find out
if they show any inclination to assist my plan. If they do, it is a
great assistance; if not, we must manage somehow or other. Look upon it
as "a place to grow old in," to use your own phrase, or if you like as a
burial place for me. It is no use thinking of the place at Ostium. If we
don't get this, I feel sure, we shall not get Lamia's; so we must try
for Damasippus' place.
de Siliano negotio, etsi mihi non est ignota condicio, tamen hodie me ex Sicca arbitror omnia cogniturum. Cottae quod negas te nosse, ultra Silianam villam est, quam puto tibi notam esse, villula sordida et valde pusilla, nil agri, ad nullam rem loci satis nisi ad eam quam quaero. sequor celebritatem. sed si perficitur de hortis Sili, hoc est si perficis (est enim totum positum in te), nihil est scilicet quod de Cottae cogitemus. [2] de Cicerone ut scribis ita faciam; ipsi permittam de tempore. nummorum quantum opus erit ut permutetur tu videbis. ex Aledio quod scribas si quid inveneris scribes. et ego ex tuis animadverto litteris et profecto tu ex meis nihil habere nos quod scribamus: eadem cotidie quae iam iamque ipsa contrita sunt. tamen facere non possum quin cotidie ad te mittam ut tuas accipiam. [3] de Bruto tamen, si quid habebis. sciri enim iam puto ubi Pansam exspectet. si, ut consuetudo est, in prima provincia, circiter Kal. adfuturus videtur. vellem tardius; valde enim urbem fugio multas ob causas. itaque id ipsum dubito an excusationem aliquam ad illum parem; quod quidem video facile esse sed habemus satis temporis ad cogitandum. Piliae, Atticae salutem.
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As for the business with Silius, although the terms are not unknown to me, still I expect to learn the whole of it today from Sicca. As for Cotta's place, which you say you don't know: it lies beyond Silius's villa, which I think is familiar to you. It is a shabby little farm, very cramped, with no land to speak of, and big enough for nothing except the one purpose I have in mind. What I am after is a frequented spot. But if the matter of Silius's gardens goes through, that is, if you bring it through (for the whole thing rests on you), then there is of course no reason for us to give any thought to Cotta's place.
About Cicero [his son, young Marcus], I shall do as you write; I shall leave the question of timing to him. You will see to it that as much money as is needed gets transferred. From Aledius, if you find out anything worth writing, you will write. And I notice from your letters, and you surely notice from mine, that we have nothing to write about: the same things every day, things that by now are worn threadbare. Still, I cannot keep myself from sending to you every day, so that I may receive a letter from you.
About Brutus, however, write if you have anything. For I think it is known by now where he is waiting for Pansa. If, as is usual, it is at the frontier of his province, he looks likely to be here around the first of the month. I should prefer it later, for I am very much fleeing the city, for many reasons. And so I am in doubt whether to prepare some excuse to offer him on that very point; I do see that this is easy enough, but we have time enough to think it over. My greetings to Pilia and to Attica.
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
de Siliano negotio, etsi mihi non est ignota condicio, tamen hodie me ex Sicca arbitror omnia cogniturum. Cottae quod negas te nosse, ultra Silianam villam est, quam puto tibi notam esse, villula sordida et valde pusilla, nil agri, ad nullam rem loci satis nisi ad eam quam quaero. sequor celebritatem. sed si perficitur de hortis Sili, hoc est si perficis (est enim totum positum in te), nihil est scilicet quod de Cottae cogitemus. [2] de Cicerone ut scribis ita faciam; ipsi permittam de tempore. nummorum quantum opus erit ut permutetur tu videbis. ex Aledio quod scribas si quid inveneris scribes. et ego ex tuis animadverto litteris et profecto tu ex meis nihil habere nos quod scribamus: eadem cotidie quae iam iamque ipsa contrita sunt. tamen facere non possum quin cotidie ad te mittam ut tuas accipiam. [3] de Bruto tamen, si quid habebis. sciri enim iam puto ubi Pansam exspectet. si, ut consuetudo est, in prima provincia, circiter Kal. adfuturus videtur. vellem tardius; valde enim urbem fugio multas ob causas. itaque id ipsum dubito an excusationem aliquam ad illum parem; quod quidem video facile esse sed habemus satis temporis ad cogitandum. Piliae, Atticae salutem.