Letter 23: Cicero writes to Quintus in Gaul from Rome in 24 October 54 BC.
Marcus Tullius Cicero→Quintus Tullius Cicero|c. 54 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Gaul|AI-assisted
familypoliticsadministration
Imported from the public-domain Shuckburgh translation with Latin text paired from The Latin Library.
Letter IV. Written at Rome, the 9th day before the Kalends of November [24 October], in the 700th year from the founding of the City.
MARCUS TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS, GREETINGS.
1. Gabinius has been acquitted. Altogether there was nothing feebler than Lentulus the prosecutor and his subscribers [those who endorsed the indictment], nothing more sordid than that jury panel; and yet, had it not been for Pompey's incredible exertion and entreaties, and the rumor of a dictatorship full of menace, he would not have answered to Lentulus himself, who even as it was—with that prosecutor and that jury—was condemned by thirty-two votes, when seventy had been cast. This trial is altogether of such grave repute that he seems certain to perish in the remaining suits, and most of all in the one for extortion [de pecuniis repetundis, the recovery of moneys extorted in a province]; but you see that there is no commonwealth, no senate, no courts, no standing for any one of us. Why say more about the jurors? Two men of praetorian rank sat on the panel: Domitius Calvinus, who acquitted so openly that everyone could see it; and Cato, who, once the ballots had been counted, slipped away from the circle of people and was the first to report the news to Pompey.
2. Some say—Sallust among them—that I ought to have prosecuted. Was I to entrust myself to such jurors as these? What would I have been, had he slipped away while I was conducting the case? But other considerations moved me: Pompey would not have supposed that the contest with me was about that man's safety, but about his own standing; he would have entered the city; the matter would have come to open enmity; I should have seemed a Pacideianus matched against the Samnite Aeserninus [the two gladiators of Lucilius, one far superior to the other]; he might perhaps have bitten off my ear with his teeth, and with Clodius at any rate he would certainly have come back into favor. I, for my part—especially if you do not disapprove—strongly approve of my own policy: that man, though he had been honored by my singular zeal, and though I owed him nothing while he owed me everything, nevertheless did not tolerate my dissenting from him in public affairs—I shall say nothing harsher—and, while less powerful at that time, showed what he could do against me when I was at my height. Now, when I do not even care much to be powerful, when the commonwealth certainly can do nothing, and that one man alone can do everything—was I to contend with that very man? For so it would have had to be done. I do not suppose that you think I ought to have undertaken it.
3. "Then one or the other," says the same Sallust; "you should have defended him, and granted that to Pompey when he pressed for it, for he was begging earnestly." A charming friend, this Sallust, who thinks I should either have taken on dangerous enmities or everlasting disgrace! I, on the contrary, am delighted with this middle course, and it is pleasing to me that, after I had given my testimony in the gravest manner, in keeping with my good faith and my oath, the defendant said that, if it should be allowed him to remain in the state, he would give me satisfaction, and he put no question to me at all.
4. As to the verses which you wish me to write for you, I do indeed lack the leisure for it, which requires not only time but also a mind free from every care; but I also lack the inspiration [enthousiasmos; originally in Greek], for I am not altogether without anxiety about the coming year, though I am without fear. And at the same time this too—I say it, by Hercules, without any irony—: in writing of that kind I assign the first place to you rather than to myself.
5. As to stocking up your Greek library, exchanging books, and acquiring Latin ones, I should very much like those things to be carried out, especially since they bear on my own use as well; but for myself I have no one through whom I might manage them—for the books that would actually please are not for sale, and they cannot be procured except through a man both expert and diligent—; still, I shall give the order to Chrysippus and shall speak with Tyrannio. What Scipio has done about the treasury [fiscus] I shall inquire into; whatever seems right, I shall see to. As to Ascanio, you for your part will do as you wish; I interpose nothing. As to the suburban property, I commend your not being in a hurry, but I urge you to have one.
6. I wrote this on the 9th day before the Kalends of November [24 October], the day the games were opened, as I was setting out for my Tusculan villa and taking my dear Cicero [Cicero's son] with me to a school of learning, not of play, intending on that account not to go any farther than I wished, because I wanted to be present for Pomptinus's triumph on the 3rd day before the Nones of November [3 November]; for there will be some little business of one sort or another: for the praetors Cato and Servilius threaten that they will block it, and I do not know what they can do—for he will have with him both Appius the consul and the praetors and the tribunes of the plebs—but they threaten all the same, and foremost among them Quintus Scaevola, "breathing War" [breathing the war-god Ares; originally in Greek]. Take care, my most charming and most dear brother, to keep well.
Gabinius has been acquitted. Nothing could be more absolutely futile than his accuser, Lentulus, and the backers of the indictment, or more corrupt than the jury. Yet, after all, had it not been for incredible exertions and entreaties on Pompey's part, and even an alarming rumour of a dictatorship, he would not have been able to answer even Lentulus; for even as it was, with such an accuser and such a jury, he had thirty-two votes out of seventy recorded against him. This trial is altogether so scandalous, that he seems certain to be convicted in the other suits, especially in that for extortion. But you must see that the Republic, the senate, the law courts are mere ciphers, and that not one of us has any constitutional position at all. What else should I tell you about the jurors? Two men of praetorian rank were on the panel—Domitius Calvinus, who voted for acquittal so openly that everybody could see; and Cato, who, as soon as the voting tablets had been counted, withdrew from the ring of people, and was the first to tell Pompey the news. Some people—for instance, Sallust—say that I ought to have been the prosecuting counsel. Was I to have exposed myself to such a jury as this? What would have been my position, if he had escaped when I conducted the case? But there were other considerations which influenced me. Pompey would have looked upon it as a contest with me, not for that man's safety, but for his own position: he would have entered the city; it would have become a downright quarrel; I should have seemed like a Pacideianus matched with the Samnite Aeserninus</ref>Two gladiators, one incomparably superior to the other.</ref>—he would, perhaps, have bitten off my ear, and at least he would have become reconciled to Clodius. For my part, especially if you do not disapprove of it, I strongly approve my own policy. That great man, though his advancement had been promoted by unparalleled exertions on my part, and though I owed him nothing, while he owed me all, yet could not endure that I should differ from him in politics&mdashto put it mildly—and, when in a less powerful position, showed me what he could do against me when in my zenith. At this time of day, when I don't even care to be influential, and the Republic certainly has no power to do anything, while he is supreme in everything, was I to enter upon a contest with him? For that is what I should have had to have done. I do not think that you hold me bound to have undertaken it. "Then, as an alternative," says the grave Sallust, "you should have defended him, and have made that concession to Pompey's earnest wish, for he begged you very hard to do so." An ingenious friend is Sallust, to give me the alternative of a dangerous quarrel or undying infamy! I, however, am quite pleased with the middle course which I have steered; and another gratifying circumstance is that, when I had given my evidence with the utmost solemnity, in accordance with my honour and oath, the defendant said that, if he retained his right to remain in the city, he would repay me, and did not attempt to cross-question me.
As to the verses which you wish me to compose, it is true that I am deficient in industry in regard to them, which requires not only time, but also a mind free from all anxiety, but I am also wanting in inspiration. For I am not altogether without anxiety as to the coming year, though without fear. At the same time, and, upon my word, I speak without irony, I consider you a greater master of that style of writing than myself. As to filling up your Greek library, effecting interchanges of books, and purchasing Latin books, I should be very glad that your wishes should be carried out, especially as they would be very useful to me. But I have no one to employ for myself in such a business: for such books as are really worth getting are not for sale, and purchases cannot be effected except by an agent who is both well-informed and active. However, I will give orders to Chrysippus and speak to Tyrannio. I will inquire what Scipio has done about the treasury. I will see that what seems to be the right thing is done. As to Ascanio, do what you like: I shall not interfere. As to a suburban property, I commend your not being in a hurry, but I advise your having one. I write this on the 24th of October, the day of the opening of the games, on the point of starting for my Tusculan villa, and taking my dear young Cicero with me as though to school (a school not for sport, but for learning), since I did not wish to be at any greater distance from town, because I purposed supporting Pomptinus's claim of a triumph on the 3rd of November. For there will be, in fact, some little difficulty; as the praetors, Cato and Servilius, threaten to forbid it, though I don't know what they can do. For he will have on his side Appius the consul, some praetors and tribunes. Still, they do threaten—and among the foremost Q. Scaevola, "breathing war." Most delightful and dearest of brothers, take good care of your health.
IV. Scr. Romae IX. Kal. Nov. a.u.c. 700.
MARCUS QUINTO FRATRI SALUTEM.
1. Gabinius absolutus est. Omnino nihil accusatore Lentulo subscriptoribusque eius infantius, nihil illo consilio sordidius; sed tamen, nisi incredibilis contentio precesque Pompeii, dictaturae etiam rumor plenus timoris fuisset, ipsi Lentulo non respondisset, qui tum, illo accusatore illoque consilio, sententiis condemnatus sit XXXII., cum LXX. tulissent. Est omnino tam gravi fama hoc iudicium, ut videatur reliquis iudiciis periturus, et maxime de pecuniis repetundis; sed vides nullam esse rem publicam, nullum senatum, nulla iudicia, nullam in ullo nostrum dignitatem. Quid plura de iudicibus? duo praetorii sederunt, Domitius Calvinus: is aperte absolvit, ut omnes viderent; et Cato: is diribitis tabellis de circulo se subduxit et Pompeio primus nuntiavit. 2. Aiunt nonnulli, etiam Sallustius, me oportuisse accusare. His ego iudicibus committerem? quid essem, si me agente esset elapsus? sed me alia moverunt: non putasset sibi Pompeius de illius salute, sed de sua dignitate mecum esse certamen; in urbem introisset; ad inimicitias res venisset; cum Aesernino Samnite Pacideianus comparatus viderer; auriculam fortasse mordicus abstulisset, cum Clodio quidem certe redisset in gratiam. Ego vero meum consilium, si praesertim tu non improbas, vehementer approbo: ille, cum a me singularibus meis studiis ornatus esset cumque ego illi nihil deberem, ille mihi omnia, tamen in re publica me a se dissentientem non tulit—nihil dicam gravius—et minus potens eo tempore, quid in me florentem posset, ostendit; nunc, cum ego ne curem quidem multum posse, res publica certe nihil possit, unus ille omnia possit, cum illo ipso contenderem—sic enim faciendum fuisset—? non existimo te putare id mihi suscipiendum fuisse. 3. "Alterutrum," inquit idem Sallustius; "defendisses idque Pompeio contendenti dedisses, etenim vehementer orabat." Lepidum amicum Sallustium, qui mihi aut inimicitias putet periculosas subeundas fuisse aut infamiam sempiternam! Ego vero hac mediocritate delector, ac mihi illud iucundum est, quod, cum testimonium secundum fidem et religionem gravissime dixissem, reus dixit, si in civitate licuisset sibi esse, mihi se satisfacturum, neque me quidquam interrogavit. 4. De versibus, quos tibi a me scribi vis, deest mihi quidem opera, quae non modo tempus, sed etiam animum vacuum ab omni cura desiderat; sed abest etiam ?nyousiasmÒw, non enim sumus omnino sine cura venientis anni, etsi sumus sine timore. Simul et illud—sine ulla mehercule ironia loquor—: tibi istius generis in scribendo priores partes tribuo quam mihi. 5. De bibliotheca tua Graeca supplenda, libris commutandis, Latinis comparandis, valde velim ista confici, praesertim cum ad meum quoque usum spectent; sed ego, mihi ipsi ista per quem agam, non habeo—neque enim venalia sunt, quae quidem placeant, et confici nisi per hominem et peritum et diligentem non possunt—, Chrysippo tamen imperabo et cum Tyrannione loquar. De fisco quid egerit Scipio, quaeram; quod videbitur rectum esse, curabo. De Ascanione, tu vero, quod voles, facies; me nihil interpono. De suburbano, quod non properas, laudo, ut habeas, hortor. 6. Haec scripsi a. d. VIIII. Kal. Novembr., quo die ludi committebantur, in Tusculanum proficiscens ducensque mecum Ciceronem meum in ludum discendi, non lusionis, ea re non longius cum vellem, quod Pomptino ad triumphum a. d. III. Nonas Novembr. volebam adesse; etenim erit nescio quid negotioli: nam Cato et Servilius praetores prohibituros se minantur, nec, quid possint, scio—ille enim et Appium consulem secum habebit et praetores et tribunos pl.—, sed minantur tamen, in primisque Ἂρη πνέων Q. Scaevola. Cura, mi suavissime et carissime frater, ut valeas.
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Letter IV. Written at Rome, the 9th day before the Kalends of November [24 October], in the 700th year from the founding of the City. MARCUS TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS, GREETINGS.
1. Gabinius has been acquitted. Altogether there was nothing feebler than Lentulus the prosecutor and his subscribers [those who endorsed the indictment], nothing more sordid than that jury panel; and yet, had it not been for Pompey's incredible exertion and entreaties, and the rumor of a dictatorship full of menace, he would not have answered to Lentulus himself, who even as it was—with that prosecutor and that jury—was condemned by thirty-two votes, when seventy had been cast. This trial is altogether of such grave repute that he seems certain to perish in the remaining suits, and most of all in the one for extortion [de pecuniis repetundis, the recovery of moneys extorted in a province]; but you see that there is no commonwealth, no senate, no courts, no standing for any one of us. Why say more about the jurors? Two men of praetorian rank sat on the panel: Domitius Calvinus, who acquitted so openly that everyone could see it; and Cato, who, once the ballots had been counted, slipped away from the circle of people and was the first to report the news to Pompey.
2. Some say—Sallust among them—that I ought to have prosecuted. Was I to entrust myself to such jurors as these? What would I have been, had he slipped away while I was conducting the case? But other considerations moved me: Pompey would not have supposed that the contest with me was about that man's safety, but about his own standing; he would have entered the city; the matter would have come to open enmity; I should have seemed a Pacideianus matched against the Samnite Aeserninus [the two gladiators of Lucilius, one far superior to the other]; he might perhaps have bitten off my ear with his teeth, and with Clodius at any rate he would certainly have come back into favor. I, for my part—especially if you do not disapprove—strongly approve of my own policy: that man, though he had been honored by my singular zeal, and though I owed him nothing while he owed me everything, nevertheless did not tolerate my dissenting from him in public affairs—I shall say nothing harsher—and, while less powerful at that time, showed what he could do against me when I was at my height. Now, when I do not even care much to be powerful, when the commonwealth certainly can do nothing, and that one man alone can do everything—was I to contend with that very man? For so it would have had to be done. I do not suppose that you think I ought to have undertaken it.
3. "Then one or the other," says the same Sallust; "you should have defended him, and granted that to Pompey when he pressed for it, for he was begging earnestly." A charming friend, this Sallust, who thinks I should either have taken on dangerous enmities or everlasting disgrace! I, on the contrary, am delighted with this middle course, and it is pleasing to me that, after I had given my testimony in the gravest manner, in keeping with my good faith and my oath, the defendant said that, if it should be allowed him to remain in the state, he would give me satisfaction, and he put no question to me at all.
4. As to the verses which you wish me to write for you, I do indeed lack the leisure for it, which requires not only time but also a mind free from every care; but I also lack the inspiration [enthousiasmos; originally in Greek], for I am not altogether without anxiety about the coming year, though I am without fear. And at the same time this too—I say it, by Hercules, without any irony—: in writing of that kind I assign the first place to you rather than to myself.
5. As to stocking up your Greek library, exchanging books, and acquiring Latin ones, I should very much like those things to be carried out, especially since they bear on my own use as well; but for myself I have no one through whom I might manage them—for the books that would actually please are not for sale, and they cannot be procured except through a man both expert and diligent—; still, I shall give the order to Chrysippus and shall speak with Tyrannio. What Scipio has done about the treasury [fiscus] I shall inquire into; whatever seems right, I shall see to. As to Ascanio, you for your part will do as you wish; I interpose nothing. As to the suburban property, I commend your not being in a hurry, but I urge you to have one.
6. I wrote this on the 9th day before the Kalends of November [24 October], the day the games were opened, as I was setting out for my Tusculan villa and taking my dear Cicero [Cicero's son] with me to a school of learning, not of play, intending on that account not to go any farther than I wished, because I wanted to be present for Pomptinus's triumph on the 3rd day before the Nones of November [3 November]; for there will be some little business of one sort or another: for the praetors Cato and Servilius threaten that they will block it, and I do not know what they can do—for he will have with him both Appius the consul and the praetors and the tribunes of the plebs—but they threaten all the same, and foremost among them Quintus Scaevola, "breathing War" [breathing the war-god Ares; originally in Greek]. Take care, my most charming and most dear brother, to keep well.
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. Romae IX. Kal. Nov. a.u.c. 700. MARCUS QUINTO FRATRI SALUTEM.
1. Gabinius absolutus est. Omnino nihil accusatore Lentulo subscriptoribusque eius infantius, nihil illo consilio sordidius; sed tamen, nisi incredibilis contentio precesque Pompeii, dictaturae etiam rumor plenus timoris fuisset, ipsi Lentulo non respondisset, qui tum, illo accusatore illoque consilio, sententiis condemnatus sit XXXII., cum LXX. tulissent. Est omnino tam gravi fama hoc iudicium, ut videatur reliquis iudiciis periturus, et maxime de pecuniis repetundis; sed vides nullam esse rem publicam, nullum senatum, nulla iudicia, nullam in ullo nostrum dignitatem. Quid plura de iudicibus? duo praetorii sederunt, Domitius Calvinus: is aperte absolvit, ut omnes viderent; et Cato: is diribitis tabellis de circulo se subduxit et Pompeio primus nuntiavit. 2. Aiunt nonnulli, etiam Sallustius, me oportuisse accusare. His ego iudicibus committerem? quid essem, si me agente esset elapsus? sed me alia moverunt: non putasset sibi Pompeius de illius salute, sed de sua dignitate mecum esse certamen; in urbem introisset; ad inimicitias res venisset; cum Aesernino Samnite Pacideianus comparatus viderer; auriculam fortasse mordicus abstulisset, cum Clodio quidem certe redisset in gratiam. Ego vero meum consilium, si praesertim tu non improbas, vehementer approbo: ille, cum a me singularibus meis studiis ornatus esset cumque ego illi nihil deberem, ille mihi omnia, tamen in re publica me a se dissentientem non tulit—nihil dicam gravius—et minus potens eo tempore, quid in me florentem posset, ostendit; nunc, cum ego ne curem quidem multum posse, res publica certe nihil possit, unus ille omnia possit, cum illo ipso contenderem—sic enim faciendum fuisset—? non existimo te putare id mihi suscipiendum fuisse. 3. "Alterutrum," inquit idem Sallustius; "defendisses idque Pompeio contendenti dedisses, etenim vehementer orabat." Lepidum amicum Sallustium, qui mihi aut inimicitias putet periculosas subeundas fuisse aut infamiam sempiternam! Ego vero hac mediocritate delector, ac mihi illud iucundum est, quod, cum testimonium secundum fidem et religionem gravissime dixissem, reus dixit, si in civitate licuisset sibi esse, mihi se satisfacturum, neque me quidquam interrogavit. 4. De versibus, quos tibi a me scribi vis, deest mihi quidem opera, quae non modo tempus, sed etiam animum vacuum ab omni cura desiderat; sed abest etiam ?nyousiasmÒw, non enim sumus omnino sine cura venientis anni, etsi sumus sine timore. Simul et illud—sine ulla mehercule ironia loquor—: tibi istius generis in scribendo priores partes tribuo quam mihi. 5. De bibliotheca tua Graeca supplenda, libris commutandis, Latinis comparandis, valde velim ista confici, praesertim cum ad meum quoque usum spectent; sed ego, mihi ipsi ista per quem agam, non habeo—neque enim venalia sunt, quae quidem placeant, et confici nisi per hominem et peritum et diligentem non possunt—, Chrysippo tamen imperabo et cum Tyrannione loquar. De fisco quid egerit Scipio, quaeram; quod videbitur rectum esse, curabo. De Ascanione, tu vero, quod voles, facies; me nihil interpono. De suburbano, quod non properas, laudo, ut habeas, hortor. 6. Haec scripsi a. d. VIIII. Kal. Novembr., quo die ludi committebantur, in Tusculanum proficiscens ducensque mecum Ciceronem meum in ludum discendi, non lusionis, ea re non longius cum vellem, quod Pomptino ad triumphum a. d. III. Nonas Novembr. volebam adesse; etenim erit nescio quid negotioli: nam Cato et Servilius praetores prohibituros se minantur, nec, quid possint, scio—ille enim et Appium consulem secum habebit et praetores et tribunos pl.—, sed minantur tamen, in primisque Ἂρη πνέων Q. Scaevola. Cura, mi suavissime et carissime frater, ut valeas.