Marcus Tullius Cicero→Appius Claudius Pulcher|c. 51 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Cilicia|AI-assisted
On June 4, while I was at Brundisium, I received your letter saying that you had instructed Lucius Clodius about what you wished him to say to me. I am very much looking forward to his arrival, so that I may learn as soon as possible what message he is bringing from you.
My zeal and readiness to serve you, though I hope they are already known to you from many examples, I shall show above all in those circumstances where I can give the clearest proof that no one's reputation and standing are dearer to me than yours.
On your side, Quintus Fabius Vergilianus, Gaius Flaccus son of Lucius, and, more strongly than anyone else, Marcus Octavius son of Gnaeus, have shown me that I am highly valued by you. I had already judged this to be so on many grounds, but above all from that book on augural law which you gave me as a most delightful present, with its very affectionate dedication.
On my part, all the services that belong to the closest relationship will always be at your command. Ever since you began to feel attachment to me, I have learned every day to value you more highly. Now there has been added my intimacy with your relatives, two men of different ages whom I value very much: Gnaeus Pompeius, your daughter's father-in-law, and Marcus Brutus, your son-in-law. Finally, our membership in the same college, especially since it has been marked by such a complimentary expression of your approval, seems to me to have supplied a bond of no ordinary strength for uniting our feelings.
If I meet Clodius, I will send you a fuller letter after speaking with him. I will also make every effort to see you myself as soon as possible. To tell you the plain truth, I am very pleased by your saying that your reason for staying in the province was the hope of meeting me.
CXCIII (Fam. III, 4) TO APPIUS CLAUDIUS PULCHER (IN CILICIA) BRUNDISIUM, 5 JUNE: ON the 4th of June, being at Brundisium , I received your letter stating that you had instructed L. Clodius with what you wished him to say to me. I am much looking forward to his arrival, that I may learn at the earliest possible moment the message he is bringing from you. My warm feeling and readiness to serve you, though I hope they are already known to you by many instances, I shall yet manifest in those circumstances above all others, in which I shall be able to give the most decisive proof that no one's reputation and position is dearer to me than yours. On your side, both Q. Fabius Vergilianus and C. Flaccus , son of Lucius, and — in stronger terms than anyone else — M. Octavius , son of Gneius, have showed me that I am highly valued by you. This I had already judged to be the case on many grounds, but above all from that book on Augural Law, of which, with its most affectionate dedication, you have made me a most delightful present. On my part, all the services which belong to the closest relationship shall be ever at your command. For ever since you began feeling attachment to me, I have learnt daily to value you more highly, and now there has been added to that my intimacy with your relations — for there are two of them of different ages whom I value very highly, Cn. Pompeius , father-in-law of your daughter, and M. Brutus , your son-in-law — and, lastly, the membership of the same college, especially as that has been stamped by such a complimentary expression of your approval, seems to me to have supplied a bond of no ordinary strength towards securing a union of feeling between us. But I shall not only, if I come across Clodius , write you at greater length after talking with him, but shall also take pains myself to see you as soon as possible. Your saying that your motive for staying in the province was the hope of having an interview with me, to tell you the honest truth, is very agreeable to me.
IV. Scr. Brundisii Nonis Iuniis a.u.c. 703. M. CICERO S. D. AP. PULCHRO.
Pridie Nonas Iunias, cum essem Brundisii, litteras tuas accepi, quibus erat scriptum te L. Clodio mandasse, quae illum mecum loqui velles: eum sane exspectabam, ut ea, quae a te afferret, quam primum cognoscerem. Meum studium erga te et officium, tametsi multis iam rebus spero tibi esse cognitum, tamen in iis maxime declarabo, quibus plurimum significare potuero tuam mihi existimationem et dignitatem carissimam esse. Mihi et Q. Fabius Virgilianus et C. Flaccus L. f. et diligentissime M. Octavius Cn. f. demonstravit me a te plurimi fieri; quod egomet multis argumentis iam antea iudicarum maximeque illo libro augurali, quem ad me amantissime scriptum suavissimum misisti. Mea in te omnia summae necessitudinis officia constabunt; nam cum te ipsum, ex quo tempore tu me diligere coepisti, quotidie pluris feci, tum accesserunt etiam coniunctiones necessariorum tuorum—duo enim duarum aetatum plurimi facio, Cn. Pompeium, filiae tuae socerum, et M. Brutum, generum tuum—collegiique coniunctio, praesertim tam honorifice a te approbata, non mediocre vinculum mihi quidem attulisse videtur ad voluntates nostras copulandas. Sed et, si Clodium convenero, ex illius sermone ad te scribam plura et ipse operam dabo te ut quam primum videam. Quod scribis tibi manendi causam eam fuisse, ut me convenires, id mihi, ne mentiar, est gratum.
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On June 4, while I was at Brundisium, I received your letter saying that you had instructed Lucius Clodius about what you wished him to say to me. I am very much looking forward to his arrival, so that I may learn as soon as possible what message he is bringing from you.
My zeal and readiness to serve you, though I hope they are already known to you from many examples, I shall show above all in those circumstances where I can give the clearest proof that no one's reputation and standing are dearer to me than yours.
On your side, Quintus Fabius Vergilianus, Gaius Flaccus son of Lucius, and, more strongly than anyone else, Marcus Octavius son of Gnaeus, have shown me that I am highly valued by you. I had already judged this to be so on many grounds, but above all from that book on augural law which you gave me as a most delightful present, with its very affectionate dedication.
On my part, all the services that belong to the closest relationship will always be at your command. Ever since you began to feel attachment to me, I have learned every day to value you more highly. Now there has been added my intimacy with your relatives, two men of different ages whom I value very much: Gnaeus Pompeius, your daughter's father-in-law, and Marcus Brutus, your son-in-law. Finally, our membership in the same college, especially since it has been marked by such a complimentary expression of your approval, seems to me to have supplied a bond of no ordinary strength for uniting our feelings.
If I meet Clodius, I will send you a fuller letter after speaking with him. I will also make every effort to see you myself as soon as possible. To tell you the plain truth, I am very pleased by your saying that your reason for staying in the province was the hope of meeting 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
IV. Scr. Brundisii Nonis Iuniis a.u.c. 703. M. CICERO S. D. AP. PULCHRO.
Pridie Nonas Iunias, cum essem Brundisii, litteras tuas accepi, quibus erat scriptum te L. Clodio mandasse, quae illum mecum loqui velles: eum sane exspectabam, ut ea, quae a te afferret, quam primum cognoscerem. Meum studium erga te et officium, tametsi multis iam rebus spero tibi esse cognitum, tamen in iis maxime declarabo, quibus plurimum significare potuero tuam mihi existimationem et dignitatem carissimam esse. Mihi et Q. Fabius Virgilianus et C. Flaccus L. f. et diligentissime M. Octavius Cn. f. demonstravit me a te plurimi fieri; quod egomet multis argumentis iam antea iudicarum maximeque illo libro augurali, quem ad me amantissime scriptum suavissimum misisti. Mea in te omnia summae necessitudinis officia constabunt; nam cum te ipsum, ex quo tempore tu me diligere coepisti, quotidie pluris feci, tum accesserunt etiam coniunctiones necessariorum tuorum—duo enim duarum aetatum plurimi facio, Cn. Pompeium, filiae tuae socerum, et M. Brutum, generum tuum—collegiique coniunctio, praesertim tam honorifice a te approbata, non mediocre vinculum mihi quidem attulisse videtur ad voluntates nostras copulandas. Sed et, si Clodium convenero, ex illius sermone ad te scribam plura et ipse operam dabo te ut quam primum videam. Quod scribis tibi manendi causam eam fuisse, ut me convenires, id mihi, ne mentiar, est gratum.