Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 44 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
I learned a great deal about the republic from your letters, which arrived all at once in a whole bundle through Vestorius' freedman. I will answer briefly the things you ask. First, the Cluvian property delights me very much. As for your asking why I sent for Chrysippus: two of my shops have collapsed, and the rest are cracking. So not only the tenants, but even the mice, have moved out. Others call this a disaster; I do not even call it an inconvenience. O Socrates, and you Socratic men, I can never repay my debt to you. Immortal gods, how little these things matter to me. Still, with Vestorius advising and urging it, I have entered on a rebuilding plan that will make this loss profitable.
There is a large crowd here, and I hear it will be larger. Two of them are, as it were, consuls-designate. Good gods: tyranny lives; the tyrant is dead. We rejoice at the death of the man whose acts we defend. Marcus Curtius attacks us so sternly that one is ashamed to be alive, and not unjustly. It would have been better to die a thousand times than endure things that seem to me likely to grow old with us.
Balbus is also here, and often with me. He has received a letter from Vetus, dated December 31, saying that when Caecilius was being besieged by him and was already all but in his hands, Pacorus the Parthian came with very large forces. Caecilius was snatched away from him, and many of his own men were lost. In that affair he blames Volcacius. So that war seems to me to be pressing on us. But Dolabella and Nicias will have to see to it.
The same Balbus has better news from Gaul. On the twenty-first day he had a letter saying that, when the Germans and those peoples heard about Caesar, they sent envoys to Aurelius, whom Hirtius had put in charge, saying they would do whatever was ordered. What more do you want? Everything is full of peace, unlike what Calvena told me.
From your letters I have learned much about politics. I had a whole batch of them at the same time from the freedman of Vestorius. However, I will answer your questions shortly. Firstly, I am delighted about the Cluvian property. You ask why I sent for Chrysippus. Two of my shops have fallen down and the rest are cracking: so not only the tenants, but even the mice, have migrated. Other people call it a calamity, but I don't count it even a nuisance. O Socrates and followers of Socrates, I can never thank you sufficiently. Ye gods! how insignificant I count all such things. However, at the advice and on the suggestion of Vestorius I have adopted a plan of rebuilding which will make my loss a profit.
There are lots of people here, and I hear there
will be more. Two of them are the so-called consuls designate. Good God, the tyranny lives though the tyrant is dead! We rejoice at his assassination and defend his actions. So see how severely M. Curtius criticizes us! We feel ashamed to live, and he is perfectly right. For to die is a thousand times better than to suffer such things, which seem to me to be likely to continue for some considerable time.
Balbus, too, is here, and is often with me. He has had a letter from Vetus, dated the last of December, saying that when Caecilius was besieged and already within his grasp, the Parthian Pacorus came with a large force, and so Caecilius was snatched from his hands and he lost many men. For that he blames Volcacius. So I suppose there is a war imminent there. But that is Dolabella's and Nicias' look out. Balbus also has better news about Gaul. Twenty-one days ago he had a letter that the Germans and the tribes there, on hearing about Caesar, sent ambassadors to Aurelius, who was appointed by Hirtius, saying that they would do as they were bidden. In fact everything seems peaceable there, contrary to what Calvena said.
de re publica multa cognovi ex tuis litteris quas quidem multiiuges accepi uno tempore a Vestori liberto. ad ea autem quae requiris brevi respondebo. primum vehementer me Cluviana delectant. sed quod quaeris quid arcessierim Chrysippum, tabernae mihi duae corruerunt reliquaeque rimas agunt, itaque non solum inquilini sed mures etiam migraverunt. hanc ceteri calamitatem vocant, ego ne incommodum quidem. O Socrate et Socratici viri! numquam vobis gratiam referam. di immortales, quam mihi ista pro nihilo! sed tamen ea ratio aedificandi initur, consiliario quidem et auctore Vestorio, ut hoc damnum quaestuosum sit. [2] hic turba magna est eritque, ut audio, maior. duo quidem quasi designati consules. O di boni! vivit tyrannis, tyrannus occidit! eius interfecti morte laetamur cuius facta defendimus! itaque quam severe nos M. Curtius accusat ut pudeat vivere, neque iniuria. nam mori miliens praestitit quam haec pati quae mihi videntur habitura etiam vetustatem. [3] et Balbus hic est multumque mecum. ad quem a vetere litterae datae pridie Kal. Ianuar. cum a se Caecilius circumsederetur et iam teneretur, venisse cum maximis copiis Pacorum Parthum; ita sibi esse eum ereptum multis suis amissis. in qua re accusat Volcacium. ita mihi videtur bellum illud instare. sed Dolabella et Nicias viderint. idem Balbus meliora de Gallia. xxi die litteras habebat Germanos illasque nationes re audita de Caesare legatos misisse ad Aurelium qui est praepositus ab Hirtio, se quod imperatum esset esse facturos. quid quaeris? omnia plena pacis, aliter ac mihi Calvena dixerat.
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I learned a great deal about the republic from your letters, which arrived all at once in a whole bundle through Vestorius' freedman. I will answer briefly the things you ask. First, the Cluvian property delights me very much. As for your asking why I sent for Chrysippus: two of my shops have collapsed, and the rest are cracking. So not only the tenants, but even the mice, have moved out. Others call this a disaster; I do not even call it an inconvenience. O Socrates, and you Socratic men, I can never repay my debt to you. Immortal gods, how little these things matter to me. Still, with Vestorius advising and urging it, I have entered on a rebuilding plan that will make this loss profitable.
There is a large crowd here, and I hear it will be larger. Two of them are, as it were, consuls-designate. Good gods: tyranny lives; the tyrant is dead. We rejoice at the death of the man whose acts we defend. Marcus Curtius attacks us so sternly that one is ashamed to be alive, and not unjustly. It would have been better to die a thousand times than endure things that seem to me likely to grow old with us.
Balbus is also here, and often with me. He has received a letter from Vetus, dated December 31, saying that when Caecilius was being besieged by him and was already all but in his hands, Pacorus the Parthian came with very large forces. Caecilius was snatched away from him, and many of his own men were lost. In that affair he blames Volcacius. So that war seems to me to be pressing on us. But Dolabella and Nicias will have to see to it.
The same Balbus has better news from Gaul. On the twenty-first day he had a letter saying that, when the Germans and those peoples heard about Caesar, they sent envoys to Aurelius, whom Hirtius had put in charge, saying they would do whatever was ordered. What more do you want? Everything is full of peace, unlike what Calvena told me.
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 re publica multa cognovi ex tuis litteris quas quidem multiiuges accepi uno tempore a Vestori liberto. ad ea autem quae requiris brevi respondebo. primum vehementer me Cluviana delectant. sed quod quaeris quid arcessierim Chrysippum, tabernae mihi duae corruerunt reliquaeque rimas agunt, itaque non solum inquilini sed mures etiam migraverunt. hanc ceteri calamitatem vocant, ego ne incommodum quidem. O Socrate et Socratici viri! numquam vobis gratiam referam. di immortales, quam mihi ista pro nihilo! sed tamen ea ratio aedificandi initur, consiliario quidem et auctore Vestorio, ut hoc damnum quaestuosum sit. [2] hic turba magna est eritque, ut audio, maior. duo quidem quasi designati consules. O di boni! vivit tyrannis, tyrannus occidit! eius interfecti morte laetamur cuius facta defendimus! itaque quam severe nos M. Curtius accusat ut pudeat vivere, neque iniuria. nam mori miliens praestitit quam haec pati quae mihi videntur habitura etiam vetustatem. [3] et Balbus hic est multumque mecum. ad quem a vetere litterae datae pridie Kal. Ianuar. cum a se Caecilius circumsederetur et iam teneretur, venisse cum maximis copiis Pacorum Parthum; ita sibi esse eum ereptum multis suis amissis. in qua re accusat Volcacium. ita mihi videtur bellum illud instare. sed Dolabella et Nicias viderint. idem Balbus meliora de Gallia. xxi die litteras habebat Germanos illasque nationes re audita de Caesare legatos misisse ad Aurelium qui est praepositus ab Hirtio, se quod imperatum esset esse facturos. quid quaeris? omnia plena pacis, aliter ac mihi Calvena dixerat.