Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 44 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
I am sending you Brutus' letter. Good God, what a helpless condition he is in. You will understand when you read it. I agree about the celebration of his games. Do not go to Aelius' house under any circumstances, but speak to him if you happen to meet him. Take Marcus Axianus' advice about half of Tullius' debt, as you suggest. What you have done with Cosianus is excellent. Thank you for clearing up my affairs and your own at the same time. I am glad you approve my appointment. May the gods grant that your promises come true. What could suit me and mine better? But I am afraid of the condition you add about Attica's ill health.
When I meet Brutus I will tell you all about him. I hope you are right about Plancus and Decimus. I am sorry if Sextus is throwing away his shield. Give me news of Mundus if you have any. I have answered all your points; now for my own news.
Young Quintus is coming with me as far as Puteoli - what a noble citizen; you might call him a Favonius Asinius. He has two reasons: he wants to be with me, and he wants to make peace with Brutus and Cassius. But what do you say to this? I know you are intimate with the Othones. He says that Julia proposed it herself, since a divorce has been arranged. His father asked me what sort of reputation she has. Not knowing why he asked, I said I had never heard anything about her except about her looks and her father. "But why?" I asked, and he said his son wanted her. Though disgusted, I said I did not believe those reports. My brother's point is not to offer him any allowance, but she says it is no business of his. I suspect, however, that he is indulging in his usual fairy tales. Still, I would like you to make inquiries, which will be no trouble to you, and let me know.
What is this, I ask? After I had already sealed this letter, some men from Formiae who were dining with me said that the day before I wrote this, that is, on the 5th, they had seen Plancus, the man from Buthrotum, with downcast face and unsaddled horse, and that his attendants said he and the land-grabbers had been ejected by the Buthrotians. Well done them. But please let me know all the circumstances.
I am sending you Brutus' letter. Heavens, what a helpless condition he is in! You will understand when you have read it. I agree about the celebration of his games. Don't go to Aelius' house on any account, but speak to him if you happen to meet him. Take M. Axianus' advice about the half of Tullius' debt, as you suggest. What you have done with Cosianus is excellent. Thanks for clearing up my affairs and your own at the same time. I am glad you approve of my appointment. God grant your promises come true. For what could suit me and mine better? But I am afraid of the proviso
you make about Attica's ill-health. When I meet Brutus I will tell you all about him. I hope you are right about Plancus and Decimus. I am sorry if Sextus is throwing down his shield. Give me news of Mundus if you have any. I have answered all your points: now for my own news.
Young Quintus is coming with me as far as Puteoli—what a noble citizen! you might call him a Favonius Asinius. He has two reasons: he wants to be with me and to make peace with Brutus and Cassius. But what have you to say to this? For I know you are intimate with the Othones. He says that Julia proposed it herself, for a divorce has been arranged. His father has asked me what sort of reputation she has. Not knowing why he asked, I said I had never heard anything about her except about her looks and her father. "But why?" I asked: and he said his son wanted her. Then, though I was disgusted, I said I did not believe in those reports. My brother's point is not to offer him any allowance, but she says it is no business of his. I suspect, however, he is indulging in fairy tales as usual. Still I should like you to make enquiries, which will be no trouble to you, and let me know.
What, pray, is this? When I had already sealed this letter, some Formians, who were dining with me, said they had seen Plancus—the one from Buthrotus—the day before I wrote this, that is, on the 5th, with downcast mien and unapparelled steed; and that his boys said he and the land-grabbers had been ejected by the Buthrotians. Well done they! But pray let me know all the circumstances.
Bruti ad te epistulam misi. di boni, quanta a)mhxani/a ! cognosces cum legeris. de celebratione ludorum Bruti tibi adsentior. ad M. Aelium nullus tu quidem domum sed sicubi inciderit. de Tulliano semisse M. Axianum adhibebis, ut scribis. quod cum Cosano egisti, optime. quod non solum mea verum etiam tua <re> me expedis, gratum. legationem probari meam gaudeo. quod promittis di faxint! quid enim mihi meis iucundius? sed istam quam tu excipis metuo. Brutum cum convenero, perscribam omnia. de Planco et Decimo sane velim. Sextum scutum abicere nolebam. de mundo, si quid scies. [2] rescripsi ad omnia tua; nunc nostra accipe. Quintus filius usque Puteolos (mirus civis, ut tu Favonium Asinium dicas) et quidem duas ob causas,et ut mecum et ut spei/sasqai vult cum Bruto <et> Cassio. sed tu quid ais? scio enim te familiarem esse Othonum. ait hic sibi Iuliam ferre; constitutum enim esse discidium. quaesivit ex me pater qualis esset fama. dixi nihil sane me audisse (nesciebam enim cur quaereret) nisi de ore et patre. sed quorsus?' inquam. at ille filium velle. tum ego, etsi e)bdelutto/mhn , tamen negavi probabilia esse vera. Skopo\j (hoc est enim) huic nostro nihil praebere, illa autem ou) para\ tou=to . ego tamen suspicor hunc, ut solet, alucinari. sed velim quaeras (facile autem potes) et me certiorem. [3] obsecro te, quid est hoc? signata iam epistula Formiani qui apud me cenabant Plancum se aiebant hunc Buthrotium pridie quam hoc scribebam, id est III non., vidisse demissum, sine phaleris; servulos autem dicere eum et agripetas eiectos a Buthrotiis. macte! sed, amabo te, perscribe mihi totum negotium. Cicero
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I am sending you Brutus' letter. Good God, what a helpless condition he is in. You will understand when you read it. I agree about the celebration of his games. Do not go to Aelius' house under any circumstances, but speak to him if you happen to meet him. Take Marcus Axianus' advice about half of Tullius' debt, as you suggest. What you have done with Cosianus is excellent. Thank you for clearing up my affairs and your own at the same time. I am glad you approve my appointment. May the gods grant that your promises come true. What could suit me and mine better? But I am afraid of the condition you add about Attica's ill health.
When I meet Brutus I will tell you all about him. I hope you are right about Plancus and Decimus. I am sorry if Sextus is throwing away his shield. Give me news of Mundus if you have any. I have answered all your points; now for my own news.
Young Quintus is coming with me as far as Puteoli - what a noble citizen; you might call him a Favonius Asinius. He has two reasons: he wants to be with me, and he wants to make peace with Brutus and Cassius. But what do you say to this? I know you are intimate with the Othones. He says that Julia proposed it herself, since a divorce has been arranged. His father asked me what sort of reputation she has. Not knowing why he asked, I said I had never heard anything about her except about her looks and her father. "But why?" I asked, and he said his son wanted her. Though disgusted, I said I did not believe those reports. My brother's point is not to offer him any allowance, but she says it is no business of his. I suspect, however, that he is indulging in his usual fairy tales. Still, I would like you to make inquiries, which will be no trouble to you, and let me know.
What is this, I ask? After I had already sealed this letter, some men from Formiae who were dining with me said that the day before I wrote this, that is, on the 5th, they had seen Plancus, the man from Buthrotum, with downcast face and unsaddled horse, and that his attendants said he and the land-grabbers had been ejected by the Buthrotians. Well done them. But please let me know all the circumstances.
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
Bruti ad te epistulam misi. di boni, quanta a)mhxani/a ! cognosces cum legeris. de celebratione ludorum Bruti tibi adsentior. ad M. Aelium nullus tu quidem domum sed sicubi inciderit. de Tulliano semisse M. Axianum adhibebis, ut scribis. quod cum Cosano egisti, optime. quod non solum mea verum etiam tua <re> me expedis, gratum. legationem probari meam gaudeo. quod promittis di faxint! quid enim mihi meis iucundius? sed istam quam tu excipis metuo. Brutum cum convenero, perscribam omnia. de Planco et Decimo sane velim. Sextum scutum abicere nolebam. de mundo, si quid scies. [2] rescripsi ad omnia tua; nunc nostra accipe. Quintus filius usque Puteolos (mirus civis, ut tu Favonium Asinium dicas) et quidem duas ob causas,et ut mecum et ut spei/sasqai vult cum Bruto <et> Cassio. sed tu quid ais? scio enim te familiarem esse Othonum. ait hic sibi Iuliam ferre; constitutum enim esse discidium. quaesivit ex me pater qualis esset fama. dixi nihil sane me audisse (nesciebam enim cur quaereret) nisi de ore et patre. sed quorsus?' inquam. at ille filium velle. tum ego, etsi e)bdelutto/mhn , tamen negavi probabilia esse vera. Skopo\j (hoc est enim) huic nostro nihil praebere, illa autem ou) para\ tou=to . ego tamen suspicor hunc, ut solet, alucinari. sed velim quaeras (facile autem potes) et me certiorem. [3] obsecro te, quid est hoc? signata iam epistula Formiani qui apud me cenabant Plancum se aiebant hunc Buthrotium pridie quam hoc scribebam, id est III non., vidisse demissum, sine phaleris; servulos autem dicere eum et agripetas eiectos a Buthrotiis. macte! sed, amabo te, perscribe mihi totum negotium. Cicero