Letter 16: Cicero writes to Quintus in Gaul from Cumae in May 54 BC.
Marcus Tullius Cicero→Quintus Tullius Cicero|c. 54 BC|Cicero|From Cumae|To Gaul|AI-assisted
familypoliticsadministration
Imported from the public-domain Shuckburgh translation with Latin text paired from The Latin Library.
MARCUS TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS, GREETINGS.
1. So far I have received two letters from you, one of them handed over at the very moment of our departure, the other dispatched from Ariminum; the several others which you write that you sent, I had not received. I was passing my time pleasantly enough at Cumae and Pompeii, apart from the fact that you were not with me, and I intended to remain in these same parts right up to the first of June. I was writing those things which I had told you about, on political matters [the treatise On the Republic], a thick and laborious work indeed; but if it turns out according to my wish, the effort will be well spent, and if not, we shall fling it into that very sea which we have before our eyes as we write, and we shall take up other things, since we cannot keep still.
2. I shall carry out your instructions diligently, both in attaching certain men to us and in not alienating certain others; but it will be my greatest concern to see your son and ours, of course every day, and to observe what he is learning as often as I possibly can; and, unless he should scorn it, I shall even offer myself to him as a tutor, a practice in which I have gained no little experience during the leisure of these recent days while advancing our younger Cicero.
3. You, as you write, will of course do what, even if you were not writing it, I nevertheless knew that you were doing most carefully, namely arrange, follow up, and complete my instructions. I, when I come to Rome, shall let no courier of Caesar's pass to whom I do not give a letter for you. In these recent days, you will forgive me, there was no one to whom I might give one before the present bearer Marcus Orfius, a Roman knight, a friend of ours and very closely connected with us, and one who, since he is from the township of Atella, you know is under our protection. And so I commend him to you in the warmest possible way, a man of distinction at home and influential even beyond his home; see to it that you bind him to yourself by your generosity. He is a military tribune in your army. You will find him a grateful and attentive man. I earnestly beg you to be very fond of Trebatius.
I have up to now received two letters from you, one just as I was leaving town, the other dated Ariminum: others which you say in your letter that you have sent I have not received. I am having a fairly pleasant time (except that you are not here) at Cumae and [w:Pompeii|Pompeii]], and intend staying in these parts till the 1st of June. I am writing the treatise of which I spoke to you, On the Republic, a very bulky and laborious work. But if it turns out as I wish, it will be labour well bestowed, and if not I shall toss it into the very sea which I have before my eyes as I write, and set to work on something else; since to do nothing is beyond my power. I will carefully observe your instruction both as to attaching certain persons to myself and not alienating certain others. But my chief care will be to see your son, or rather our son, if possible, every day at any rate, and to watch the progress of his education as often as possible; and, unless he declines my help, I will even offer to be his instructor, a practice to which I have become habituated in the leisure of these days while bringing my own boy, the younger Cicero, on. Yes, do as you say in your letter, what, even if you had not said so, I know you do with the greatest care—digest, follow up, and carry out my instructions. For my part, when I get to Rome, I will let no letter-carrier of Caesar go without a letter for you. During these days you must excuse me: there has been no one to whom I could deliver a letter until the present bearer M. Orfius, a Roman knight, a man that is my friend as well from personal consideration as because he comes from the municipium of Atella, which you know is under my patronage. Accordingly, I recommend him to you with more than common warmth, as a man in a brilliant position in his own town and looked up to even beyond it. Pray attach him to yourself by your liberal treatment of him: he is a military tribune in your army. You will find him grateful and attentive. I earnestly beg you to be very friendly to Trebatius.
XII. Scr. in Cumano vel Pompeiano mense Maio a.u.c. 700.
MARCUS QUINTO FRATRI SALUTEM.
1. Duas adhuc a te accepi epistulas, quarum alteram in ipso discessu nostro, alteram Arimino datam; plures, quas scribis te dedisse, non acceperam. Ego me in Cumano et Pompeiano, praeterquam quod sine te, ceterum satis commode oblectabam et eram in iisdem locis usque ad Kal. Iunias futurus. Scribebam illa, quae dixeram politix, spissum sane opus et operosum; sed, si ex sententia successerit, bene erit opera posita, sin minus, in illud ipsum mare deiiciemus, quod spectantes scribimus, atque aggrediemur alia, quoniam quiescere non possumus. 2. Tua mandata persequar diligenter et in adiungendis hominibus et in quibusdam non alienandis; maximae mihi vero curae erit, ut Ciceronem tuum nostrumque videam scilicet quotidie, sed inspiciam, quid discat, quam saepissime; et, nisi ille contemnet, etiam magistrum me ei profitebor, cuius rei nonnullam consuetudinem nactus sum in hoc horum dierum otio Cicerone nostro minore producendo. 3. Tu, quemadmodum scribis, quod, etiamsi non scriberes, facere te diligentissime tamen sciebam, facies scilicet, ut mea mandata digeras, persequare, conficias. Ego, cum Romam venero, nullum praetermittam Caesaris tabellarium, cui litteras ad te non dem: his diebus—ignosces—cui darem fuit nemo ante hunc M. Orfium, equitem Romanum, nostrum et pernecessarium et quod est ex municipio Atellano, quod scis esse in fide nostra. Itaque eum tibi commendo in maiorem modum, hominem domi splendidum, gratiosum etiam extra domum; quem fac ut tua liberalitate tibi obliges—est tribunus militum in exercitu vestro—: gratum hominem observantemque cognosces. Trebatium ut valde ames, vehementer te rogo.
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MARCUS TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS, GREETINGS.
1. So far I have received two letters from you, one of them handed over at the very moment of our departure, the other dispatched from Ariminum; the several others which you write that you sent, I had not received. I was passing my time pleasantly enough at Cumae and Pompeii, apart from the fact that you were not with me, and I intended to remain in these same parts right up to the first of June. I was writing those things which I had told you about, on political matters [the treatise On the Republic], a thick and laborious work indeed; but if it turns out according to my wish, the effort will be well spent, and if not, we shall fling it into that very sea which we have before our eyes as we write, and we shall take up other things, since we cannot keep still.
2. I shall carry out your instructions diligently, both in attaching certain men to us and in not alienating certain others; but it will be my greatest concern to see your son and ours, of course every day, and to observe what he is learning as often as I possibly can; and, unless he should scorn it, I shall even offer myself to him as a tutor, a practice in which I have gained no little experience during the leisure of these recent days while advancing our younger Cicero.
3. You, as you write, will of course do what, even if you were not writing it, I nevertheless knew that you were doing most carefully, namely arrange, follow up, and complete my instructions. I, when I come to Rome, shall let no courier of Caesar's pass to whom I do not give a letter for you. In these recent days, you will forgive me, there was no one to whom I might give one before the present bearer Marcus Orfius, a Roman knight, a friend of ours and very closely connected with us, and one who, since he is from the township of Atella, you know is under our protection. And so I commend him to you in the warmest possible way, a man of distinction at home and influential even beyond his home; see to it that you bind him to yourself by your generosity. He is a military tribune in your army. You will find him a grateful and attentive man. I earnestly beg you to be very fond of Trebatius.
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
XII. Scr. in Cumano vel Pompeiano mense Maio a.u.c. 700. MARCUS QUINTO FRATRI SALUTEM.
1. Duas adhuc a te accepi epistulas, quarum alteram in ipso discessu nostro, alteram Arimino datam; plures, quas scribis te dedisse, non acceperam. Ego me in Cumano et Pompeiano, praeterquam quod sine te, ceterum satis commode oblectabam et eram in iisdem locis usque ad Kal. Iunias futurus. Scribebam illa, quae dixeram politix, spissum sane opus et operosum; sed, si ex sententia successerit, bene erit opera posita, sin minus, in illud ipsum mare deiiciemus, quod spectantes scribimus, atque aggrediemur alia, quoniam quiescere non possumus. 2. Tua mandata persequar diligenter et in adiungendis hominibus et in quibusdam non alienandis; maximae mihi vero curae erit, ut Ciceronem tuum nostrumque videam scilicet quotidie, sed inspiciam, quid discat, quam saepissime; et, nisi ille contemnet, etiam magistrum me ei profitebor, cuius rei nonnullam consuetudinem nactus sum in hoc horum dierum otio Cicerone nostro minore producendo. 3. Tu, quemadmodum scribis, quod, etiamsi non scriberes, facere te diligentissime tamen sciebam, facies scilicet, ut mea mandata digeras, persequare, conficias. Ego, cum Romam venero, nullum praetermittam Caesaris tabellarium, cui litteras ad te non dem: his diebus—ignosces—cui darem fuit nemo ante hunc M. Orfium, equitem Romanum, nostrum et pernecessarium et quod est ex municipio Atellano, quod scis esse in fide nostra. Itaque eum tibi commendo in maiorem modum, hominem domi splendidum, gratiosum etiam extra domum; quem fac ut tua liberalitate tibi obliges—est tribunus militum in exercitu vestro—: gratum hominem observantemque cognosces. Trebatium ut valde ames, vehementer te rogo.