Quintus Tullius Cicero→Marcus Tullius Tiro|c. 47 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Patrae|AI-assisted
I have punished you, at least with the silent reproach of my thoughts, because this is the second packet that has reached me without a letter from you.
You cannot escape punishment for this offense by defending yourself. Marcus must be brought in, and even he, though he prepares a speech with long study and many midnight hours, should take care whether he can prove that you have done no wrong.
Plainly, I ask you to do what I remember our mother used to do. She would seal even empty wine-jars, so that no jar said to be empty could have been secretly drained. In the same way, even if you have nothing to write, write all the same, so that you do not seem to have looked for a cover for idleness. News in your letters is always, to me, both trustworthy and sweet.
Love us, and goodbye.
DCCCXI (Fam. XVI, 26) QUINTUS CICERO TO TIRO (TIME AND PLACE UNCERTAIN) I have castigated you, at least with the silent reproach of my thoughts; because this is the second packet that has arrived without a letter from you. You cannot escape the penalty for this crime by your own advocacy: you will have to call Marcus to your aid, and don't be too sure that even he, though he should compose a speech after long study and a great expenditure of midnight oil, would be able to establish your innocence. In plain terms, I beg you to do as I remember my mother used to do. It was her custom to put a seal on wine-jars even when empty to prevent any being labelled empty that had been surreptitiously drained. In the same way I beg you, even if you have nothing to write about, to write all the same, lest you be thought to have sought a cover for idleness: for I always find the news in your letters trustworthy and welcome. Love me, and goodbye.
XXVI. Scr. exeunte a.u.c. 710. Q. CICERO TIRONI SUO SAL. PLUR. DIC.
Verberavi te cogitationis tacito dumtaxat convicio, quod fasciculus alter ad me iam sine tuis litteris perlatus est. Non potes effugere huius culpae poenam te patrono: Marcus est adhibendus, isque diu et multis lucubrationibus commentata oratione vide ut probare possit te non peccasse. Plane te rogo: sicut olim matrem nostram facere memini, quae lagonas etiam inanes obsignabat, ne dicerentur inanes aliquae fuisse, quae furtim essent exsiccatae, sic tu, etiamsi, quod scribas, non habebis, scribito tamen, ne furtum cessationis quaesivisse videaris; valde enim mihi semper et vera et dulcia tuis epistulis nuntiantur. Ama nos et vale.
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I have punished you, at least with the silent reproach of my thoughts, because this is the second packet that has reached me without a letter from you.
You cannot escape punishment for this offense by defending yourself. Marcus must be brought in, and even he, though he prepares a speech with long study and many midnight hours, should take care whether he can prove that you have done no wrong.
Plainly, I ask you to do what I remember our mother used to do. She would seal even empty wine-jars, so that no jar said to be empty could have been secretly drained. In the same way, even if you have nothing to write, write all the same, so that you do not seem to have looked for a cover for idleness. News in your letters is always, to me, both trustworthy and sweet.
Love us, and goodbye.
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
XXVI. Scr. exeunte a.u.c. 710. Q. CICERO TIRONI SUO SAL. PLUR. DIC.
Verberavi te cogitationis tacito dumtaxat convicio, quod fasciculus alter ad me iam sine tuis litteris perlatus est. Non potes effugere huius culpae poenam te patrono: Marcus est adhibendus, isque diu et multis lucubrationibus commentata oratione vide ut probare possit te non peccasse. Plane te rogo: sicut olim matrem nostram facere memini, quae lagonas etiam inanes obsignabat, ne dicerentur inanes aliquae fuisse, quae furtim essent exsiccatae, sic tu, etiamsi, quod scribas, non habebis, scribito tamen, ne furtum cessationis quaesivisse videaris; valde enim mihi semper et vera et dulcia tuis epistulis nuntiantur. Ama nos et vale.