Marcus Tullius Cicero→Gaius Trebatius Testa|c. 49 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Gaul|AI-assisted
For a long time I have had no idea what you are doing, since you write nothing. I also had not written to you for these last two months, because you were not with my brother Quintus and I did not know where to send a letter or to whom I should give it.
I want to know what you are doing and where you mean to spend the winter. For my part, I would like it to be with Caesar, but because of his bereavement I have not dared to write to him. I did write to Balbus.
Do not fail yourself. Come back to us later rather than emptier. There is no reason for you to hurry here, especially now that Battara is dead. Still, you do not lack judgment. I want to know what you have decided.
There is a certain Gnaeus Octavius - or Gnaeus Cornelius - a friend of yours, a man of the highest birth, a son of the earth. Because he knows you are my friend, he keeps inviting me to dinner. So far he has not managed to get me there, but I am grateful to him all the same.
CXLIV (Fam. VII, 9) TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL) ROME (SEPTEMBER) It is a long time since I heard how you were getting on: for you don't write, nor have I written to you for the last two months. As you were not with my brother Quintus I did not know where to send a letter, or to whom to give it. I am anxious to know how you are and where you mean to winter. For my part, my opinion is that you should do so with Caesar ; but I have not ventured to write to him owing to his mourning. I would rather you put off your return to us, so long as you come with fuller pockets. There is nothing to make you hurry home, especially since “Battara” is dead. But you are quite capable of thinking for yourself. I desire to know what you have settled. There is a certain Cn. Octavius or Cn. Cornelius , a friend of yours, “Of highest race begot, a son of Earth .” He has frequently asked me to dinner, because he knows that you are an intimate friend of mine. At present he has not succeeded in getting me: however, I am much obliged to him.
IX. Scr. Romae mense Sextili a.u.c. 700. CICERO TREBATIO.
Iamdiu ignoro, quid agas; nihil enim scribis; neque ego ad te his duobus mensibus scripseram: quod cum Quinto fratre meo non eras, quo mitterem aut cui darem, nesciebam. Cupio scire, quid agas et ubi sis hiematurus: equidem velim cum Caesare, sed ad eum propter eius luctum nihil sum ausus scribere; ad Balbum tamen scripsi. Tu tibi deesse noli; serius potious ad nos, dum plenior. Quod huc properes, nihil est, praesertim Battara mortuo; sed tibi consilium non deest. Quid constitueris, cupio scire. Cn. Octavius est an Cn. Cornelius quidam, tuus familiaris, summo genere natus, terrae filius: is me, quia scit tuum familiarem essed, crebro ad coenam invitat; adhuc non potuit perducere, sed mihi tamen gratum est.
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For a long time I have had no idea what you are doing, since you write nothing. I also had not written to you for these last two months, because you were not with my brother Quintus and I did not know where to send a letter or to whom I should give it.
I want to know what you are doing and where you mean to spend the winter. For my part, I would like it to be with Caesar, but because of his bereavement I have not dared to write to him. I did write to Balbus.
Do not fail yourself. Come back to us later rather than emptier. There is no reason for you to hurry here, especially now that Battara is dead. Still, you do not lack judgment. I want to know what you have decided.
There is a certain Gnaeus Octavius - or Gnaeus Cornelius - a friend of yours, a man of the highest birth, a son of the earth. Because he knows you are my friend, he keeps inviting me to dinner. So far he has not managed to get me there, but I am grateful to him all the same.
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
IX. Scr. Romae mense Sextili a.u.c. 700. CICERO TREBATIO.
Iamdiu ignoro, quid agas; nihil enim scribis; neque ego ad te his duobus mensibus scripseram: quod cum Quinto fratre meo non eras, quo mitterem aut cui darem, nesciebam. Cupio scire, quid agas et ubi sis hiematurus: equidem velim cum Caesare, sed ad eum propter eius luctum nihil sum ausus scribere; ad Balbum tamen scripsi. Tu tibi deesse noli; serius potious ad nos, dum plenior. Quod huc properes, nihil est, praesertim Battara mortuo; sed tibi consilium non deest. Quid constitueris, cupio scire. Cn. Octavius est an Cn. Cornelius quidam, tuus familiaris, summo genere natus, terrae filius: is me, quia scit tuum familiarem essed, crebro ad coenam invitat; adhuc non potuit perducere, sed mihi tamen gratum est.