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CICERO's
EPISTLES
то
60106
ATTICUS.
WITH
NOTES Hiſtorical, Explanatory, and
Critical.
Tranflated into English,
By WILLIAM GUTHRIE, Eſq;
VOL. II.
Quæ qui legat, non multum defideret hiftoriam contextam
eorum temporum.
Nep. Vit. Attici.
LONDON:
Printed for T. WALLER, Oppofite Fetter-Lane,
Fleet-Street.
M DCCLII.
}
I
878
+698
V.2
CICERO's
EPISTLES
то
ATTICUS
A
BOOK VIII.
EPIST 1.
FTER fending off my Letter for you,
'I received one from Pompey, upon the
Subject of what has been done in Pice-
num, (according to his Intelligence
from Vibüllius) and the Levies of Domitius, which
you know of. His Hopes were not however fo fan-
guine in his Letters as thofe of Philotimus were in
his. I ſhould have fent you a Copy of the (1) Let-
ter itſelf, were not my Brother's Slave in a hurry
(1) Orig. Ipfam tibi epiftolam mififfem. But he certainly
means no more than a Copy of Pompey's Letter, fince the hurry
the Slave was in, could be no Reafon why he could not fend
him the Original.
VOL. II.
B
to
A
2
CICERO'S EPISTLES
to be gone; but I will fend it to you To-morrow.
Pompey, however, towards the Cloſe of his Letter,
writes thus with his own Hand. "In my Opi-
*nion you ought to come to Luceria; you can be
"no where in greater Safety." Now, from this Ex-
preffion, I conclude, that he gives up the Towns,
and the Sea Coaft here, for loft; nor am I at all
furprized that the Man, who has abandoned the
Head, fhould likewife facrifice the Members, of the
Empire. I immediately fent him in anſwer an Ex-
prefs by one of my Attendants, that I gave myſelf
no concern where I could be with Safety, and that
if I could ferve either him, or my Country, I would
inſtantly repair to Luceria; but I counſelled him,
if he expected Supplies of Provifions from the Pro-
vinces, that he fhould fecure the Sea Coaft. I per-
ceive my Advice in this goes for nothing; but as I
then declared my Opinion for his keeping Poffeffion
of Rome, fo I declare it now for his not leaving
Italy. By all Appearances, he intends to make Lu-
ceria the general Rendezvous of his Forces; not
that he is reſolved to make good that Poft, but
that he may the more readily eſcape, if he ſhould be
puſhed by Cæfar.
You are therefore to be the lefs furprized at my
Backwardneſs in embracing a Party which never
paid the ſmalleſt Regard to the Means, either of
Negotiation or Conqueft; but have ever kept their
Eye upon thofe of a fcandalous, ruinous Retreat.
But it ſeems I must follow the Rout; that I may
take my Chance, be what it will, with Men of
worth rather than feem to abandon them. And yet
I can perceive, that the City will foon be filled
with thofe Men of worth (I mean in Lands and
Mo-
to ATTICUS.
3
Money) and that it will be crammed with them
when they have left the Corporations hereabouts. I
fhould be of their Number, were I not encumbered
with thoſe troubleſome Lictors of mine; for I ne-
ver ſhall be ashamed of the Company of Manius
Lepidus, L. Volcatius, and Servius Sulpicius,; for
I believe every one of them to be as wife as Domitius,
and as determined as Appius.
Pompey is the only Perfon who fways me on
this Occafion, and that not upon a Principle of Re-
gard but of Gratitude. For what regard is owing
to a Man who, in this Cauſe, loved Cæfar, when
the reft of Mankind dreaded him; and, when he
began to dread him, thought that the reſt of Man-
kind ought to go to war with him. I will go, how-
ever, to Luceria, tho' I believe I fhall be no very wel-
come Gueſt there to Pompey; for never can I make
it a Secret, that I am extreamly difgufted with the
Conduct of the Party. Could I ſleep I would not
peſter you with fuch long Letters: But fhould you
be in the like Condition, I give you leave to pay
me in the like Coin.
E
་
EPIST. II.
VERY Thing from you, the Hearfays
you have written me, the Matters which you
have heard but have difbelieved, becauſe they were
incompatible with my Attachments, your own Sen-
timents upon what occurs ; all, all, I fay, is welcome
to me. My first Letter to Cæfar was from Capua,
and was in anſwer to his to me concerning his Gla-
diators. It was fhort but civil; and fo far from
B 2
re-
4 CÍCERO'S ÉPISTLES
reproaching, that it highly commended, Pompey's
for I could not write otherwife, confiftently with my
Project of an Accommodation between them. If
Cafar has parted with a Copy of mine, I wifh it
may become as public as poffible. I wrote my
next Letter to him this very Day; and I could not
avoid doing it, as both he and Balbus had wrote
to me. I have ſent you a Copy of mine, and I
believe you will be diſpleaſed with nothing that is
in it. If you are, point it out to me, that I may
know how to avoid the like for the future. Per-
haps you will tell me, I ought not to have wrote at
all: but would that haye ftopt the Mouth of Ca-
lumny and Faction? Well, I will do all I can to
pleaſe you.
You defire me to call to my Memory what F
have done, what I have faid, and likewife what I
have wrote. This, I am fenfible, is the effect of your
kind, your friendly Concern; but it is plain, that
your Judgment is very different from my Opinion
of that Conduct upon this Occafion, which is moft
becoming me to purſue. For my own Part, F
know of no Leader or General, in any Country,
who ever acted more fcandalouſly than our friend
has done. Sorry I am, that, in abandoning Rome,
he abandoned his Country, tho' to fall in our Coun-
try and for our Country, is of all Deaths the moſt
glorious. You feem to me to be infenfible how
great our Calamity is. For, at prefent, you are
even enjoying yourfelf at home. But believe
me, you hold it only during the Will and Plea-
fure of the most profligate of Mankind.-Is it
poffible to figure to ourſelves Scenes of great-
er Diſtreſs, of greater Wretchedneſs, than this, to
fee
to ATTICUS.
5
fee us,
like Vagabonds and Beggars, wandering a-
bout with our Wives and Children; our Hopes re-
duced to the precarious Life of one Man, who,
Year after Year, is brought by Sickneſs to the Gates
of Death; ourſelves, not driven, but deluded, out of
our Country, which we have abandoned, not that it
might be preſerved for our Return, but that it may
be plundered and burnt in our Abfence. So many
of us (1) here are reduced to this difmal Situation,
that the Seats and Suburbs about Rome, nay Rome
herſelf almoft are, or will foon be, compleatly aban-
doned. We are driven to Luceria, even from Capua,
and we are now likewife giving up the Sea Coaſt.
We are impatient for the Arrival of Afranius and
Petreius, for the Credit of Labienus has fallen very
low (2). "Others, you will tell me, fay the fame
of you, and for the fame Reaſon."
Well, I fhall put myself out of the Queftion,
but let us fee how it ftands with you and your
Friends. You keep at Home, and all of you are
good Patriots. How forward once upon a Time
were you all? But who, amongst you, appears a-
(1) There is a great Variety in the original Reading here. I
have tranflated it in the Senfe I thought moft agreeable to Ci-
cero's Meaning. A probable Conjecture is all that can be
formed of many Paffages in thofe Places, even when there is
little or no difpute about Readings. But it unfortunately hap-
pens in many Parts of this Work, that the Reading is entirely
loft or unintelligible, which is the Cafe in the Paffage be.
fore us.
(2) It is no new Thing in Hiftory, to find a Man of great
Ufe and Authority in one Party of very little Importance when
he has left it. This happened to be the Cafe of Labienus, and
our Author very finely applies his Cafe to his own. I cannot
here help, once for all, obferving, that notwithſtanding all the
fine Things Cicero fays, at this critical Juncture, upon Patrio-
tifm, public Spirit, and the like, he is very much fhaken by
his own Danger, and Cæfar's Civilities.
B 3
gainst
2
CICERO's EPISTLES
J
gainſt this Rebellion, for I can now call it no other
Vibullius (1) has made a glorious Campaign of it as
you may learn by Pompey's Letter which I fend you.
Pray obferve the Paffage with a Caret (2). You
will there fee what the Sentiments of Vibullius him-
ſelf is concerning our Friend Pompey.
:
Well, and what does this Declamation of mine
tend to? I tell you, my Friend, I could die with
Pleaſure for Pompey, nor is there a Man in the
World whom I more Regard. But, at the fame
Time, I cannot be brought to think, that the Sal-
vation of my Country depends folely upon his Per-
fon. You write me, (fomewhat inconfiftently with
your former Sentiments,) that if he fhall leave Italy,
I ought to do the fame. This is a Step that could
do no Service to my Country, it might be of Pre-
judice to my Children, and above all it is difho-
nourable in itſelf. Well then! Can you bear to fee
a Tyrant? But let me tell you there is but little
Difference between fecuring his Perfon and hear-
ing his Actions; nor can I give you a better Autho-
rity for that, than the Example of Socrates, who
never put his Foot out of the City, though the
Government of his Country was ufurped by thirty
Tyrants. I have likewiſe another weighty Rea-
fon (3) for not leaving Italy, and I wish I had an
Opportunity to impart it to you in Perfon.
I write this Letter by the fame Lamp at which I
burnt yours on the 17th of February, being about
(1) This is an Irony. He was fent by Pompey to repoffefs
Picenum, but found it wholly in Cafar's Hands.
(2) Orig. dinλã. Dupla.
(3) This probably was on Account of his Wife's bad Ma-
nagement of his private Affairs, which he very much com
plained of.
to
to ATTICUS.
to fet out from Formia to Pompey. Should there be
a Treaty, I ſhall have a principal Hand in it. But
if there fhould be War, what fhall I be then?
H
EPIST. III.
Arraffed as I am with fuch a Variety of
Wretchedneſs, I fly to your Advice by Writ
ing, becauſe I cannot confult you in Perſon. The
whole Point is this. I fufpect Pompey is to leave
Italy, and if he ſhould, what would you counſel
me to do? That I may affift you in the Opinion
you fhall form, I will lay before you, in a few
Words, the Arguments on both Sides that fuggeft-
ed themſelves in my own Mind.
Pompey's Services to me in my Diftrefs, and his
Friendſhip to me fince, have been very great; his
Cauſe is that of my Country, fo that I ought to
embrace his Party, and to follow his Fortune. Be-
fides, ſhould he leave Italy without me, I muſt then
abandon the Company of our beſt and moſt illu-
ftrious Citizens, and become fubject to one Man.
This Man indeed gives me many Intimations of his
Friendſhip, which you know I had made the
- proper Difpofitions before-hand to fecure, forefee-
ing the Storm that was to happen. Now, upon
the whole, we are to confider how far Cefar is to
be trufted in his Profeffions; and, fuppofing them
to be fincere, whether it is confiftent with the Cha-
racter of a brave Man and a worthy Patriot, to live
in a City dependent on the Will of another, after
having, in that very City, been vefted with the
higheſt Honours and Commands, managed her moſt
important
B 4
8
CICERO's EPISTLES
important Concerns, and born the moft illuftrious
of all Diftinations, that of Priesthood. Muft not he,
in that Cafe, expofe himſelf to danger, perhaps to
Infamy, fhould Pompey again recover his Impor-
tance in the Government? So much on the one
Side, now for the other.
Our Friend Pompey's Conduct has hitherto been
in all reſpects, fooliſh, cowardly, and, let me add,
the reverſe of my public Opinion and private Ad-
vice (1). I fhall not here touch upon his former
Miſconduct of foftering up, ftrengthening, and
arming Cæfar, againſt the Government of his Coun-
try; his moving for paffing Laws by force, and
againſt the Aufpices; his joining the tranfalpine
Gaul to Cæfar's Government, and taking Cafar's
Daughter in Marriage; his acting as Augur up-
on the Adoption of Publius Clodius; his being
more zealous in repealing, than in preventing, the
Sentence of my Baniſhment; his befriending Cafar
in continuing the Term of his Government; his af-
fifting him, in all his Meaſures, during his Abſence;
and the Struggle he made, even in his third Con-
fulfhip, when he had begun to efpouſe the Cauſe
of the Conftitution, that the ten Tribunes fhould
bring in a Refolution to difpenfe with Cafar's ftand-
ing for the Confulfhip in his Abfence (which Refo-
lution he afterwards ftrengthened by a Provifo of his
own ;) and laftly, his oppofing, on the 1ft of March,
the Conful Marcus Marcellus, who moved that the
Time of Cajar's Government fhould determine.
But not to infift upon thefe Matters, could any
Thing be more fcandalous, more precipitant, than
(1) Orig. Auctoritas.
his
to ATTICUS.
9
1
his laft Retreat, or rather, his cowardly running,
from Rome. What Terms of Accommodation
would not have been preferrable to his leaving his
Country? The Terms were difgraceful, I grant
you, but not fo difgraceful as fuch Cowardice.
"But, fay you, he may yet recover the Conftitu-
tion." Let me afk you, when? What Steps has he
taken for that Purpofe? Has he not loft all Pice-
num? Has he not thereby cleared the Way for
Cæfar to Rome? Has he not delivered over to our
Enemy, both the public and private Properties of
the People? In fhort, Rome now has no Party, no
Force; he has no Place where her Friends, who
are willing to defend her, can dare to affemble. As
to Apulia, which is now their Rendezvous, it is
the worst provided Part of all Italy, and at the
greateſt Diſtance from the Place where the Streſs
of this War will lie, and our defperate Conduc
makes it evident, that our main View is to fly, and
to have an Opportunity of efcaping by Sea.
It was with Reluctance, I undertook that Com-
miffion at Capua, not that I would have declin-
ed it, had we been acting upon any Concert. But
I could fee no declared, fincere, Concern for their
Country, in any of our public Bodies, nor, in Rea-
lity, amongſt private Perfons. Our Patriots had, in-
deed, fome heavy, droufy Senſations as ufual, and,
as I had foreſeen; while the unfteady Mob difco-
vered a manifeft Biafs to Cæfar, and most of them
were fond of a Revolution. I have declared to
Pompey himself, that I would undertake nothing
without Troops and Money. I therefore, did not
intermeddle in Bufinefs, becaufe, I faw from the
very Beginning, that all that was intended was to
fecure
JO
CICERO'S EPISTLES
}
"
fecure a Flight. Now, fhould I be willing to fol
low him in this Flight, how can I do it? I cannot
go along with Pompey; for, when I fet out to join
him, I understood, that Cæfar was in thoſe Quar-
ters, fo that I could not come with any Safety to
Luceria, I muft undertake a Voyage in the dead of
Winter, upon the Tuscan Sea, and without know-
ing how to fteer my Courſe. But let me fee-
whether I fhall take my Brother along with me, or
fhall I leave him behind me? Shall I carry my Son,
if I fhould not take him along with me, how can I
leave him? Both are attended with the greateſt Diffi-
culty, and give me the greateſt Anguifh of Spirit.
Mean while, in my Abſence, how will Cæfar vent his
Fury on all that belongs to me? With more Bitterneſs
than upon others, becauſe, he may, perhaps think,he
will have fome popular Merit in oppreffing me.
Let us now confider, how inconvenient it is for me
to carry out of Italy thefe Fetters of mine, I mean,
my laurell'd Badges of command. What Place of
fafety can I find, even fuppofing my Voyage to be
favourable, until I join with Pompey? But how,
or where I am to do that, I know not. Now,
fuppofing I ſhould remain here, and that I fhould
be at my Liberty in Italy, my Conditon will then be
the fame as was that of Philippus, of Lucius Flac-
cus, and Quintus Mucius, under the Tyranny of
Cinna; however, fatally it ended for the latter,
But, he forefaw what happened, and he faid, he
preferred Death to his marching in Arms againſt
the Walls of his Country. The Conduct of
Thrafybulus was different, and perhaps, more vir-
tuous. But Mucius acted, as well as Thrafybulus
did, upon a rational determined Principle, and it
may
to ATTICUS,
II
may be as neceffary to comply with the Times, as
not to lofe an Opportunity when it prefents.
But, fuppofing me to comply, there occurs the
following Inconveniency from the laurell'd Badges
of Command. 1 fhall fuppofe, but only for
Arguments Sake, that Cæfar will be my Friend;
why, then of Courfe, he will offer me a Triumph.
In that Cafe, I muſt expoſe myſelf either to Danger
from him, or to Refentment from our Patriots.
You muſt allow me, that this is a painful and
inextricable Situation, and yet I muft determine
upon fomewhat. But upon what? You are not,
however, to imagine, that my Inclination leads me
to ſtay in Italy, becauſe, I have been fo copious
in Defence of that Meafure. In Debates of this
Kind, it very often happens, that the more Words
there are on a Side, there is the lefs Juftice. E
would therefore, afk your Advice from a moſt
difinterefted difpaffionate View, upon this impor-
tant Head. I have a Veffel ready for me both at
Cajeta, and at Brundufium.
But while I am writing this at Calenum, a Courier
arrives with Letters, that Cæfar is marching towards
Corfinium, where Domitius is with a ſtrong Army,
which is eager to be in action. I cannot imagine,
that our General would leave Domitius behind him,
though he has fent Scipio on before him to Brundu-
fium, with two Battalions, and though he has fent
his Orders in Writing to the two Conluls, that one
of them fhould go over to Sicily at the Head of
the Legion raiſed by Fauftus. But after all, it
would be fcandalous to abandon Domitius, who
calls upon him for Affiftance and Relief. I have
fome faint Hopes, though People here are very
pofitive
Y2
CICERO's EPISTLES
pofitive on the Head, that there has been an En
gagement upon the Pireneans, between Afraniuș
and Trebonius, to the Diſadvantage of the Latter,
and that even your Friend Fabius has come over to
us with his Battalions; but above all, that Afra-
nius is advancing hither with a great Reinforcement.
If thofe Accounts fhould be true, we may perhaps
ftill remain in Italy.
For my own Part, as it was uncertain whether
Cafar would take the Rout of Capua, or of Luceria,
I have fent Lepta with a Letter to Pompey, and for
fear of falling into the Enemies Hands, I am
returned to Formia. I think it proper to fend
you this Intelligence, which I write with a Heart
more at Eafe than it was when I begun this Let-
ter, yet without obtruding upon you any Judg-
ment of my own, but inviting yours.
Y
EPIST. IV.
OUR, rather than my, Friend Dionyfius, is a
Man whoſe Difpofitions, though I was fuffi-
ciently acquainted with, yet I was willing to be
guided by your Judgment, rather than my own;
this Man, I fay, without fearing to belye the high
Character you had often beſtowed upon him to me,
has looked down with Contempt upon the State to
which he thought I was fallen. I will, however,
apply all the Means that fall within human Fore-
fight, to direct the Movements of my Fortune
by the Conduct of Reaſon. Was there a Mark of
Honour, or Regard, that I omitted towards that
deſpicable Fellow? Even to fuch a Degree, that I
chofe
to ATTICUS.
13
thofe my Brother Quintus, and the Herd of my
Acquaintance, fhould call my Judgment of Mar
kind in Queſtion, rather than ſuffer him to paſs
without my diftinguiſhing Approbation; and I
choſe myſelf, to affift him teaching my Son and
my Nephew, rather than fupply them with any
other Tutor. Immortal Gods! what Letters did I
fend him; how full of Refpect and Affection! By
Heaven, had you read them, you would have
thought I was inviting a Dicæarchus, or an Arif-
toxenus, and not a Fellow, who, of all Mankind, is
the moſt Talkative, and the leaft fit to be a Tutor.
He has, however, a good Memory, but he fhall
ſay that I have a better. Yet, he anſwered thoſe
Letters in a Strain that I would not have made Uſe
of towards any Man, whofe Caúſe Í had refuſed
to undertake. For my Excufe in fuch Cafes, al-
ways was, "If can; if I am not prevented by
fome other indifpenfible Bufinefs." Never in my
Life did I give fo peremptory a Denial to a Perſoń
who was to be tried at a Bar, be he ever fo mean,
be he ever fo deſpicable, be he ever ſo guilty, bè
he ever fo much my Enemy, as he gave to me;
for he gave me, without the ſmalleſt Ceremony,
a flat Denial. Never did I know a Man guilty of
ſo much Ingratitude, that ſum of all other Baſeneſs.
But I have faid too much of fuch a Fellow.
I have got a Ship in Readineſs. I am, however,
impatient for your Letters in Anfwer to my Doubts
and Difficulties. I hear, that Attius of Peligni,
opened the Gates of Sulmo, though he had five
battalions in the Place, to Antony. You know,
that Quintus Lucretius is fled from thence
that
Pompey
+
་
.14
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Pompey is marching to Brundufium after abandon-
ing us. Our Hopes are at an End.
1
MY/
EPIST. V.
Y laft concerning Dionyfius, was written be-
fore Day break, upon the 22d, and in the
Evening of the fame Day, Dionyfius, fwayed, I
fuppofe, by his Awe for you, for I can put no
other Conſtruction upon it, paid me a vifit. He
ufes, it is true, to repent himfelf of any unadviſed
Step he makes, but he never in his Life acted
more confiftently than he has done upon this Occa-
fion. For, I heard fince. I wrote to you, that he
had not been gone three Miles, before he took one
of his Fits, like a raging Bull, "fnuffing up the
Air, and kicking up the Sand;" (1) and, as I am
told, he poured forth a Torrent of Abuſe againſt
me, which muft all return upon himſelf.-But (fee
how forgiving I am) I had put into your Packet, a
Letter for him, which I defire you will fend back
to me, and I diſpatch Pollux one of my Footmen,
expreſs to you, for that Purpoſe fingly.-I write
you this Letter at the fame Time, to beg you will
fend it back to my Hand, if you have received it,
without fuffering it to be delivered to Dionyfius.
Had there been any Thing new, I would have
wrote it. I am anxious about the Event of the
Corfinian Bufinefs, which will be critical to our
Country. I beg you will take Care, that the
Packet directed to Manius Curius, may be duly
(1) Orig. Ριψαι πολλὰ μάτην κεράεσσεν ἐς ἠέρα θυμήναντα. Cum
fureret, multa cornibus fruftra in aerem proruiffe.
delivered;
to ATTICUS.
15
delivered and that you will recommend Tyre te
him, that, at my Requeft, he may fupply him with
what Money he may require for his Charges.
Α A'I
EPIST. VI.
FTER making up my laft Packet, which
I wrote in the Evening, and which I was to
fend off, (as I did) before Day break, the Prætor
Caius Sofius, came to our Neighbour Lepidus (to
whom he had been Quæftor) at Formia, with the
following Copy of a Letter from Pompey to one
of the Confuls.
"I received a Letter from E. Domitius on the
"17th of February, of which I enclofe you a Copy.
"Now, though I had not wrote to you, I know
<<
you are fenfible, how important it is for our
"Country, that, as ſoon as poffible, there ſhould be
"a general Mufter, at one Place, of all our Forces.
« Therefore, if you pleafe, you will make all
poffible Difpatch to join me, and leave at Capua
"fuch a Gariſon, as you fhall judge fufficient."
6
He then annexes a Copy of the Letter from Do-
mitius, which I fent you two Days ago. Inimor-
tal Gods, how my Blood runs cold with Anxiety
for the Event! I have, however, a great Depend-
ance upon the mighty Name of our great General -
(1) and upon the Terror'which his Approach will
ftrike into the Enemy. I am even glad, that as
(1) This and fome following Paffages, are miferably defaced-
in the Original, and I have tranflated it from Conjecture
only.
I have
16
CICERO'S EPISTLES
I have fuffered nothing from his Meaſures, that
have not altered mine. (1)
I juſt now learn, that your Ague has left you s
let me die, if I could have been more rejoiced, had
I been delivered myſelf. Tell Pylia from me, that
it is improper for her to keep hers longer, and un-
fuitable to the Sympathy that fubfifts between you.
I underſtand, that my Secretary Tyro, has got rid
of another. But, I perceive, he has borrowed
Money from others, and not from Curius, on whom
I gave him Credit for what he ſhould want.
hope, this is owing to the Modefty of Tyro, and
not to the Churliſhneſs of Curius.
F
EPIST.
VII.
HERE remains but one Meaſure to com
TH
pleat the Sum of Pompey's Difgrace, I mean,
his not fuccouring Domitius. I am, it is true, al-
moſt ſingle in thinking that he will not. Will Pom-
pey then, when he is at the Head of thirty Batta-
lions, abandon fuch a Roman, and fuch Noblemen
as, you know, ferve under him? If I am not entirely
miſtaken, he will. His Confternation is incredi
ble, and he thinks of nothing but flying.
I know, you think, that I ought to attend him.
Alas! I know the Man I ought to fly; but not
the Man I ought to follow. You mention with
Applauſe, a Saying of mine, which you think
ought to be recorded, that I would rather chooſe
to be vanquished with Pompey, than to conquer
with Cæfar. I am ſtill of the fame Mind. But it
(1) A Chaẩm.
}
1
was
to ATTICUS.
17
1
1
was with Pompey, fuch as he then was, and ſuch as
I took him to be, but not with this Pompey, who fled
before he knew where, or whom, he was flying;
who betrayed our Interefts, who has abandoned
our Country, and is now about to abandon Italy.
If that was my Choice, I have had it, for I am al-
ready vanquished. In fhort, I cannot bear to fee
Things I never apprehended, nor, by Heavens, can
I behold with Patience, the Man by whoſe Means,
I am robb'd, not only of the Comforts of Life,
but of myſelf.
I have writ to Philotimus, concerning my travel-
ling charges, that he fhould receive the Money for
them, either at the Mint, or from your Gueſts,
the Oppii, for there is no getting Money where it
is owing. I fhall afterwards lay before you what-
ever may be proper for you to know.
D
EPIST.
VIII.
Ifgraceful, and therefore miferable, Meaſure!
for fuch are my Sentiments, that what is dif-
graceful is the laft, nay, the only, 'Character of Mi-
fery. He (1) had foftered up Cafar's Power; of
a fudden, he begins to fear him, he difcourages all
Advances for an Accommodation, he neglects ali
Preparation for War, he abandons the City, his
Miſconduct lofes Picenum, he pins himfelf up in
Apulia, he prepares to go for Greece, he abandons
us with bidding us adieu (2), and utter Strangers to
thoſe mighty, thofe monftrous, Refolutions. Well,
all at once a Letter comes from Domitius to him,
(1) Meaning Pompey.
(2) Orig. awpooQwvnres. Nom compellatos.
VOL. II.
C
and
18
CICERO's EPISTLE'S
and another from him to the Confuls. You would
then have thought him impaffioned with all that
was graceful (1), with all that was becoming his
Character, and that as fuch he thus broke forth.
"Let them plant all their Arts, let my Enemies
"bend all their Force againſt me, while I am in the
"Way of my Duty, I will ftand to the Confequences
"be what they will (2)." But with thofe fine Senti-
ments (3) in his Mouth, he marches for Brundufium.
Now, we underſtand, that when Domitius, and thoſe
under his Command, heard of this Step, they fur-
rendered themſelves. A Cataſtrophe ſo deplorable,
that my Sorrow interrupts my Writing.-
pect to hear from you.
I
EPIST. IX.
·I ex-
AM by no Means uneafy at your Informa-
tion, that my Letter (4) has become public.
I myſelf parted with a great many Copies of it.
Paſt Events, and our impending Situation, make
me defirous to bear my public Teftimony for the
Terms on which I wifh an Accommodation.
(1) Orig. Tò xañòr. Honeftum.
(2) Orig. Πρὸς τεθ᾽ ὅ, τι χρὴ καὶ παλαμάσθων,
Καὶ πάντ' ἐπ' ἐμοὶ τεκταινέσθων.
Tò yap ev μer' iµs.
This is a Verſe taken from
Adverfus hoc quod officium poftulat ftruant quidlibet & in me omniæ
machinentur, rectum enim a me ftat.
Ariftophanes.
(3) Orig. Hoana xaipei tÿ naλķ. Multam falutem honefto.
(4) Meaning his Letter to Cafar, which the Reader will
find after the eleventh Letter of the ninth Book. I have not
altered the ufual Arrangement of thoſe Letters, but this one is
evidently miſplaced, and in a regular Order it ought to have
been preceded by our Author's Letter to Cajar here re-
ferred to.
While
!
to ATTICUS.
19
While I was doing all I could to bring a Man, and
á Man too of Cafar's Character, into the fame Sen-
timents, could I take a more ready Way to influ-
ence him than by infifting upon it, that what I pro-
poſed was a Meaſure the moſt becoming his Wif-
dom? Granting I might give it the Epithet of
"Admirable," it muſt be confidered, that I was
ſpeaking to fave my Country; in fuch a Caufe I
can difregard the Reproach of being a Flatterer; in
fuch a Cauſe; with Pride could I crawl at the Feet
of Cæfar. As to the Expreffion, "Allow me fome
Time" that is not applicable to the Accommo-
dation, but to my own Perfon, to induce him to
have fome Regard to what becomes my Character.
As to my affuring him that I was againſt all violent
Meaſures; befides the Notoriety of the Thing, it
was proper for me to write in that Manner, that my
private Sentiments might have the greater Weight
with him; and, for the fame Purpoſe, I added, that
I thought he had the better Cauſe. But to what
Purpoſe is all this? I wish to Heaven that the Let-
ter had taken effect.
1
I even confent that this Letter fhould be read be-
fore an Affembly of the People, fince Pompey him-
felf, in one of his Letters to Cæfar which he pub-
lifhed, made ufe of the Expreffion, "for your At-
chievements the most glorious that ever were per-
formed." What! more glorious than thofe of
Pompey himſelf, than thoſe of the African Scipio?
What is there in that? It was but fpeaking to the
Juncture. Even your Friend and you, ftout Pa-
triots as you are, propofed to meet Cæfar five
Miles out of Town. From whence then is this
fame Cæfar coming? What is he doing? What is
C 2
he
20
CICERO'S EPISTLES
he about to do? What Spirit, what Refolution will
it give him in purſuing his Defigns, when he fhall
fee you and others, of your high Quality, crowd-
ing to welcome his Approach, with Joy, not only
upon your Tongues, but in your Countenances?
Am I then in the Wrong? I do not fay that you
are (1). But the Truth is, all Symptoms are now
confounded, by which it is poffible to diftinguiſh
what is fincere from what is difguifed. Nay, let
me appeal to the Refolutions of the Senate. But
this is going farther than I intended. The laft of
this Month I deſign to be at Arpinum, and then I
will faunter round my little Villas, with a defign
to bid them an eternal Adieu.
·
I (2) approve greatly of your Counfel, which is
at once fo generous (3) and fo prudent, confider-
ing the Juncture. As to Lepidus, who takes it
very kind of me, that I generally ſpent the Day (4)
with him, he was always againſt our leaving Italy,
and Tullus was much more fo. For Lepidus's Let-
ters often come through other Hands to mine, but
I pay no great Regard to their Sentiments. Their
Country has from them fewer Pledges than fhe has
from me. But, by Heavens, your Advice has made
a ftrong Impreffion upon me, as it prefents me with
(1) I have tranflated this ſomewhat different from Monfieur
Mongault, as I think my Conſtruction is more natural as there
is no Occafion for introducing an Apoftrophe, rifing either
from the Words or the senfe.
(2) Orig. ivyen. Generofa.
(3) This probably was the Beginning of another Letter, and
ought to have the Precedence of what is before, as it ſeems to
have been written at that Time, when both Pompey and Cæfar
were on their March to Brundufuum, and the preceding Part not
till after Cæfar's Return from thence
(4) Orig, ourdinyegevoμer. Sivul diem conterimus.
"
:
the
to ATTICUS,
2 I
the Method of retrieving all that is paft, and im
proving all that is preſent.
But think, my Friend, what can be more
wretched, than for the one Leader to purchaſe Ap-
plauſe from the vileft, and the other to incur Re-
proaches in the beft, of Caufes; for the one to be
efteemed as the Preferver of his Enemies, the other
as a Deferter from his Friends. By Heavens,
though I have all due Regard and Affection for our
Friend Pompey, yet never can I vindicate him in
not relieving fuch illuftrious Romans. What could be
more ſcandalous, if he was afraid? or what more
cruel, if he believed, as many think he did, that their
Blood would prove the ſtrongeſt Cement to his In-
tereft? But no more of this Subject, the retouch-
ing it increaſes my Pain.
On the Evening of the 24th, the younger Balbus
came by a Bye- Road to me, in Poft Hafte, for
Lentulus the Conful, with a Meffage, a Letter, a
Commiffion, and a Promife of a Province from
Cafar, if he would return to Rome; but all, I be-
lieve, will be to no Purpoſe, without a Meeting on
both Sides. Balbus told me, at the fame Time,
that Cæfar wish'd for nothing more than to over-
take Pompey, (that I believe) and to regain his
Friendſhip, (that I don't believe), and I am afraid
that he has ſhown all this Clemency to make this
dreadful Blow the more fecure. It is true, the elder
Balbus writes to me, that Cæfar's higheſt Ambition
is to give Pompey the Pre-eminence, and to live with
him in Peace. You believe all this, don't you?
Pompey might have left Brundufium by the Date
of this Letter, which is the 25th of February, for he
had out-marched his Legions from Luceria. But this
C 3
Calar
22
CICERO's EPISTLES
Cafar (1) is an aftoniſhing Miracle of Bufinefs,
Diſpatch, and Application. I know not, indeed
I know not, where all this will End.
W
EPIST. X.
HEN contrary to my Expectation, Diony
fius came to wait upon me, I ſpoke to him
very much upon the Footing of a Gentleman. I
laid before him the Neceffity of the Times, entreat-
ed him' to tell me what he had refolved upon, and
told him, that I defired nothing of him againſt his
own Inclination. His Anfwer was, that he was
quite a Stranger to the State of his own Affairs ;
that fome People did not pay him, and that the
Notes of others to him were not yet due; and he
fpoke fomewhat concerning fome Slaves he has, as
a Reaſon why he could not attend me. I agreed
to all; and parted with him, not with Pleaſure,
as he is the Tutor of our Boys, but not with Re-
luctance, as he is an ungrateful Fellow. I was
willing you ſhould know my Sentiments concern-
ing his Behaviour.
You
EPIST. XI.
OU imagine now, that I am in a terrible
flurry of Spirits. Why, there is ſomething
in that, but not fo much as you may fuppofe.
There is an End of Care, when our Refolution is
fixed, or when our Concern is unavailing. We are
(1) Orig. Tipas. Monſtrum.
ftill
to ATTICUS.
23
fill at Freedom to lament, which I do from Morn-
ing to Night, and that without Effect, to the no
fmall Reproach, I am afraid, of my Studies and
Learning. I therefore, waſte the Time in dwelling
upon the Idea of that Man, whom, you allow, Ị
have drawn ſo happily in my Writings. Are you
quite Mafter of the Character of that Patriot whom
I wished to be vefted with the laft Refort of Go-
vernment? For, if I remember right, Scipio thus
ſpeaks in the 5th Book, "As a happy Voyage is
"the Purpoſe of the Pilot, Health of the Phyfi-
"cian, and Victory of the General, fo the Pur-
pofe of a chief Magiftrate ought to be the
Happineſs of his Countrymen, that their Power
may be well founded, their Intereſts extenfive,
"their Renown noble, and their Courage virtuous.
"Such, fuch is the Buſineſs, the beſt, the moſt
..
«c
66
cc
glorious which can happen to Man, that I allot
"for my Patriot Prince to compleat."
Never did our Friend Pompey, and on this Occa-
fion leſs than ever, think upon this Character. Both
are Rivals in Power, but not for making this a
flouriſhing and virtuous Government. Pompey did
not abandon Rome, becauſe it was untenable, nor
Italy, becauſe he was driven out of it; but his ori-
ginal Deſign was, to move Earth and Sea, to rouſe
barbarous Monarchs, to introduce the Troops of
Savage Nations into Italy, and to levy numerous
Armies. He has a great many to fecond him in
what he has long thirfted for, a Species of Sylla's
Tyranny. Do yoù imagine, that thoſe two Rivals
can come to no Accommodation? that they can
enter upon no Agreement? They may, but now
C 4
or
24
CICERO's EPISTLES
!
or never is the Time; though neither of them has
our Happineſs ultimately in View (1); for that is a
Thing inconfiftent with the Intereft of both. Thus
you have what you defired, when
call'd upon
me for my Sentiments with Regard to our public
Calamities, a fhort State of our Situation.
you
I thus, my deareſt Friend, not from the Gift
of Prophecy (2) like that of Caſſandra, but of my
Conjectures, and Conjectures too as melancholy as
were her Prophecies foretell,
Now o'er the mighty Sea (3).
Yes, we have a Scene of Calamities hanging over
us, enough to fill a whole Illiad (4). Let me tell
you, however, that they who are gone beyond
Sea, are in a much better Situation than we who
ſtay behind. They have only Cefar to dread, but
we both Cafar and Pompey. Then, fay you, why
did not you follow them? I have three Anfwers
to this; Compliance with your Advice, my not
meeting with Pompey, and the Rectitude of the
Meaſure. I tell you again, that by next Summer,
you will fee the Bofom of our wretched Country
trampled under Foot, you will fee it finking under
the Tread of the vileft of Slaves. No, I do not fo
much apprehend a Profcription which we were often
threatened with at Luceria (5) as an univerſal Maf-
(1) Orig. Exords. Scopus.
(2) Orig. Пƒodeo@w. Præfagio.
(3) In the Original, here is the first Line of an old Poem,
fuppofed to be the Prophely of Caffandra, and which was very
well known at that I ime.
(4) Orig. I'xids Ilias.
(5) Pompey often declared there, that he would confider all
the Romans who did not join him, as fo many Traitors to their
Country, and Cæfar, that he would confider all who remained
neutral as Friends to himſelf.
facre
to ATTICUS.
25
facre. So great do I forefee will be the Shock of
the contending Parties. This is my Opinion. You,
I fuppofe, imagined I ſhould ſend you fome Com-
fort. No, that is all over, our Situation is wretched,
deſperate and ſhameful beyond Deſcription.
You aſk me concerning the Contents of Cæfar's
Letters to me. Why, they are the fame he has
often repeated; that he takes it very kindly that
I lie by, and begging me to continue in my
neutral Diſpoſitions. The Commiffion he charged
Balbus with, was much to the fame Purpoſe, but
his chief Errand was, to carry Cæfar's Letters to
the Conful Lentulus, with mighty Promifes, if he
would return to Rome. By my Calculation, how-
ever, Lintulus muſt have ſet fail before Balbus could
have an Interview with him.
I think it proper you ſhould be acquainted with.
two cold Letters, which Pompey wrote to me, and
the very particular Manner in which I wrote to
him. I therefore inclofe you Copies of all. I am
impatient about the Confequences of Cefar's hafty
March through Apulia, towards Brundufium, and
wiſh for fome Parthian (1) Providence to interpoſe.
I will write to you as foon as I know any Thing for
certain, I defire you will let me know the Dif
courſes of our Patriots, who are faid to fwarm at
Rome. I know, that you do not appear in public,
yet for all that, you muſt have a great deal of Intel-
ligence. Now, that I think of it, you have received
a Treatife from Demetrius Magnes, concerning pub-
lic Unanimity (2). I know it was fent to you,
(1) This is the fame Allufion which he has in feveral Paf-
fages of the firft Volume See Vol. I. Page 208, 209.
-(2) Orig. Пspì 'Opovolas. De Concordia.
4
and
26
CICERO's EBISTLES
1
and I beg you will let me have it. You under-
ſtand what is the Subject of my preſent Studies.
The LETTERS inclofed from Cicero to Atticus,
are as follow.
Cnæus the Great, Proconful, to Marcus Cicero,
Commander in Chief.
O
N the 29th of January, I learned from Quin-
tius Fabius, who came to me, that Lucius
Domitius was marching to join me with eleven Co-
horts of his own, and fourteen Cohorts, which
were brought him by Vibullius; that he intended to
march from Corfinium on the the 14th of February,
and that he was to be followed by five Cohorts
under Caius Hirrus. My Opinion is, for you to
meet me at Luceria; for there, I think, you will be
in the greateſt Safety.
Marcus Cicero, Commander in Chief, to Cnæus
the Great, Proconful.
N the 15th of February I received your Let-
ter at Formia, by which I learned that what
had happened in Picenum, was much more to our
Advantage, than what we were made to believe,
and it is with Pleafure that I give you Joy of the
Courage and Conduct of Vibullius, Hitherto, I have
always had a Ship in Readineſs upon the Coaft where
I command. I thought this Precaution neceffary,
becauſe, by what I heard, and what I feared, it was
proper to follow you in whatever Courfe you deter-
mined
to ATTICUS.
27
mined upon. At prefent, as your Conduct in pub-
lic and Opinion in private have re-affured me, and
I will remain where I am, if you think Tarracina,
and its Coaft, can be defended, even though the
Towns are disfurniſhed of Garrifons. For there
is, in the Neighbourhood, none of cur Order
befides Marcus Eppius (1), whom I had ftationed
at Minturnæ, a vigilant active Perfon. For Lucius
Torquatus, that brave wife Man, is not now with
us at Formia. He has I fuppofed joined you.
I actually came to Capua that very Day you
wifhed for, I mean that on which you left Teanum
Sidicinum (2), for you had a ftrong Inclination that
I fhould take upon me the Management of Affairs
there, with the Proprætor Marcus Confidius (3).
When I came thither I faw Titus Ampius very bufy
in recruiting, and that Libo received from him his
new Levies, and was at great Pains to ſerve him
with all the Intereſt he had in that Colony. I re-
mained at Capua as long as the Confuls did, and
by their Orders, I returned to Capua on the 5th
of February, where I ftaid for three Days before I
returned to Formie.
Now I am at a Lofs to know your Refolution,
or how you intend to behave during this War. If
you think this Coaft tenable, as I believe it to be,
as it is both convenient and honourable, and contains
many illuftrious Romans, fome Perfon muſt necef-
(1) He was probably the fame Senator whom Cæfar par-
doned, after his Victory over Scipio in Afric.
(2) This Town lay in Campania, and is called, to this Day,
Teano.
(3) He was named to fucceed Cæfar in his Government of
the Cifalpine Gaul.
17
farily
28
CICERO's EPISTLES
2
1
farily be appointed to command it. But if all our
Force is to be collected into one Point, I will join
you, without farther Delay, with the greateſt Plea-
fure; and, I think, I told you ſo much the Day on
which we left Rome together, Should any imagine
me too indolent at this Juncture, it would give me
no Concern fo long as you do not think I am,
Mean while, if, as I expect we fhall, we muſt have
War, I hope I fhall do my Duty to the Satisfaction
of all the World. I have employed Marcus Tullus (1),
who lives with me, to be the Bearer of this, and, if
you pleaſe, you may give him your Anſwer to
me.
Cnæus the Great, Proconful, to Cicero Com-
mander in Chief.
You
OUR Letter gave me Pleaſure, and I hope
that this will find you in good Health; for I
perceive you ſtill retain your former Virtue, even
at this Juncture fo critical for our Country. The
Confuls are repaired to the Army, which I had
in Apulia. I conjure you in the moft earneſt Man-
ner, by your conftant, your matchlefs, Zeal for our
Country, to repair to me, that, by our joint Coun-
fels, we may adminiſter fome Relief, and Affiftance
to our languiſhing Government. My Advice is, that
you come by the Appian Road, and make what
Speed you can to Brundufium.
"'.
(1) He was ſo active an Enemy to Cæfar, that he was called
the Trumpeter of the civil War, notwithstanding which, Cafar
generously pardoned him.
Marcus,
to ATTICUS.
29
:
Marcus Cicero, Commander in Chief, to Cnæus
the Great, Proconful.
WH
HEN I diſpatched that Letter, which you
received at Canufium (1), it had not en-
tered into my Head, that the public Service was to
carry you beyond Sea; and I was in great Hopes
that Italy was the moſt proper Country, either for
effecting an Accommodation, which, in my Opi-
nion was the moſt defireable Meaſure, or for de-
fending our Country with the greateſt Glory. Mean
while, before you could have received my Letter,
perceiving from the Order which you charge Decius
Lælius (2), to communicate to the Confuls, what
your Refolution was, I did not think proper to
wait for your Anfwer, and I inſtantly ſet forth with
my Brother Quintus, and our Children, to meet
you in Apulia. When I came to Teanum Sidicinum,
I underſtood from your Friend Caius Meffius (3),
and a great many others, that Cæfar was marching
towards Capua, and that he would lay that very
Night at Efernia (4). This, I own, diſconcerted me
a good deal, foreſeeing if this Intelligence was
true, that my Journey not only muſt be ſtopt, but
that I muſt fall into his Hands fhould I advance.
farther. I therefore went to Calvi to refide there,
till I could learn fome certainty from Efernia, con
cerning his Motions.
(1) This Town lay upon the Confines of Apulia.
(2) He afterwards commanded a Fleet upon the Coaft of
Afia.
(3) He is mentioned, Vol. I. P. 217,
(4) This Town lay in the Country of the Samnites, near the
Source of the River Volturno.
!!
While
30
CICERO's EPISTLES
While I remained at Calvi, I ſaw a Copy of the
Letter you wrote to the Conful Lentulus. I thereby
learned that you received a Letter (a Copy of which
you fubjoined) from Lucius Domitius, dated the
17th of February, and you wrote that it was of the
utmoſt public Importance, that all your Troops
ſhould rendezvous, as foon as poffible, at one
Place, leaving a fufficient Garriſon at Capua. On
reading thoſe Letters. I fell in with the general Opi-
nion, that you was to march to Corfinium with all
your Forces, to which Place I thought I could
not ſafely repair as Cafar was encamped before that
Town.
While we were greatly at a Lofs how to proceed,
we heard at once, and at the fame Time, both what
had happened at Corfinium, and of your marching
to Brundufium, and, when both I and my Brother
were refolved to go to Brundufium, we received In-
telligence by many coming, both from Samnium
and Apulia, to take Care left we fhould be inter-
cepted by Cæfar, who was upon his March for
the very fame Places to which we were bound, and
who would reach them much fooner than we poffi-
bly could. Matters being thus fituated, neither I
nor my Brother, nor any of our Friends chofe, by
our Raſhneſs, to endanger either ourfelves or the
public Cauſe, eſpecially as we knew, for certain,
that, fuppofing the Road to be quite open, we
could not come up with you. Mean while we re-
ceived your Letter from Canufium, dated the 20th
of February, requiring me to make the beſt of my
Way to Brundufium. As I did not receive this Let-
ter till the 27th, we concluded that you was, be-
fore that Time, at Brundufium, and confequently
that
to ATTICUS.
31
that our Communication with that Place, was en-
tirely cut off, and that we were as much Prifoners
as they who went to Corfinium; for we did not
think that a State of Captivity is confin'd to the
Condition of thoſe who are actually in the Hands of
armed Enemies, but that it extends to thoſe who
are in the Heart of a Country, furrounded by the
Garriſons and the Quarters of an Enemy, and there-
by barred from all Eſcape.
This being our Cafe, my chief Wiſh was, that
I had always been in your Company. A Wifh
which I intimated to you when I declined the Com-
mand of Capua, which I did not to avoid Trouble,
but becauſe I was fenfible that that City was not
tenable without an Army. Now I was unwilling
to undergo the Fate which I am forry has happened
to ſome of our braveſt Countrymen. However, as
I had not the good Fortune to be with you, I wiſh
I had known your Refolution. For I could have
no Manner of Sufpicion, and it would have been
the laſt Thing I could have thought of, that the
Cauſe of our Country could not have been main-
tained in Italy under your Command. In this I do
not reproach your Conduct, but I bewail the Fate
of our Government; neither do I think your
Conduct to be lefs admirably wife, becauſe I am
unacquainted with its Motives.
I have always been of Opinion, and I believe
you may remember it, that we ought firft to have
an Eye to an Accommodation, even though a bad
one, and then to the City, for you never gave me
the leaſt Intimation concerning Italy. But as I was
not vain enough to think that my Opinion ought to
have prevailed, I followed yours, and that not for
the
32
CICERO's EPISTLES
the Sake of our Country, of which I deſpaired,
which lies now in Ruins, and which cannot be
raiſed again without a moſt deſtructive civil War,
But I was fond of you, I defired to be with
you, nor fhall I omit any Opportunity if any pre-
fents for that purpoſe.
During all this Conjuncture, I eafily underſtood
that I gave great Offence to Men who delight in
Blood. For my open Profeffion, and firſt Wiſh
was Peace, not but that I apprehended the fame Con-
fequences from it as they did, but still I thought that
thoſe were preferable to a civil War. After this, when
Hoftilities commenced, and when you had anſwered
punctually and honourably the Terms of Accommo-
dation that were offered to you, I took a Review of
my own Conduct, which, befriended as I was by
your Partiality for me, I thought I could eafily juſtify
to you; I recollected that I was the only Perfon
whofe fignal Services, to our Country, had drawn
upon him a difmal, and barbarous Puniſhment;
that I was the only Perſon who muſt be expoſed to
the like Conflicts, fhould I exaſperate the Man to
whom, even when we were in Arms againſt him,
a fecond Confulfhip and the moft glorious Triumph
were offered. Thus my Perfon feems to have been
marked out for the most profligate Romans to
wreck their public Fury upon. I was openly
frightened with this before I fufpected it, nor was
I fo fearful of encountering thofe Difficulties, if en-
counter them I muft, as I was anxious, to avoid
them, if I could avoid them with Honour.
You now fee the Plan of my Conduct during our
fhort Profpect of Peace. Since then our Situation
has put me out of a Condition of doing any Thing.
To
to ATTICUS.
33.
To thoſe whom I difguft, I have a ready Anfwer,
that I never was a greater Friend to Caius Cæfar
than they are, nor are they better Friends to their
Country than I am. The Difference between them
and me is, that as they are fincere Patriots, and as
I have ſome Pretenfions to that Character, I was
for embracing the Terms to which I underſtood
you inclined, but they choſe to appeal to the Sword.
As their Sentiments have prevailed; believe me,
my Conduct ſhall be ſuch, that my Heart fhall ne-
ver be wanting to my Country as a Patriot, nor to
you as a Friend.
THE
EPIST. XII.
It is
HE Humour in my Eyes incommodes me
now more than ever. Yet I choſe to dictate
this Letter, rather than not charge our very good
Friend Gallus Fabius with a Letter for you.
true, I wrote, the Day before, in the beſt Manner
I could, the prophetic Letter which I earneſtly wiſh
may not be verified. But I write this Letter not
only becauſe I am refolved not to let flip a Day
without writing to you, but for a much better Rea-
fon, that I may prevail with you to take a few Mo-
ments, (and I know it will not coft you more)
for laying before me your undifguifed Sentiments,
fo as that I may be compleatly Maſter of your Plan
of Conduct.
I am as yet under no Engagements to either Par-
ty. I have hitherto taken no Steps but what are,
not only plauſible, but prudent. I cannot furely
be blamed for declining the Command of Capua in
VOL. II.
D
its
34
CICERO'S EPISTLES
its defenceleſs Condition, becauſe I wanted to avoid
not only the Blame of our flow Levies, but the
Sufpicion of Treachery. Neither was I to be
blamed after an Accommodation was propofed by
L. Cæfar and Fabatus, for my Tenderneſs not to
exafperate the Man, to whom, after the Commence-
ment of mutual Hoftilities, Pompey offered the
Confulfhip and a Triumph. Nor is even the laft
Part of my Conduct in not paffing the Seas juſtly
reprehenfible. For though it was a Meaſure that
required Confideration, yet it was out of my Power
to purſue it. I could have no hint that Pompey de-
figned to pass the Sea, efpecially as by his own
Letters, you, as well as 1, made no doubt of his
marching to relieve Domitius. Upon the whole, I
frankly own, that I wanted farther Time for confi-
dering upon the Conduct that was moft virtuous in
itſelf, and moſt prudent in me, to follow.
In the firſt Place then; 'tis true you have given
me a Hint, but I require your full Sentiments upon
thofe Matters. In the next Place, I defire that you
would look a little forward, and form, to yourſelf,
fome Idea of what is moſt becoming for me to do;
where or how I can do moft Service to my Coun-
try; whether a pacific Mediator is not wanted at
this Juncture; and whether no Room is now left
for any, but warlike Abilities. For my own Part,
my Duty is my only Standard of Conduct; but yet
well do I remember your Counfels, and had I fol-
lowed them I ſhould have eſcaped the Bitterneſs of
a certain Juncture. I remember, and I have re-
membered it often with Anguiſh of Spirit for ne-
glecting them, the Advices you gave me by Theo-
phanes and Culeo. Well then; let us turn back to
the
to ATTICUS.
!
35
:
the Pages we then overlooked, let us adopt Mea-
fures that are guarded as well as glorious. But I
leave you to your own Thoughts, which I defire
you to write me yery particularly.
I beg likewife that you will inform yourſelf, and
I know you have the proper Agents, what my
Friend Lentulus, what Domitius, is a doing, or a-
bout to do, whether they blame, whether they re-
proach, any Body. Any Body!-I mean whether
they reproach Pompey, who lays the whole Blame
of the Mifcarriage upon Domitius; as you may per-
ceive by his Letters of which I fend you Copies :
Theſe are the Particulars I recommend to your
Care; and, as I wrote you before, that you will
fend me the Treatife of Demetrius Magnes upon Una-
nimity, which he made a prefent of to you.
Cnæus the Great, Proconful, to M. Marcellus
and Lucius Lentulus, Confuls, wifheth Pro-
Sperity.
EING perfuaded, that while we remain'd
Battered, we could our
ſcattered, we could neither ferve our Country
nor defend ourſelves, I wrote to L. Domitius, that he
ſhould make all Hafte to join me with his whole
Force, and if he had any Apprehenfions with Re-
gard to himſelf, that he fhould fend me the nine-
teen Cohorts which were upon their March, to
join me from Picenum. It happened, as I dreaded,
that Domitius was furrounded, without having
with him Forces fufficient for a regular Encamp-
ment; my nineteen Cohorts, and his own twelve,
being quartered in three different Towns, for he had
quartered
D 2
;
!
36
CICERO'S ÉPISTLES
quartered fome of them at Alba, and fome at Sulmó
nor, indeed, could he eſcape ſhould he attempt it.
Now, you muſt know, that this Accident gives me
the greateſt Diſquiet imaginable. At the fame
Time, that I earneſtly defire to deliver fo many
illuftrious Romans from the Danger of being be-
fieged, it is impoffible for me to relieve them, be-
cauſe I judge it unfafe to march the two Legions
I command here into thofe Quarters; and of thoſe
two Legions, I can bring together no more than
fourteen Cohorts, having thrown a Garifon into
Brundufium, and taken Care of Canufium, which I
did not think proper to leave without a fufficient
Force to defend it.
As I was in Hopes that our Army would grow
ftronger, I charged Lælius, with a Requeft, if you
thought proper, that one of you ſhould repair to
me, and that the other ſhould go to Sicily with the
Troops you have raiſed at Capua, or in its Neigh
bourhood, and with the Levies of Fauftus, and
that Domitius ſhould join them with his twelve Co-
horts; that the reſt of the Troops ſhould aſſemble
at Brundufium, and be ſhipp'd over from thence
to Dyrrachium. Now, as Things are circumftanced,
I can no more than you can relieve Domitius, who
cannot get off by the Mountains. We are to take
Care, that the Enemy ſhall neither come up with
thofe fourteen wavering Cohorts, nor overtake me
in my March. I therefore think proper, and I am
joined in Sentiments by Marcellus, and the other
Noblemen of our Rank in this Place, to march the
Troops I command here to Brundufium. I therefore
requeſt you, to make all poffible Diſpatch to join me
there, with as many Troops as you can get together.
4
My
to ATTICUS.
37
My Opinion is, that you give to the Troops you
have with you, the Arms you propofed to fend to me,
and if any are over, it will be of great public Ser-
vice if they can be conveyed in Waggons to Brun-
dufium. I beg, that you will give our Friends Advice
concerning that Matter. I have fent to require the
Prætors P. Lupus and C. Coponius to join me,
and to refign to you the Command of their
Forces.
Cnæus the Great, Proconful, to Domitius, Pro-
conful, wifbeth Profperity.
I
AM ſurpriſed at my not hearing from you,
and that all my public Intelligence comes
through other Hands than yours. With Forces fo
difunited as ours are, it is impoffible for us to be
a Match for our Enemies; but, were they united,
I am in Hopes we may be yet the Means of faving
our Country, and our own Perfons. Therefore, as
Vibullius wrote me, on the ninth of February,
that you was about to march from Corfinium to
join me with your Army, I cannot comprehend
why you have altered your Refolution. The Rea-
fon Vibullius intimated to me, viz. becauſe
you had
Intelligence of Cæfar's March from Firmum to the
Caſtle of Truentum, was a trifling one. For the
quicker the Enemy's Advances towards you were,
your Diſpatch ought to have been the greater to
join me, before Cæfar could have the Means of
either obftructing your March, or of cutting off my
Communication with you. I therefore, in the
moſt earneſt Manner, repeat to you my former
Orders, to take the very first Opportunity of
D 3
march-
>
38
CICERO's EPISTLES
marching to Luceria, before the Troops, which
Cæfar propoſes to draw together, can cut off our
Communication with one another. Should any endea-
vour to perfuade you to remain as a Guard to their
Properties, you cannot in Juftice refuſe to ſend me the
Cohorts which came from Picenum and Camerinum,
and which have left behind them all their Fortunes.
Cnæus the Great, Proconful, to Domitius, Pro-
conful, wifheth Profperity.
M
you
the
Calenius brought me a Letter from
16th of February, informing me, that you
intended to obferve Cafar's Motions; and fhould
he point his March for me, by the Sea, that you
would forthwith join me in Samnium; but ſhould he
tarry about thoſe Parts, that you was refolved to
check him, in Cafe he fhould attempt to extend his
Quarters. I am fenfible, this Reſolution proceeds
from your Courage and Magnanimity; but we muft
be upon our Guard, left our being divided may
give the Enemy a Superiority, as his Army, which
is already ſtrong, is hourly encreafing. It is incon-
fiftent with your Wifdom, to have an Eye only to
the Number of Cohorts, which Cæfar at preſent
commands against you, without reflecting upon the
great Force both of Cavalry and Infantry, which
he will in a very fhort Time affemble. The Let-
ter I received from Buffenius, is an Evidence of
this. Fact; for he tells me, and his Intelligence
is confirm'd by my other Correfpondents, that
Curio has drawn all the Garifons out of Umbria and
Tuſcany, and is marching at their Head to join
Cafar. Now, fhould all thofe Troops join, fo as
that
to
39
ATTICUS.
that Part fhould be detached towards Alba, and
part of them defile towards you, you muſt be ſhut
up, as the Enemy needs not fight you but on his
own Terms; neither can you fingly, in the Face of
fuch an Army, ſend out foraging Parties to main-
tain your Numbers. I therefore, again, earneſtly
conjure you, forthwith to march all your Troops
hither, the Confuls having come to the fame Re-
folution.
I ordered Metufcilius to acquaint you, how ne-
ceffary it was for me to take Care, that the two
Legions ſhould not, without the Picentine Battalions,
come in Sight of Cæfar's Quarters. You are there-
före to give yourſelf no Concern if you fhall
hear, that I retreat upon Cafar's advancing againſt
me. I must take Care not to be coop'd up; for,
both the Seaſon of the Year, and the Difpofitions
of my Soldiers, render it impracticable for me to
form a regular Encampment; nor would it be ad-
vifeable for me to draw all our Garifons from the
fortify'd Places, left I ſhould be cut off from all
Retreat. I have, therefore, affembled no more
than fourteen Cohorts at Luceria. The Confuls.
are either to join me with the Troops they have
drawn from the fortified Places, or they are to go.
to Sicily. For, we muft either have an Army
ſtrong enough to force our Way through the Ene-
my, or we muft take Poffeffion of fuch Paffes as
they cannot force. Now, both thefe Expedients
are impracticable for us at this Juncture, both be-
caufe Cafar is 'Mafter of great Part of Italy, and
becauſe our Army is neither fo well provided, nor
fo numerous as his. We are therefore to be the
more cautious of expofing our Country. I again
}
D 4
and
40
CICERO's EPISTLES
and again conjure you inftantly to join me with
all your Troops. We may yet reftore the Govern-
ment, if we ſerve her in Concert with one another;
but by being diffipated, we ſhall become weak-; fuch
are my Sentiments.
P. S. When I had finiſhed this Letter, Sica de-
livered to me your Letter and Commiffion, ex-
horting me to march towards Corfinium, but that, I
think, is what I cannot venture to do, efpecially as
I put no great Truft in the Fidelity of the Legions
I command (1)•
Cnæus the Great, Proconful, to Domitius, Pro-
conful, wifheth Profperity.
OUR Letter of February 17th, came to my
YOU
Hand, adviſing me of Cæfar's having encamp-
ed before Corfinium. I forefaw, and forewarned you of
what has happened; that as Things now ftand, he
would not venture to fight you, and that he would draw
together all his Force, to coop you up, and to ob-
ftruct the Communication between you and me, and
to prevent your joining the well affectioned Troops
you command, with my fufpected Legions (1).
Your Letter alarms me the more, becauſe I cannot
ftake the whole Fortune of our Country úpon the
Loyalty of the Troops that ferve under me, nor
am I yet joined by thofe the Confuls have levy'd.
I therefore recommend it to you, to do all
you
(1) Theſe were the two Legions we have already taken No-
tice of, which Pompey obliged Cafar to part with on Pretext
to ferve against the Parthians.
1.
can
to ATTICUS.
41
can, if it is now poffible, to difengage yourſelf, and
immediately to join me before the Enemy's Junction
can be compleated: For our new Recruits cannot
march Time enough to this Rendezvous, and
though they were already come up, you are fenfi-
ble how little Dependence there is upon raw Men
who are Strangers to one other, againſt Veteran
Legions (1).
Μ%
EPIST. XIII.
Yufing my Secretary's Hand, and the fhort-
neſs of this Letter fufficiently intimates, that
the Defluction upon my Eyes ftill continues ;
and yet, indeed, I have, at prefent, nothing
material to write you. All my Hopes reſt upon
our Accounts from Brundufium. If Cæfar has had
án Interview with our Friend Pompey, I fhall ſtill
have glimmering Hopes of an Accommodation;
but if the latter has paffed the Sea without feeing
him, I am apprehenfive of a moſt deſtructive
War. Are you not now fenfible, what a difcern-
ing, what a vigilant, what a refolute Leader our
Government has to do with. By Heavens, if he
does not dip his Hand in Blood, or ftretch it out
(1) If we are to form a Judgment of Pompey's Conduct by
what our Author writes of him to Atticus, he muſt have been a
very bad soldier, as well as a daftardly Fellow. But in Fact,
he was neither. If he had not fo great Genius as Cæfar had,
he fhewed himſelf to have a true Judgment in the mechanical
Part of War. The Reaſons which he gives in this Letter for
his Conduct, are undoubtedly very folid, and muſt have been
admitted to be fo by our Author, had he not been unreaſonably
prepoffeffed against Pompey's Perfon.
in
4.2
CICERO's EPISTLES
:
in Rapine, he will become the Darling of thoſe
who have dreaded him, the moft. I have had a
great deal of Talk with our Townſmen, and a great
deal with our Country Gentlemen in thefe Quar-
ters; and, take my Word for it, they have no
Concern but about their Lands, their Farms, and
their Money. You fee what a Pafs Things are come
to. They fear the Man they trufted; they love
the Man they feared. It is with Anguiſh, that I
recollect the Miſcarriages, and Miſconduct that has
brought us to this. But I have wrote you my
Sentiments upon what we are to expect ¿ and I am
now impatient for your Anſwer.
T
EPIST. XIV.
HOSE daily Letters I fend you are, doubt-
lefs, irkfome to you, as they give you no
freſh Matter of Information, and as I have now no
new Fund for Reflection. But it would be ridicu-
lous in me to fend you Couriers with blank Letters,
finding, after all the Pains I take for Information,
that I have no Subject to write upon. Now I
cannot bring myfelf to let flip an Opportunity,
efpecially of my own Servants going to Rome,
without fending you a Letter. And let me tell you,
I find fome Eafe amidft my Troubles, in conver-
fing, as it were, with you; and much more in read-
ing your Letters. The Truth is, ever fince all
this Hurry and Confternation began, we have not
had a Time, fo void, as this is, of all Matter for
Writing; both becauſe there is nothing new at
Rome, nor here; though we are two or three Days
1
Journies
to ATTICUS.
43
1
As to
Journies nearer Brundufum than you are.
Brundufium, the Succefs of thefe firft Operations
will depend upon the Blow that is to be ftruck
there. I am tortured with Anxiety about the
Event; but we fhall have more early Intelligence
than you.
For, I perceive, that Pompey fet out from Canu-
fium the Morning, and Cæfar from Corfinium the
Afternoon, of the fame Day; that is, on the Anni-
verſary of the Feralia (1). But Cæfar marches
with fuch Rapidity, and quickens the Motions of
his Soldiers with fuch largeffes, that I am afraid he
will reach Brundufium ſooner than we could wiſh.
Then, fay you, to what Purpoſe fhould you anti-
cipate your Uneafinefs about an Event, that you
muſt be certainly informed of in three Days? Why,
that is true; but as I have already ſaid, I love to
converſe with you.
You must know, at the fame Time, that I am
now wavering in the Refolution which I thought
had been entirely fixt, The Precedents, which you
approve of, have not Weight enough to determine
me. Shew me a bold Action performed by any one
of the Men you quote for their Country hitherto :
and how are we to look for any glorious Refolu-
tion from them hereafter? Nor, by Heavens, do
I think, thofe Men are to be mentioned with Ap-
(1) This was a Feaſt in Honour of the infernal Gods, or
the Dii Manes, and, in our Author's Time, it was celebrated on
the 21ft of February. It feems to have obtained fo univerfally
amongst the Ancients, that the Cuſtom of carrying Diſhes of
Victuals to the Graves of dead Friends, (from which Cuſtom,
the Feast took its Name) continued in the Times of Chri-
tianity; and I am not ſure, that it is, even at this Time quite
abolished in fome Parts of Christendom.
plauſe,
:
і
44
CICERO's EPISTLES
plaufe, who, in Order to carry on the War, have
gone beyond Seas, though, 'tis true, Cafar's Pro-
ceedings are intolerable. For, I foreſee, what a
dreadful, what a pernicious War this will be. But
there is one Man who fways me, the Man whom it
becomes me to attend in his Flight, or to partake
in his Attempts to retrieve the Conftitution. What
ſay you, will you never fix to one Point? Indulge
me my Friend, I commune with you as I do with
my own Heart, and is it not natural for every
Man in fo critical a Situation, to diſpute backwards
and forwards with himſelf? I am defirous at the
fame Time to pump out your Sentiments; if they are
ftill the fame, they will fix me; if they are changed,
I will agree with you.
K
It is abfolutely neceffary for me, before I can come
to a fixed Refolution, to know what Meaſures Domi-
tius and our Friend Lentulus will take. We have
different Accounts concerning Domitius. Some-
times, that he is at Tiburtum, the Houſe of Lepi-
dus (1), and that he is to fet out with Lepidus from
thence, but this too I perceive to be a falſe Report.
For, Lepidus gives out, that Domitius has gone off
by certain Bye-Ways, either to hide himſelf, or to
get to Sea, he is doubtful which. He knows
nothing of the younger Domitius. He adds another
Piece of bad News, that the elder Domitius had a
confiderable Sum of Money feized at Corfinium,
which never was returned him (2). As to Lentulus,
(1) The Original here is irretrievable, fo that I muft fupply
it by Conjecture.
(2) This feems not to have been true; for Cæfar himſelf
affures us (in Bella Civili, Lib. 1. Cap. 22.) that he reſtored
to Domitius all his Money, though he knew it had been given
him by Pompey, for paying of his Soldiers.
I hear
;
!
to ATTICUS.
45
1.
I hear nothing concerning him. I beg you would
enquire after thoſe Matters, and write to me what
you can learn.
EPIST. XV.
N the 3d of March, Egypta delivered to me
Copies (1) of feveral Letters from you. The
oldeſt was dated the 26th of February, which you
fay, you gave to Pinarius, and which I have not
feen. In that you tell me, that you are impa-
tient concerning the Succefs of the Commiffion
with which Vibullius (2) is charged, but it is cer-
tain, that Vibullius was not even ſeen by Cæfar,
(I perceive, by your next Letter, that you know
this laſt Circumſtance to be true) and that you are
impatient, concerning the Manner of my receiving
Cæfar upon his Return. I am, you muſt know,
by all Means, determined to avoid him. I think,
you are in the Right in your Refolution (3)
to retire to your Eftate in Caonia, and to alter
your Scheme of Life. You fay, you know not
whether or not Domitius (4) has quitted his Badges
(1) Orig. Epiftolas mihi tuas. They feem however only to
have been Copies.
(2) He was one of thoſe who were taken Priſoners at Cor-
finium, and, notwithſtanding what Cicero fays here, Cæfar cer-
tainly faw him (Vide Bell. Civ. Ibid.) and very probably charged
him with fuch a Commiffion as is here mentioned for Pompey.
(3) The Original here is defperate..
(4) He was entitled to have Lictors, and the Badges of Au-
thority, by being named to be Cafar's Succeffor in the Go-
vernment of the Tranfalpine Gaul. If he difmiffed thoſe Di-
ſtinctions, it was a Sign, that he approved of Cæfar's Preten-
fions, and would have been an excellent Excufe for our Author
to have done the fame.
of
46
CICERO'S EPISTLES
!
of Authority. When you do, I pray you let më
know.
So much for your firft Letter; your two next;
which came to my hands; both of them dated the
laft of February, have quite plucked me from my
former Reſolution, and which, as I wrote you be-
fore, was then ſtaggering. I am not a Whit moved
by your Expreffion," that Pompey will not even
Ipare the Gods themselves." For our Danger is
equal from the Refentment of either Side. As to
Victory, it is uncertain, 'tis true; but, for all that,
the worſt Cauſe appears to be the better provided.
Even the Conduct of the Confuls, makes no Im-
preffion upon me, for they are as eafily moved, as
a Leaf, or a Feather. What I owe to myfelf and
my Country, is the Confideration that gives me,
and has given me, all my Pangs. Caution clearly
requires my remaining in Italy, but the Voice of
Honour feems to call me Abroad; and I am fome-
times inclined, that many fhould Reproach me for
want of Caution, rather than that a few fhould
blame me for want of Honour. As to what you
enquire concerning Lepidus and Tullus, why really,
they have agreed without any Difficulty, to be at
Cafar's Devotion, and to affift in the Senate.
Your laft Letter is dated the ift of March, and
in it you wifh for an Interview, and do not deſpair
of an Accommodation between Cefar and Pom-
pey. But, in my preſent Way of Thinking, I can-
not believe that there will be any Interview, or if
there is, that Pompey will agree to any Terms. As
'to your not making a Doubt that I can be at no
Lofs, in what Manner to determine myſelf fhould
the
to ATTICUS.
47
the Confuls go beyond Seas: Their doing fo is be-
yond all doubt, and it is probable they are already
gone. But you are to remember that, excepting
Appius, every great Officer of the Republic who
attends him, has the right of going beyond Seas.
For every one of them has either a Command that au-
thoriſes him to do ſo, ſuch as Pompey, Scipio, Setenas;
Fannius, Voconius, Seftius, and the Confuls them-
felves, (whofe Commiffions, in the Terms of our
Anceſtors, allows them to vifit any Province in the
Empire,) or they are Lieutenants to thoſe who bear
fuch Commiffions. But I make no Handle of this,
I underſtand your Sentiments, and I am now at
little or no Lofs concerning my own Duty. This
Letter fhould be longer could I write with my own
Hand, but I am in Hopes of being able to do it
in two Days, I fend you a Copy of a Letter from
Balbus Cornelius, which I received the fame Day
with yours, in which you will fee how much I am
to be pitied when he ventures fo much to affront
my Underſtanding (1).
Balbus to Cicero, Commander in Chief, wifheth
Profperity.
I Conjure you my dear Friend, charge yourſelf
with a Care and Concern that is fuitable to your
Virtue (2), that of bringing Cæfar and Pompey, who
(i) Viz. In endeavouring to make him believe, that Cefar
was well difpofed to an Accommodation with Pompey.
(2) Orig. Digniſſimam tuæ Virtutis.
are
$8
CICERO'S EPISTLES
:
are now at Variance through the Treachery of bad
Agents, to live in their former good Correfpon-
dence with one another. Cafar, believe me, will
not only put himfelf into your Hands, but will
even own himſelf indebted to you in the higheſt
Degree, if you will attempt this Reconciliation.
Had Pompey but the fame Difpofitions. But it is
rather my Wiſh than my Belief, that, at this Junc-
ture, he can be brought to any Accommodation.
But ſhould he take Breath, fhould he recover out
of his Confternation, I fhould then begin to hope
that he would be greatly fwayed by your Coun-
fels.
As to your Opinion, that the Conful Lentulus
ought to remain in Italy, Cæfar takes it kind, but
by Heavens I am overjoyed with it, for fo great
is my Regard for that Conful, that it is equal to
that for Cæfar himſelf. O! had but Lentulus indulg-
ed me in my uſual Familiarity with him, had hë
not again and again avoided my Converſation!
I ſhould, this Hour, have been leſs unhappy than I
am. For you are not to imagine that any Thing
gives me greater Pain at this Juncture, than to fee
the Man I love, beyond myſelf, a Conful, without
any one of the Effentials of that Office. But ſhould
he incline to your Admonitions, ſhould he truſt me
concerning Cæfar's Sentiments, fhould he pafs the
remaining Time of his Confulfhip in Rome, then
ſhould I begin to hope that the Authority of the
Senate, your Motions, and his Mediation, might
effect a Reconciliation between Pompey and Cæjar.
Could that take Place, I could then wiſh to ſee the
End of my Days.
I know
to ATTICUS.
49
:
I know you will own that the whole of Cafar's
Behaviour (1) at Corfinium, was a Mafter-piece.
Nothing furely could give him greater Advantage
upon fuch an Occafion, than to prevent the ſmalleſt
Effuſion of Blood. I am extreamly pleafed to think
that the Vifit of your and my Balbus, was fo agreea-
ble to you. I know that he will, by the Effects,
prove every Thing he has faid concerning Cafar,
and every Thing that Cæfar has written, to be ſtrict-
ly true, be his Succeſs what it will.
EPIST.
XVI.
Have now got every Thing ready, excepting a
fecret, and a ſafe, Paffage to the upper Sea, for
it is impoffible for me, at this Seafon of the Year, to
paſs by the nether Sea. But, by what Means, fhall I
arrive at the Place my Soul covets, and my Situation
points out? For my Difpatch muſt be quick, left
fome Incident ſhould hamper and fetter me down.
It is not Pompey, as is generally fuppofed, who in-
fluences me he is a Man whom, for a long Time,
I have judged to be void of all political (2), and I
judge him now to be no lefs void of all military Ac-
complishments (3). It is not, I fay, he who influences
me, it is the public Talk which Philotimus informs
I fecret, and alte, Pallage to
(1) Viz. The unparallelled Clemency with which he uſed
his Conqueft.
(2) Orig. aroλTITATO. Civilis gubernationis omnino impe-
ritum.
κατον
(3) Orig. 'Asgaτnysáτalov. Artis imperatorice maxime ig
'Ατρατηγικώτατον.
narum.
This juftifies my former Obfervation upon our Author's Pre-
poffeffions against Pompey.
VOL. II.
E
me
50
CICERO'S EPISTLES
me of in his Letters. For he tells me, that I am
taken in Pieces by our Men of high Quality. Of
what Quality immortal Gods! fee how they flock,"
fee how they fell off themſelves, to Cæfar!
As to our Corporations, they treat him as a
God, but without the Infincerity they ſhowed when'
they put up public Prayers for Pompey's Recovery.
But as much Merit has been made of the Miſchief
which the fecond Pififtratus has not done, as if he
had prevented its being committed by another.
People hope from the Clemency of Cafar; they fear
from the Wrath of Pompey. How our Towns pour out
to meet (1) Cæfar! What Honours they pay him!
They fear him, your tell me. I believe they do,
but by Heavens not fo much as they do Pompey.
They are charmed with the infidious Clemency
of the one, and daunted by the implacable Refent
ment of the other. I, every Day, fee fome one
or other of thoſe eight hundred and fifty Judges (2),
who were devoted to our Friend Pompey, and who
are terrified by, I know not what, Fulminations (3)
of his at Luceria.
Let me therefore ask you who thofe Men of
Quality are, who are for forcing me away, and yet
can remain quiet in their own Houfes? But, be
who they will, I am afraid of public Reflections (4).
Yet I am fenfible what I have to truft to where I
am going, and that I am about to join a Man who
$
(1) Orig. amarroes. Obviam' itiones.
(2) Thefe Judges had been named by Pompey. Three hun-
dred of them were of the fenatorial Order, and the reft were
Knights, or Commiffioners of the Treaſury.
(3) He publicly declared that he would hold all neutral Per-
fons to be Traitors to their Country.
(4) Orig. aidéouai Tewas. Timeo Trojanos.
bids
to ATTICUS.
51
bids fairer to plunder Italy, than to conquer. What
then do I look for? Yes, on this 2d of March, I
look for fome News from Brundufium. But what
kind of News? The fcandalous Manner in which
Pompey has fled from thence, and the Progrefs and
Marches of his Conqueror. When I ſhall hear any
Thing certain, if Cæfar fhould come by the Ape
pian Way, I will retire to Arpinum.
A
E 2
CICERO's
( 52 )
:
城
​1
CICERO's
EPISTLES
TQ
ATTICUS.
BOOK IX.
EPIST 1.
XXHOUGH, by the Time this Letter
T came to your Hand, I imagine I may
know what has paft at Brundufium, (for
Pompey went from Canufium the 2d of
February, and I write this on the 7th of March;
the fourteenth Day after) yet I am tortured by Im-
patience after every Hour's Occurrence. I am fur.
priſed that I have not heard fo much as a Whiſper
from thence,-Surely this Silence is wonderful
indeed. But perhaps I now (1) torture myfelf to no
Purpoſe. Well, it cannot be long before I am at
the End of my Expectation.
There is another Thing gives me Pain, that I
can, by no Means, learn where our Friend Lentulus,
(1) Orig. Nevoowuda. Vana Cura plena.
1
and
to ATTICUS.
53
and where Domitius are. I want to know, that I may
the more eafily learn how they intend to behave,
whether they are to join Pompey; and if they are,
which Way, or when? At prefent I hear the City is
ſtuffed with Men of Quality; and that Sofius and Lu-
pus, whom our Friend Pompey thought would be at
Brundufium before himſelf, act upon the Pretorian
Bench at Rome (1). The People go in droves
from this Place to Rome, and even Manius Lepi-
dus, with whom I uſed to ſpend the Day, thinks
To-morrow of fetting out thither. As to myself,
I fhall, that I may be nearer the Fountain Head of
News, remain at Formia, and then I defign to go
to Arpinum, from thence to fet out for the upper
Sea by the moſt private Road, having firft quitted,
or entirely difmiffed, my Lictors. For I hear that
a great many worthy Men, who now ferve their
Country, and who have often greatly ferved her
before, are diſgufted with my lingering here, and
that they paſs many fevere Reflections against me,
efpecially when they fit down to their long Meals (2).
Well, then let us be gone. To merit the Charac-
ter of Patriots, let us invade Italy by Land and
Sea, and let me re-kindle, againſt myſelf, the
hatred of the wicked, which was before extinguiſhed.
In fhort, let us be guided by the Counfels of Luc-
ceius and Theophanes (3). For Scipio has either the
Excufe of his Allotment for his going to Syria, or
(1) This News appears to have been falſe.
(2) Orig. Multaque in me, et fevere in conviviis tempeflivis
quidem difputari.
(3) They were two great Confidents of Pompey. The Read-
ing here is pretty extraordinary, for our Author puts Theophani
as the Genitive of Theophanes. Several Inftances of the like
Kind occur.
E 3
of
:
54
CICERO's EPISTLES
of Honour, for ſtanding by his Son-in-law, or of
Fear, for avoiding Cæfar. As to the Marcelli, they
would have ftaid in Italy, but for the Dread of Ca-
far's Sword. Appius is influenced by the fame
Motive, and by fome later Cauſes of Difguft he has
given to Cæfar, and all the reft, excepting he
and Caius Caffius, are Lieutenants; Fauftus is
Proqueftor; and I was the only one who have the
Liberty of Choice.
My Brother will attend me, though it is hard
that he ſhould be the Companion of my Fortunes,
as Cæfar will be more particularly incenſed againſt
him. But I cannot prevail with him to ſtay behind.
Well, we will repay Pompey all that we owe him;
for no Confideration, but that of his Perſon, in-
fluences me; not even the Talk of thoſe who are
Patriots only in Name; nor the Caufe itſelf, the
Management of which is cowardly, as its End muſt
be ruinous. Such is the Sacrifice I make to Pom-
pey, and to Pompey only, and that without his Sol-
licitation; and though he ſays that he fights not for
himſelf but for his Country. I am impatient to
know your Reſolution concerning your going over
to Epirus.
TH
EPIS T. II.
HOUGH I looked for a long Letter from
you, on the 7th of March, which, if I mif-
take not, is your Day of Confinement, yet I write
this in Anſwer to the fhort Line which you wrote
(2) Orig. avaπávτntos. Remotum ab omni Occurfu.
#
me
to ATTICUS.
55
}
me the 5th, fome Time before your Fit (1). You
tell me you are very well pleafed at my remaining
in Italy, and you continue ftill in your former Senti-
ments. Now I understood, from your former Let-
ters, that you was pofitive as to my going beyond
Seas, if Pompey fhould carry any confiderable Force
out of Italy, and if the Confuls fhould attend him.
Can this be owing to your Forgetfulneſs, to my Mif-
underſtanding, or to your changing your Opinion?
But I fhall either know your real Senfe, by the Let-
ter which I expect from you, or I fhall learn it by a
fubfequent one.
-
We have yet no News from Brundufium. How
difficult, how defperate, is my Situation? How
more than minute you are in laying its particulars
before me, but how more than vague are you in
explaining your Sentiments as to the Conduct I
ought to follow? You compliment me upon my
not going along with Pompey, and you lay before
me, how fcandalous it would be for me to be pre-
ſent in the Senate, where I could not, with Decen-
cy, approve of any Meatures which fhall be pro-
poſed againſt him. Then furely I muft throw my-
felf into the Oppofition. May the Gods, fay you,
guide you.
What then can be done if the one
Meaſure is attended by Guilt, and the other by
Punishment. You will obtain, fay you, from Ce-
far, a Licence to be abfent, and to live at your
Eafe. Muft I then Petition him for fuch a Licence?
How wretched! What if I fhould not obtain it.-
You will tell me likewife, that I fhall thereby
preſerve my Pretenfions for a Triumph. But what
(1) Orig, væò cùy diánn↓w. Sub ipfam acceſſionem febris. ·
E 4
if
'56
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
Shall I
Shall I
if Cæfar fhould prefs me to accept of it.
accept of it? That would be fcandalous.
refuſe it? He will then think that I have an Aver-
fion for all he does, more than he formerly did in
the Matter of the twenty Commiffioners (1). Now
when he opens himſelf, he commonly loads me
with the whole Blame of that Juncture, and tells
me, that I had fuch an Averfion to him, that I
would not even accept of a Place of Honour under
him. But how much more will he now be exafpe-
rated, as the Honour of a Triumph is more glorious,
and he him.felf more powerful!
You tell me, that you make no doubt that I am
out of all Favour, with Pompey, at this Time. I
can ſee no Reaſon for that; at leaft, if we confider
Circumſtances. After he had loft Corfinium, he
imparted to me his Refolution; and will he blame
me for not coming to Brundufium, though Cæfar
lay between me and that Town? In the next Place,
he is confcious that it very ill becomes him who is
fo much in the Wrong (2) to reproach others, and
he knows that I faw farther, than he did, into the
Weakneſs of our Corporations and new Levies; that
I was in the Right in all my Counfels concerning
an Accommodation, concerning the City, concern-
ing the public Money, and concerning the getting
Poffeffion of Picenum. But if, when I am at Liberty,
I ſhould not attend him, then is his Time for being
my Enemy. That, however, would give me no
Pain on Account of what I might fuffer. For what
could he do,
1
Who dares to die can never be a Slave (3).
(1) See Vol. 1. p. 89.
T
эс
But
Quifnum eft
(2) Orig. anagżnciasov. Reprehendendi libertate carentem.
(3) Orig. Τις δέσι δόλος, τα θανεῖν ἄφροντις ὤν.
}.
Servus
to ATTICUS.
37
t
But the Charge of Ingratitude fills my Soul with
Horror. I therefore hope that, as you write, he
will make me moſt welcome (1) when I go to him,
go when I will.
You tell me that you would not be fo forward in
giving me Advice, if Cæfar fhould proceed with
Temper. But how can he proceed otherwiſe than
as a public Ruffian? Think upon his Life, his
Manners, his paſt Conduct, his prefent Scheme,
his Affociates, and how he will be ruffled by the
Power, and even by the Inflexibility, of our Pa-
triots.
Scarcely had I read your Letter when Pofthumus
Curtius came to me, in great Hafte, on his Way
to Cafar, breathing forth nothing but Fleets and
Armies. Cæfar has conquered Spain, he poffeffes
Afia, Sicily, Afric, and Sardinia, and now we have
him purfuing his Enemies into Greece. If this is
true, and ſhould I follow Pompey, it would not be to
affift him in fighting, but in flying. And indeed
I cannot bear the Talk of thoſe-What ſhall I
call them ?-For furely they are not Patriots, as they
affect to be called. And yet I can't help being
curious to know what they fay, and I beg you, in
the moſt earneſt Manner, to learn what it is, and
to inform me of it. As yet, I am an abfolute
Stranger to what has happened at Brundufium. I
fhall be determined by that Event, and the Cir-
cumſtances of the Time. But I will do nothing
without confulting you.
fervus mortem non timens. This is a Sentiment taken from Eu-
ripides.
(1) Orig. douévszov. Gratiffimum.
EPIST.
-58
CICERO'S EPISTLES
TH
EPIS T. III.
HE younger Domitius, on the 8th Inftant,
went by this Place to Formia, in haſte, to ſee
his Mother at Naples ; and, upon Dionyfius, one of my
Slaves being pretty importunate with him for News,
he ordered him to acquaint me, that his Father was
at Rome. Now, I had Intelligence that he was gone
either to Pompey or to Spain. I wish I knew the
Truth of this. For it is of Importance to my pre-
fent Difficulties, if Domitius is not yet gone, that
Pompey ſhould know that it is no eafy Matter for
me to leave Italy, eſpecially in the Winter-time,
and, filled as it is, with Cafar's Armies and Garri-
fons. For if the Seafon were more favourable, I
would paſs over by the Tuscan Sea, whereas now I
can only go by the Adriatic, and my Paffage to it
is fhut up.
You will therefore inform yourſelf
both as to Domitius and Lentulus.
•
I have as yet no News from Brunduftum, though
this is the 9th of March, and by my Calculation,
either this Day or Yesterday, Cafar arrived at
Brundufium, for, on the 1ft of this Month, he lay
at Arpi. If we are to believe Pofthumus, he is gone
in purſuit of Pompey, who he thinks, by all he can
guefs from the Wind and the Weather, is gone be-
yond Seas. I cannot think that Cæfar can get Ma-
riners for his Tranfport-veffels. Pofthumus is con-
fident he can, on Account of Cafar's great Charac-
ter of Liberality amongst the Seamen. But it is
impoffible I can be long ignorant of every Thing,
be what it will, that is paft at Brundufium.
4
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
59
EPIST. IV.
HOUGH I have a Refpite from Pain fo..
TH
long as I am writing to you, or Reading
your Letters, yet all my Subject is now exhaufted,
which I believe is the Cafe with you likewiſe. As
to our eafy familiar Correfpondence, the Juncture
debars it, and we have exhaufted all that can be
faid upon public Matters. But that I may not
give myſelf up quite to Melancholy, I have propoſed
certain Queries (1) of the political Kind, but adapt-
ed to the preſent Juncture; both that I may relieve
my Spirit from this plaintive Mood, and that I
may be employed in ſomewhat that relates to my
preſent Situation. The Queries are as follow.
Whether a Man ought to live in a Country that
has fallen under the Power of a Tyrant? Whether
in fuch a Cafe, the Downfall of the Tyranny is not
to be attempted, even at the Rifk of the very Being
of the State? Whether it may not be proper to
watch the Ambition of the Man, who overthrows
a Tyranny? Whether it is not the Duty of a Man,
when his Country falls under Tyranny, to affift
her by his Exhortations and Addreſs rather than by
Arms? Whether it is confiftent with the Character
of a good Patriot, to retire, and to be at his Eafe,
while his Country is enflaved? Whether any Danger
is too great to be hazarded for our Country? Whe-
ther, when the is enslaved, we ought not to march
in Arms againſt her, and even attack her Walls?
Whether the Man who difapproves of overthrow-
(1) Orig. Jious. Quæftiones.
ing
CICERO's EPISTLES
ing a Tyranny by War, ought to mingle in the
Lift of Patriots? Whether we ought not to riſk
all Dangers for our Country, in common with our
Benefactors and Friends, though they be fundamen-
tally wrong in their Meaſures? Whether the Man
who has greatly ſerved his Country, and has there-
by drawn upon himſelf a Load of the fevereft Pe-
nalties and Hatred, is bound in Duty to offer her
his Services in her fucceeding Dangers? Whether
it is lawful for him to have any Regard for himſelf
and his Family, without mingling in the Oppofition
to Power (1)?
Το
καὶ
(1) Orig. Εἰ μενετέον ἐν τῇ πατρίδι τυραννυμένη. Τυραννεμένης δ'
αὐτῆς, εἰ παντὶ τρόπῳ τυραννίδος κατάλυσιν πραγματευτέον, καν μέλλη
διὰ τῦτο περὶ τῶν ὅλων ἡ πόλις κινδυνεύσειν. Εἰ εὐλαβητέον τον καταλύ
οντα, μὴ αὐτὸς αἴρηται. Εἰ πειρατέον ἀρήγειν τῇ πατρίδι τυραννεμένη
καιρῷ καὶ λόγῳ μᾶλλον, ἢ πολέμῳ. Εἰ πολιτικὸν τὸ ἡσυχάζειν, αναχωρή
σαντά ποι, τῆς πατρίδα τυραννεμένης. Εἰ διὰ παντὸς ἰτέον κινδύνε
τῆς ἐλευθερίας πέρι. Εἰ πόλεμον ἐπακτέον τῇ χώρα, και πολιορκητέον
ταύτην τυραννεμένην. Εἰ καὶ μὴ δοκιμάζοντα τὴν διὰ πολέμε κατάλυσιν
τῆς τυραννίδα, συναπογραφ έον ὅμως τοῖς ἀρίσοις. Εἰ τοῖς εὐεργέταις,
καὶ φίλοις συΓκινδυνευτέον ἐν τοῖς πολιτικοῖς κἂν μὴ δοκώσιν εὖ βεβαλεῦσθαι
περὶ τῶν ὅλων. Εἰ ὁ μεγάλα τὴν πατρίδα εὐεργετήσας, δι αὐτό τε τῦτο
ανήκεσα παθών, καὶ φθονηθείς, κινδυνεύσειεν ἂν ἐθελοντὴς ὑπὲρ τῆς πα-
τρίδα. Εἰ ἐφετέον αὐτῷ ἑαυτὸ πότε, καὶ τῶν οἰκειοτάτων ποιεῖσθαι
πρίνοιαν αφεμένῳ τὰς πρὸς τὲς ἰχύοντας διὰ πολιτείας.
An manendum in patria tyrannide oppreſja; ea vero tyrannide op-
preſſa an quovis modo tyrannidis everfio tentanda eft, etiam fi civitas
propter id de fumma rerum periculum fubitura fit? Utrum cavendum
ne, qui tyrannidem evertit, ipfe evertatur ? An tentandum fit opem
ferre patrice tyrannide oppreſſe verbis & tempore potius quam bello ?
An boni civis fit, fecedentem aliquo quiefcere oppreffa a tyranno pa-
tria? An periculum quodvis fubeundum pro libertate? An bellum
inferendum patriæ, eaque fit obfidenda fi a tyranno opprimatur? An
etiam is qui non probet ut bello tyrannis evertatur, tamen nomen dare
cum bonis debeat? An cum bene meritis & amicis fubeunda pericula
in Rep. etiam fiminus recte de fumma rerum confuluiffe videantur?
Utrum de patria bene meritus, ob eamque cauffam graviffima quæque
paffus & invidea oppreffus, ultro pro patria difcrimen fubire de-
beat? An permittendum ei ut fui ipfius tandem & familiæ rationem
babeat, dimiffis adverfus potentes concertationibus pro republica.
Such
to ATTICUS.
6 f
:
Such are the Subjects in which I exerciſe myſelf,
diſputing on both Sides, ſometimes in Greek, fome-
times in Latin, and thereby gradually weaning my
Mind from its Uneafinefs, by applying the whole
to my preſent Cafe (1). But I am afraid, I fhall
become impertinent (2) to you. For, if the Bearer
of this Letter goes ftraight to you, you will receive
it on the very Day of
your Fit.
THE
EPIST. V.
HE Letter which you wrote me upon your
Birth Day, was full of found Advice, fea-
foned with great Affection, and true Prudence. I
received it from Philotimus the Day after he had it
from you. The Matters you touch upon are of
the moſt difficult Nature. To get to the Adriatic.
To fail on the Tufcan Sea-My going to Arpinum
The Danger of appearing to fly from Cæfar—Of
throwing myſelf in his Way, to compliment him,
fhould I remain at Formie.But the moft wretch-
ed of all Circumftances is, that I have lived to this
woful Day on which I fee, what I cannot help, the
Miferies that thicken every Hour. Pofthumus has
been with me. I wrote you before, what an Air
of Importance he wore. Fufius likewife came to
me; but had you feen his Looks, his Earneſtneſs,
his Hurry to reach Brundufium, fometimes railing
at Pompey's Treaſon, and ſometimes at the Senate's
want of Refolution and Wiſdom. If I cannot bear
(1) Orig. Tηv @paρye rì. De iis quæ ad rem pertinent.
την
(2) Orig. axatpos. Importunus:
fuch
62
CICERO'S EPISTLES
fuch Infolence in my Villa, can I bear it of Curtius
(1) in the Senate. Well, fuppofe I could bring my
Mind down to bear it; but when they call out,
"Hear Marcus Tullius," what will then be the Con-
fequence? I fhall not here fpeak of the Caufe of
our Country, which I think to be irretrievable, not
more through her Wounds, than the Remedies
that has been applied to them. But I afk you,
how I am to behave, with regard to Pompey?
2.
It fignifies nothing for me to deny to you, that
I am angry with him. For the Springs of Events
always affect us more than the Events themſelves.
When I reflect, or rather when I perceive, that thofe
Calamities (than which none can be greater) happen-
ed through his Miſconduct and Miſtakes, I blame.
him more than I do Cæfar. Our Anceſtors held
the Day, on which the Battle of Allia was fought,
to be more fatal than that on which their City was
taken, becauſe the one Calamity was the neceffary
Confequence of the other. Therefore, I fay, the
one Day is marked out in the Calender, though
the other Day is not fo much as known to the
Public. Agreeable to this Maxim, when I reflect
upon a ten Years Miſconduct, (which includes the
Year in which my Calamity happened without his
endeavouring to prevent it, that I may give his
Conduct the fofteſt Turn); when I fee his Raſhneſs,
his Indolence, and his Negligence, at this Juncture,
I cannot help being in a Paffion. But I have got
now the better of all thofe Confiderations. I now
look forward only to the Services he has done me,
I look forward to his Dignity in the State.
The
(1) Curtius Pofthumus was a Kind of Dependant upon
Cicero.
Letters,
to ATTICUS.
63
Letters, and the Language of Balbus, prevent-
êd me from underſtanding fo foon as I wish I had
done, that Cæfar has Nothing in View, that he had
Nothing in View, even, from the very Beginning,
but to kill Pompey. You remember that Homer
brings in the Goddefs, Mother of Achilles, telling
him.
"
When Hector falls, thou dy't,-Let Hector die,
And let me fall! (Achilles made reply).
Par lies Patroclus from his native Plain!
He fell, and falling, wifh'd my Aid in vain (1).
In like Manner, I afk you, how I am to behave
towards a Man who has been not only my Friend
(2) but my Benefactor, (3) to a Man of his Rank,
at the Head of fuch a Caufe. For my own Part,
I am of Opinion that fuch Obligations ought to
be recompenfed only by Life itſelf.
As to your Men of Quality, I truft them not, I
have even loft all Complaifance for them. I can fee
how they are going over, and how they prepare to
go over, to Cæfar. Do you think, that the Acts
of our Corporations for public Prayers for Pom-
pey's Recovery, were more extraordinary than their
Gratulations for Cæfar's Victory? This, you tell
me, proceeds from Fear; but they tell you, they were
afraid of Pompey likewife. But let us fee what has
(1) Orig. Αὐτίκα γάρ τοι ἔπειτα μεθ᾿ Ἕκτορα πότμος ἕτοιμος.
Matri ipfe refpondit,
(2) Orig. Αὐτίκα τεθναίην, ἐπεὶ ἐκ ἄρ᾽ ἔμελλον ἑταίρῳ.
Κτεινομένῳ ἐπαμῦναι.
Statim enim tibi deinde poft Hectorem Mors parata.
-Utim
nam ftatim moriar, quandoquidem fodali, cum interficeretur, non eram
opem laturus. The English Translation is from Mr. Pope:
·(3) Orig. Eraipy. Sodali.
(4) Orig. Evepyéry. Bene merito.
been
64
CICERO'S EPISTLEŚ
been done at Brundufium. That may, perhaps, give
Rife to my purſuing other Meafures, and writing
more Letters.
Nom
EPIST. VI.
had gone over
That he learn-
OT a Word as yet from Brundufium. Bal-
bus writes me from Rome, that he is of Opi-
nion, the Conful Lentulus is gone beyond Seas be-
fore the younger Balbus could meet with him; that
he received this Intelligence at Canufium, from
whence his Nephew wrote to him. He adds, that
the Six Cohorts that were at Alba,
to Curius upon the Munician Road.
ed this by a Letter from Cæfar, who, in a fhort
Time, was to be at Rome. I will take your Ad-
vice in not removing to Arpinum at this Juncture.
And yet, as I intended to have given my Son his
manly Robe at Arpinum, I might have left that as
an Excufe to Cæfar for my Departure. But, per-
haps, that
very Circumſtance may give him Offence;
for why, did I not rather perform that Cere-
mony at Rome ? And yet, if meet him I muft, I-
chufe to meet him here. After that, I can come to
a determined Refolution, as to where, how, and
when.
Domitius, I hear, is at his Houſe at Cofa, and is
faid to be in Readineſs to fail. If for Spain, I am
againſt the Voyage; if to join Pompey, I am for
it. But, let him go any where, rather than ſee
Curtius. I who am his Patron, cannot bear to fee
him;
what then muſt be the Cafe with others?
But, I believe, I ought to be quiet, for fear of ar-
raigning
to ATTICUS.
65
arraigning my own Miſcarriages; becauſe, my Love
for Rome, that is, for my Country, and my Hopes
of an Accommodation were fo ftrong, that by my
Conduct, I find my felf actually encloſed and im-
prifoned.
66
(6
Having written thus far, I received from Capua
a Letter in the following Words, Pompey has
put to Sea with all his Troops, to the Number
"of thirty thouſand Men, and is attended by the
two Confuls, the Tribunes of the Commons,
"and the Senators who were along with him, with
"all their Wives and Children. He is faid to
"have embarked the 4th of March (1), and the
"Winds ever ſince have been northerly. It is re-
SC
ported he has broken up, or burnt all the Ships
" he did not make Ufe of. This Intelligence came
"in à Letter to Capua to the Tribune Lucius Me-
"tellus, from his Mother-in-Law Clodia, who is
"likewife gone to Sea."
Hitherto I was vexed and uneafy, (and no
Wonder I was, confidering my Situation,) becauſe it
was impoffible for me, with all the Addreſs I had, to
difingage myſelf. But now, that Pompey and the
Confuls have left Italy, my Anguifh rifes to
Agony, my Heart fails within me, and my Brain
turns round; I am nof, believe me, in my Senfes,
through that Cloud of Infamy that now overshadows
my Character. That I fhould not at firft have
followed Pompey, however, he might have been
miftaken! that I fhould not have been amongſt the.
Friends of my Country, however rafhly they may
have proceeded! eſpecially, as the very Perfons,
(1) Pompey did not embark till the 15th.
VOL. II.
F
!
for
66
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
for whofe Sake I was fo tender in trufting myfelf to
Fortune, I mean, my Wife, my Daughter, and
my two Boys, were for my following Pompey, and
did think it fcandalous, and bafe in me, that I have
not. As to m
Brother, he always faid, that he
uld determine himſelf by my Pleaſure, and fol-
low it with the moſt perfect Refignation.
I now feel fome Comfort in reading over your
Letters from the Beginning. Your most early ones
admoniſh, and beg' me not to throw myfelf away.
In your next, you exprefs your Joy for my having
remained in Italy. During the Moments in which I
read them (but no longer) fome Part of my Shame
vanifhes in my Mind, but my Grief and my Ideas
of my Infamy, again inftantly overwhelm me.
Therefore, I conjure you, my deareft Friend, pluck
thofe Sorrows from my Soul, or diminish their
Pangs by your Confolation, by your Counfels, or
by fome Means or other. But I am too far gone
for you, for any Mán, or, almoſt, for any God
to relieve me.
I will endeavour to follow your Advice, (which
you think practicable) to obtain of Cæfar Leave to
be abfent from the Senate, when any Meaſures
against Pompey are in Agitation. But I am afraid, I
cannot obtain that Indulgence. Furnius (that you
may know what Kind of Men are to direct
came from Cæfar, and he tells me, that the Son
of Quintus Titinius is with him, and that Cæfar is
more profuſe than I could with him, in owning
his Obligations to me. But you will effectually
learn from his own Letter, which is but ſhort,
what he asks of me.
(us)
How
A to ATTICUS.
67
1
How unhappy it makes me, that you have been
indifpofed ! Were we together, we furely fhould
hit upon fomewhat. Two Heads, you know, as
the Poet (1) faysBut let us not react the Scene,
let us look forward. Hitherto I have been de-
ceived in two Circumftances. I flattered myſelf at
first with the Hopes of an Accommodation, and
if that had happened, I might then have retired to
a private Life, and have paffed my old Age in
quiet. In the next Place, I faw that Pompey
was about to kindle a bloody, and a deftructive
War, I imagined, by Heavens, that a worthy
Patriot, and a good Man, would chooſe the moſt
dreadful of Puniſhments, rather than be a Director,
or even a Party, in fuch Scenes of Mifery.
thought Death was preferable to the Company of
ſuch Men · Confider, or rather conclude, my Atti-
cus, ſomewhat, upon thoſe Circumſtances. Nothing
can happen fo infupportable to me as is my pre-
fent Anguiſh of Spirit.
Cæfar Commander in Chief, to Cicero Com-
mander in Chief, wifheth Profperity.
Hanins, Without any
HAV
for
AVING but juft feen our Friend Fur-
nius, without any Conveniency for ſpeaking
with, or hearing him, as I was upon a hafty
March, and as my Legions were gone before; yet,
I unwilling to let flip, an Opportunity of writ-
ing to you by him, and returning you my Thanks,
as I have often done before, and, fo well do you
Was
(i) Viz. Homer.
F 2
deferve
C
68
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
deſerve from me, that, I believe, I fhall continue to
do the fame. In the firſt Place, as I am in Hopes
of being very foon at Rome, I beg that I may fee
you there, where I may be directed by your Ad-
vice, Intereft, Authority, and Affiftance in all
Things. But to end as I begun, I beg you will
pardon the Hurry and the Shortnefs of this Letter.
1 refer you to Furnius for the reſt.
EPIST. VII.
Wrote you a Letter, which I delivered for you
upon the 12th, but the Perfon to whom I or-
dered it to be given, is not yet ſet out. The nimble
footed Courier came on the very Day that was
mentioned by Sallus, and brought me your Letters,
which were fo full of Information, and which re-
freſhed the little Spirit that is in me, with fome
Drops of Comfort; for, I cannot fay, that I am
recovered, and yet you have made me the next
Thing to it. Believe me, I do not now flatter
myſelf with any happy Event, for I can forefee,
while Pompey and Cæfar are alive, or even Pom-
pey himſelf, that the Conftitution never can be
re-eſtabliſhed. I therefore, do not fo much as
dream of any Eafe to myfelf, for I have laid my
Account for the worst. I am now under no Ap-
prehenfions, but left I may do, or may have done,
ſomething that is mean. You are therefore to be
affured, that your Letters have reſtored me to Life.
I do not only mean your long Letters which are at
once fo extreamly particular and elegant, but even
your fhort ones, which gave me the very great Plea-
fure
to ATTICUS.
69
fure to underſtand, that my Condu&t and Behaviour
was approved of by Sextus. A Piece of Intelli-
gence, which was the more agreeable to me, as I
am fenfible, not only of his great Affection to
me, but of his being a thorough Judge of what is
right.
As to your longer Letter, it relieved not only
me, but my Friends and Family, from our Un-
eafinefs. I will therefore, follow your Advice, and
remain at Formia, left too much Notice fhould be
taken of the Meeting between Cæfar and me at Rome,
and left he ſhould think, I purpoſely fhun him, if
I ſhould fee him neither there nor here. As to the
Favour you defire me to aſk of him, that I may
act with Regard to Pompey, in the fame Manner I
did with Regard to him, you may perceive by the
Letters from Balbus and Oppius, of which I fend
you Copies, that I made that Requeſt fome Time
ago. I likewife fend you Cafar's Letter to them,
which confidering his Fever of Ambition, is written
with great Coolnefs. But, if Cæfar will not in-
dulge me in this, you adviſe me publicly to de-
clare myſelf a Mediator for an Accommodation.
No Danger fhall deter me from that. For, fur-
rounded as I am with Dangers, act how I will, if I
comply I muft, why fhould it not be in the Man-
ner that ſhall do me the moft Honour? But I am
afraid left this ſhould gall Pompey. I am afraid
Left be ſhould ſhake his Gorgon Locks at me.
For you cannot believe how much our Friend Pompey
affects the Domination of Sylla. I know what I
fay, and he never made lefs a Secret of any Thing
in his Life, than he does of this. If fuch, fay
F 3
you,
70
CICERO's EPISTLES
(
Milo; as. I did,
Then, fay you,
Principles. No;
you, are his Difpofitions, would you follow him?
Believe me, my Friend, I follow him for the Kind-
neffes he has done me, not as he is the Head of a
Party. I befriend him as I did
(1).—But where. have I got
you diſapprove of his Party's
theſe are excellent. But (mark what I fay) their
Proceedings has been moft fcandalous. They fet
out with a Deſign to ftarve Rome and Italy, then, to
plunder and burn the, Country, and to feize the
Properties of monied Men. But, as I am afraid
of the fame Confequences from the other Party, if
I meet with no Kindness there, I think it would be
more eligible for me to fuffer all Extremities at
Home.. But I conceive my Obligations to Pom-
pey to be fo great, that I dare not ſtand the Re-
flection of being ungrateful, and yet, what you
urge even upon that Head, has in it a great deal
of Force.
With regard to my Triumph, I entirely agree
with you, and I refign all Thoughts of it with
Eafe and Pleaſure.. You rightly hint, that while I
am acting in this Manner towards Cafar, the fine
Weather for failing is ftealing on. But, fay you,
that is only if Pompey is at the Head of a fufficient
Army. His Army, let me tell you, is greater
than we looked for. You need be under no Ap-
prehenfions for him; though, I promife you, 'if
he ſhould prevail, he will not leave in Italy one
*
(1) Nothing renders thofe Letters fo agreeable to a Reader,
as Paffages of this Kind. We here fee the Sentiments of our
Author, fript of all Party and Perfonal Confiderations. Who,
after reading his pathetic Oration for Milo, can think, that he
knew him to be guilty, and that all the Concern he took for
kis Defence, was merely a Matter of Intereft and Party??
?
Stone
甫
​*7
!
>
to ATTICUS.
71
}
睿
​Stone upon another. Then, fay you, will you at
tend him in fuch an inhuman Progrefs? If I do,
it is, by Heavens, againſt my own. Judgment, and
againſt the whole Current of Precedents from our
Anceſtors. But. I wish to be gone, not fo much to
affift Pompey, as to avoid being the Witnefs of Ca-
Jar's Proceedings. For you are not to imagine that
the Fury of his Party will either be tollerable or
bounded. But you are fenfible of all this, that
when the Laws, the Courts of Juftice, and the Au-
thority of the Senate, are ruined, neither the private
nor the public Revenues of the Romans, will be
fufficient to fupply the Lufts, the Prefumption,
the Exceffes, and the wants of fo many needy
Perfons.
>
Let me therefore begone from hence, embark
where I will. But even that ſhall be as you fhall
adviſe me. But begone I muſt. We fhall be at à
Certainty as to what you wait for, I mean News
from Brundufium. You tell me, that our beft Pa-
triots approve of my Conduct hitherto, and know
that I have not left them, and this gives me Joy,
if there is yet any Room left for Joy. I will make
the moſt ſtrict Enquiry concerning Lentulus; I
have committed that Charge to Philotimus, who is
a Man of Courage, and a moft furious Patriot (1).
Now that I am finiſhing I bethink me, that you
will perhaps be at a Lofs for farther Subject to
write upon. For we can now write, upon nothing
but public Affairs, and the Subject is actually ex-
häuſted. But, as your Invention is fruitful, and Af-
fection (I ſpeak, by Heavens, from my own Expe-
(1) This is Irony.
F 4
rience,
}
t
72
CICERO's EPISTLES
rience, and from the Effects it has upon my own
Capacity) is communicative, go on, in writing to me
as oft as you can. I am fomewhat piqued, as I
ſhould be no unpleafant Companion to you, at your
not inviting me to go with you to Epirus.
adieu, for reft is as neceffary to me, as walking and
rubbing (1) is to you, and, believe me, your Letters
have reſtored me to my natural Reſt.
But
Balbus and Oppius to Cicero, wish Profpe-
M
rity.
Ankind, in general, is apt to judge of the
Counfels, not only of mean Perfons, ſuch as
we are, but of thoſe of the higheſt Rànk, accord-
ing to Events, rather than Motives. We have, how-
ever, fo great Truſt to put in
in your
Good-nature,
that, with Regard to the Bufinefs you write of to
us, we will give you what is, in our Opinion, the
foundeſt Advice: It may not be perhaps the moſt
prudent, but we can affure you it proceeds from
honeſt Sentiments and faithful Hearts. Were we
not perfectly well affured from Cajar himſelf of his
doing what we think he ought to do, by entering up-
on a Treaty, as foon as he comes to Rome, for ac-
commodating all Matters between him and Pom-
pey, we ſhould not continue to prefs you to con-
cern yourſelf in that Negotiation, which must be the
lefs embarraffed, and proceed with the greater Digni-
ty, if the whole of it fhall pafs through your Hands,
who are a Friend to both. On the other Hand, as we
(1) This was one Part of the Regimen prefcribed to At-
ticus.
baye
to ATTICUS.
73
have always earneſtly diffuaded you from fighting
against Cafar, fo we never would give our Advice
for your taking Arms againſt the Man who has fo
highly obliged you (as Pompey has done) if we
knew that Cæfar was determined to ftand out, and
to puſh the War againſt Pompey. But as for all
that has happened, we write rather upon our Opi❤
nion, than Knowledge of Cafar's Intentions. All we
can fay is, that we cannot conceive how either your
Rank or your Honour, which is fo univerfally ac-
knowledged, can permit you to take Arms againſt
either, as you are under fuch Tyes to both: And
we make no doubt, Cæfar's Good-Nature is fuch,
that he will approve of your Neutrality.
How-
´ever, if you think proper, we will write to Cafar,
to let us know pofitively what he intends to do in
this Matter; and if we receive his Anfwer, we
will inftantly communicate to you our Sentiments
upon the fame; and we give you our Word of
Honour, that our Advice to you ſhall be fuited
not to Cæfar's Views, but to your Dignity; and
we know Cafar's Indulgence to his Friends too well
to fear that he will be offended at our Freedom.
Balbus to Cicero, Commander in Chief, wifheth
Profperity, and offers his Compliments.
A
FTER fending off to you the joint Letter (1)
I wrote with Oppius, I received one from
Cafar, of which I enclofe you a Copy. You may
(1) I have, after Monfieur Mongault, reftored thofe Letters
to their natural Order, they being mifplaced in the common
Editions of our Author.
perceive
74 CICERO's EPISTLES
perceive by it, how earneſt he is for reſtoring pub-
lic Tranquillity, and of accommodating his Diffe-
rences with Pompey, and how very averfe he is to
all Cruelty. It gives me, as it ought, great Plea-
fure, that he entertains fuch Sentiments. I am,
my deareſt Friend, as fenfible as you are yourſelf,
of what you owe to yourſelf, your Engagements,
and your Gratitude, and, by Heavens, I think it
incompatible with your Duty and your Character,
for you to take Arms againſt a Man to whom you
own yourſelf, to be under fo ſtrong an Obligation.
I have fo great Experience of Cafur's matchlefs
Humanity, that I know he will approve of my
Sentiments in this Matter, and I know you will
give him the moſt entire Satisfaction, by taking no
Concern in the War againſt him, and by not joyn-
ing with his Enemies. This is an Indulgence he
will not only fhew to a Perfon of your great Rank
and Abilities, but he has, of himſelf, been pleaſed to
diſpenſe with even my ferving in the Camp, that
was to act againſt Lentulus or Pompey, to whom
I own myſelf to be under great Obligations. He
added, that he ſhould require no more of me than,
at his Defire, to do him fome Services at Rome,
and he left me at Liberty to do as much for them.
In Confequence of this Indulgence, I now manage
and overſee the private Affairs of Lentulus at Rome,
and perform to him, and Pompey, all I owe them
upon the Footing of Duty, Honour, and Grati-
tude.
The Hopes of an Accommodation have been a-
gain dropt, but, by Heavens, I cannot fee for
what Reaſon, fince Cafar has the very fame Difpo-
fitions we ought to wiſh him to have. You ought,
I
to ATTICU Š.
75
{
1
1
2
I think, if it is agreeable to you, to write to
him, and to ask him for a Guard (1) as you for
merly did (and I thought you in the right) from
Pompey, in the Café of Milo. I am fo fure of Ca-
far, that I will anſwer for his reſpecting your Dig-
nity, rather than his own Intereſt. I know not
how unguardedly 1 exprefs myſelf here, but I well
know that every Thing, I write to you, flows from
my entire Efteem and Friendſhip for
you, and may
I perifh (fo as Cafar be but fafe) if there are ma-
ny in the World whom I efteem equally with
yourſelf. I beg you to write to me, as foon as you
have come to any Refolution, upon this Matter.
• For I am at great Pains to put you in the Way of
Expreffing the Affection, which you bear, and
which, I am confident, you will exprefs to both.
Farewell.
}
Cæfar to Oppius and Cornelius (2) Health.
I AM
AM, by Heavens, extreamly glad at your ex-
preffing under your Hands, your very great
Approbation of what has paffed at Corfinium. I will
follow your Advice with the greater Pleaſure, that
it was always my own Difpofition to act with the
utmoft Lenity, and to court an Accommodation
{
(1) Balbus here artfully puts ou: Author in mind of Pompey's
overawing the Trial of Milo with his Guards. Dr. Middleton,
in his Life of Cicero, is of Opinion, that the Offer of this
Guard was infinuated, to make him Cafar's Prifoner. But I
can fee no Reaſon for that Suppofition, when we confider the
open Manner in which Cefar acted to all his Enemies.
(2) Though Balbus was a Spaniard, yet he took the Name
of the Family of his Patron Lentulus.
}
1
with
1
76
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
with Pompey. Let us try whether it is poffible, by
this Means, to regain the Affections of Man-
kind, and to make our Succeffes durable; fince
others (1), by Cruelty, fell into Deteftation, and
none of them, excepting Sylla, whom I do not chuſe
to imitate (2) enjoyed his Succeffes long. Let us
fhew the World a new Method of Conquering,
and let Clemency and Munificence be my only
Guards. I have already formed fome Schemes, and
many more may be formed, for effecting this. I
defire you to turn your Thoughts to the fame
Subject.
I took Prifoner Cnaius Magius, one of Pompey's
Maſters of the Works; but, according to the Plan
I laid down, I inſtantly diſmiſſed him. He is the
fecond Maſter of the Works who has fallen into
my Hands, and whom I have "difmiffed. If they
want to fhew their Gratitude, they will exhort Pom-
pey to prefer my Friendship to that (3) of thoſe
Men
(1) This Letter is a noble Teftimony of Cæfar's Wiſdom and
Magnanimity, and as his Actions anfwered the Sentiments he
lays down here, there is no Room to doubt of his Sincerity.
The Perfons, he means in this Paffage, are Marius and Cinna,
and he was related to both. For Marius married his Aunt, and
he married Cinna's Daughter. Notwithſtanding that, he blames
their cruel Politics.
(2) Sylla was always the Enemy of Cæfar, and pretended to
be the Reſtorer of the Nobility, and the Senate's Weight in
the State, which he did by fhedding a Deluge of the common
People's Blood. Cæfar was profeffedly the Friend of the Com-
mons, but no Enemy to the Senate, and what he fays here is a
tacit Reproach upon Pompey, who always publicly declared he
would imitate Sylla.
(3) It is a great fhort Sightedneſs in Authors who take up the
Commencement of the civil Differences in Rome, which ended
fo fatally for her Liberty, only at the Time when the Breach,
between Pompey and Cæfar, was declared The beſt Patriots of
Rome, viz. Čato, Bibulus, Domitius, and even our Author (as
we
}
:
to ATTICUS.
7%
Men who have ever fhewn themſelves; his, and my
inveterate Enemies; and by whofe Practices the Re-
public is reduced to its prefent State.
W
EPIST.
VIII.
HILE we were at Supper, the Night of
the 14th Inftant, Statius brought me a ſhort
Letter from you. As to Lucius Torquatus, whom
you enquire after, both he and Aulus (1) are gone;
the latter has been gone many Days. I am great-
ly alarmed at the News you write me from Reate,
as if a Profcription was about to take Place in the
Country of the Sabines. I had, as well as you,
heard that a great many Senators were at Rome.
•
we have ſeen in the foregoing Part of thefe Letters) forefaw,
and foretold, the Miferies that followed from the Time of
Pompey's Intimacy with Cefar, and they equally oppofed the
Growth of the Power of both. But Pompey's Popularity, and
Cafar's Intereſt amongst the Commons, and with the Marian
Faction, (which was ftill very ftrong,) bore down every Thing
before them; becauſe, in effect, they formed a Kind of Coa-
lition of Parties, eſpecially, as by Means of Craffus, it was fup-
ported by the money'd Intereft, viz. the Knights. Notwith-
tanding this, as the real Patriots had great Weight, they often
found means to open the Eyes of their Countrymen fo effec-
tually, as went near to overthrow all the Power of Pompey and
Cæfar, Vide Vol 1. p. 111, 114, 115, &c. We are not
therefore, 'candidly ſpeaking, to imagine, that Cæfar, with all
his plauſible Declarations, ever meant to reſtore the Conſtitu-
tion of Rome, to that equal Poife between the People and the
Senate, which the true Patriots laboured for. This very Paf
fage is a Proof, that this was not in his Thoughts, and that
all he wanted was to compromiſe Matters with Pompey, at
the Expence of Cato, and the reft who had oppofed both of
them in their growing Power.
(1) Lucius Torquatus had been Conful, and Aulus Torquatus
had been Prætor.
Pray
50
78
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Pray can't you guess why they are leaving (1).it?
An Opinion, founded rather upon Conjecture than
Information or Intelligence, prevails here, that, on
the 22d of March, Cafar will be at Formia. I
wiſh I had with me here that Minerva, who, in
Homer, appears under the Figure of Mentor, to
whom I might addrefs myſelf,
Say how fhall I approach, and how embrace him (2):
Never was I, in my Life, fo much at a Lofs to de-
termine how to behave. I am, however, deter
mined; nor fhall the fad Occaſion diſorder me. I
wiſh you well, for, if I miſtake not, you had a
Fit Yeſterday.
O
EPIST.
IX.
N the 16th, I received three Letters from
you, dated the 12th, 13th, and 14th, I will
therefore anſwer them in Order of Time. I agree
with you, that it is beft for me to remain at Formia,
and likewife as to what
you write of the upper Sea;
and, as I wrote you before, I will do my beft to
try, whether I cannot reconcile Cæfar to my taking
no Manner of Cóncern in public Matters. You
commend me for my writing to you, that I have
forgot the Miſcarriages and Demerits of our Friend.
It is true, I have, and even to fuch a Degree, that
(1) Vix. To welcome Cæfar, who was then returning to
Rome.
(2) Orig. Μέντορ πῶς τ' ἂς ἴω, πῶς τ᾿ ἀρ προσκλύξομαι αὐτὸν ;
Mentor quonam modo adeam, quonam modo amplexabar illum?
Homer.
I have
to ATTICUS.
79
Í have even forgot his unkind Proceedings, which
you mention, againſt myſelf. So very willing am
I, that my Senfe of Favours fhould prevail over
my Refentment of Injuries. Let me therefore,
purſue what you recommend, and be myſelf again.
For, in my rural Walks, I am inceffantly reafon-
ing with myſelf (1), and conning over my Queries
(2); but fome of them are extreamly difficult to
refolve.
Let our great Men be what you will have them
to be; but you know the Proverb, Dionyfius lived
at CORINTH (3). The Son of Titinius is with
Cæfar: You ſeem apprehenſive, left your Coun-
fels Thould be diſagreeable to me; fo far from it,
that my only Joy in Life is in receiving your Aḍ-
vices and Letters. Fulfil therefore, what you
propoſe in continuing to write to me, whatever
comes into your Thought; you cannot lay me
under a 'greater Obligation.
(1)'Orig. Eopiseów. Fictas Caufas ago.
(2) Orig. Déges. Quæftiones.
•
EV
I now
(3) Orig. Alovuotos Kopivo. Dionyfius Corinthi. Monfieur
Mongault, with very great Juftice, rejects the common Appli-
cation which Critics have made of this proverbial Expreffion,
to our Author's Perfon, as if he had rèproached himfelf for
leading a Life unbecoming his Character. But I cannot agree
fo well with that Gentleman, in thinking, that Cicero means
here to put Atticus in mind of the Mutability of Fortune, and
that it was poffible Pompey might one Day or other get the bet-
There is nothing in the Words here, as he fuppofes, that
determines them to that Senſe, though I own, it is difficult to
find out a better. If I were to hazard a Conjecture, I would'
apply it to that Thirft of Tyranny which led Dionyfius to tyran-
nize over School-boys after he was expelled from his Throne.
It is in this Light that this Occupation of Dionyfus chiefly
ftrikes our Author, rather than in that of the melancholy
Reverſe of Fortune. He therefore, perhaps hints, that the
ter.
Nobility
*
?
80
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
I
now come to your fecond Letter. You are in
the Right, in not believing the Number of Pom-
pey's Soldiers to be as you have heard. Clodia's
Letter mentions it to be greater by half. The Ac-
count of the Ships being burnt, is likewife falfe. As
to your commending the Confuls, I too commend
their Motives, but not their Meaſures. For, by
their Seperation, all Negotiations concerning Peace
are at an End; at leaſt, upon the Plan which I
had projected (1). I have therefore, fent you back
by Philotimus, the Treatife of Demetrius concern-
ing public Unanimity.
For my own Part, I perceive a moſt deſtructive
War, ready to break out in Famine; and yet, I
mourn for my not being concerned in this War. A
War fo deteftable, that though it is the Height of
Unnaturality not to fubfift our Parents, yet our
Leaders in this War, have taken their Meaſures
for famiſhing the moſt venerable, the moſt ſacred
of all Parents, I mean their Country. My Appre-
Nobility of Rome, were willing to live under either Cæfar or
Pompey, provided they ftill continued to enjoy the Power of op-
preffing Slaves, as they had formerly done Freemen. Et
autem, fays he, (Tufcul. Difput. Lib. 3. Cap. 12.) impudens
luctus mærore fe Conficientis, quod inperare non liceat liberis.
Dionyfius quidem tyrannus, Syracufis expulfus, Corinthi pueros doce-
bat; ufque eo imperio carere non poterat. "Now, it is a moſt im-
"pudent Grief for a Man to languish with Sorrow, becauſe he
"cannot command the free. Dionyfius the Tyrant, was fo un-
"able to live without Power, that he taught Boys at Corinth,
"when he was driven from Syracufe." This Paffage, I think,
goes far to determine the Words in Queſtion, to the Senſe I
have hinted at. He mentions this Circumftance of Dionyfius
(Epift. Fam. Lib. 9. Ep. 18.) in pretty much the fame Light
with regard to himſelf but jocularly.
(1) This happened to be true in Effect, for Pompey rejected
Cafar's laft Propofitions, on Pretext that the Confuls were not
with him.
henfions
to ATTICUS.
81'
henfions do not arife from what I conjecture, but
from what I heard. For all this Fleet from Alex-
andria, Colchis, Tyre, Sidon, Aradus, Cyprus,
Pamphylia, Lycia, Rhodes, Chios, Byzantium, Lef-
bos, Miletus, Smyrna, and Coos, is getting ready to
intercept the Provifions of Italy, and to feize
the Coafts of the Corn-Countries. But in what a
Paffion will Pompey return! efpecially with thofe
who wanted moft to fave their Country, as if they
had abandoned him, and not he them; which was
the Cafe. My Friendship, therefore, for Pompey,
goes a great Way in determining my Doubts, as to
my future Conduct; for, were it not for that
Friendſhip, I fhould chufe to die in my Country,
rather than to ruin it under the Pretext of fav-
ing it.
The North Wind, as you conjecture, has cer-
tainly carried off the Confuls. I am afraid, that
Epirus will have its Share in the public Troubles.
But do you imagine, there is a Place in Greece, that
will not be plundered? For, Pompey publicly
avows, and demonftrates to his Soldiers, that he
will out-do Cæfar himſelf in Liberality. Your Ad-
vice is excellent, that, when I fhall fee Cæfar, I
fhould fpeak to him rather in a Strain of Autho-
rity, than of Compliance. I am determined to
do this. I think of going to Arpinum, but not till
I have feen him, leaft I fhould chance not to be in
the Way when he comes hither, or be obliged to
ramble after him through very bad Roads. I hear,
as you write me, that Bibulus is arrived, and that
he returned on the 14th.
In your third Letter, you tell me, that you ex-
pected Philotimus; but he left me only on thẹ
Ꮐ
15th,
82
CICERO'S EPISTLES
15th, for which Reaſon, my Anſwer, which I in-
ſtantly wrote to yours, is fo long a coming to
your Hands. I agree with you in believing Do
mitius to be at his Houfe in Cofa, and that, it is not
known how he will proceed. Of all ſcandalous.
Wretches, that Fellow (1) is the moft fcandalous,
who maintains, that a Confular Election may be
held by a Prætor. But, that is of a Piece with all
his former Behaviour towards his Country. This,
however, explains Cafar's Expreffions in his Let-
ter, of which I fent you a Copy, that he would
be directed by my Advice; well, let that paſs as com-
mon Place.--By my Interest, that feems foolish
enough. But, I fuppofe, he paffes that Compli-
ment to me, in regard to certain Sentiments of the
Senators. Authority-Perhaps, he means, the
Weight which the Opinion of a Confular carries
along with it in the Houfe.At laft, he fays,
My Affiftance in all Things (2). When I read your
Letter, I began to fufpect he meant this, or fome
fuch Thing. For, it is of great Importance to
him, that there ſhould be no interreign, which he
may prevent if a Prætor can declare the Election
(1) This probably was Lepidus, who was afterwards a
Triumvir, and was then Prætor. Concerning the Affair men-
tioned here, See Aulus Gellius, Lib. 13. Cap. 14.
(2) Monfieur Mongault has not obferved his ufual Accuracy
in tranflating this Faffage. It plainly refers to Cafar's Letter
to our Author, Vide p. 68. And the Identity of the Expref-
fion in Cafar's Letter, ought to have been preferved here,
which Monfieur Mongualt has neglected to do. I have been
the more minute in this Obfervation, becauſe the political
Senfe of the Words, Confilium, Gratia, Dignitas, and Opes, which
often occur in our Author, are very happily determined by this
Comment of our Author upon Lafar's Words.
of
1
"
to ATTICUS.
83
of Confuls (1). Our Books, however, tells us
that a Prætor cannot lawfully declare Confuls
nay, not Prætors, and that no fuch Thing ever
was done. That they cannot by Law make any De-
claration of Confuls, becauſe the higher Magiftracy
cannot lawfully be obtained from the Inferior: Nor of
Prætors, becauſe they are, with regard to the Rites
of their Election, on a Footing with Confuls, whoſe
Power is Paramount. Cæfar will go near to defire
my Decifion in his Favour upon this Head, with-
out depending upon that of Galba, Scævola, Caf-
fius, or Antony (2). But may the yawning Earth
first fwallow me up (3). Thus you fee what a dread-
ful Storm is hanging over us.
I will write you
what Senators, have gone beyond Sea, as foon as I
have more certain Intelligence. You are right
in your Apprehenfions, concerning the Subfiftence
of Pompey's Army, which can be furniſhed only by
extraordinary Impofts; nor, is it without too good
Grounds, that you are afraid of thoſe who are a-
bout Pompey, and of a dreadful Civil War. I am
very defirous to fee our Friend Trebatius, though
he is, as you write, always in a State of Defpon-
dency. I beg you will defire him to make Hafte
to come to me, for it is very requifite I fhould fee
him before Cæfar comes this Way.
As to Lanuinum (4) as foon as I heard that
Phameas was dead, I wifhed that fome of my
(1) He found another Way of preventing it, by being
named Dictator, in right of which Office he prefided at the
Confular Elections.
(2) Theſe were all Creatures of Cafar, and perhaps Augurs,
as well as our Author.
(3) Orig. — τότε μοι χάνοι εὐρεῖα χθών. Tunc mihi debifcat
lata tellus.
(4) This Seat lay near Aricea.
3
G 2
Friends
84
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Friends would buy it; I mean, provided our
Country ſhall have any Exiftence; and yet, though
you are the beft Friend I have, you did not ſo much
as come into my Mind. For, I know how much
Intereft, or how much Ground you require for your
Money, and I faw your Books of Accompts, not
only at Rome, but at Delos (1). But, though it is
a pretty Eſtate, I put now a lefs Value upon it,
than I did under the Confulfhip of Marcellinus,
when the Gardens that belonged to it would have
greatly improved the Houfe I then had at Antium,
and when the whole might have been had at a
lefs Expence, than if I had repaired Tufculanum. I
offered him Security for 1600 l. and that the
Money ſhould be advanced to Phameas, when he
came to Antium to fell it. But he refufed it; yet, I
fuppofe, the Price of Eſtates is now fallen, on Ac-
count of the Scarcity of Money. If you fhould buy
it, it would be extremely convenient for me, or rather
for us.
I would not, however, have you to flight
the Oddities that are about it, 'tis in itſelf very
beautiful. But in my Eyes,
that Kind is already the devoted Plunder of Sol-
diers. I have thus anſwered your three Letters.
But I am impatient for more, for hitherto your
Letters have been my only Support. March the
17th.
every Thing of
(1) The Original here is very obfcure. I have tranſlated it
according to the beft Authorities.
ÉPIST.
to ATTICUS.
85
I
୮
EPIST. X.
HAVE nothing to write to you, becauſe, fince
I answered yours the Day before Yeſterday, I
have had no freſh Intelligence. But, as fretting not
only keeps me from fleeping, but gives me the
greateſt Pain, while I am awake, I ſet myſelf
down to ſcribble fomewhat or other, in which I
have no Manner of Meaning, but to converfe as it
were with you, who are my only Comfort. I now
fee, that I have been a Madman all along, and I
am tortured by this fingle Reflection, that I did
not, as a Soldier follows his Colours, implicity fol-
low Pompey. While he was tottering, or rather
ruſhing into Ruin, I ſaw him on the 11th of Ja-
nuary, under fuch vifible Conteftation, that I knew
that very Day, what he intended to do. I never
could be reconciled to him, fince one Mifcarriage
followed on the Back of another, without his writ-
ing all the while to me, and without his thinking
of any Thing, but how to fly. Shall I tell you the
Truth, as in Courtship (1), we are difgufted
with a flattern, ftupid, flovenly Miſtreſs, fo I was
cooled of my Affection to him by his fcandalous
Flight, and his unaccountable Behaviour. He did
not make one Step that could induce me to attend
him in his Flight. But now my Love-Fit re-
turns, now I cannot bear the want of him; all
Books, all Reading, all Philofophy, is now tafte-
lefs to me. Night and Day my Heart flutters like
a Bird, as foon as I caft my Eyes on the Sea, with
Eagerness to fly over it. I am puniſhed, indeed,
t
(1) Orig. 'Ev rois ipwrixoïs. In rebus amatoriis.
G 3
I am,
86
CICERO'S EPISTLES
I am, for my Rafhneſs. But what do I talk of
Raſhneſs? what have I done, but upon the moft
mature Deliberation (1)? Had Flight been the
only Queſtion, I would have attended him in Flight
with the greateſt Pleaſure, but I was ftruck with
Horror when I reflected that this was only the Pre-
lude to a War, the moft dreadful and cruel that
can be imagined, and its Confequences impoffible
to be foreſeen. What Threatnings were thrown
out againſt our Corporations? againſt the beft of
our Patriots in Particular, and againſt all who ftaid
behind? How frequent was that Saying in Pompey's
•
(1) The whole of this Paragraph is inexpreffibly beautiful,
and the Manner of it is an infallible Proof of its being dictated
from the Heart. Notwithſtanding which, I know Nothing
in the human Syftem fo unaccountable as the Paffion which
our Author here pretends to have for Pompey. For my own
Part, I cannot help frankly owning, that I believe, he mistook
the Object of his Paffion, and that all he fays here of Pompey,
is no other than the Reſult of the Tenderness, the Delicacy,
and the Soreneſs, which he was perpetually feeling for his
own Character. His whole Reafoning in this Letter, turns
upon the fame Principles, and he ingenioufly juftifies himself
to himſelf, and to his Friend, from his Friends Letters, and
from prudential Confiderations. But to fay the Truth, if Pom-
pey was that low, mean fpirited Wretch, that pitiful Politician,
and that deſpicable General our Author reprelents him to be,
how can we account for the Preference he always affects to
give his Perfon, eſpecially as he tells us, his Views were more
bloody and deftructive than thofe of Cæfar? The Truth is,
a great Part of our Author'. Patriotifm fprung from the vaft
Spirits he affumed from the Lenity of Cafar. He was ex-
tremely cautious, while he thought that Cæfar would proceed
on the fame bloody Plan as Sylla, Marius, and former Tyrants
had done, of coming to Extremities with him, by leaving
Italy to follow Pompey. But when he found, that it was im-
poffible for him to offend beyond the Meafures of Cæfar's
Forgivenefs, he then refolved to follow Pompey, becauſe, he
hereby reconciled Patriotifm to Safety. I fhould not have
been fo bold in this Obſervation upon our Author's Character
and Conduct, did it not naturally rife from the whole Tenor of
thefe Letters.
Mouth,
to ATTICUS.
87
Mouth, If Sylla could do fo and fo, fhall I be unable
to do it? I own, thofe Things ftuck with me.
Tarquin acted unnaturally, when he armed Porfena
(1) and Octavius Mamilius againſt his Country;
Coriolanus was a Traitor, for applying for Affiftance
to the Volfci; Themiftocles behaved like a Patriot,
who preferred Death; Hippias the Son of Pififtra-
tus, was a Rebel, for carrying Arms against his
Country, when he fell in the Battle of Mara-
thon. But Sylla, Marius, and Cinna, acted up-
on great Provocation, and perhaps, with fome
Colour of Juftice (2); but what could be more
cruel, what could be more fatal, than their Victo-
ries were?
- I wanted to avoid a Repetition of the fame Kind
of War, and the rather, becauſe I faw Meafures of
a ftill more cruel Nature in Agitation, and in For
wardnefs. Shall I march at the Head of Goths, of
Arminians, of Colchians, againſt the City, of which
I was termed the Preferver, of which I was termed
the Parent? Shall I bring Famine upon my Coun-
trymen? Shall I introduce Defolation into Italy?
It firft occured to me, that Pompey was mortal by
Nature, and that his Death might be occafioned by
many Accidents, but that it was our Duty to do
all we could, that our City and our Country fhould
furvive to Immortality, and ftill I entertained the
(1) The Perfons mentioned here, are fo well known in an-
tient Hiſtory, that I fhall not deſcribe them. It may, how-
ever, be proper to inform the Reader, that Hippias was a
Greek, and upon his Brother's being killed, he fled to the King
of Perfia, and perfuaded him to make War upon his Country.
(2) Orig. At Sylla, at Marius, at Cinna recte, immo jure
fortafle. The Words recte & jure here, are too ſtrong to be
tranflated literally into English.
G 4
flattering
-
88
CICERO's EPISTLES
ļ
flattering Hopes of an Accommodation, before
Cæfar fhould be fo far gone in Treaſon, or Pompey
in Blood.
The whole Scene is now changed, and fo are my
Sentiments. The Sun, to make Ufe of an Expreſ
fion in one of your Letters, feems to be extinguiſhed
in the Syftem of the World. As there are Hopes
while there is Breath in the Body of a fick Man,
fo I continued ſtill to hope, while Pompey remained
in Italy. Here, here I was miſtaken; and, (to ſpeak
candidly) in this decline of Life, after inceffant
Toils, my Age feeks to glide into the Endearment
of domeſtic Repofe. At prefent, fhould the Ex-
periment coft me my Life, yet I will try to fly from
hence. I perhaps, make this Experiment when it is
too late, but I was detained by the Reaſons I wrote
you, and chiefly by your Opinion.
For, when I came to this Place, I perufed a
Bundle of your Letters, which I preferve moſt
carefully under Seal. Now, in that which you
wrote me the 23d of January, were thefe Words.
But let us fee how Pompey will proceed, and what
his Views are. Should be leave Italy, I think, he
will act very wrong, and in my Opinion, very ab-
furdly (1). But we cannot, before then, change our
Meaſures. This is wrote the fourth Day after I left
Rome. Afterwards on the 25th of January, you
write me, Provided our Friend Pompey do not aban-
don Italy, as he has moft abfurdly abandoned Rome.
There is another of yours of the fame Date, in which
you give this direct Answer, upon my aſking your
Advice. Your Words are, But I come to what you
(1) Orig. 'Ahoy'sws. Sine ratione.
confult
to ATTICUS.
89
1
1
confult me on; if Pompey ſhould leave Italy, I think,
you should return to Rome, for there would be no
·´End of travelling Abroad after him. This I own to
you, ftuck with me. And now, I fee that an end-
lefs War is to attend my wretched Flight, which
you ſoften (1) into the Term of travelling Abroad.
Now follows your Prediction (2) on the 27th of
January. Should Pompey remain in Italy, and
Should there be no Accommodation, I am of Opinion,
the War would last a long Time. But fhould be aban-
don Italy, I am of Opinion, that its Miferies and
Rage will be endless in our Time. Such then is the
War, in which I am forced to partake, act, and
affiſt, an endleſs (3) civil War. Afterwards on the 7th
of February, after feeing a little farther into Pom-
pey's Views, you conclude your Letter thus. I, for
my Part, would not advije you should leave Italy, to
follow him in bis Flight; for that would expofe you
to the greatest Danger, without availing your Coun-
try, which you may hereafter ſerve if you should
Stay in Italy. Show me the Patriot, (4) or the Citizen
of public Spirit (5), who would not be fwayed by fuch
a Caution, by fuch an Advice coming from a Man
of Senfe, and a Friend?
t
Afterwards on the 11th of February, upon my
again applying to you for Advice, you write me
as follows, As to this, you ask me, whether I think
a Flight 'in which I am to stick to Pompey (6), or
my remaining here, by which I abandon the Company
monopin. Leni vocabulo appella.
(1) Orig
(2) Orig. xpnoμós. Oraculum.
(3) Orig. doπodov. Implacabile.
(4) Orig. piñóπarę Studiofum patriæ.
(5) Orig. TOMITINòv. Reipublicæ deditum.
(6) The Original here is defperate, and can be tranſlated
only by Conjecture.
مو
CICERO's EPISTLES
T
of our Patriots, the most adviſeable. For my own
Part, I think at prefent, that your fudden Depar-
ture, and precipitant Journey, would do no Service
either to you or to Pompey, and would expofe you to
Danger. I think it more advifeable, that you should
bover a little about, and make your Obfervations.
But by Heavens, I judge it at any Rate fcandalous
to think of flying. Yet, this is a Scandal which our
Friend Pompey has been meditating for theſe two
Years paft. So much has his Mind run in the
fyllizing and profcribing Strain (1). After this,
if I remember right, after writing me fomewhat in
general Terms (2), from which I imagined, I could
gather fome Hints, that you wanted me to leave
Italy, you fhow your Deteftation of that in more
exprefs Terms, on the 19th of February.
Part, I never gave you the leaft Intimation,
Pompey bould leave Italy, you ought to leave it
likewife. Or, if I have given ſuch a Hint, it is in-
confiftent not only with my own Senfe, but with com-
mon Senfe. In another Paffage of the fame Letter,
you fay, Pompey has now no Shift but to fly, but as
to
1
For my
that if
your leaving Italy, with him, I am still against it,
and ever was against it. But you handle the whole
Doubts that can occur upon this Subject, more ac-
curately in your Letter of the 22d of February.
If Manius Lepidus, and Lucius Volcatius bould
Stay, I think, you ought to stay likewife. But still, if
Pompey can preſerve himſelf, and make a Stand ſome-
where; I think, you ought to leave your Carrion-hunt-
ing Crew (3), and to choose to die with your Sword in
(1) Orig. Ita fullaturit animus ejas & profcripturit diu.
(2) Orig. yenzúrepov. Generalius.
(3) Orig. Nexvav. Mortuorum turbam.
your
to ATTICUS.
gr
· your Hand with Pompey, rather than to reign with
Cæfar in his future Government of Harpies. After
expatiating a great deal to the fame Purpoſe, you ſay
in the Cloſe of your Letter, but if Lepidus and Vol-
catius fhould leave Italy, I am at a Lofs (1) how to ad-
viſe you. Even in fuch an Event, I think that what
you have done is right (2), whatever the Confequence
may be. If you was then at a Lofs how to adviſe,
you furely can be at none now, as they have re-
mained in Italy.
Afterwards on the 25th of February, when Pom-
pey was upon the Wing, you write me, mean while
"I doubt not of your remaining at Formia, where you
can moft conveniently hear (3) what happens (4). On
the 1ft of March, when Pompey had been five Days
gone from Brundufium, you write me, Then we can
deliberate, not that 1 fay you are quite free from En-
gagements, but furely you are less involved than you
would have been, had you thrown yourſelf after Pom-
pey. Afterwards on the 4th of March, when you
had a Fit of the Ague upon (5) you, you write me a
few Lines, but they are as follows. Tomorrow I
will write you more fully as to every Thing. Mean
while, I do not at all repent my adviſing you to ſtay in
Italy. You encounter indeed with great Diſquiet,
but with much less than if you had left Italy. I
therefore am still of the fame Sentiments, and I am
glad you have not changed yours. Afterwards, while
I was fretting and frightened left I had expofed my-
felf to fome Difgrace, you write me on the 5th of
(1) Orig. άπogŵ. Dubito.
(2) Orig. regxTéov. Probandum
(3) Orig. Tò μéλov. Quod futurum eſt.
(4) Orig. xapadonnois. Expectabis.
(5) Orig. ind Tv ñw. Sub ipfam febris acceffionem.
March.
1
92
CICERO's EPISTLES
March. And yet I am not at all uneafy at your not
being with Pompey. If it is neceſſary afterwards,
you will have no great Difficulty in joining him, and
you will be moſt welcomę (1) to him, join him when you
will. But I fpeak with a Ṛeftriction. For fhould
Cæfar proceed in the fame, fincere, moderate, wife,
Manner be fets out with, I fee we ball have great
Reaſon to adviſe farther upon what is proper for us
to do. On the 9th of March you write me, that my
remaining unactive is greatly approved of by our
Friend Peduceus, whofe Opinion has a vaſt Sway
with me.
I comfort myſelf from thofe Expreffions of
yours, with the Thoughts that I have hitherto done
nothing that is difgraceful. I leave it to you to
ſupport your own Opinion, not that I require to
be fatisfied, but that others may be fatisfied like-
wife. If I have not erred hitherto, I will take care
of what is to come. Exhort me to perfevere in
this, and affift me with your Thoughts on that
Head. We have heard nothing concerning Cæfar's
Return. I am rewarded for writing this Letter,
by the Satisfaction I have had in perufing all
yours.
EPIST. XI.
OU muſt know that our Friend Lentulus is
You
at Puteoli. I no fooner learned this, which
I thought an improbable Piece of Intelligence, from
a Traveller, who faid that he faw and knew him
(14 Orig dopínsov. Gratiſſimum.
upon
to ATTICUS.
93
1
1
་
upon the Appian Way, while the Windows of his
Litter were fomewhat open, then I fent fome Slaves
'to Puteoli, to find him out with a Letter from me.
It was with Difficulty that they found him ſkulking
about his Country Houfe, and he fent me an Anſwer
to my Letter, in which he wonderfully extols his
Obligations to Cefar, and tells me that he has in-
trufted Caius Cæcius to inform me of what he intends
himſelf to do. I expect him this Day, which is thé
20th of Marth. Yeſterday Matius paid me a Vi-
fit. Upon my Honour, I think him a difcreet,
wife Man, and he has always been reckoned an Ad-
vifer of peaceable Meaſures. How did he feem to
diſapprove Cæfar's prefent Proceedings, and to
dread the Carrion hunting-Crew as you term
them!
As we had a great deal of Converſation together,
I fhowed him Cæfar's Letter to me, of which I
fent you à Copy, and I begged to know of him
what he meant by his Expreffions, of his wanting to
be directed by my Advice, Intereſt, Authority,
and Aſſiſtance in all Things. His Anfwer was, that
he made no doubt Cæfar applied to me for my Aƒ-
fiftance and Intereft in bringing about an Accom-
modation. I wiſh to Heaven that, in this Diftrefs
of our Country, I had any Room for ferving her in
a political (1), peaceful, Capacity. As to Matius, he
was very pofitive that Cæfar's Sentiments were paci
fic, and he promiſed to recommend the Thing to him
himfelf. But Craffipes had paid me a Vifit the Day
before, who faid, that he had left Pompey, upon
the 6th, at Brundufium, and they, who came from
(1) Orig, wodızınòr. Reip, utile:
thence
94
CICERO's EPISTLES
-
thence on the 8th, fay the fame Thing. All of
them, and Craffipes amongst the Reft, agree that
Pompey's Followers (to give you a Specimen of
their Prudence) do nothing but throw out threaten-
ing Speeches, avow themfelves Foes to the No-
bility, and Enemies to our Corporations; that they
breath nothing but Profcriptions, and profefs them-
felves to be ſo many Syllas! The Language that
came from Lucceius, from the Gang of Greeks a-
bout Pompey, and above all that came from Theo-
phanes !—Yet, upon fuch Men, depend the whole
Hopes of our Country's Prefervation. On their
Account my Eyes are Strangers to Sleep, and my
Soul to Reft, and yet I am impatient till I aſſociate
with Men fo unlike myſelf, that I may avoid the
public Plagues that form the other Party. Into
what Seas of Blood, do you not think Scipio, Fau-
ſtus, and Libo, will embark, now that their pri-
vate Affairs are entirely ruined: fhould they pre-
vail, what Cruelties will they not inflict upon the
Citizens of Rome ?
As to Pompey, what romantic Projects (1) of his
are we told of. No lefs than the laying aſide all
Thoughts of going to Spain, and that he intends to
go to Egypt, Arabia the Happy (2), and Mejopo-
tamia (3). But there may be nothing in theſe wild
Reports. It is however certain, that the Schemes
of Cæfar are deſperate, and thoſe of Pompey dange
rous; I am impatient for a Letter from you. Ever
fince I left Rome I have not let flip a Day without
writing to you, I have ſent you a Copy of my Let-
(1) Orig. panço↓uxíar. Vaſtum animum.
(2) Orig. sidaínova. Felicem.
(3) Orig. MecoToтauías. Mefopotamiam.
ter
to ATTICUS.
95
ter to Cæfar, and I imagine that it will have fome
Effect.
Cicero, Commander in Chief, to Cæfar, Com-
mander in Chief, wisbeth Profperity.
H
AVING read your Letter, which I received:
from our Friend Furnius, in which you pro-
poſe I ſhould return to Rome; I was not ſurpriſed
at your defiring to avail yourſelf of my Advice and
Authority, but I was at a Lofs for your meaning
in requiring my Intereft and Affiftance. I however
flattered myſelf, that, confiftently with your admi-
rable and matchlefs Wiſdom, you was willing I
ſhould affift in your Meaſures for re-eſtabliſhing the
Happineſs, the Peace, and the Tranquillity of our
Country, and, in this Senfe, I think your are not
miſtaken in my Difpofition, both by Nature and
Situation. If that therefore is your Purpoſe, if you
are touched with a Concern for the Safety of our
Friend Pompey, and for reconciling him to yourſelf,
and his Country, you can, by Heavens, find no
Man more proper, than I am, to be employed in
fuch a Cauſe. I took the moft early Opportunity
of moving both him and the Senate to pacific Mea-
fures, nor have I taken the leaft Concern in the
War ever fince Hoftilities commenced, as judging
you to be injured in a War, occafioned by your
Enemies and Enviers ftriking at the Honours de-
creed you by the Favour of the People of Rome.
But as, at that Juncture, I not only promoted your
Pretenfions to thoſe Diſtinctions, but likewife fol-
licited others to join your Party, fo, at this Time,
I am
96.
CICERO'S EPISTLES
I
1
1
I am fenfibly touched with Concern for the Digni
ty of Pompey. For it is feveral Years fince I fingled
you both out as the Objects of my chief Regard,
and as my moft particular Friends, which you ftill
are.
I therefore defire, or rather, I moft earneſtly be-
feech and conjure you, that, in the midſt of your
mighty Concerns, you will fpare a Moment to this
Thought, alfo how I may acquit myſelf through your
Indulgence, as an honeft, grateful, worthy Man,
towards a Perfon whom I remember to have laid
me under the greateſt Obligation. Had this Re-
queft a Regard only to my own Perfon, I flatter
myſelf you would grant it. But I am of Opinion,'
that the Sincerity of your Profeffions, and the In-
tereft of our Country, require that you fhould re-
ferve me out of thofe few, whofe Situation fits them'
to endeavour to reconcile you and Pompey, and to'
reſtore the public Tranquillity.
I already returned you my Thanks for your
Kindneſs to Lentulus, by your faving the Man who
had faved me. But when I read his Letters which
he wrote me with a Heart full of Gratitude for
your Generoſity, I thought that the Favour done
to him was done to myfelf. If you approve of
my Gratitude to him, I beg that you will give me'
an Opportunity of fhewing the like to Pompey (1).
EPIST.
This is the celebrated Letter for which our Author has
apologized before. Notwithſtanding all he fays in that Apolo-
gy, it can fcarcely be denied that he goes too far when he ſays,'
that he thought Cæfar had the jufter Caufe, if he was fincere
in what he fays at other Times, of his Abhorrence of Cæfar's
Proceedings. The whole of the Letter, however, gives us a
moſt beautiful Picture of the Goodneſs of our Author's Heart,
and at the fame Time of his exquifite Delicacy and good Breed-
ing
$
97
to ATTICUS.
}
1
WHILE
EPIST.
XII.
HILE I was reading your Letter of the
20th of March, I received one from Lepta,
with an Account that Pompey was invefted, and
that the Entrance of the Harbour was blocked up
by moored Veffels (1). By Heavens I cannot, for
my Tears, think of, or write you, the reft, I have
therefore fent you the Copy of his Letter. What
Wretches are we who did not, all of us, hazard
durfelves along with Pompey! And now the fame
melancholy News are confirmed by Matius and
Trebatius, who met Cæfar's Couriers at Minturne.
My Mifery now is fuch, that I wish for the Fate
of Mucius (2).
But how generous, how clear, how well digefted
were your Advices concerning my Journey, my
Voyage, my Meeting, and my Converſation with
Cæfar. What you propofed was at once honour-
able and prudent. But as to the Invitation, you
ing. The worst that can be faid of it is, that it is not written
in the Spirit of a fevere Patriot, and that it is not fuch as Cats,
Brutus, Bibelus, or any of the high Republicans, would have
dictated. It was, however, conceived, in the moit proper
Terms for mollifying Cafar. Our Author was indeed mistaken,
and fo have all his Apologifts, and none more than Dr. Mid-
dleton, in imagining that either Caefar, or the Patriots, had any
great Opinion of our Author's Integrity or Wiſdom, I believe
they deſpiſed and diftruſted both, but that did not prevent his
being of great Importance to either Party, and, in fact, he was
of a Character very proper for acting as a Mediator, if eitner
Party was fincerely difpofed to peace, perhaps much more ſo
than he could have been, had he been lefs pliable
(1) We have a full Account of thofe Operations in Cefar's
firft Book of the civil War, to which I.refer the Reader.
(2) Quintus Mucius Scavola was killed by Order of the
younger Marius.
VOL. II.
H
give
#
98
CICERO'S EPISTLES
give me to Epirus, how much is it like a Friend,
how much like a Gentleman, and how much like
a Brother!
I am ſurpriſed at the Behaviour of Donyfius; Sci-
pio did not entertain Panetius more honourably
than. I did him, and yet, like a fcandalous Fellow
as he is, he deſpiſes me in this my fallen Condition:
I hate the Scoundrel, and ever fhall hate him. I
wish I could be revenged upon him, but I will
leave him to be his own Punishment.
Now, now, my Friend is the Time for your con-
fidering what I am to do. An Army of Romans
beſiege Pompey. He is blocked up by a Ditch and
a Rampart, he is cut off from flying. Yet,are we
alive? Does Rome ftill ftand? Do her Prætors fit
in Judgment? Are her diles preparing their
Sports? Are her Men of Worth laying out their
Money at Intereft? But what am I doing? Shall I
madly run about? Shall I roufe the Loyalty of our
Corporations? The great will not follow me, the
Mob will laugh me to fcorn; they who aim at a
Revolution, now (efpecially that they are fuccefs-
ful and in Arms) will lay violent Hands on me.
What then is your Opinion? How would you ad-
viſe me to put an End to the Miferies of fuch a
Life? My Sorrows, my Torments are redoubled,
now that fome People will think me either pru-
dent or happy, for hot having followed Pompey.
My Sentiments are the Reverſe, for I have always
wiſhed to be with Pompey, not to Share in his Vic-
tory but in his Diftrefs. Let me now implore your
Letters, let me have recourfe to your Wifdom or
your Kindneſs.—All is now deſperate. We are
now without Remedy.-I have not now even a
With
to ATTICUS.
99
Wish to form, but that Pompey may be delivered
by the Clemency of his Enemy.
P. S. No, I will not believe what is faid (1) of
the Blockade by Sea. For what does Dolabella write
me, upon the 13th of March, from Brundufium,
as if it was a happy Circumftance (2) for Cafar,
that Pompey was upon the Point of flying, and that
he would fet fail the firft fair Wind. This Account
is very different from that contained in the Letters,
of which I have before fent you the Copies. Here
indeed People talk of the moft flagitious Proceed-
ings, but the Intelligence is neither fresher, nor is
the Authority better, than that of Dolabella.
1
EPIST. XIII.
N the 22d Inftant, I received your Letter,
in which you poftpone the giving me any
Advice, until we can know what has been done.
You are certainly in the right of it. For indeed, at
prefent, I cannot bring myſelf to think, far lefs to
refolve, upon any Thing. And yet Dolabella's Let-
ter invites me to refume my former Thoughts. For
the Wind was very fair on the 18th, and Pompey,
I fuppofe, laid hold of it. The Quotations (3), I
(1) Orig. oux es šruμoç λóyos. Non eft verus fermo. This feems
to have been the Beginning of another Letter, written by our
Author, after receiving one from Dolabella. The Greek here is
hemiftic of the first Line of a poetical Recantation writ by
Stefichorus, upon his being flruck blind upon compofing fome
abufive Verſes upon Helen, and is mentioned by Plato in his
Phædrus.
(2) Orig. sinpeprav. Profperitatem.
(3) Orig. Evvaywyn. Collectio.
H 2
>
ر
3 r
ว
C
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Do sollected
100
CICERO'S EPISTLEŚ
collected from your Letters, were not meant in the
Way of Complaint of you, but of Comfort to my-
felf. For I was not fo much vexed by my Di-
ftreffes, as by a Jealouſly, left my ill Conduct, or
Rafhnefs, may have given Offence. But now, that
Jealoufy is vaniſhed, becauſe my Proceedings and
Conduct have been agreeable to your Advices.
{
You write me, that the Obligations, I ſeem to be
under to Pompey, are owing more to my Acknow-
ledgments than to his Merits. It is true, I have
always exaggerated them, and the rather, that he
may not think I retain the fmalleft Memory of
former Grudges. But, fuppofing I did remember
them, yet still his Behaviour towards me, at that
critical Juncture, ought to be now my Guide with
Regard to him. When it was in his Power he
gave me no Affiftance, but he was afterwards my
Friend to an Excefs, for what Reaſon I know not;
I therefore ought to befriend him in my Turn. In
one Circumſtance our Fortunes are alike, that both
of us have been deceived by the fame Men (1).
But I wiſh, that it were in my Power to do as
much Service to him, as he could have done to
me; I have, however, the most grateful Reſent-
ment of what he did. But at prefent, I know
not how I can ſerve him in any Reſpect, and if I
could, I think, I ought not to affift him in his Pre-
parations for this deſtructive War. All I mean, is
not to give him Umbrage at my remaining in Italy.
But, by Heavens, I cannot, at the fame Time, be
(1) Meaning the Optimates, or Men of Quality, fuch as
Bibulus, Hortenfius, and Lucceius, whom Cicero bitterly com-
plained of in the preceding Letters.
an
to ATTICUS.
ΙΟΣ
an Eye Witneſs to, I cannot bear a Part in, thoſe
Calamities which you may now figure to your
felf.
But I have been the more dilatory in my Depar-
ture, becauſe it is no eafy Tafk for a Man to re-
folve voluntarily to leave his Country without the
ſmalleſt Hopes of feeing it again. For, I per-
ceive Cæfar to be very ſtrong in Infantry, in Ca-
valry, in Shipping, and in his auxiliary Gauls,
whofe Numbers Matius I believe exaggerated (1),
when he ſaid, they had offered to maintain for him
at their own Expence, ten Thouſand Foot, and
fix Thouſand Horfe. But, fuppofing this to be a
Vaunt (2), yet it is certain, that he is very ſtrong,
and he will not, like Pompey, be obliged to main-
tain them upon extraordinary Impofts, for he will
have the Riches of all Rom: at his Command. And add
to this, Cæfar's enterprizing Spirit; the Weakneſs
of our Patriots, who are Enemies to the War, for
no other Reafon, but, as you write, becauſe they
have given him juft Caufe of Difguft. Yet I wish
you had pointed out the Perfons you meant by this
Hint. Cæfar, however, has been more moderate than
he appeared to be at fetting out, and the common
People have loft the great Affection they had for
Pompey. As to our Corporations and Country
Gentlemen, they dread Pompey, and hitherto theỷ
ſeem to be fond of Cæfar. The Situation therefore
of the latter, is fuch, that fuppofing he cannot
conquer, yet I cannot fee how he can be con
quered.
(1) Orig. inamičev. Inaniter jactabat.
(2) Orig. λámica. Jactatio.
{
H 3
For
102
CICERO'S EPISTLES
?
1
For my own Part, I can fee the Juggle (1) of
his Careffes, but I dread the Earneftneſs of his
Courtship. For, as Plate fays, the Suits of Ty-
rants always carry with them a Neceffity of Com-
pliance (2). I perceive, you are againſt my pin-
ning myſelf up in an inland Place (3). Why, I
do not like it myſelf, but I remain there undifco-
vered, and I was faithfully ſerved (4). Could I have
the fame Conveniencies at Brundufium, I would
chooſe to go thither. But I could not there re-
main without being diſcovered. However, as you
write, we can come to no pofitive Reſolution till
we are farther informed.
I am not very anxious about apologizing for my
Conduct to our Men of Worth. What a Defcrip-
tion did Peduceus give me of the long Entertainments
they gave and received! What Elegancies, what
Luxuries were there! Well, I will allow them to
be Patriots, but not better than myfelf, they would
give me Difquiet were they braver.
I was miftaken, with Regard to the Houfe of
Phameas at Lanuinum; I was dreaming of that at
Troy (5), for which, I formerly offered 1600 l. but
that is worth more. I could, however, with that
you would buy it, if you have the ſmalleſt Hopes
of being able to enjoy it. You perceive, from this
(1) Orig. yontelar. Præftigias.
(2) Orig. πειθανάγκην. αἱ γὰρ τῶν τυράννων δεήσεις, inquit
Πλάτων, οἶσθ᾽ ὅτι μεμιγμέναι αναγκαις. Suafionem violentam, nam
tyrannorum preces, inquit Plato, permifta funt, ut fcis, neceffita-
sibus.
13) Orig. axíμeva. Loca portu carentią.
(4) Orig. ingeolar. Minifterium.
(5) This was a Place in Italy, between Ardea Laurentum,
and Antium, fo called from a Colony eſtabliſhed there by
Æneas.
long
40 ATTICUS.
103
1
long Letter, which is fwelled into a Pamphlet,
what ftrange Things we fee every Day. Our
Friend Lentulus is quite inconfolable (1) at Puteoli,
as Cacius tells me. He knows not how to behave.
He is afraid of incurring Infamy (2) from what
happened at Corfinium. He thinks, he has done
as much as he ought for Pompey; he is touched
with the Generofity of Cefar, but when he knows
all the Truth, he will be touched more.
•
P. S. Here I have a Piece of News, that will
put you befide yourfelf. This is the Mifery of all
our Miferies. Pompey has fent N. Magius to treat
of Peace with Cæfar, and yet he is befieged all the
while. I would not believe this, had I not received
Letters from Balbus, of which I fend you the
Copies. Read them, I beg of you, and eſpecially
the laft Paragraph from Balbus, that most deferving
Perfon (3), whom our Friend Pompey prefented
with the Ground for Building his Country Houfe,
and whom he treated with more Diftinction than he
did any of us. It is on that Accoun: the poor
Gentlemen is tormented. But, that you may not
read the fame Thing twice over, I refer
you to
the Letter itfelf. As to an Accommodation, I
have loft all Hopes of it. Dolabella's Letters of
the 15th of March, breath nothing but War. Let
me therefore, remain fixed to my Refolution,
wretched and deſperate as it is, for nothing can be
more wretched than my prefent Situation.
(1) Orig. adnμovwv. Mæroris plenus.
·⋅ (2) Orig. Siarpоæn». Pudorem.
(3) This is Irony.
}
H 4
Balbus
104
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Balbus to Cicero, Commander in Chief, wisheth
Profperity.
CESAR has fent me a very fhort Letter, of
which I tranfmit you the Copy. From its
Shortnefs, you may perceive, how very much he
is hurried, as he has ufed fo few Words upon fo
Weighty a Matter. I will inform you farther
when I receive any freſh Intelligence.
Cæfar to Oppius and Balbus, wifheth Pro-
fperity.
N the 9th of March. I arrived at Brunduſium,
ON
and have invested it, Pompey is within the
Place. He fent N. Magius to me, to treat of
Peace. I answered him, as I thought proper. 1
Ι
was willing you ſhould be inftantly informed of this.
When I ſhall þave any Proſpect of an Accommodation,
I will let you know without Lofs of Time.
Now, my dear Cicero, it is impoffible for you
to conceive, how much I am tortured, now that
I have again Hopes of an Accommodation, leſt
fome Accident ſhould happen to prevent it. All
I can do at this Diſtance, is to put up my Wiſhes.
Were I there in Perfon, I might, perhaps, be of
fome Significancy. At prefent, I am on the Rack
of Impatience.
'
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
105
EPIST. XIV.
=
N the 24th, I fent you Copies of the Let-
ter to me from Balbus, and from Cafar to
him, and the fame Day I received a Letter from
2. Pedius, at Capua, informing me, that Cæfar had
wrote to him on the 14th of March, in the follow-
ing Terms.
Pompey keeps within the Town. I are encamped
before the Gates. We are attempting a great and a
tedious Work, on Account of the Depth of the Sea;
but I had no Choice left me.
We are cafting up
Mounds from both Points of the Harbour, in Order
to force Pompey to pass beyond Seas, with the
Troops he has at Brundufium, or to block him up in
the Harbour.
Where is now the Accommodation which Balbus
faid had put him upon the Rank of Impatience?
What can be more bitter, what more cruel than
this Intelligence? It is even given out for Cer-
tainty (1), that Cæfar fays, he will avenge the
Blood of Ca. Carbo, of M. Brutus (2), and of
all who were butchered by Sylla, in Conjunction
with Pompey. That Curio does Nothing by his
Orders which Pompey had not done by Sylla's.
That he had reſtored (3) to their Rights of
ftanding
(1) Orig. avḥertinus. Certo auctore.
(2) Carbo was killed in Sicily by Pompey's Order; and Marcus
Brutus, Father of the famous Brutus, who headed the Confpi-
racy by which Cæfar fell, was killed by the fame Orders, after
furrendering Modena to Pompey.
(3) The Original here is defperate, and I have tranflated it
according to the most probable Conjecture I could form. It is
however neceffary for the Reader to know, that Pompey was
under
'106
CICERO'S EPISTLES
ง
ftanding for public Offices, thofe who could not
by the old Laws have fuffered Baniſhment; but
that Pompey had reftored Traitors from Exile,
That Cæfar farther complains of Milo's being ba-
nifhed (1) by force of Arms, but that he will offer
no Violence to any who are not in Arms againſt him.
One Babius, who was fent hither by Curio, on the
13th, and is a ſhrewd Fellow, talks of Cæfar in a
quite different Strain, but no Body knows any
Thing of this fame Babius. I am abfolutely at a
Lofs how to proceed. I am convinced, Pompey
is embarked before this Time; but we fhall
know all in two Days. You have fent ime no
Letters, even by Anteros; but, I am not ſurpriſed
at that, for what can we write? and yet, I write
to you every Day.
P. S. Since writing what is above, I received,
before Day break, a Letter from Lepta at Capua,
with an Account, that Pompey embarked the 15th,
and that by the 26th, Cæfar would be at Capua.
under a Kind of a Neceffity of proceeding feverely by fome
new Laws, which had paffed against thoſe who were guilty
of public Corruption, which was then exceffive at Rome.
(1) It has been objected to Cafar's Character, notwithſtand-
ing his complaining of Milo's Banishment, that he did not recall
Milo when it was in his Power to have done it. But I cannot
fee how this affects Cafar, fince Milo might have been guilty,
and a very dangerous Citizen, and yet the Meaſures taken by
Pompey to over-awe his Trial, might have been very unjuſtifi-
able; and in Fact, our Author thought, and knew them to
be fo.
}
EPIST
to ATTICUS.
107
1
A
EPIS T. XV,
.
{
FTER writing you the Letter, that brought
you the Account, that Cæfar was to be
at Capua by the 26th, I received a Letter from
Capua, that he was to be at Curio's Houfe, in Alba,
on the 28th. As foon as I have feen him, I will
go to Arpi. Should I obtain the Indulgence I aſk
for, I will comply with his Terms; otherwiſe,
I will follow a Courſe of my own. He writes me,
that he has poſted one Legion at Brundufium, ano-
ther at Tarentum, and a third at Sipontum ; and the
whole feem to me to be difpofed in fuch a Manner,-
as to lock up all Paffages by Sea; while his own
Motions point towards Greece rather than Spain.
But thofe are diftant Events. At prefent, I am
uneafy about the Manner of my meeting with
him; for the Time is at Hand, and I tremble
with the Dread of his firft Proceedings. I fuppofe,
he will endeavour to obtain a Refolution of the
Senate; and a Sentence from the Augural College
in his Favour. I fhall be either hurried with him
to Rome, or plundered in my Abfence. He will
make a Prætor return Confuls, or name a Dictator;
both which Proceedings are unconftitutional. If
Sylla, however, could make an Inter-rex name
him Dictator, why may not Cafar do the fame? I
can conclude upon nothing, but that I am in Dan-
ger of being treated as a 2. Mucius by the onẹ
Party, and as a L. Scipio by the other.
By the Time you have read this Letter, I
have, perhaps, had a Meeting with Cæfar; You
bave had, fay you, greater Trials in your Life Time
never
108
CICERO's EPISTLES
never (1). For then I was fupported by the Hopes
of a ſpeedy Return; and by the Difcontent of the
Public. At prefent, I intend to leave Italy, with-
out the ſmalleft Encouragement to hope, that I
fhall ever return. Our Corporations, and Country
Gentlemen, are ſo far from being diſcontented with
Cafar, that they are afraid of Pompey's Cruelty
and Refentment. Notwithſtanding all this, to
ſtay with Cafar is what I moft dread, and to be
with Pompey is what I moft defire; to be his
Companion, not in Fighting, but in Flying.
Mean while, you delayed giving me any Advice,
till we ſhould know what had happened at Brundu-
Jium. We know it now; and yet I am as unde-
termined as ever.
I can ſcarcely flatter myself, that Cæfar will
give me the Indulgence am to fue for, not-
withstanding all the ftrong Reaſons I fhall urge to
obtain it. But I will inftantly fend you a moft
exact and verbal Account of our Converfation, as
foon as it shall happen. Do you, my Friend, ex-
ert all your Affection to affift me, by your Con-
cern and Wiſdom. Cæfar comes on fo faft, that
I cannot have a previous Meeting with T. Rebilus,
as I propofed. I muft proceed, without the fmall-
eft Preparation. But yet, as Homer fays, Heaven
and my Heart, fhall be my Counsellors (2). What-
ever I fhall do you fhall forthwith know. I have no
Copy of the Propoſals you aſk for, fent by Cafar
to the Confuls, and to Pompey. While I was
(1) Orig. τέτλα, κύντερον. Perfer, gravius.
(2) Orig. ἄλλα μὲν αὐτὸς, ut ait ille,
“Αλλα δὲ καὶ δαιμων ὑποθήσεται.
Alia quidem ipfe, ali vel Deus fuggeret.
1
upon
to ATTICUS.
109
រ
upon the Road, I fent you thoſe brought by Egyp
ta, by which, I fuppofe, you may gather the Sub-
ftance of the others. Philippus is at Naples, and
Lentulus at Puteoli.
Continue to fifh out where
Domitius is, and what he intends to do.
You tell me that I have written in a harsher
Strain of Dionyfius, than is ufual with my natural
Temper; but you fee thereby how much I have a-
bout me of the old Roman. By Heavens, I thought
that you would have been more fenfibly touched,
than I was, with that Affair. For, not to mention
that I imagine you ought to reſent every Injury of-
fered to me; that Fellow, in fome Meaſure, af-
fronted you by behaving fo much like a Scoundrel
as he did to me. But how far that may be any
Concern of yours, I leave to yourfelf; for I will
not load you with refenting my Quarrels. For
my own Part, I always thought the Man hair-
brained, but I now take him to be a Rafcal and a
Villain: And yet he has done more harm to him-
felf than he has done to me. You have managed
very well concerning Philargirus (1). The Caufe.
you defended had Truth and Juftice to fupport it,
for he abandoned me rather than I him.
After fending off my Letter, of the 25th, the
Slaves, whom I had fent to Matius and Trebatius,
brought me a Letter from them, of which the fol
lowing is a Copy.
(1) This Perfon feems to have been one to whom Dionyfius
had complained of our Author's Treatment of him, and was
a.fabufed by Atticus.
Matius
+
ŢIO
CICERO's EPISTLES
Matius and Trebatius to Cicero, Commander in
Chief, wifh Profperity.
+
PON our leaving Capua, we underſtood on
UPO
the Road, that, on the 17th of March, Pom-
pey failed from Brundufium, with the remaining
Part of his Forces; that, next Day, Cafar entered
that Town; that he made a public Harangue; that
he fet out from thence to Rome, where he will ar-
rive fome Time this Month, and, after ſtaying a
few Days, he will fet out for Spain. As we have
this Account of Cafar's March, from undoubted
Authority, we have thought proper to fend back
your Slaves, with the moſt early Information of it,
to you. We have what you recommended to us,
very much at Heart, and we will follicit it as
Op-
portunity offers. You will fee Trebatius Scævola
before you fee Cæfar or us.
Poftfcript. Since writing what is above, we un-
derſtand that Cæfar will be at Beneventum on the
25th; on the 26th, at Capua; and, on the 27th,
at Sinueſſa. You may depend upon this for true.
O
TH
EPIST. XVI.
HOUGH I have nothing new to write you,
yet I write this, that I may not flip a Day
without fending you a Letter. I heard that Cæfar
was to lie at Sinuefa on the 27th; I receivd a Let-
ter from him, the Day before, in, which he tells
me, that he ſtands in need, not of my Affiſtance,
which
to ATTICUS.
III
1
which was his Expreffion in his former Letter, but
of my Means (1). After I had written him a Let-
ter of Compliment upon his generous Behaviour at
Corfinium, he fent me the following Anfwer.
Cæfar, Commander in Chief, to Cicero, Com-
mander in Chief, wifheth Profperity.
You
OU know me too well to be miſtaken in the
Judgment you have formed of my hating
nothing fo much as I do Cruelty. Now, befides the
great Pleaſure which I take in Clemency as a Virtue,
it gives me Triumph, it gives me Joy, that you ap-
prove of my Conduct. I am not in the leaſt concern-
ed at the Report, as if they, whom I reſtored to Li-
berty, have gone off, that they might renew the War
againſt me. For I wiſh for nothing more than that
both they, and I, fhould act like ourfelves. I ear-
neſtly defire you to be at Rome, that I may conti-
nue, in all my Bufinefs, to make ufe of your Coun-
fels and your Means. You muſt know that I have
not a greater Favourite in the World than your
Son-in-Law, Dolabella. I hope he will befriend
me in this Requeſt, and indeed fuch is his good
Breeding, his good Senſe, and his Kindneſs for me,
that he cannot do otherwife (2).
(1) There is a low Jingle in the Original, Jam opes meas,
non, ut fuperioribus litteris, opem, expediat
I have endeavoured
to imitate it in the Tranflation.
(2) It is hard to fay whether the Magnanimity, or Polite-
nefs of Cæfar, in this Letter is moft confpicuous, or whether
our Author's Criticiſm, which we obſerved in the laſt Note,
or his Diſtruft, if he did diſtruſt Caſar, is moſt abſurd.
EPIST.
112 CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
On
EPIST. XVII.
N the 28th, the Date of this Letter, I ex-
pect the Arrival of Trebatius. I will confi
der upon my Manner of addreffing Cafar by what
I fhall learn from him, and from the Letters of
Matius. Mortifying Situation! for he doubtless
will preſs me to come to Rome. For when he was
at Formia, he publicly intimated his Pleaſure for a
full Senate, to affemble by the ift of April. Shall I
then refuſe him?-But why fhould I anticipate Mat-
ters. I will not lofe a Moment in writing to you:
I will refolve, according to my Converfation with
him, whether I fhall go to Arpi, or to fome other
Place. I intend to give my Son the manly Robe
at that Place. I beg you to turn your Thoughts
to what I ſhall do afterwards, for Vexation has
rendered me quite ftupid. I want to know whe-
ther Curius has written any Thing to you concern→
ing Tiro. For, according to what Tiro writes to
me himſelf, I am apprehenfive of his, Health:
They who have ſeen him give me little Satisfaction,
and let me tell you, that even this is no fmall Ad-
dition to my other great Afflictions, for his Care and
Affiduity would be exrreamly uſeful to me in my
prefent Situation.
I
EPIST.
XVIII.
1
Have followed your Advice (1) in both Points.
For my Converſation, with Cafar, was ſuch
as
(1) The Reader cannot but obſerve, from this Letter, how
much our Author's Stile is infected by his Situatioń. He
fpeaks
to ATTICUS.
113
as might rather induce him to have a high Opi-
nion of my Virtue, than to return me Thanks for
my Compliance. I remain firm in my declining
to go to Rome. I was, however, miſtaken in think-
ing he would be compliable (1). Never did I fee
a. Man lefs fo. He told me, that my Refufal was
a Condemnation of his Conduct, and that my not
going to Rome would keep others back. My An-
fwer was, that my Cafe and theirs differed widely.
After much talk; then come, faid he, and. fet on
foot an Accommodation. What, faid I, I upon my
Terms? You are fure, replied he, I will not pre-
ſcribe to you. Then, anfwered I, will endeavour
to perfuade the Senate to oppofe your going to
Spain, and your tranfporting your Army into Greece.
I will enlarge, continued I, in the most pathetic
Manner, upon the Fate of Pompey. Thefe are
Matters, fays Cæfar, which I will not have men-
fpeaks as one out of Breath, after, a terrible Fright in half,
broken, fhort Sentences. Mean while I am ſtill confirmed in
my former Opinion, that though his Attendance, at Rome, would
have been of uſe to Cæfar, yet that Cæfar did not think him
of fo much Importance as he feems to imagine himſelf to be.
Even our Author's Firmnefs, and Cæfar's Behaviour to him,
confirms the Sufpicion. For if he talked in the fteady Man-
ner he here reprefents, and if it was of fo great Importance,
for Cæfar to have him at Rome, and not to join Pompey, we
cannot imagine he would have fuffered him to depart at Liber-
ty. The Truth is, there is a wide Difference between the Com-
pliments, and the Sentiments, of fo great a Man as Cæfar was.
It is poffible-Pompey would have been a little more ſerious with
our Author; but Cæfar, who had a Paffion for that true Glory
which fubfifts to Pofterity, wanted to win Cicero, rather than
make him his Enemy, if it could be done without Prejudice to
his Ambition.
(1) Orig Facilis. If Cafar was fo very incompliable, how
came he to leave our Author at Liberty to act as he pleaſed,
after he had fo frankly declared his Sentiments to be againſt
all his Meaſures.
VOL. II.
I
tioned.
114
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
tioned. So I thought, anſwered I; but I will not
be prefent, becauſe, I muft either mention thoſe
Matters, and many others, which I fhall indifpenfi-
bly be obliged to do, if I ſhould appear at Rome,
or I muſt not go thither. At laft, to get rid of
the Subject, he defired me to take Time to con
fider. I could not refufe that, and thereupon we
parted. I am therefore convinced, that Cæfar does
not love me. But I love myſelf, and that is more
than I have been uſed to do for a long Time (1).
As to the Circumftances, Heavens, what a Train
he has got with him! what a Carrion-hunting Crew
(2) as you uſed to call them! Eros Celer's Freed-
man was amongst them. In what a ruinous Caufe
is he embarked! what defperate Troops he heads!
There might be feen the Son of Servius, here the
Son of Titinius. What a Crew was there in the
Camp, which blockaded Pompey! Cæfar was there
at the Head of fix Legions; his Vigilance, his
daring is exceffive, I fee no End of our Calamities.
Now if ever, you are to give me your Advice,
for this is the laſt Crifis. Cæfar threw out, however,
an odious Conclufion (3), which I had almoſt for-
got, that "if he was debarred from the Advantage
of my Counfels, he would take Advice from others
(1) This is one of the many beautiful Reflections which arife
from Nature, and the Honefty of the Heart, and diſtinguiſh
our Author's Letters to Atticus beyond any epiftolary Compofi-
tion, either ancient or modern For my own Part, I cannot help
wiſhing that he had oftner than he did, laid afide the Man of
Learning, and the Stateſman, for he is always the great Man,
when uninfluenced by Fear or Vanity.
t
(2) Orig. Nexusa. Mortuorum turba.
(3) Orig. Karanλeis. Claufula.
where
'
115
to ATTICUS.
where he could get it, and that he would ftick at
nothing."
Now, as you write me in one of yours, you
have ſeen Cæfar, and have you groaned? Too
fure I have. What fhall I fay farther? He in-
ſtantly went to Pédum (1), and I to Arpi. There
I will wait for the Chattering of the Swallows you
mention (2). Mean while, fay you, you ought
not to plague yourſelf with what cannot be helped.
But alas! I am about to follow a Leader who has
committed many grofs Blunders. Well! I wait
for your Letters. We have not now the Excufe
we uſed to have, of let us fee how Things will turn
out.. My meeting with Cafar, was to be the Period
of our Deliberation, and as I doubt not of his be-
ing much difatisfied with it, we are, confequently, to
be the more ſpeedy in refolving and acting. As
you love me, therefore, you will write me a Let-
ter, and that too upon what ought to be my pub-
lic Conduct (3). I am extreamly impatient for a
Letter from you.
*
(1) This was a City of Latium, lying between Tybur Prænefte
and Tufculum.
(2) Orig. Aanayevoar. Garrientem, fupp. hirundinem. There is
fomewhat pretty doubtful in the Greek Phraſe, and very un-
fettled in the Reading. I have tranflated it according to the
moſt probable Opinion, that Cicero means, he would take the
Advice of Atticus in waiting till Summer was pretty far ad-
vanced, that is, till the Swallows began to chatter, before he
went to join Pompey
(3) Orig. ПexTx. Quæ fit viri reip. perit
1 2
EPIST.
116
CICERO'S EPISTLES
&
1
+
I
EPIST. XIX.
HAVE choſen to inveft my Son Cicero at
Arpi, with the manly Robe, becauſe we were
abfent from Rome, and indeed, my Neighbours of
that Corporation took the Compliment very kindly;
but yet I obferved great Sorrow and Dejection,
both amongst them, and in all the Places through
which I paffed, fo difmal, fo gloomy is the Pro-
fpect (1) of our impending, mighty, Calamity!
Levies are raifing, and taking up their Winter
Quarters. If fuch Proceedings are burdenfome
even from Patriots, when the War is juft, and its
Profecution moderate, how intolerable muft they
be when carried on by the utmoft Fury of Ruffians,
and in the Profecution of a moft unnatural civil
War.
Now, you are not to imagine, that there is in
all Italy one Rafcal, who has not joined Cæfar.
I ſaw the general Rendezvous of them at Formiæ:
I was well acquainted with them beforehand (nor,
indeed, did I ever look upon them as any other
than Beaſts of Prey), but I never before faw them
in one Group-Let me be gone then, go where
I will-Let me bid adieu to all my Concerns
Let me be gone, I fay, to Pompey, who will
be more thankful for my having joined him,
than if I had filed with him. We had then great
Hopes; at prefent (I fpeak for myſelf) we have
(1) Orig. 'Avabeúpnors. Confpe&us.
A
1
none
to ATTICUS.
117
none (1), and I am the only Man of our Party
who has not left Italy, becaufe he 'was afraid of
Cæfar. And yet, by Heavens, I do not act thus
for the Sake of my Country, which I take to be
entirely ruined, but to avoid the Imputation of
Ingratitude, towards a Man, who relieved me
from the Misfortunes which indeed himfelf inflicted,
and becauſe, I cannot be a Witneſs to the preſent
or future Meaſures that muſt certainly be in Agita-
tion at Rome.
I fuppofe, by this Time, fome Refolutions have
paffed the Senate; I wish Volcatius (2) may have
had the Direction of them-But there is nothing
in that, for all muſt ſpeak out of one Mouth. Ser-
vius, however, will be the moft untractable, for he
fent his Son with Pontius Titinianus to the Army (3),
that was to kill, or at leaft, to take Pompey. Titi-
nianus was indeed, influenced by Fear. But as to
Servius-Well! let us leave off being in a Paffion
-Let us come to fome Refolution, even though
it were the tireſome, and to me the moſt diſagree-
(1) Orig. Tum enim eramus in maxima fpe; nunc, ego quidem,
in nulla. Monfieur Mongault tranflates this, Car alors nous
avions de grandes efperances, & il ne nous en reste plus. I have
in another Place obferved, (Vide Tranſlation of the Orations,
Vol. II.) that no Tranflator or Commentator has attended
to the Meaning of the Particle Quidem. And this Paffage,
from fo excellent a Tranflator as Monfieur Mongault, is a freſh
Proof of it.
(2) He was of a moderate Character, and one of the moſt
ancient amongst the Confulars.
(3) I have taken fome Liberty in the Tranſlation here, be.
cauſe the Words of the Original feem to imply, that thofe
two Gentlemen were fent with a particular Commiffion to af-
faffinate, or to take Pompey.
I 3
able
118
CICERO's EPISTLES
able one, that of continuing to breath(1)
As
the Ports of the. Adriatic Sea are fhut up, I will
embark at a Port upon the Tuscan Sea; if I find
Difficulty at Puteoli, I will go to Croto, or to
Thurie (2), and thus we excellent Citizens, and
eminent Patriots, muft act as profeffed Pyrates (3).
For I can fee no other Method, by which we can
carry on this War. We are now ſkulking to Egypt-
we are in no Condition to face our Enemy, and there
is no depending upon any Profpect of an Accom-
modation, but I have already fufficiently bewailed
thofe melancholy Circumftances.
I beg you will inform me in your Letters by
Cephalio, of all that is done or faid at Rome; if I
can fuppofe People there to retain ftill the Ufe of
Speech. I followed your Advice, efpecially as to
the Dignity I kept up in my Interview with
Cæfar, and in my continuing firm, not to go to
Rome. Finish what you have begun. Write me
(1) I cannot fee, admitting the Reading laid down by Gra-
wius, and followed by Monfieur Mongault himſelf, why both of
them ſhould look upon this Paffage as irrecoverable and irrecon-
cileable to Senfe. l'imagine, that whoever compares it as I have
tranflated it, with other Paffages of our Author's Works, will
think it contains a Sentiment very agreeable to Cicero's Man-
ner. It was no new Thing for our Author, when preffed by
Misfortunes, as he is in this Place, to deliberate both with
himſelf and his Friends, whether or not he fhould live. The
Reader may confult, Vol. I, Page 144, 146, 156. and almoſt
the whole third Book of thefe Epistles.
(2) This Sea-port lay upon the Gulf of Sarentum, and is
likewife called Cybaris.
:.
(3) We have already feen, that he accuſed Pompey, with a
Defign to famifh Italy, by cutting off all their Provifions by
Sea.
}
punctually
to ATTICUS.
119
punctually (for Matters are now come to an Ex-
tremity with me) all that you want, and all that
you wiſh to have done. And yet I ſee nɔ Chojce
that is left.Write me, however, what, or ra-
ther whatever, comes into your Head.
}
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CICERO's
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​CICERO's
EPISTLES
то
ATTICUS.
BOOK X.
EPIST I.
N the third of April, after coming to my
Brother's Houfe of Laterium (1), I re-
ceived your Letter, which gave me more
Refpite from Sorrow, than I had known
fince theſe Troubles began. It is of great Con-
fequence to me, that you approve of my Firmnefs
of Reſolution, and the Manner of my Behaviour.
As to the Approbation which you fay I have re-
ceived from our Friend Sextus, it gives me as
much Joy, as if I had received it from the Judg-
ment of his Father, of whom I always had the
(1) This Place lay near Arte.
greateſt
to ATTICUS.
121
greatest Opinion. Well do I remember, on that
Day, of all Days, the 5th of December, what he
faid to me when I was talking to him concerning
fomewhat. Said he,
Yet in a mighty Deed, I shall expire,
Let future Ages hear it, and admire (1)!
His Authority therefore is ftill alive with me, and
his Son, who is his exprefs Image, fucceeds to my
Regard for him. I defire that you will remember
me to him moft fincerely.
Though the Time you mark out for my coming
to fome Refolution, cannot be far off (for that venal
Speaker (2) has, I fuppofe, before now, winded up
his Harangue, and fomething, I fuppofe, has been
done in the Convention of the Senators, for I can-
not call it a Senate), yet ftill you hold me in
Sufpence; though I am the lefs fo, as I am per-
fectly convinced that you are fixed in your Opinion
how I ought to proceed. What elſe can be the
Meaning of your telling me, that Flavius is to go
for Sicily at the Head of a Legion, and that he has
entered upon his Commiffion; that many wicked
Schemes are in Readineſs or in Agitation, and that
more will follow? For my own Part, I pay no
Regard to the Law of Solon, your and my Coun-
(1) Orig. Μὴ μάν, ἀσπουδεί γε καὶ ἀκλειῶς ἀπολαίμην,
᾿Αλλὰ μέγα ρέξας τι, καὶ ἐσσομένοισι πυθέσθαι.
Ne ignaviter & inglorie peream, fed magno aliquo facinore edito
quod audiatur a Pofteris. This is a Verfe taken from Homer.
who puts it in the Mouth of Hector when he is killed by
Achilles. The Tranſlation is Mr. Pope's.
(2) Several Characters in Rome answer to this Expreffion, but
we are not certain who the particular Perfon was, whom Çicere
meant.
tryman
122
CICERO's EPISTLES
tryman (1), which made it Death for any Perſon
in a civil Commotion, not to take one Party or
the other; and unleſs you differ in Opinion from
me, both I and my young Gentlemen will retire
from this Scene of Buſtle. But I am more deter-
mined upon the other Refolution: However, I will
precipitate nothing, but wait for your Advice, and
(unleſs you may have written another Letter before)
for the Letter which I defired you to fend me by
Cepbalio.
You write me not as a Thing you have heard, but
as a Suggeftion of your own, that I muſt be drawn to
Rome if an Accommodation fhould be fet on Foot.
For my Part, I cannot fee what room there can be
for any fuch Propofal, fince Cæfar appears to be
entirely determined to ſtrip, if he can, Pompey,
both of his Army, and his Government, unleſs
the fame venal Orator can perfuade him to be quiet,
while the Mediators are paffing to and fro. I fee
nothing now to hope for, or that can be done.
And yet, it is a Confideration with a good Pa-
triot (and a great Confideration it is too, with
Regard to his Country's Intereft (2), (whether he is
to affociate himſelf in the Counfels of a Tyrant,
even when virtuous Meaſures are under Delibera-
tion. Therefore, fhould I chance to be invited
(which, indeed, is very improbable, after his being
fo difgufted as he was, at my ſpeaking my Mind
fo freely as I did upon an Accommodation); but,
I fay, fhould it fo chance, write me in what Man-
眚
​(1) Alluding to our Author's and his Friend's Fondneſs for
Athens.
(2) Orig. Τῶν πολιτικωτάτων σκεμμάτων. Propofitorum quce G
rempublicam pertinent.
ner
to ATTICUS.
123
ner you think I fhould behave, for that would be
one of the moſt critical Periods in my whole Life.
I am extremely glad, that you are pleaſed with
what you hear from Trebatius that worthy Man,
and good Patriot, and your repeated Exclamation
of most excellent (1)! gives me a Satisfaction, that is
unuſual to me in my prefent Situation. I am ex-
tremely impatient for your Letter, which, I fup-
poſe, by this Time you have ſent off.
Your (2) Friend Sextus and you, have preferved
the fame Dignity of Behavour which you recom-
mended to me. Your Couſin Celer is not fo wife
as he is witty. What my Daughter told you con-
cerning the young Gentlemen, is true.
What you
write me concerning Marcus Antonius, is more
ugly in Report than in Effect. The Agony (3) I
am now in, is like that of Death, I muft either
ſpeak my Mind of public Matters (4) amongſt Re-
bels with Freedom, or join our Patriots with Dan-
ger. I muft either follow the Latter in their
Madneſs, or oppofe the former in their Treafons.
Either Meaſure is attended with Danger, but what
I am about, is neither fafe nor fhameful.
I am not of Opinion, that the Perfon who ſent
his Son to Brundufium with Propofals of Peace,
will be employed as a Deputy (5). I have heard
(1) Orig. ixQuvnous vwépev. Exclamatio egregiè.
no
(2) This probably was the Beginning of another Letter, and
which is often the Cafe with thoſe Letters, it has probably
flipt into this through Accident, or Careleffneſs.
(3) Orig. äan. Anxietas.
(4) Orig. IlonɩTEUTéor. In Rep. verfandum.
(5) Monfieur Mongault has tranflated this in a different
Senfe, and upon a Reading from Grævius, which I do not
find to be warranted, nor indeed, has either Grævius or he
admitted
1
124
CICERO's EPISTLES
no mention of him, and I think fo much the bet-
ter. As to Peace, my Sentiments are the fame
with yours, that their Treating of Peace is a down-
right Sham, but that their Preparations for War
are in good earneſt. Should I therefore happen
to be deputed, I fhall have the lefs Reafon to write,
or even to conſider about my Behaviour (1).
I
EPIST. II.
Was to go to Minturne, when I received your
Letter from Cephalio, the 5th of April, and,
after ſtaying there all next Day, I intended forth-
with to leave it. I have, however, remained in
my Brother's Houfe at Arce, it being a more pri-
vate Place, till I can hear fomething more certain,
and, in the mean while, all may be done, that can
be done, without me. The Chattering of the Swal-
lows (2) notifies the Approach of Summer. I am
in å Fever till I am gone, but how, or where, is
ſtill a Queſtion.-—Well! that muſt be left to my
own Enquiries, and proper Perfons.-Mean while
admitted it into their Text. Mean while, I have retained the
common Reading, becauſe I think it makes as good, if not
better, Senfe as that adopted by the French Tranflator. The
Perfon alluded to here, feems to have been either the elder
Balbus, or the elder Sulpicius, moft probably the Latter.
(1) The Reaſon of this is, becauſe he knew that Cæfar's
Party was not in earneft, as he mentions immediately before,
and not becauſe (as, Monfieur Mongault is fand of fuppofing)
no body ſpoke of our Author for a Mediator. For both Cafar
and Balbus, and many others, had mentioned him as the moſt
proper Perſon to be employed. I likewiſe think Monfieur Mon-
gault is a little miſtaken in the latter, as well as in the former,
Part of this Paragraph, but it is of no great Importance.
(1) Orig. λadaysũoa. Garrula hirundo.
*
da
?
to ATTICUS.
125
do you, my Friend, continue as, hitherto, to affift
me all you can with your Advice. My Situation
is ſo inextricable, that I muſt leave all to Fortune.
My Endeavours are hopeless; and it would be next.
to à Miracle, fhould they be ſucceſsful.
ง
I am against that Vifit from Dionyfius, with
which I am threatened by my Daughter's Lettér.
It would be very improper at this Time, and I
fhould be forry that a Fellow, who hates me fo
muck, fhould entertain kimfelf with my Misfor-
tunes, efpecially as they are fo great at preſent.
But I think you have no Bufinefs to refent my
Quarrel with him,
È PIS T. III.
I Have, indeed I have
Have, indeed I have nothing to write you.
There are fome Things, however, that I am
curious to know.Is Cæfar gone?-In what
State has he left Rome ?-Whom has he left to com-
mand in Italy?-Who are the Officers to whom he
has affigned particular Governments, and particu-
lar Departments of Bufinefs?-Has he, according
to any Refolution of the Senate, fent any Deputies
to Pompey and the Confuls, to treat of Peace?-
Thoſe are the Points I defire to know of you, and,
for that Purpoſe, I trouble you with this Letter.
It will therefore be kind, and obliging in you, tʊ
inform me of thefe Matters, and of what ever elfe
may concern me to know. I will wait at Arce for
your Anſwer. This is the fecond Letter I have
wrote you on the 7th of April; and yeſterday I
wrote you one longer with my own Hand.. I am
told
126
CICERO'S EPISTLES
t
told you have been ſeen in the Pontifical Palace (1);
I cannot blame you. For if it is a Fault to appear
in public, I have been guilty of it myſelf.
*
J
I am impatient (yet I know not why I fhould be
impatient) for a Letter from you. I beg, however,
you will write me, even though you have nothing
to tell me; only let me know that from your own
Hand. Cæfar, in his Letters, forgives me for not
coming to Rome, and tells me that he is very far
from being difgufted with my Refufal. I am not
at all forry at what he writes me, that Tullus and
Servius complain to him, that, he has not fhown
the fame Indulgence to them as to me.
fooliſh Fellows thefe are to fend their Sons to the
Army, that befieged Pompey, and yet make a Scru-
ple of affifting in a Senate, that is called by Cafar.
Mean while, I have ſent you the Copy of Cafar's
Letter.
What
I
EPIST. IV.
Received ſeveral Letters from you the fame Day,
all of them moft accurately penned, but I never
ſhall be tired of Reading that which was made up
in the Form of a Roll (2). The Pains you took in
writing it, I affure you, were not loft, if you
meant thereby to oblige me in the moft fenfible
(1). Orig. Regia. This was a Place in which the greateſt
Men in Rome uſed to affemble in public, for the Sake of Com-
pany and Converfation, as we do at Court, or other public
Places.
(2) Orig. Quæ voluminis inftar erat. Monfieur Mongault re-
fers, this Expreffion to the Largenefs of Atticus's Letter, but I
to its form. 'The Difference is not very material.
Manner.
1
to ATTICUS.
127
Manner: I therefore earnestly defire you to repeat
your Favours as often as you can, and while you
can, that is, as long as you know how to direct
to me..
Well! it is now Time, if poffible, for me to fi-
niſh, or if I cannot finiſh, to moderate (which is
no more than I can do) thofe my daily Lamenta-
tions over the State of the Public. I bid adieu to
all Reflections upon the Dignity, the Honours, and
the exalted Station of Life I have forfeited. I am
now only to reflect by what Means I roſe to them,
how I diſcharged them, and in what Eftimation İ
lived with the Public. In fhort, it is a Confidera-
tion with me in my prefent Calamities, what dif
ference there is between me and the Men, for whoſe
Sakes I have loft my all. I mean the Men who
thought they could not indulge their Swing of Am-
bition, without driving me from my Country. But
you ſee what has been the Cataftrophe of their Co-
alition and iniquitous Affociation. Cæfar, who was
one of the Parties, in the Glow of Refentment and
Treaſon, is fo far from relenting, that he is, every
Day, making new Acceffions of Power.
driving Pompey from Italy, he now endeavours to
purſue his Perſon in one Country, and to ftrip him
of his Government in another. He is fo far from
declining, that he, in fome Meature, arrogates to
himſelf, the Appellation of Tyrant, which, in fact,
he is. Pompey, the other Party, who could fee me
crawling at his Feet without raifing me, who faid,
that he could do nothing againſt the Will of Cafar ;
this Man, I fay, after efcaping from the Power
and the Sword of his Father-in-Law, makes Prepa-
rations, by Sea and Land, to carry on a War not
·
After
indeed
128
CICERO's EPISTLES
indeed unjuſt in itſelf; but let it be fanctified by
Loyalty, let it be juftified by Neceffity; yet ftill
fhould he be conquered, it would be fatal; and even
fhould he conquer, it would be pernicious, to his
Country.
Yet, glorious as the Actions of thoſe mighty
Generals are, I cannot give them the Preference to
mine; nor can I think them greater in all their En-
joyment of the Pomp of Fortune, than I was,
when I encountered her Storms. For what Enjoy-
ment can a Man have of himſelf, who either aban-
dons or oppreffes his Country? And if I am right,
as you fay I am, in what I have written, in my phi-
lofophical Treatifes, that the only Source of Happi-
nefs is Virtue, and that nothing can be wretched
but what is diſhoneſt; both thoſe great Men muſt
furely be wretched to the laft Degree, who never
had a Thought of the Intereſt and Honour of their
Country, but what was poftponed to their own
Schemes of public Power, and private Emolument.
What Peace, what Comfort therefore do I feel within
myſelf! conſcious as I am, that, while it was in my
Power, I ferved my Country with Succefs; that at
leaft I ever judged of her Affairs as if I had the
Spirit of Divination, and that, fourteen Years
ago, I forefaw the very Tempeſt in which ſhe is
now overwhelmed.
I will go then, attended with this Comfort
of Conſcience; with a heavy Heart, indeed, not fo
much on my own and my Brother's Account, for
both of us are on the Decline of Life, as on Ac-
count of our Sons, whom I fometimes look upon
as Pledges in our Hands, that ought to be forth-
coming for the Service of our Country. One of
them
to ATTICUS.
129
them, at leaft, is endued with more filial Piety, and
therefore he does not give me fuch mortal Pangs ( 1 ).
-But as to the other-furely nothing in life gave
me ever fuch Sorrow and Concern, he has been
fo far fpoiled by his Father's, and my, Indulgence,
that I dare not mention what he bas dared to do;
beſides, I am impatient for your Letters, for you
informed me, that you would write me more at
large, when you had feen him. I never fhowed
him any Indulgence but what was tempered with
much Severity, not even when he was little better
than an Infant, and his Father's only Child. I
have even checked him in his attempting many,
and grofs Faults, but his Father's Indulgence ought
rather to have endeared him to him, than have
been fo monftroully abuſed by him.
We were fo much concerned at the Letters he
wrote to Cæfar, that we even concealed them from
you, but I perceive that he has rendered his Father's
Life miferable. I dare not exprefs to you, the
Grimace of Affection which he put on, when he
fet out upon this Journey. All I know is, that,
after he had been with Hirtius, he was fent for by
Cafar; that he informed him of my being, in my
Heart, an utter Enemy to all his Schemes, and that
I intended to leave Italy. Thus much I write you,
though with a trembling Hand. But our Indul-
gence could never have brought him to that; it
(1) Orig. Quorum quidem alter, non tam (quia majore pietate
eft) me mirabiliter excruciat. I have here fupplied a Parenthefis,
which the Senſe evidently demands, rather than either call in
a Reading or a Senfe not to be warranted. Monfieur Mon-
gault tranflates this Paffage, L'an m'afflige infiniment, moins parce
qu'il eft mon fils que parce que jelui vois un bon naturel. It is im-
poffible this excellent Tranflator could have ſo egregiouſly mif-
taken this Paflage as he has done, had he attended to the Sig-
nification of the Particle quidem, the Miflaking which I have
fo often obſerved has led all Tranflators into grofs Blunders.
VOL. II.
K
muft
130
CICERO'S EPISTLES
}
muſt be owing to his own perverfe Nature. It was
this, and not their Father's Conduct, that corrupted
Curio, and the Son of Hortenfius. My Brother is
afhamed to fhow his Face, through Concern; nor
is he ſo anxious about his own Life, as about mine.
He, my Atticus, is the Object to whom you
are to adminiſter Comfort, if you can. All the
Comfort that fuggefts to me is, the Poffibility that
our Information may be either falfe or exaggerated.´
But, fuppofing it to be true, what can be done,
fituated as I am, and ready to take my Flight? For
did our Government ſtill ſubfift, I ſhould be at no
Lofs how to proceed in, the proper Terms, either
of Severity or Mildneſs, Either Refentment, Grief,
or Fear, may have given my Pen a feverer Edge
in this Matter, than is confiftent with either your
or my Affection towards the young Man. But if
the Allegations are true, you will pardon me, if
they are falfe, you will do me a Pleafure in unde-
ceiving me. But, however the Matter may turn
out, you are to impute nothing either to the Uncle
or the Father.
Having written thus far, I received a Meffage
from Curio, that he was about to pay me a Vifit,
he having arrived at Cuma laft Night, being the
13th of this Month. If his Converſation and mine
therefore is productive of any Thing, that you ought
to know, you ſhall have it below.
Curio has gone paft my Houſe, and ordered I
fhould be acquainted that he would, very foon,
wait upon me. To Puteoli he run; there he ha-
rangued the People; when his Harangue was over,
he came to me and flaid with me a long while.
What a fcandalous Encounter it was!-You know
the
to ATTICUS.
ま
​.$
1
the Man.-He was as frank as ever.-In the firfe
Place, he acquainted me for a Certainty, that all
who had been baniſhed, by the Pompeian Law,
would be récalled, for that he was to employ them
againſt Cato in Sicily. He made no doubt of Ca-
'far's becoming Maſter of both Spains; that after
that, he would lead his Army, in Perfon, againſt
Pompey, be where he will, and that Pompey's De-
ftruction alone could put a Period to the War; that
what paffed nearer Rome was of little Conſequence,
and that Ceſar was fo much provoked at the Op-
pofition he met with from the Tribune Metellus,
that he intended once to have killed him (1), which
if he had done, a great deal of other Blood muft
have been ſpilt; that a great many adviſed him to
cruel Meaſures; that he was averfe to Blood, nei-
ther by Principle, nor by Nature, but becauſe he
thought Clemency would ftrengthen his Intereſt
with the People; but that, if he once loft their
Hearts, he would then plunge into Blood, and that
he was ſtartled, when he underſtood that even the
Mob took offence at what he had done as to the
public Treaſure. Curio added, that it was for that
Reafon he had not ventured to purſue a firm Refo-
lution, he had laid down, of haranguing the Peo-
ple in public at Rome, and that when he left it, he
was greatly confuſed and diſconcerted.
}
1
I next came to¹ queftion Curio what Profpect he
had,-where were the Forms, where the Subſtance
of our Conftitution? He frankly told me, that all
his Thoughts of that Kind were at an End. He
was afraid of Pompey's Fleet, and he faid, if it
ſhould act, that he muft abandon Sicily. What,
*
(1) This was for oppofing Cafar's feizing the public Trea-
fure at Rome.
K
2
faid
1
>
132
CICERO'S EPISTLES
faid I, is the Meaning of thofe (1) fix Lictors who
attend you? If you received them from the Senate,
why are they laurelled? and, if from Cafar, why
are they fo few? I wanted to have had them, re-
plies he, upon a furreptitious (2) Reſolution of
the Senate (for he had no other Means to get them.)
But, continues he, Cæfar hates the Senate more
than ever, and told me, I will be the Source of
public Honours. I ftill urged him, why have you
no more than fix Lictors? I might have had twelve,
replied he, but I declined it.
How defirous, faid-I to him, was I to requeſt of
Cæfar the Favour I hear he has granted to Philippus
(3). But I feared I fhould gain Nothing upon
him, becauſe, he could gain Nothing upon me.
He would have granted it, anfwered Curio, with
Pleaſure, but you may ſuppoſe yourſelf in the fame
State as if he had granted it; for, I will write him
in any Terms you pleafe, that you and I have
fettled that Matter between ourſelves. What fig-
nifies it to him where you are, if you are not in
the Senate-houſe? You could have given him no
manner of Difguft by leaving Italy. Upon this I
told Curio, that I wanted to be retired and folitary,
and the rather becauſe I was attended by Lictors.
He approved of the Refolution. Well then, faid I,
I muſt go to Greece thro' your Province, becauſe the
Coafts of the Adriatic are guarded by Soldiers. No-
thing, faid he, in the World can give me greater
I
(1) He referved them from Cæfar, as being Pro-prætor;
none but Confuls and Proconfuls were attended with twelve,
and none had them wrapped round with Laurel, but thoſe
who had gained a Victory.
(2) See Vol I. P. 232, 233,
(3) Though he was nearly related by Marriage to Cafar,
yet he gave him Leave to remain neutral.
Plea
to ATTICUS.
133
Pleaſure; and here he made me a Profuſion of Com-
pliments. Thus far therefore I have gained, that I
ſhall be able to embark not only openly but fafely.
;
He has put off, till another Time, all Talk of
other Matters, and if any Thing worth writing
ſhall occur, then you fhall know it. There are
fome Things, however, I have forgot to mention
fuch as, whether Cafar will wait for an Interreign?
Whether but what am I talking about!-Curio
told me, Cafar had offered the Confulfhip to him,
but that he refuſed it for the next Year. There
are other Things befides, that I muſt learn of him.
In ſhort, he ſwore (but Oaths coſt him nothing)
that Cæfar is extreamly well pleaſed with me.
I appeal, faid he, to what he wrote to Dola-
bella. Well, what was that? faid I.-Curio then
affured me, that when Dolabella was defirous I fhould
come to Rome, Cafar, in Anfwer, returned him
many Thanks, and told him, that he was not only
fatisfied, but pleafed at my not coming. What
can I fay more? I begin to be more at Eaſe, and
my Concern at my Family's Treachery, and my
Nephew's Converſation with Hirtius, is now abated.
How defirous I am, that the young Man were
worthy of his Blood, and how very unwilling
am I to fufpect him.But ftill, where was the
Occafion for his meeting Hirtius ?—— Well
there muſt be ſomewhat, though I hope not much,
in it.
And yet, I am furpriſed that he is not
returned. It cannot be long ere we know all.-
T
You are to pay the Money due to me from the
Opii, to my Wife; for there is now no Security
to be had at Rome for Money. Do you, however,
affift me by your Advice, whether I fhall travel
* Rhegium by Land, or embark directly here. As
K 3
it
¥34
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
it will be fome Time before I depart, I fhall have
new Matter to write you as foon as I fhall have
feen Curio. I beg you will continue your Enqui-
ries concerning Tyro, that I may know what he
is about.
1
EPIST.
V.
F I miſtake not, I wrote you very fully before
concerning my whole Plan of Conduct. As to
the Day of my Departure, all I can fay, for certain,
is, that it will not be before the Change of the
Moon. Curio's Converfation with me the Day after
I laſt wrote to you, was pretty much in the fame
Strain as before, only he was more frank in´own-
ing, that he could not forefee any Settlement of
our prefent Diſtractions. What you mention, con-
cerning the Government of my Nephew, is im-
practicable; I will, however, do all in my Power;
and I wiſh you would do the fame. But, I fhall deal
with him as roundly as you propofe to do. I have
written directly to Veftorius concerning my Daugh-
ter, who was very importunate with me on that Head.
Veltenus was more reaſonable in his Converſation
with you than in his Letters to me, but I am ex-
treamly furprized at the inaccuracy of his Account.
For, after Philotimus told me, that that Meffuage
might be bought of Canuleius for four hundred
Pounds, and even cheaper, if I ſhould apply to
Veltenus, I accordingly wrote to defire Velenus to
abate the Price, if he could, which he promiſed to
do. He lately wrote to me, that he had pur-
chafed it for two hundred and forty Pounds, and
defired me to let him know the Perfon to whom I
had
to ATTICUS.
135
had a Mind it ſhould be conveyed, and that the
13th of November was the Day of Payment. I an-
fwered him pretty tartly, but fomewhat between
jeft and earneft., But now, that he acts as a
Gentleman, I have nothing to accufe him of, and
I have written to let him know, that you have in-
formed me of the whole Affair. I defire that
you
will let me know every Thing about your Journey,
how, and when, it is to be. April the 17th.
EPIST.
VI.
No
and friendly.
with me, if I
That is a diff-
THING but the Weather detains me in
this Place. I will act the plain open Part,
happen what will in Spain; you need not, how-
ever, fay one Word. I have, in my former Let-
ters, opened to you all my Schemes; which is the
Reaſon why this Letter is fo fhort, befides
my be-
ing hurried in getting ready for my Departure. As
to the younger Quintus, I have tutor'd him to Pur-
poſe (1).-You know the reft. The Advices you
give me afterwards, are both wife
But every Thing will be practicable
can be upon my Guard as to him.
cult Point. He is a ſtrange Medley; he has No-
thing about him' that is ingenuous, Nothing that is
fincere. I wish you had undertaken the Management
of him, for his Father is too indulgent to him, and
flackens the Reins as fast as I pull them. I could ma-
nage the Boy, were it not for the Father; you might
at any Rate; but I cannot blame you for not at-
tempting it—it is a great Tafk.. We are informed
for a Certainty, that Pompey goes through Illyria to
(1) This Expreffion is from Terencs.
K 4
Gaul.
}
136
CICERO's EPISTLES
Y
Gaul. I must now fee how, or which Way I am
to eſcape.
F
EPIST. VII.
OR my Part, I approve of your going by
Apulia and Sipontum, and of all the Caution
you ufe, for I think your Situation is different from
mine. Not. but both of us are under the ſame
Tyes to our Country, but our Country is now out
of the Queftion. The Difpute is, who fhall be
our King? In this Difpute, the King, who is
the moſt moderate, the moſt virtuous, and the
moſt honeft; the King, whofe Succefs hereafter,
is connected with the very Exiſtence of the Roman
People, has been worsted. But fhould this King
be fuccefsful, he will ufe his Advantage in the
Manner, and after the Example of, a Sylla. In
fuch a Difpute, therefore, you ought to declare
yourſelf openly for neither; you ought to watch a
proper Opportunity. But my Cafe is far different
for I am fo tied down by Obligations to Pompey, that
I cannot be ungrateful; and yet, I think, I need
not to attend him in the Field, but retire to Malta,
or fome other little Town. You will tell me, that
is doing no Service to the Man, to whom I am
unwilling to appear ungrateful. But give me
Leave to fay, that it is more than Pompey himſelf,
perhaps, would have required. But Time will
prove this. Let me at any Rate be gone, nor need
I hurry before the fine Seafon comes on, fince Do-
labella commands the Adriatic Sea, and Curio the
Streights of Sicily.
;
I had fome Notion, that Servius Sulpicius was
defirous to talk with me, I therefore fent him a
Letter
to ATTICU S.
137
Letter by my Freedman Philotimus. If he will behave
as a Man, I cannot wish for a better Companion
(1); but behave how he will, I will ſtill act like
myſelf. Curio ſtaid fome Time with me; he
thought, that Cæfar was mortified with the Peo-
ple's Diſtaſte at him, and he was diffident as to
Sicily, in Cafe Pompey ſhould put to Sea with his
Fleet. I received the younger Quintus with great
Affection; I fee, that his whole Scheme roſe from
his love of Money, and his Hopes of drawing a
Sum from Cæfar. Even that is very bad, but I
am in Hopes, there are no Grounds for the Wicked-
nefs we fufpected him of. Now, as to his prefent
Offence, I fuppofe, you will not impute it to our In-
dulgence, but to his natural Difpofition, which we
endeavour to curb all we can. You may fettle to
your own Mind the Buſineſs of the Opii Velienfes. I
fhall look upon your Houſe at Epirus, as upon my
own, but I believe, I fhall not go near that Quarter.
T
}
EPIST.
VIII.
HERE is now an End of our correfpond-
ing, by writing upon Subjects which may be
dangerous, if our Letters are intercepted; and this
is no more than the Thing itſelf ſpoke; than
you hinted, and I forefaw. But as my Daugh-
ter often writes to entreat me to wait the Event of
what is doing in Spain; as fhe always tells me, that
you are of the fame Opinion, and as I under-
ſtand ſo much from your own Letters, I think, it
is very proper for me to acquaint you
with my
Sen-
timents on that Head.
(1) Orig. Zuvodía. Comitatus.
I' fhould
138.
CICERO's EPISTLES
>
I ſhould think that Meaſure extreamly advifeable,
if I could agree with you in thinking, that my
Conduct ought to be regulated by the Event of the
War in Spain. One or the other of thefe Events
muft happen; that Cæfar (as I wish he may) may
be beaten out of Spain; or the War muſt be pro-
tracted, or elſe that Caefar, as he bids fair to do,
muſt become Mafter of all Spain. Should Cæfar
be beaten, I leave you to judge, what a Wel-
come, what an agreeable Gueft, I must be to Pom-
pey; for in fuch an Event, I believe Curio himſelf
would run over to him fhould the War be protract-
ed. I fee neither an Object, nor an End of my wait-
ing. It comes to this, that I ſhould fubmit, fhould
we be beaten in Spain. My Opinion is directly the
Reverſe, for, I think, I ought to leave Cafar
when he is victorious, rather than if he is vanquish-
ed; while he is fure, rather than while he is doubtful,
of Succefs. Should he be victorious, I can foreſee
a Maffacre, the Plunder of private Property, the
Return of Exiles, a general Bankruptcy, the Ad-
vancement of the meaneft Scoundrels to the high-
eft Places of Government, and a Tyranny infup-
portable, not only to a Roman Spirit, but an
Eastern Slave.
1
Could I in Silence behold myſelf fuch: a very
Outcaſt! could I hold up my Head, and deliver
my Vote on the fame Side with Gabinius, and
after him in Point of Precedence! Could I fee
your Client Clalius, the Plaguleius of Caius Atticus,
and fuch Fellows, mingling on the fame Bench
with me! But why do I name my Enemies only,
I could not fee even the Friends I have defended in
the
to ATTICUS.
139
1
the Senate-houſe without Indignation, nor converſe
with them without Indignity. But what if there
is no Ground for believing, that I fhall be even at
Liberty to enter the Senate-houfe? For Cafar's
Friends write me, that he is by no Means fatisfied
with my Reaſons for not being there at the laft
Meeting. Shall I then force myſelf upon him,
when I cannot do it but with Danger, after having
rejected his Friendſhip, when I might have had it
with Advantage?
In the next Place, you are to confider, that the
Affairs of Spain will not be decifive of the whole
War, unleſs you imagine, that if Pompey fhould
be beaten there, he will throw away his Arms.
Now he proceeds wholly upon the Plan of The-
mistocles, for he thinks, that whoever are Maſters of
the Sea, are confequently Maſters of the World.
He therefore, never made it a capital Point to de-
fend the two Spains in Perfon, but he made it one
from the very Beginning, to have a ftrong Fleet at Sea.
When the Time comes, therefore, he will fet ſail
for Italy with a mighty naval Armament. And
then, what a Figure fhall I make with my Neu-
trality; for then I muft declare myſelf on one Side
or other. Should I declare myſelf (1) againſt this
Invafion by Sea, how would that compleat the
Meaſure of Iniquity, and crown all my other Dif-
graces.
What fay you, my Friend, was it for this that
you did not join Pompey? No, I will not follow the
Fortunes of Pompey, and our other Leaders. For, I
find, I am either Way in Danger from the one
(1) All this Paffage is irretrievable in the Original, and
tranflated only upon Conjecture,
Party,
140
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
Party, by not doing my Duty, and from the other
by doing it; and fo diftracted are public Affairs,
that I can ſteer no Courſe but what is full of Pe-
rils. Let me therefore at once refolve not to pur-
fue, with Danger, the Meafure that I might avoid
with Safety.
Then ſay you, why did you not go beyond Seas,
with Pompey. I tell you, it was out of my Power
to do it, and I refer you to the Days and Dates of
our Letters. At the fame Time, I will frankly con-
fefs what I might eafily have concealed; I was perhaps
in the Wrong, in laying too great a Strefs upon a cer-
tain Circumftance in which I was deceived. I have
flattered myſelf with the Hopes of an Accommoda-
tion; fhould that happen, I was unwilling to have.
Cæfar for my Enemy, when he was, Friends with
Pompey, fór I had before felt, to my Coft, the Ef-
fects of their Coalition. It was the Dread of this
that occafioned this Indecifion. But if I inftantly
determine, I fhall remedy all; if I delay, I fhall
lofe all that is in Hazard.
And yet, my Friend, I own I am fwayed by
certain infallible Auguries, which I gather not from
the Collection that Appius has made for the Ufe
of our Augural College, but from the Maxims of
Plato in his Chapter upon Tyrants; for I can, by
no means, fee how Cafar can ftand upon his, own
Legs without falling, even though we ſhould conti-
nue unactive. When he had the Advantage of
Succefs and Novelty to recommend him to a needy,
deſperate, Mob, he incurred their moſt bitter Dif-
pleaſure in fix or feven Days. Add to this, that,
in two favourite Meaſures, he was forced to pull
off the Mafk, for he threw afide his Gentlenefs, in
his Behaviour, to Metellus, and he confefs'd his
Poverty
to ATTICUS.
£41
Poverty when he plundered the Treafury.
Confi-
der, befides, the Character of his Affociates or Ser-
vants in Power, for not one of thoſe, to whom he
muft give the Management of Provinces abroad,
and of the Government at Home, were able, for
two Months, to manage their private Patrimo-
nies.
Your own Sagacity will fupply other Reflections
which I cannot here collect together. Take a cool
Survey, however, of what I have laid before you,
and you muſt conclude that Cæfar's Reign can
fcarcely laft for fix Months. But fhould I be de-
ceived, I will bear with my Difappointments, as
many other illuftrious Republicans have done before
me, unleſs you ſhould fuppofe that, like another
Sardanapalus, I fhould chooſe to die upon my
Couch, rather than go intò a glorious Exile, like
Themistocles, who was, according to Thucydides,
the ableft, and the quickest Judge of prefent Measures,
and formed the most fagacious Conjectures as to future
Events (1). And yet, had this great Man been
infallible, he might have fhunned the Misfortunes
he met with. The fame Themistocles, according
to the fame Author, in all doubtful Conjun&tures, was
the ableſt Man in the World who could form the beſt
Judgment of what was right or wrong to do (2). And
yet he could not find out a 'Way to eſcape the En-
vy of the Lacedemonions, and his own Countrymen,
or to get rid of his Engagements with Artaxerxes.
(1) Orig. τῶν μὲν παρόντων δὲ ἐλαχίσης βολῆς κράτητος γνώλων,
τῶν δὲ μελλόντων ἐπὶ πλεῖσον τὸ γενησομένε ἄριτος εἰκασής. Rerum
præfentium, inito brevi et extemporali confilo optimus judex, ef
futurarum ut plurimum optimus Conjector.
(2) Οrig. τὸ ἄμεινον, καὶ τὸ χεῖρον ἐν τῷ ἀφανεῖ προεώρα μάλιστα,
Quid melius aut deterius in obfcure adhuc providebat maxime.
Never
1
142
CICERO'S EPISTLÈS
6
Never had the Night Time been fo fatal to Afric
canus (1) the wifeft, or the Victories of Sylla fo bit-
ter to Marius the Cunningeft, of Mankind, had
neither of them, ever been miſtaken in his Mea--
fures.
Mean while, I remain firm in my Belief of the
Augury I mentioned.
Never will it deceive me,
never can it happen otherwife; fall Cæfar muft,
either by his Enemies or of himfelf; for he is, to
himſelf, the greateſt of all Enemies; I am in hopes
to live to fee that Day. But it is now Time for
me to think upon the Life of immortal Glory, ra-
ther than that of perishable Nature. For, fhould
my Days be abridged, it makes but little Difference
with me, whether I fee this Tyranny eftablifhed,
or foreſee a long Time before, that it muſt happen.
As thoſe are my Sentiments, I muſt take care not
to receive my Orders from thoſe Men, againſt
whom the Senate has armed me, when I was in-
cluded in its Commiffion to take care that the Re-
public ſhould receive no Detriment (2),
You are now Mafter of all Matters that give me
Concern, and fuch is your Affection for me, that,
had I not requeſted it, you would have interefted
yourſelf in them. By Heavens, I know of nothing
farther I have to write to you; I wait only for a fair
Wind to fail (3). And yet I cannot help faying,
that I never had more Reaſon to write, than when
-I
I am to tell you, as I do now, that, of all your
(1) He was privately ftrangled upon his Couch, in the Night
Time, but the Murderer was never found out.
(2) Becauſe he had not entered Rome after his Return from
Calicia, and was fuppofed to be one of thofe Commanders in
Chief to whom that Commiſſion was addreſſed,
(3) Orig. πhoudonav. Navigationem exfpectans.
1
EX
to ATTICUS.
t
143
Expreffions of Friendship to me, none gives me
greater Pleaſure, than that most endearing Kind-
nefs and Concern you have taken with Regard to
my Daughter. It gives her, as well as me, the moſt
fenfible Joy, and, let me tell you, that her
Courage is admirable. With what Firmneſs does
fhe bear the Misfortunes of the Public, and with
what Indifference the little Rubs fhe meets with in
the Family-Way! But, above all, what Spirit does
fhe ſhow, at this Time, of my Departure. Not-
withſtanding our mutual Indearment (1), notwith-
ftanding our Sympathy of Souls (2), yet ftill her
main Concern is that I fhould act, and that Man-
kind ſhould ſpeak of me, with Honour.-But not
too much of this, left I fhould begin to melt (3).
While I am here, I beg that you will write me
what your hear from Spain, or concerning other
Matters, and I perhaps may fend you fome News
before my Departure, and the rather as my Daughter
believes, that you have not left Italy on this Oc-
cafion. I must try to obtain, from Antony, the
fame Favour I obtained from Curio, and get Li-
berty to retire to Malta, upon my promifing to
take no Part in this War. I wish I can find him
às condefcending, and as obliging to me, as Curio
was. It is given out, that he was to arrive at My-
cenum the 2d of May, but he fent me beforehand,
a Letter, which is far from giving me Pleaſure,
and of which the following is a Copy.
(1) Orig. sogyn Amor.
(2) Orig. oúvinžış. Animorum quafi Conglutinatio.
(3) Orig. ovun áberar. Animi commotionem excommifitione.
Antonius
1
144 CICERO'S EPISTLES
4
Antonius Tribune of the People, Proprætor, të
Cicero, Commander in Chief, wifheth Prof
perity:
Ith
F my Affection for you were not even greater
than you imagine, I ſhould not have been fo
apprehenſive of a Rumour, which is gone abroad,
concerning you, eſpecially as I think it to be falſe:
But, becauſe I love you beyond Meaſure, I am
forced to own that I think Report is of great Con-
fequence, even though it be falfe. I cannot be-
lieve that you are about to go beyond Sea, as you
have fuch a Value for Dolabella, and for Tullia,
your excellent Daughter, and fince all of us have
to great a Regard for you, that, by Heavens, your
Dignity and Honour are almoſt dearer to us than
they are to yourſelf. And yet, I did not think myſelf
at Liberty, as a Friend, to diſregard the Talk even
of worthlefs Men, becauſe I thought my Conduct
towards you, ought to be the more delicate, on
Account of our former Differences which aroſe ra-
ther from Jealouſy (1) in me, than from any De-
merit in you.
I therefore beg you will believe,
that, excepting my Cæfar, there is no Man in the
World I hold more dear than yourfelf; and you
be convinced, at the fame Time, that Cæfar
has a particular Regard and Friendship for Marcus
Cicero.
may
Therefore, my dear Cicero, I beg that you will
enter into no Engagements, and that you will dif-
regard the Friendſhip of a Man who did you an In-
(1) Orig. λoruxia, Obtrectatione.
jury
to ATTICUS.
145
jury, that he might afterwards ſhow you a Favour;
and, on the other Hand, that you will not fly from
the Man, who fuppofing him (which is not poffi-
ble) not to love you, defires you to remain in Safe-
ty, and in full Poffeffion of your Honours. I have
fent my very good Friend Calphurnius, as my ſpe-
'cial Meffenger, to let you know how very great
my Concern is about your Life and Dignity.
#
The fame Day Philotimus brought me a Letter
from Cæfar, in the following Words.
Cefar, Commander in Chief, to Cicero, Com-
mander in Chief, wifheth Profperity.
TH
HOUGH I am convinced you will do no-
thing that is raſh, nothing that is imprudent,
yet fo much am I touched with public Report, that
I thought proper to write to you, to beg of you,
by our mutual Affection, that you will make no
Advances in a Cauſe that is now tottering; after
declining to make any, even while it ſtood firm.
My Succeffes, and their Unfücceffes have been ſo
very great, that you will both fenfibly violate our
Friendſhip, and hurt your own Intereft, if you do
hot follow Fortune. It will not be thought that
you embrace their Caufe (for that is the fame as
when you declined to affift in their Counfels) but
that I have done fomething which you have con-
demned; which is the moſt ſevere Thing that can
happen to me from you; and I conjure you, by
the Rights of our Friendſhip, not to do it. In the
laft Place, what is more fuitable to the Character
of a worthy, quiet, Man, and a good Citizen, than
to take no Concern in civil Diffentions? This is a
Vol. II.
L
Conduct
~146
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Conduct which fome approved of, but could not
follow becauſe of Danger. After you have fe-
riouſly reflected on the Tenor of my Actions, and
the Evidences of my Friendſhip, you will find no
Courſe more fafe, or honourable for you to purſue,
than to decline having any hand in this Difpute.
Dated the 16th of April on the Road,
-
2
+
TH
EPIS T.. IX...
>
&
HE Arrival of Philotimus, that Fool, that
Idiot, that habitual Liar for Pompey, has
ftruck all with me fenfelefs. As to myfelf, I am
ſtupid. We were, all of us, perfuaded, that Cæfar
had checked his own Progrefs, but now he is faid
to have given it Wings. We heard that Petreius
had joined Afranius, but that. News is now far
from being confirmed. In fhort, we are here of
Opinion, that Pompey, at the Head of a great Ar-
my, has paffed through Illyria to. Germany, and
this News is faid, to be founded upon indifputable
Authority (1). I am therefore of Opinion, that I
ought to retire to Malta, till Matters come to a
Criſis in Spain; and I can find it, from Cæfar's
Letters, to be pretty much his Senfe that I fhould
do fo, for he tells me that I can. do nothing more
honourable, or fafe, than to decline having any
Hand in the Difpute. Where, fay you, is all the
Spirit you ſhowed in your laſt Letters? It is here,
and the fame as ever. But I wish to Heaven. that
"
(1) Orig. avlevtıxŵs, Gerto Auctore.
2
7
my
to ATTICUS.
147
>
my Difficulties reached no farther than expofing my
own Life, I am fometimes melted by the Tears of
my Family, who entreat me to wait for News from
Spain. I have a Letter from Marcus Cælius con-
taining the fame Requeft; it is written in a moft
lamentable Strain, conjuring me, not rafhly, to be-
tray to Mifery, my Fortunes, my only Child, and
all my Friends; our Boys could not help crying
plentifully when they read this Letter. My Son is
indeed the moſt refolute, and, for that Reafon, he
touches me with the greater Concern, for his chief
Care is, that I'may act with Honour. To Malta
therefore let me go, and from thence--where you
pleafe.-Do you, however, even at this Time, con-
tinue to write me, efpecially if you hear any Thing
concerning Afranius. If I fhall have any Conver-
fation with Antony, I will write to you what has
paffed, but I will take your Advice in being cau-
tious of Belief; for it would be both difficult, and
dangerous for me to fculk in Italy. I wait for Ser-
vius, till the 7th, at the Request of his Wife and
the younger Servius.. I am glad that your Ague.is
abated, and I have likewife fent you the Copy of
my Letter from Cælius.
*
}
Celius to Cicero Health.
Becoming quite lifeless through your Let-
ters, which difcover you to think of nothing
that is not very difmal, without either explaining
what it is, (though I cannot fay that you have not
given me a Hint as to the Nature of what troubles
you) I immediately wrote you this Letter.
My dear Cicero, I beg and conjure you, by your
L 2
For-
148.
CICERO's EPISTLÉS
Fortunes, and by your Children, to form no Re-
folution in Prejudice of your Welfare' and Dignity.
I call to witneſs Gods, Men, and the Powers of
Friendſhip, that what I have foretold you, was no
groundleſs Intimation, but the Refult of undoubted
Intelligence upon my having an Interview with Ca-
før, and learning what his Sentiments would be,
fhould he be ſucceſsful. If you imagine that Ca-
far will hereafter follow the fame Maxims of Con -
duct, by releafing his Enemies and offering Terms
of Peace, you are miſtaken. He now meditates,
he now fpeaks nothing, but what is terrible and
vindictive. He has left the Senate in a Paffion, and
it is certain, he is ftung with the Oppofition he has
met with; nor, by Heavens, will there be hereaf-
ter any Means of appeafing him. If therefore you
love yourſelf, if you love your only Son, your Fami-
ly, if your Hopes of what is to come are dear to your
Mind, if we, if your excellent Son-in-Law have any
Influence with you, you will not defire to ruin our
Fortunes, or to force us, upon the cruel Alterna-
tive of hating and forfaking the Party upon whofe
Succefs our own Safety depends, or of impioufly
harbouring a Thought prejudicial to your Welfare.
You are likewife to reflect, that you have already,
by your Hefitation, incurred all you can incur of
Pompey's Difpleafure; and to declare yourſelf a-
gainſt Cæfar, now that his Succefs is certain, after
refusing to oppofe him when it was doubtful; to
follow a Party that is routed, after declining it when
it made a Stand, is the Height of Madnefs. Take
care my Friend, leaft, while you are afraid of ap-
pearing too little of a great Man, you may be mif-
taken in your Choice of what is great..
1
But
to ATTICUS.
149
L
But if I cannot bring you wholly over to my
Sentiments, let me prevail with you, at leaſt, to
wait the Reſult of what paffes in Spain; which, I
foretell to you, will fall into our Hands as foon as
Cæfar appears there; and what Hopes the other
Party can have, if they lofe Spain, I know no
more, by Heavens, than I can diſcover, what you
mean by joining a ruin'd Intereſt. Cæfar had
heard what (by your Silence about it) you have
intimated to me, and our firft Compliments were
fcarcely over, when he informed me of all he had
heard. I pretended to be ignorant, yet I begged
of him to write to you in fuch a Strain, as might
induce you to remain in Italy. He carries me with
him into Spain, which is the only Reafon why,
before I came to Rome, I did not run to you where-
ever you might be, and-in Perfon labour with the
greateſt Earneftneſs for your ſtaying in Italy.
Think, my deareft Friend, again and again, be-
fore you utterly ruin yourself and your Family,
nor wittingly and cooly plunge into a Ruin, from
whence you can ſee no Means to eſcape. If you are
touched with what the Nobility, on the one Side,
may ſay; if you are unable to bear the Infolence
and Arrogancy of certain Perfons on the other Side,
my Opinion is, that you ſhould chufe fome Town
that is not infeſted by this War, where you may re-
fide till the prefent Difpute is over, which it will
foon be. Should you do this, I fhall think you
have acted wifely, and, at the fame Time, you will
give no Umbrage to Cæfar.
L3
EPIST
1
$50
CICERO'S EPISTLES.
EPIST. X.
OW blind was I that did not foreſee what is
HOD
now happened! I fend you Artany's Letter.
I had very often written to him before, that I was
engaged in no Oppofition to Cæfar's Views; that
if I had not had a Regard for my Son-in-Law, and
for Cafar's Friendſhip, I might have been with
Pompey: But that I had a Thought (for it was no
fixt Meaſure with me) of leaving Italy, becaufe I
hated to be parading it about with my Lictors.
Now you will fee what a furly Anſwer (1) he re-
turns me.
A very candid Conduct indeed this of yours is! for
that Man, who defires to be neutral, remains in his
Country; the Man, who goes abroad, feems to have
formed jome Judgment of the one Party or the other.
But I am not a Man who am at Liberty to judge
whether it is right or wrong to leave Italy. My
Charge, from Cæfar, is, to fuffer no Man to leave it
upon any Account. There is therefore no Merit
and no Importance in my approving of your Refolu-
tion, ſince I must act up to the Letter of my Orders.
My Opinion is, that you ſhould ſend to Cæfar, and
afk that Favour of him; I have no doubt of your cb-
taining it, especially as you promised to have a Regard
for our Friendship.
1
Such is Antony's Word of Command (2) fhort
and pithy (3). I muft, by all Means, give the
(1) Orig. magomne Contumeliofe.
(2) Or Laconic Mandate, both becauſe it was fhort, and be-
caufe the Lacedemonians had a peculiar Way of conveying their
Orders to their Generals.
(3) Orig. oxuránny Axxwvžýv. Scytalen Laconicam.
Slip
to ATTICUS.
151
Slip to this Fellow (1), He was to arrive here, in
the Evening this Day the 3d Inftant, and there-
fore perhaps he will come to my Houſe to-morrow.
I'll venture to hang out a Bait for him (2). I'll
tell him, that I am far from being in any Hurry,
and try to perfuade him that I will write to Cafar.
I will then fculk fomewhere with a very fmall Re-
tinue, and I make no doubt of getting off, and
eluding their moft, narrow Searches. I wish I knew
were to find Curio.—Well-I leave all to Hea-
ven (3). My Anguish is very great, and now for
a Stroke that is worthy of myfelf.
(**
I am greatly concerned at your Strangury (4), I
beg you would take fome Remedies for it in the In-
fancy (5) of the Diſeaſe. I am pleaſed with what
you write me concerning thoſe of Marſeilles (6).
Continue, I pray you, to inform me of whatever
you learn. I could wish to go to Sicily, if I could
do it in the public Manner I had concerted with
Curio. Here I wait for Servius Sulpicius, at the
Requeſt of his Wife and Son, and I think it will
be neceffary for us all.
t
As to Antony, he carries about with him the
Actress Cytheris (7) in one open Litter, and his
Wife in another; he has likewife feven clofe Litters,
in which he carries his fhe, or perhaps his he, fa-
(1) Orig. Omnino excipiam hominem.
*
(2) Orig. The Original here is very perplexed, and nothing
certain can be pronounced of it
(3). Orig. our DEW To Aéyw. Diis juvantibus dico.
(4) Orig. Sugugia, Uring difficultas.
(5) Orig. agxn Principium.
(6) They had fhut their Gates againſt Cæfar.
2
(7) She was a famous Courtezan, and the fame whom Vir
gil mentions under the Name of Lycoris.
I 4
}
vourites
敏
​152 (CICERO's EPISTLES
-
vourites. You ſee what a fcandalous Death we are
likely to die; nor, I think, can there be a Doubt of
Cefar's making a general Maffacre upon his Re-
turn, whether he returns victorious or vanquiſhed,
For my own Part, if I cannot find a Ship, I will
fnatch myſelf in a Bark from the Hands of thoſe
Paracides, but I will write you farther after ſeeing
Antony.
I cannot help loving our Nephew, but I can
plainly fee that I am not beloved by him. Never
did I fee any Creature fo perverfe in his Difpo-
fitions (1), fo regardleſs of his Relations, and fo
unaccountable in his Notions. The Torrent of my
Affliction is intolerable. But I fhall, and do, take
Care of him, as you require me; his Genius is won-
derful, and Care must be taken to form his Mo-
rals (2).
Mich
EPIST. XI.
Y laſt Letter for you being fealed, I did not
chuſe to ſend it by the Bearer I propoſed,
becauſe he was a Stranger; I therefore did not de-
liver it that Day. Mean while, Philotimus arrived
and brought me a Letter from you. As to my Bro-
ther's Character, which you mention in that Let-
ter, I know him to be fomewhat irrefolute, but he
has nothing about him that is infincere (3), nothing
that is deceitful, nothing that is not pliable to good
(1) Orig. andorroínrov. Alienum a recta morum conformatione.
(2) Orig. Des TruEATIO. Moribus adhibenda diligentia.....
(3). Orig. Umeλor. Subdolum.
Nature,
to ATTIC U S.
153
1
Nature, and nothing that you may not ſet to right
with one fair Word. In fhort, though he is often-
eft in a Paffion with his Friends, yet he loves them
all dearly; and for me, he loves me beyond him-
felf. As to his Writing to you of your Nephew,
in a different Strain from what he wrote to your
Sifter of ber Son, I think there is nothing in that.
What you write me concerning the young Man's
Journey, and your Sifter, is the more vexatious,
becauſe the Juncture is fuch, that it is not in my
Power, as it would otherwiſe be, to remove the In-
conveniencies you mention. But you ſee how
wretched our Situation, and how defperate our Af-
fairs are.
As to the Money Matter between you and my
Brother (who often fpeaks of it to me) he does not
want the Inclination, but the Means, to pay you.
But if, now that I am in my Flight, 2, Axius
does not pay me 2007. which I lent his Son when
he was about to be married, and excuſes himſelf on
Account of the Juncture; if Lepta, if others do
the fame, I own I can't help being furprized at
your preffing my Brother fo hard for the paultry
Sum of 150 l. For, take my Word for it, he is
as much ſtreightened as he appears to be, and yet
he has given Orders for that Payment to be made
to you. Do you imagine him to be a Shuffler, or
cloſe-fifted in Money Matters? No Man is lefs fo:
But enough concerning my Brother.
As to his Son; the Father, no doubt, indulged
him' always too much; but then Indulgence does
not inftil the Principles of Falfhood, Avarice, and
Hatred for Relations; of Haughtiness, Arro-
gancy,
+
154
CICERO's EPISTLES
A
gancy, and Intractability, it may: But he like-
wife poffeffes, the bad Qualities which arife from
Indulgence; but thofe are fufferable; for fome Al-
lowances ſhould be made for his being fo young a
Man. As to his other bad Qualities, I love him
fo well, that they give me more difquiet than my
own prefent Calamities. They do not arife from my
Indulgence. By no Means. They are rooted in
his Nature, and yet, were 1 at Liberty, I could
pluck them out. But fo miferable is this Juncture,
that I must bear with every Thing. As to my own
Boy, I manage him with great Eaſe; for nothing
can be more tractable than he is. It was from Com-
paffion to him, that my Conduct has been hitherto
fo unactive, and the more defirous he was that I
fhould exert myſelf, I was the more afraid left my
Courage might be Cruelty to him.
>
Antony came to this Place laft Evening. Per-
haps he will pay me a Vifit, and perhaps not, be-
cauſe he fignified his Mind to me in Writing. But
you fhall know forthwith what happens. At pre-
fent I keep myſelf very retired, but what fhall I do
with the Boys? Should I put them on board a little
Bark, what alarms muft I feel on their Voyage,
for I remember what Pangs I felt even in the Sum-
mer Time, when they failed in that flat-bottom'd
(1) Rhodian Boat. Then what must be now my
Concern ſhould they be at Sea in the ſevere Seaſon ?
I am furrounded with Miferies. Trebatius was with
me. He is a good Man and a good Patriot; what
dreadful Things, good Heavens, did he tell me!
That even Balbus was afpiring to fit in the Senate.
(1) Orig dogánry. Aperto navigio.
}
But
to ATTICUS.
155
But, I will give Trebatius himſelf a Letter for you
to morrow. You tell me, Vectenus is my Friend, I
therefore, believe him to be fo; tho' I joked a little
too feverely (1) with him upon his writing to me
in a peremptory Manner (2) concerning his Money.
If he took that otherwife than I meant it, I beg
you will ſoften him. In the Addrefs of my Let-
ter to him, I call him no other than a Banker, he
- calling me in his Addrefs, only plain Proconful.
But as he is a Man of Senfe, and has an Affec-
tion for me, I have the fame for him. Farewell.
}
W
{
EPIS T. XII.
HAT will become of me? Is there a
Wretch, is there a Man, on Earth, I will
not ſay more diftreffed, but more difgraced, than I
am. Antony fays, that Cæfar gave him a parti-
cular Charge concerning me, and this he told to
Trebatius, for as yet he has not feen me. What
fhall I do? for nothing profpers with me, and my
beſt concerted Schemes fall out moft unluckily.
For, in gaining Curio, I thought I had fucceeded
in every Thing. He had written in my Favour to
Hortenfius', the Commanding Officer at Rhegium was
entirely in my Intereft, but little did I think, that
Antony had the leaft Notion of my defigning to
efcape by Sea. Whither now fhall I turn me ?.I
am hemm'd in on every Side.But no more
Tears-Let me embark, unfavourable as the Sea-
(1) Orig. Ivxwrepov. Stomachofius.
(2) Orig. 'ATTOTóμws. Fræcife,
}
Jon
156
CICERO'S EPISTLES
fon is (1), let me privately creep into fome Tranf-
port Veffel, for I muft, by all Means, take Care
not to leave a Colour, for faying, that my Voyage
is ftopt through a Concert of my own. I must
fail for Sicily, and after reaching it, I fhall extend
my Views, provided that Matters go well in Spain.
At the fame Time, I wifh that what we heard
from Sicily may be true, though I cannot fay it is
very encouraging as yet. It is faid, there was a
great Refort of the Sicilians to Cato, that they en-
treated him to make a Stand, and promiſed they
would give him all the Affiſtance in their Power ;
that thofe Affurances affected him fo much, that
he began to raife Men. I do not believe this
News, for the Authority on which it refts is very
indifferent. I am, however, entirely convinced,
that that Province is tenable. But we muſt foon
hear. News from Spain.
મ
We have in this Neighbourhood Caius Mar-
cellus upon the fame Deſign with myſelf, or elfe he
is a great Mafter of Diffimulation. I have not,
however, feen him, but I heard of him from
one of his moft intimate Friends. I beg you will
write me if you have any News, and as foon as I
come to any fixt Refolution, I will inftantly write
to you. I will keep a more ftrict Hand than ever
over the younger Quintus. I beg you will tear
the Letters in which I have mentioned him to you
in too harsh a Manner, and I will do the fame by
yours, for fear of any Thing ftealing Abroad. I
wait for Servius, but I expect no found (2) Re-
(1) Orig. Пáρwpα wheyrey. Incommoda tempeftate navi.
gandum.
(2) Orig. iç. Sani.
folution
to ATTICUS.
157
1
folution from him. You fhall know what paffes
between us, be what it will.
It is but juft, that I fhould acknowledge, that Ì
have committed a Miftake. But, it was only one.
Miſtake, and in one Matter, for the Meaſures that
I had planned with the greateſt Care, have had the
worft Succefs. But let me forget all the Bitterness
that is paſſed (1). But let me not mifcarry in what
is to come. You defire me to furvey all the Con,
fequences of my Flight. What Confequences ?
All that can happen are fo plain, that fhould I
avoid them, I muft here remain in Difgrace, and
Diftrefs; and fhould I defpife them, I am in Dan-
ger of falling into the Hands of Ruffians. But
confider in what Mifery I am. Sometimes, I am
tempted to wish to receive fome injurious Treat-
ment from Cæfar's Party, that I may appear to be
hated by the Tyrant. But, if the Way, which I
wifhed to eſcape by, had been open for me, I
might then have done fomewhat, which, according
to your Wifh and Defire, might have juftified my
Dilatorinefs. But I am watched with furprifing
Strictnefs, and I fufpect even Curio himfelf.
Therefore, I muſt proceed either by Force or
Cunning; if by Force, I may encounter a Storm
in my Paffage; if by Cunning, I may be outwitted
by them; and in cafe of any Thing miſcarrying (2)
with me, what a Scandal would it be on my Repu-
tation. I am dragged on, nor muft I decline encoun-
tering with the moſt violent Extremities.
(1) Οrig. Ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν προτετύχθαι ἐάσομεν, ἀχουμένο, περ.
Sed hæc quidem quæ ante a&ta funt omittamus quamvis trifles,
(2) Orig. apánμa. Lapfus.
σφάλμα.
I often
a
1
158
CICERO'S EPISTLES
案
​1
་
I often revolve with myſelf, the Example of
Calius Caldus. Could I act any Way like him, I
would lay afide my Refolution of flying. I hopes
that Spain is ſtill firm in our Intereſt. The Beha-
viour of thofe of Marseilles is not only of great
Advantage to our Caufe, but a Proof to me, that
Things go well in Spain; becauſe if they did not, and
if the Marſeillians knew fo much, they would not
Venture to act as they have done, for they lie near
Spain, and have good Intelligence. I agree with
you, that what happened in the Theatre was a fure
Intimation of the People's Hatred of Cæfar. I'per-
ceive, that the Legions which he raised in Italy, are
very ill difpofed to him. But, he has not a greater
Foe than he is to himself. You rightly fear his
abandoning himſelf to all Exceffes, which he cer-
tainly will do if he grows defperate. This is the
Reaſon why I ought to attempt fomething in the
Spirit of a Calius, but I hope with better Succefs.
But you ſhall inſtantly know what my firſt Step is
be what it will.
I will tutor, and decline no Trouble in do-
ing it, the younger Quintus: For he has good
Difpofitions, and if he had not, yet they might
be acquired by Culture (1), unleſs you difpute that
Maxim, by maintaining that Virtue (2) is not ac-
quirable which I cannot perfuade myſelf to be-
lieve (3).
(1) Orig. os didan aλwróv. Ingenium quod difciplina domaři
poffit.
(2) Orig. apern. Virtus.
(3) Orig. Saxróv. Res quæ doctrina tradi poſſit.
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
159
ť
Y
A
*
2.
EPIST. XIII.
{
&
OUR Letter was moft agreeable to my
Daughter, and by Heavens to myself; every
Thing you write, carries fomewhat with it that is
pleafing; continue therefore to write whatever can
give us hope. Hope, without being frightned at An-
tony's Lions (1); There ſurely never was a pleaſanter
Fellow than he is. I'll give you a Sketch of his
Conduct as a Statefman(2). He had iffted Letters
for the Decurions (3) of the Corporations to attend
him, and accordingly, the Quatuorviri went to his
Villa early in the Morning. But, in the firſt
Place, Antony flept till it was Nine o'Clock, and
afterwards, when he was told, that the Neapolitans
and Cumans (for Cafar is molt incenfed at them)
were attending him, he ordered them to return
next Day, becauſe he was about to bathe himself, and
to take Phyfic (4). This paft Yeſterday: Now
To-day he intends to go over to the Ifland Anaria
(5). He is very pófitive, that all Exiles will be re-
called. But I will leave that fubject, for fome-
what that concerns 'myſelf.
}
{
I 'received a Letter from Axius. Thanks, con-
ཀ ;
(1) It appears from this Paffage, that Pliny and Plutarch
were miſtaken in faying, that Antony did not drive his Cha-
riot with Lions before the Battle of Pharfalia.
A
(2) Origin. węážu moriš. Fadum, viri. reip. adminiftrande
periti
(3) There is à great Variety of Readings here, I have fol-
lowed that of Minutius as making the better Senfe.
(4) Orig. wegi xonionvíar yinodar. Circa ventris refolutionem
eſſe.
(5) This lay upon the Coaft of Campania. Its modern
Name is fchia.
cerning
160
CICERO'S EPISTLES
cerning Tiro. Vectenus has acted like my Friend:
Veftorius, I have paid. Servius is faid to have lain
at Minturna the 6th of May; to Day he was to be
at the Houſe of Caius Marcellus in Liternum (1).
Early to-morrow Morning he will vifit me, and
furniſh me with freſh Matter for a Letter, and
now I have written you all I have to ſay (2).
One Thing I am ſurpriſed at, that I have not re-
ceived fo much as one Meffenger from Antony;
eſpecially as he has been fo complaiſant to me hi-
therto. Perhaps he is unwilling to deny to my
Face, that he has received fome more fevere Orders
with regard to me. But I neither would have
aſked his Favours, nor would I have trufted them
if he granted them. I muſt think of fomewhat. I
pray you let me know if you hear any Thing from
Spain; for now is the Time for hearing ſomewhat,
and the Expectation of every Body here is fo
great, that if good News fhould come, they think
every Thing would be over with Cæfar. For my
Part, I think, that by our keeping Spain, the
War will neither be finished in our Favour, nor
will our lofing it, render our Affairs defperate. I
believe, fomewhat has happened to keep back
Silius, Ocella, and fome others. I perceive, that you
likewiſe are detained by Curtius, though, if I mi-
ſtake not, you have a Paffport (3).
(1) This lay on the Sea Side, between Cuma and Minturnæ'.
(2) The Concifenefs of this Paragraph is very remarkable,
though very natural to a Man in Cicero's Condition, who hur
ties over the Mention of private Affairs, becauſe of his At-
tention to thoſe of the Public.
(3) Orig, míλnra doxvov. Veredum impigrum.
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
161
EPIS T. XIV.
HAT a miferable Life this is! The Evil
WH
we fear is lefs tormenting than is the long
Continuance of that Fear. Servius, as I wrote
you before, after coming to Literna the 7th of
May, paid me a Vifit next Day. That I may not
keep you in Sufpence, we have not agreed upon
the Execution of any one Meaſure. Never did I
fee a Man in fuch a dreadful Confternation. And
yet, by Heavens, he had not an Apprehenfion that
was not well grounded in itſelf-That Pompey was
incenfed at him-that Cæfar was not his Friend
that the Confequences of Victory to either of
them would be terrible that the one was cruel,
the other audacious; but above all, that both of
them muſt be ſo ftraitened for Money, that it was
impoffible for them to be ſupplied, but by the
Plunder of private Property. During all this Con-
verfation, he wept fo much, that I was ſurpriſed
the long Continuance of his Sorrows had not dried up
the Fountain of his Tears. As to myfelf, the Defluc-
tion of my Eyes, which hinders me to write to you
with my own Hand, has not come by weeping,
but it is very often troubleſome, becauſe I cannot
fleep. Therefore, mufter up every Circumftance
that can give me Comfort, and write it to me, not
in the Way of Speculation and Argument, for I
have thoſe Comforts at Home; but, I know not
how it happens, the Difeafe is too ftrong for
the Remedy. Let your Information to me there-
fore be concerning Spain and Marſeilles; and in-
VOL. II.
deed
M
f
16.2
CICERO's EPISTLES
deed, Servius gives me great Hopes from thence,
and likewife tells me, that there is good Founda-
tion for the Report concerning the two Legions.
You are to entertain me, therefore, with thoſe and
the like Occurrences, and indeed, a few Days muſt
bring us fome Information.
But I now return to Servius (1). We put
the Converſation entirely off till the next Day,
but he ſhewed himſelf very loath to leave Italy,
and expreffed himſelf more inclinable to wait
peaceably at home for the Event, be what it will.
He reflected bitterly upon his Son ſerving at Brun-
dufium against Pompey. He remained determined
in one Refolution, which was, to go himſelf into Ba-
niſhment, if the exiles fhould be recalled. My An-
ſwer to all this was, that he might be fure they would,
and that other Meaſures of as pernicious a Ten-
dency, and of which I gave him many Inſtances,
were executing every Day. All this encreaſed his
Apprehenfions, but not his Spirits, ſo that I think,
I ought rather to keep my Purpoſe from him than
counſel him to follow the fame Refolution. I
therefore lay no Strefs upon him, I have been
ftill thinking of imitating the Conduct of Celius,
ever fince you mentioned him.
(1) Notwithſtanding all that our Author mentions here.of
this Nobleman, he actually went over to Pompey, and after;
the Battle of Pharfalia, he made his Peace with Cafar, whe
gave him the Command of Greece.
着
​EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
163
W
ÉPIS T. XV.
HEN Servius was at my Houſe on the
10th Inftant, Cephalio arrived with your
Letter, which gave me great Hopes of feeing bet-
tér Days from what you tell me concerning the
eight Cohorts, (for even thoſe that are quartered in
this Neighbourhood, are faid to be flinching from
Cæfar). Funifulanus, that fame Day, brought me
another Letter from you, confirming the fame
News. I gave him full Satisfaction as to his own
Affair, and you all the Merit of making me his
Friend. He has not yet paid me what he owes
me, which is a confiderable Sum, neither is he rec-
koned rich. Now he tells me that he will pay
me; that he only waits for another Perfon's paying
him. If he ſhall be with you, and pay the Money
to you, you may give it to our Letter-Carriers for
my Ufe. Eros, the Freedman of Philotimus, will
tell you how much the Sum is.
But let us pro-
ceed to Matters of more Importance.
The Time approches for my executing your Pro-
ject of my imitating Celius. I am therefore upon
the Rack whether I ought to wait for a fair Wind.
A Standard ought to be erected, and then People
will flock to it. I am entirely of your Opinion as
to declaring myſelf openly, and therefore that I
ought to be gone. But, in the mean while, I ex-
pect a Letter from you.
I have come into no
Concert with Servius, every Propofal preſented him
with a thouſand Dangers and Difficulties. He is
the only Man Fhave known to be more timorous
than Gaius Marcellus, who repents of his having
M 2
been
164
CICERO's EPISTLES
been Conful, and who (a Shame upon him (1)) is
faid to have been inftrumental in Antony's hinder-
ing my Departure, to keep himſelf, I fuppofe, in
Countenance for remaining in Italy. As to Anto-
ny, he went, on the 10th, to Capua. He fent me
Word, that he was afhamed to vifit me, becaufe
he believed I was angry with him. I will therefore
be gone, and in the Manner you propoſe, unleſs
I am prevented with the Hopes of acting in a more
important Character (2). But that can fcarcely
happen fo foon. Alienus, the Prætor, however
thinks, that if I do not, fome one of his Colleagues
may; I wish the Thing were done, do it who
will.
I approve of what you tell me concerning your
Sifter, and I fpare no Pains upon the younger Quin-
tus, of whom I hope for the Beft. As to my Bro
ther Quintus, you muſt know he is in great Pain
about the Money he owes you, but he has not as yet
been able to ſqueeze any Money from L. Egnatius«
That was a modeft Propofal of Axius concerning
the hundred Pounds, for he has feveral Times wrote
me, defiring me to anſwer all the Demands of Gal-
lius for Money. But had he not written to me could
I have got off doing it? And indeed I often pro-
miſed to do it. But he was for my doing it in-
ftantly. Are thoſe the People who are to help me
in my Difficulties? But Heavens reward them as
they deferve; I will however let you know more
another Time. I am glad that you and Pilia have
got rid of your Ague; I intend to make an Excur
(1) Orig. ŵ woλλdñs άyevel as. O multam ignaviam !
(2) Meaning his imitating Caelius, by declaring himſelf the
Head of a Party againſt Cæfar in Italy.
fion
to ATTICUS.
165
fion to Pompeii, while my Ship is taking in Victuals
and other Neceffaries. Pray return my Thanks to
Veltenus for his Zeal to ferve me. If you can get
a Bearer, fend me a Letter before I depart,
I
EPIST.
XVI.
Had delivered a Letter for you upon a Variety
of Subjects, when, early in the Morning, Dio-
nyfius paid me a Vifit. I would not only have been
civil to him, but would have pardoned him all that
is paſt, had he come to me in the fame Difpofitions
which you intimated in your Letter to me at Arpinum.
I mean that he would come and do all that I ſhould
defire him. Now what I defired, or rather what I
wished for, was, that he would give me his Company.
His refufing that fo flatly as he did at Formia, was the
Reaſon why I ſent you ſo many bitter Letters againſt
him. Laft Time I faw him, (after ufing very few
Words,) the whole of what he faid came to this,
that I muſt pardon him, becauſe the Situation of
his Affairs did not fuffer him to attend me. I was
ftung to the Quick, but I faid very little to him
in anſwer. The Reflection I have formed, is, that
he looks with contempt upon my fallen Fortunes.
What ſhall I fay more? You will be perhaps fur-
priſed that I can feel an Affliction upon his Account
at a Time when I am overwhelmed with fuch a
Weight, and fuch a Variety of Diſtreſs. When I
wiſh that he may be your conftant Friend, I am
wiſhing that you may be always happy, for, while
you are ſo, Dionyfius will be your Friend.
I am in hopes to execute my Defign without
Danger.
M 3
:
166
CICERO'S EPISTLES
\
Danger. For I will diffemble deeply, and obferve
narrowly, fo far as I can, provided I can have fuch
an Opportunity to fail. as I wiſh for. As to every
Thing elfe, it ſhall be taken Care of as far as hu-
man Forefight can reach. I beg that you will write
as long as I am here, not only what you know and
hear, but what you forefee will happen. Curio
writes me that Cato, who might have kept his
Ground in Sicily with great Eafe (and had he kept
it, he would have been joined by all our Patriots)
had left Syracufe on the 24th of April. I wifh the
News be true of Cotta's keeping his Footing in
Sardinia. If he fhould, how fcandalous will Cato's
Behaviour appear.
I went to Pompeii on the 12th, as a blind to my
Departure, and to my having even any Thoughts
of it, and that the neceffary Preparations, for my
Voyage, might be made, while I was there. When
I came to my Villa I had an Application, that the
Centurions of three Cohorts, which were at Pompeii,
wanted to ſee me next Day, and (for fo our Friend
Ninnius told me) that they intended to put both
themſelves, and the Town, into my Hands. But,
betwixt you and me, I left my Villa next Morn-
ing before Day break, that they might have no
Means of feeing me. For what would three Co-
´horts have fignified? Suppofing them to have been
more, how would they have fubfifted, or been
kept on foot? I even reflected on the Fate of
Calius which you mention in the Letter I received
from you, the Day on which I arrived at Cuma,
and I thought, at the fame Time, that this Offer
might be made with a View to trapan me.. I.
therefore
2
to ATTICUS.
167
therefore cleared myfelf of all Grounds of Sufpi-
cion (1).
But before I returned, Hortenfius was come to
my Houſe, out of his Road, to pay his Compli-
ments to my Wife. He ſpoke of me in ve-
ry honourable Terms. I think, however, I fhall
fee him in Perfon, for he has fent a Servant to
inform me, that he will pay me a Vifit. This
however is a more genteel Behaviour than is that of
Antony my Brother Augur, whofe Miftrefs the
Actress is carried about, in a Sedan, amongft his
Lictors. As you have got rid of your Ague, and
with your Ague of all your Uneafinefs, I expect
you will pay me a Vifit in Greece, now that you
are quite recovered, and, in the mean Time, that
you will fend me Létters.
EPIST. XVII.
HORTENSFUS paid me a Vifit on the 14th,
after my laft Letter was wrote; I wiſh that
he was all of a Piece. How ftrong were his Aſſu -
rances that he would ferve me (2), and I defign to
take him at his Word. Serapio afterwards came
(1) It is inconceivable, after this Behaviour in our Author,
that any Body ſhould be found fo unreaſonably Partial to his
Memory, as to endeavour to defend him on the Head of Self-
confiftency and Refolution We have feen him, in former
Letters, again and again propofing vaſt Glory to himſelf, from
imitating the Conduct of this Caelius, and he faid, in his laft
Letter but one, that were a Standard erected in Italy againſt
Gæfar, great Numbers wonld flock to it. But when a much
fairer Opportunity than he could expect prefents, we ſee how
fhamefully he baulks it.
(2) Orig. ixréviav. Prolixam opera pollicitationem.
M 4
with
}
$68
CICERO'S EPISTLES
}
with your Letter, and before I opened it, I told him
what was true, that you had written to me con-
cerning him. After Reading your Letter, I en-
tertained him greatly to his Satisfaction, and indeed
I approve of the Man, for he appears to me to be
both learned and virtuous (1). I am even thinking
of making uſe of his Ship, and to make him my
fellow Paffenger. The Humour in my Eyes recurs
very often, and though it is not exceffively painful,
yet it prevents me from writing with my own Hand.
I am extremely glad that you are quite recovered
from your old Diſeaſe, and that you have no freſh
Symptoms of it. I wish I had Qcella here, for the
Meaſures, I propofe, appear to be pretty practi-
cable. At prefent I wait for the Equinox, the Sea-
fon of which is now in great Confufion (2). If it
fhould be mild (3), I wish that Hortenfius may re-
main in his favourable Difpofitions with regard to
me; for as to his Behaviour hitherto, nothing could
be more like that of a Gentleman.
As to the Paffport, you appear amazed as if I
had accufed you of fome grofs Crime. You tell
me that you cannot conceive how fuch a Thing
could come into my Mind. With regard to myſelf,
(becauſe you had written me that you intended to
go abroad, and becauſe you had taken out a Paff-
port for your Retinue,) I thought you might have
(1) Probably he meant that he should fucceed Dionyfius as
Tutor to his Son and Nephew.
(2) Becauſe of the Intercalations which we have already
mentioned, and the fame Difagreement between the Seaſons
and the Months, in which they ought to have fallen, conti-
nued till it was removed by Caefar. The vernal Equinox ought
to have fallen about the 20th of March, and yet this Letter is
dated the 16th of May.
•
(3) Orig. angais. Non perturbatum.
taken
to ATTICUS.
169
!
taken out one for yourſelf, having heard that no
Body could leave Italy without a Paffport (1). You
have now the Ground of my Opinion; and yet I
wish to know what you intend to do, and, above
all Things, write me if there is any Thing new.
Dated the 16th of May.'
M
EPIST. XVIII.
Y Daughter was brought to bed in, her fe-
venth Month (2), on the 19th of May, of
a Boy, and I have the Pleafure to inform you,.
that he is in the Way of Recovery (3), but the
Child is very weakly. The dead Calms that have
happened, have detained and hindered me more
than the Guards, who watch me, have done. All
the Promifes Hortenfius made me are come to
nothing, I therefore look on him as a worthleſs
Fellow. His Freedman Salvius has debauched him.
Therefore what I write you afterwards fhall not in-
form you of what I intend to do, but what I have
done ;' for I think, with Regard to myſelf, that
even the Walls (4) have Ears.
I beg you however to continue to write to me
what News you hear from Spain, or from any other
Quarter, without expecting a Letter from me be-
fore I arrive at my wifhed for Harbour, unleſs I
(1) Atticus could not have taken a Paffport from Cafar's
Party, and in his own Name without tacitly recognizing their
Right to give one.
(2) Orig. inraunator. Septimefirem.
(3) Orig. ñuróxňov. Salva peperit.
(4) Orig. Kwguxaior. Corycai,
fhall
170
CICERO's EBISTLES
the
ſhall write to you when I am on my Voyage. But-
even that ſhall be with great Caution. For hitherto
all is heavy and dark. My firft Difpofitions have
been wrong, and fo muft the reft be of Courſe. I
am now for Formia, and perhaps thofe Dogs of
Hell (1) will follow me thither likewiſe. But from
what paffed between you and Baltus, I have laid
afide all Thoughts of retiring to Malta. Are you
ftill in doubt that Cæfar looks upon me as one of
his Enemies? I have written to Balbus that your
Letter informed me of his Kindneſs, and of the
Sufpicion I am under. I have thanked him for the
Former; do you clear me with him as to the Latter.
Did you ever know a Man fo wretched as I am?
I'll fay no more left I ſhould give you Pain like-
wife, I am myſelf tormented that the Time is come
when I can do nothing that is either brave or pru-
dent.
(1) Orig. Furia. Meaning Cajar's Party.
1
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CICERO's
( 171 )
CEZAES CERN'S CLAASD CLAXED CIKATO CEZAS
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*
CICERO's
EPISTLES
то
ATTICUS.
I
BOOK XI.
EPIST I.
1
Received (1) your Billet under Seal (2)
from Anteros, but it gave me no kind of
Information as to my domeftic Affairs,
which touch me the more fenfibly as the
Perfon, who managed them neither is at Rome,
nor do I know where he is. Therefore all my
Hopes of keeping my Credit, and retrieving my
(1) Almoſt nine Months paffed between the Date of the laft
Letter of the laſt Book, and that of the firſt Letter of this Book.
Our Author embarked about the Middle of June for Pompeii,
and the firſt four Letters of this Book are dated from Macedonia,
and the ſecond muſt have been written about the Beginning of
February.
(2) Orig. Obfignatum libellum.
private
172
CICERO's EPISTLES
private Affairs, muſt reſt on your Kindneſs, which
I have fo much Reaſon to be convinced of. Should
you continue to afford me that, at this Juncture,
which is fo full of Mifery and Diſtreſs, I can bear
with the greater Courage all thoſe Dangers which
are but in common to me with others. I therefore,
implore and befeech the Continuance of your
Friendship. I have in Afia, about 18000 /. of that
Currency (1). By getting that Money remitted in our
Currency, you may eafily keep up my Credit. If
I had not thought upon the Affurances of a Maṇ
(2) whom you long ago diftrufted, that my Credit
was unquestionable when I left Italy, I ſhould
have taken fome more Time, and not have left my
Affairs in fuch Diſorder, and the Reafon, why I
have been fo long in writing to you is, becauſe, I
have but lately underſtood the Confufion they are in,
I conjure you in the moft earnest Manner, to take
upon yourſelf the whole Weight of maintaining
my Credit. So, that if the Party to which I amí
joined fhould be fuccefsful, I may be reftored with
them to all my Honours, and may have an Op-
portunity to own, that for that Enjoyment I am
obliged to your Friendſhip,
(1) In Ciftophoro in Afia. Vide Vol. I. Page 90. for an Expla-
nation of the Word Ciftophorus. This Money was part of the
Arrears due to our Author as Governor of Silicia.
(2) This was Philotimus.
$
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
173
Ο
EPIST. II.
N the 4th of February, I received your Letter,
and that very Day, I executed the Deed, by
which I accepted the Heirship (1). I am
I am now
freed from one of my many Diftreffes, if, as you
write, that Inheritance is fufficient to preferve me
in Credit and Reputation, though, I perceive, that
had it not happened, you would have done the
fame out of your own private Purfe. As to what
you write concerning the Portion (2), I conjure
you, by all the Gods, to take the whole of that
Affair upon yourſelf, and to relieve my Daughter
who is rendered unhappy through my Miſcon-
duct and Heedleffnefs, out of my Eftate, if I have
any remaining, or out of yours, fo far as you
(1) Orig. Eoque ipfe die ex teftamento crevi hereditatem:
Atticus had informed our Author, that a certain Perſon had
made him (Cicero) his Heir, and in that Cafe, the Law re-
quired that Cicero fhould accept of the Heirship in a certain
Time, which was done by a fpecial Deed, in the following
Form; Cum me N. hæredem inftituerit, eam hæreditatem adeo
cèrnoque.
(2) When Cicero's Daughter Terentia was divorced from
Craffipes, the Latter was at Liberty by Law, to return her For-
tune at three Payments, which was to go to Dolabella her fe-
cond Hufband. Dolabella having fided with Cæfar, and be-
ing fo exceffively profufe, that he had fpent his whole pri-
vate Eftate, our Author was in great Perplexity, whether he
fhould pay the remainder of his Daughter's Fortune, which
was to have been returned by Craffipes to Dolabella, or not;
becauſe, in Cafe of a Divorce, which was very probable, be-
tween her and Dolabella, fhe must be left deſtitute. Mean
while, Terentia, Cicero's Wife, who was a very bad Manager,
had laid her Hand upon fome Part of the Money returned by
Craffipes, fo that Dolabella had not received the full firft Pay-
ment, which was of a farther Addition to our Author's Un-
eafinefs.
can
174
CICERO's EPISTLES
can do it without diftreffing yourſelf. You write
me, that ſhe wants even the Neceffaries of Life, I
intreat you let her be fo no longer. How, or
upon whom, have the Rents of my Eftates been em-
ployed. No body ever told me, that that 4801
was diſcounted out of her returned Portion. It
was what I never would have fuffered. But this
is the leaſt of the many Wrongs I have received,
and which my Grief and my Tears prevent my
mentioning to you in writing.
+
I have taken up one Moiety of the Money which
I had in Afia; I thought it would be more fafe where
it is, than with the Farmers of the Revenue. You
exhort me to pluck up a Spirit, I wiſh you could
give me fome Motive to enable me to do fo. But
if, to crown all my other Diftreffes, the News which
Chryfippus told me concerning my Houſe (and of
which you mentioned nothing) fhould be true, is
is there a Man on Earth more wretched than I am? I
beg and befeech your Pardon, I can write no farther.
You furely are now fenfible with what a Weight of
Affliction I am preffed.. Were it in common to
me with others who are embarked in the fame
Caufe, my Miſconduct would admit of fome Alle-
vation, and therefore it would not affect me fo much;
but now I have no Manner of Confolation, except the
Hopes that, by your Means, if fuch a Thing is yet
practicable, there will be nothing peculiarly affect-
ing and diſtreſsful in my Cafe.
I am the more late in fending off this Bearer,
becauſe I was unable to fend him fooner. Ire-
ceived from your People 550% and the Ap-,
parel
to ATTICUSICU
175
.
ل
་
parel (1) I had Occafion for. I beg that you
will write in my Name (as you are acquainted with
all my Friends) to all you think proper. If they
fhould require their Letters to be under my Hand
and Seal, you may tell them, that I have diſpenſed
with thofe Formalities, becauſe I am fo narrowly
watched.
1
Yo
EPIST.
III.
OU may know from the Perfon who de-
livered me your Letter the State of Affairs
here. I detained him the longer, becaufe we were
every Day looking for fomething new; nor, in-
deed, have I any Reaſon for diſpatching him off
now, but to give you an Anſwer to what you
wanted to know. With regard to the first of
July (2), how hard is it in thefe Hard Times to
riſk ſo much Money, and in our prefent State of
our Uncertainty, how can the Divorce you fpeak
of take Place? Therefore, I commit this amongſt
my other Concerns in a more ſpecial Manner to
your Friendſhip and Kindneſs, and to my Daugh-
ter's Prudence and Inclination. I might have pre-
vented fome Part of her. Unhappineſs, had. I at a
certain Time (3) confulted with you concerning
(1) Orig. Veftimenta.
(2) This probably was the Term for paying Part of his
Daughter's Fortune to Dolabella, who was in great Favour
with Cafar.
(3) If any Thing were yet wanting to give the Reader a
defpicable Idea of our Author's Refolution and Firmneſs, it
it would be his Writing, as he often does to Atticus in this
Manner, after all the high Sentiments of Patriotiſm he expreffes,
and the prudent Maxims he lays down in the laft Book.
my
$
276
CICERO'S EPISTLES
my Welfare and Fortune in Perfon rather than by
Letters.
You deny that there is any Thing in theſe im-
pending Calamities that is peculiar to me. Not to
mention that that Confideration gives a Man no Re-
lief; I have many Misfortunes, and thofe too hea-
vy ones, and fuch as I might very eafily have a-
voided, that are peculiar to my Cafe, as you your
felf are fenfible. But they will diminiſh, if you con-
tinue, as hitherto, to take off fome Part of their
Weight by your Addreſs and Management. I have
Money in the Hands of Egnatius. And let it even
reft where it is. For Things cannot long remain
in their prefent Situation, before I may know
what I fhall principally have Occaſion for. Though
I myſelf am in Want of every Thing, the Perfon
whom I follow being likewiſe ſtraitened, yet I have
lent him a large Sum, with a View of its turning
to my Honour, when public Matters fhall be fet-
tled. Do you continue, I beg of you, to write in
my Name to any Perſons to whom you think it is
proper I ſhould write. My Compliments to your
Family. Be careful of your own Health. Above
all Things, I recommend to you what you have
promiſed me, that you will take Care and provide
in all Reſpects, fo that nothing may be wanting to
the Perfon, on whofe Account you know I am moft
wretched. From the Camp June the 13th.
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
177°
1
I
EPIST.
IV.
doing it, becauſe I have
Received a Letter from Ifidorus, and two of a
later Date, from which I underſtood that my
Farms were not fold. You will, therefore, take
Care of my Daughter's Subfiftence out of your own
Pocket. It will be very agreeable for me, to re-
deem the Eſtate at Fufinum, provided I fhall be in.
a Condition to enjoy it. You defire me to write,
but I am prevented from
no Subject worth your Notice. I abſolutely diſap-
prove of every Thing that is done, and every
Thing that happens, here. I wish at a certain Time,
that I had rather feen you than correfponded with
you by Letters. I ftand up for you with our
Party, as well as I am able. I refer the reft to
Celer. I have myſelf hitherto declined all Employ-
ment, and the rather, becaufe I faw none in which I
could act confiftently with my Character and
Situation.
You afk me for News. You may know it
from Ifidorus; we fhall probably have no great
Difficulty, during the reft of the Campaign (1). I
entreat, that you will be as good as your Word,
in continuing to take Care of that Affair, which you
know, I have chiefly at Heart. My Anxiety
preys fo much upon me, that I am reduced to a
(1) Pompey, who was an able but not an enterprizing General;
had given Cæfar a Defeat before Dyrrachium, which might
have been decifive in his Favour, had he known how to im-
prove it. But unhappily he not only gave Cæfar Leifure to
recover himſelf, but grew fo confident of Succefs, that he
gave Cæfar many Advantages before the Battle of Pharfalia
decided the Conteſt between them.
VOL. II.
N
very
378
CICERO'S EPISTLES
>
very low State of Health; when I am ſomewhat
recovered, I fhall join our General, who is now
very fanguine in his Hopes. Our Friend Brutus,
acts in this Caufe with great Spirit. Thus far, and
no farther, does Prudence warrant me to write to
you. Farewell. I have already wrote to you in
the Letter you received from Pollex, entreating you
moſt carefully to confider how I am to manage this
fecond Payment.
EPIST.
V.
1
Cannot without the deepeſt Sorrow inform.
you, how many, what bitter, what heavy,
what unprecedented Motives have induced, and
compelled me to be governed by an Impulſe of
Mind, rather than by cool Reflection, infomuch that
they have reduced me to act as I do. I therefore,
neither know what to write to you concerning my
own Situation, nor do I know what Favour to
aſk of you. You are fenfible of the whole of
my Situation. I have understood by your Letters
(thoſe which you wrote me in common with my
other Friends, and thofe figned by yourfelf alone),
a Thing which I muft of myfelf have diſcovered,
that you was fo much exhaufted as to be obliged to
caft about for new Funds to fupply my Credit.
You adviſe me to come nearer to Rome, and to
travel in the Night-time through the Towns that
are upon the Road. But, I proteft, I do not fee
how that can be done. For the Stages are neither.
fo conveniently diſpoſed as that I can reach them.
fo as to paſs the whole of a Day in each, nor in
my
to ATTICUS.
179
my prefent Situation, is there much Difference,
whether I am feen by People in a Town, or on the
Road. But I fhall, amongſt other Things, con-
fider how this may be moſt conveniently ordered.
I am in fuch Diforder, both in Body and Mind,
that I cannot write you often, and I have only an-
fwered fuch of yours as have come to my Hands.
I beg that you will write in my Name to Bafilas,
and to fuch other Perfons as you think proper,
not forgetting Servilius as you fee Occafion. As
to my being fo long without writing to you, you-
are to underſtand, it was not owing to my want
of Inclination, but want of Matter: With regard
to Vatinius, whom you mention, neither he nor
any body else would be wanting to do me Service,
if they could find out how they could ferve me.
My Brother Quintus has been at Patra, where he
was joined by his Son from Corcyra, and has ex-
preffed himſelf with great Bitterneſs againſt me.
fuppofe, they have left that Place with the reſt of
Cafar's Party.
I
EPIST.
VI.
AM perfectly fenfible how much you are affect-
ed by your own, and the public, Situation, and
in a more fpecial Manner, by my Misfortunes and
Diſtreſs. Your becoming my Companion in Sor-
row, is fo far from diminiſhing, that it encreaſes,
my Grief. Your Wiſdom has directed you to find
out the Topic that can chiefly give me Comfort,
for you approve of my Meaſures, and you are
of Opinion, that at fuch a Juncture I could not
N 2
have
180.
CICERO'S EPISTLES
have acted more adviſedly than I have done. You
even add a Circumftance important in itſelf, but
lefs important in my Eyes than your Approba-
tion, that all who are capable of Reflection, ap-
prove of my Conduct. Were I convinced that
this is fact, it would diminifh my Sorrow. You
bid me take it upon your Word-Well-I do
Though, I well know how fond you are of
foothing my Affliction.
Never fhall I repent my having quitted the
Field, fo great was the Cruelty of that Party.
They were fo intermingled with Barbarians, that
this intended Profcription would not have been per-
fonal, but general. So that they all concluded,
all your Eftates must have become their Plunder,
had they got the better. I fay, your Eſtates, be-
caufe, with regard to your Perfon in particular,
their Intentions were moſt bloody. I therefore,
never ſhall repent of my Intention, though I do
of my Conduct. I ought to have chofen my Re-
fidence in fome Town, till I had been invited to
Italy. I fhould then have been lefs the Subject of
Talk, I ſhould have been lefs covered with Con-
fufion, I fhould have been, lefs tortured with Re-
morfe. It is inconvenient in all Reſpects, for me
to fculk in Brundufium. You adviſe me to draw
nearer to Rome, but how can I do it without the
Lictors, which were given me by the People of
Rome, and whom I cannot be deprived of without
the Hazard of my Life. Some time ago, when
I drew near this Town, I ordered them to mingle in
the Crowd without their Axes, for fear of being
attacked by Cafar's Soldiers.
}
1
I make
to
181
ATTICUS.
I make the proper Difpofitions to return Home
when Time ſhall prefent. I beg you will now ap-
ply to Oppius and Antony, that, if their Party will
allow me to come nearer to Rome, I may confider
how to proceed in this Matter, I fuppofe they will
adviſe me to that Courſe, for they have given me
Affurances, that Cæfar will make it a Point, not
only to preferve but increaſe my Dignity; they
counſel me to be of good Courage, and they tell
me there is no Favour too great for me to hope for.
Such are their Promifes, fuch their Proteftations,
and I might have given more Credit to them if I had
remained in Italy. But there is no looking back. I
therefore beg you will attend to what is to come;
that you will found the Perfons I mentioned, and
if you think it needful, and they proper, whether
it may not be an Inducement for Cæfar to approve
of my Proceeding, if he fhall underſtand that it
has been agreeable to the Advice of his own Friends.
You may likewiſe apply to Trebonius and Panfa, and
the other Friends of Cæfar, and let them write to
him, that what I have done has been in confequence
of their Advice.
any
My Daughter's Illnefs, and her Weaknefs of Bo-
dy, is death to me. How greatly obliged am I to
you, for the great Care I underſtand you have taken
of her! As to Pompey's being killed, I fcarce make
doubt of it: For I think it must have hap-
pened fly where he would, fo defperate was the
Idea which all Kings and Nations had conceived of
his Affairs. I cannot help bemoaning his Fate
for I knew him to be a Man of Virtue, Tempe-
rance, and Prudence. I cannot furely condole with
you upon the Death of Fannius, after his talk.
N 3
ing
182 CICERO's EPISTLES
ing fo wickedly, as he did, at your remaining in
Italy. With Regard to Lucius Lentulus, he had
promiſed himſelf the Houſe of Hortenfus, the
Country Seat of Cafar, and his Houſe at the
Baia. The other Party talk pretty much in the
fame Strain, only the Refentment of our People
did not know where to ftop, for they reckoned all,
who remained in Italy, to be their Enemies. But
I could wiſh, fometime or other, to converſe with
you upon thofe Matters, when my Mind is more
at Eaſe.
I underſtand that my Brother Quintus is gone to
Afia, to make his Submiffions to Cæfar, I have
heard nothing concerning his Son.
But you may
enquire of Diochares, Cafar's Freedman, whom I
have not feen, and who brought thofe Letters from
Alexandria. He is faid to have ſeen him, but whe-
ther on the Road, or in Afia, I know not. You
need not doubt that, fituated as I am, I am impa-
tient for a Letter from you, which I beg you would
diſpatch to me the firft Opportunity. Dated Nos
vember the 28th.
You
EPIST. VII.
OUR Letter, in which you have fo punctu
ally informed me of every Thing that you
Thought concerned me, gave me great Pleaſure.
Well then, as you write me, thoſe Gentlemen are
of Opinion, that I ſhould be attended by the fame
Lictors, a favour that was granted to Seftius, but,
if I miſtake not, his Lictors were not continued` to
him, but were given him by Cafar. For I am in-
formed
to ATTICUS.
183
"
formed, that he difannuls all the Reſolutions of the
Senate, that paffed after the Tribunes left Rome §
therefore he may confiftently, with his own Max-
ims, continue to me my Lictors.
But what am I talking of Lictors, have I not re-
ceived what is next to an Order that I ſhould leave
Italy? For Antony has fent me a Copy of Cefar's
Letter to him, importing that he had heard that Cato
and Lucius Metellus had come to Italy, and that
they intended to appear in Public at Rome, that he
diſapproved of that, and that he prohibited all from
coming to Italy, who had not his ſpecial Leave,
and all, upon this Subject, was worded in very
ſtrong Terms. Antony therefore fent me a Letter,
begging me to excufe him, becauſe he could not
help obeying Cæfar's Orders. I then fent Lucius
Lamia to him, to tell him that Gafar had de-
fired Dolabella to write to me forthwith to come to
Italy, and that Dolabella's Letter was my Warrant
for coming. Antony, upon this, publiſhed an E-
dict of Prohibition, but with an exprefs Exception
of Lælius and myſelf, which I did not like, becauſe
I might have been comprehended in a general Ar-
ticle as having leave from Cæfar, but without be-
ing named.
-
How heavy are the Strokes of my Affliction! in
vain do you endeavour to weaken their Force, and
yet your very Endeavours are ſo earneſt, that they
abate my Sorrow. Repeat your ſalutary Correſ-
pondence as often as poffible; Oh continue, above
all Things, to labour that I may believe that I
am not utterly ruined in the Eſteem of worthy Men ;
and yet how can you fucceed in that? No, you
cannot. But if any Occafion ſhould prefent (as I
N 4
know
•184
CICERO'S EPISTLES
know none at prefent) of your juſtifying me with
fuch Men, that would give me comfort.indeed. But,
ſhould any preſent, it muſt be from what is hap-
pened. For Inftance. It has been ſaid that I ought
tó have left Italy, at the fame Time, with Pompey.
Now his Death takes off, in fome Meaſure, the
Reproach of my having been wanting to my Duty
in that Reſpect. But, of all the Charges againſt
me, none affects me more than my not going to
Africa. Now I reaſoned in this Manner. I did not
think the Cauſe of our Country ought to be left to
the Defence of barbarous Auxiliaries, and the moſt
treacherous of all People in the World, efpecially
as they were to act againſt an Army which had
gained repeated Victories. This Apology will per-
haps not fatisfy People; for I hear that a great ma-
ny worthy Romans have gone to Africa, and I
know that fome were there before. Here I am
greatly pinched, and here too I muſt appeal to E-
vents. It may be faid that fome, poffibly all, of
thoſe Patriots would have made their Peace with
Cafar if they could. But if they ſhould hold out
and prevail, in what a Light fhall I then appear?
But, fay you, what will become of them fhould
they be conquered? Why, they fall with Glory.
That, that, is the Reflection that gives me Tor-
ment.
You have not informed me of your Reaſons for
your thinking that the Conduct of Sulpicius has
not been more advifeable than mine. It is not in-
deed ſo ſhowy as that of Cato, but it is void of
Trouble and Danger. The laft Confideration is,
with Regard to thoſe who are in Achaia, yet even they
are in a better Situation than I am, becauſe a great
many
to ATTICUS.
185
A
upon
many of them are in one Place, and, at the fame
Time they come to Italy, they come to Rome di-
rectly. Do you continue to fpare no Pains in ufing
all the Arguments you can to mitigate my Miſcar-
riages, and to vindicate my Conduct.
You fay
you cannot give me a Meeting. Well-I know
your Reaſons, and I am even fenfible that it is my、
Intereſt you ſhould be at Rome, that you may treat
with the proper Perſons as you have hitherto done
thoſe Matters that relate to me; and there is one
Thing I recommend to you in a more fpecial Man-
ner. I am of Opinion there are a great many who
have informed, or will inform,. Cæfar, that I either
repent me of my own Conduct, or that I diſap-
prove of his. Both thoſe Facts are true, but they
are reported by the Informers, not from any real
Diſcoveries they have made, but with an Intention
to do me Prejudice. But Balbus and Oppius muft
entirely take upon them the Charge of removing
thofe Impreffions from Cæfar, and confirm, by
their frequently writing to him, the Inclination he
has in my Favour, and you muſt omit no Pains
to fpur them on to this.
There is another Reaſon why I would not have
you to leave Rome, becauſe you write me that you
are follicited to remain there. What a miferable
Situation am I in! what can I write! what can I
with for!-I muſt be fhort-For
my Tears gufh
Do every Thing
yourfelf no Pre-
out. I leave every Thing to you.
for the beft. Only take care to do
judice, at a Juncture like this. Pardon me, I
beseech you, Tears and Anguiſh will not fuffer me
to continue longer; upon this Subject.-All I can
fay is, that you can do nothing more kind to me
than
1
186
CICERO'S EPISTLES
than to love my Daughter. You oblige me great-
ly in writing Letters to fuch People as you think
proper; I have ſeen a Perſon who ſaw the younger
Quintus at Samos, and his Father at Sycion. It
will be an eafy Matter for them to make their Peace.
I wiſh, as they are to fee Cafar before I can ſee
him, that they would do me as much Service with
him as I am inclinable to do to them, were it in
my Power. You intreat me to take, in good Part,
any Thing that may touch me in your Letters. I
tell
you
I take it in the beft Part, and I defire you
will continue to write me every Thing as openly,
and as often as you can.
19th.
Farewell. December the
I
EPIST. VIII.
Suppoſe you are not ignorant of my Afflictions,
but you will be fully inftructed in them by Lep-
ta and Trebatius. Dearly do I fuffer for my rafh
Conduct, which you are fond of calling prudent,-
Well, I fhall not diſpute the Point with you. Be
it fo, if you will have it fo, and write to me as often
as you can, for, at this Time, your Letters give
me fome Confolation. I have occafion for all your
Intereſt with thoſe who are my Well-wishers, and
have moſt to ſay with Cæfar; Balbus and Oppius
eſpecially. Let them write to him in the ftrongeſt
Terms in my Favour; for I hear that I have Ene-
mies about Cæfar's Perfón, and others to do me
prejudice by their Letters to him. It is a main
Point with me to guard against all fuch. Furnius is
with Cæfar, and is a very great Enemy of mine.
"
My
to ATTICUS.
187
My Brother has fent his Son to Cafar, not only
to beg his Pardon, but to make him my Enemy. He
gives out that I have done him ill Offices with
Cæfar. In this he is confuted by Cæfar himself,
and by all his Friends; and, wherever he is, he is
inceffantly loading me with all Kind of Reproaches.
Of all Things I ever met with in my Life, I could
not have believed this, and, of all my Calamities,
this is the moſt bitter. I have been told by thoſe
who heard them, of fome very unnatural Things
which he ſpoke of me in a public Company at Sy-
cion. You know his Temper, perhaps you have
experienced it, and now he difcharges all his Gall
againſt me. But the Remembrance of theſe Mat-
ters both encreaſes my own Trouble, and occa-
fions yours. Let me therefore return to the main
Point. Let me recommend it to you upon this
Occafion, that Balbus ſhould ſend a ſpecial Meffen-
ger to Cæfar. I beg you will write to People in
my Name as you fee proper. Adieu, December
27th.
?
W
EPIST,
IX.
HAT you ſay is true, I have acted both
uncautiouſly and prematurely; I am now
quite hopeleſs, being detained in Italy, by the Ex-
ceptions inferted in Cæfar's Edicts, and had they
not been obtained by your Affiduity and Friendfhip,
I ſhould have chofen to have gone to fome Defart
or other. But now I am not at Liberty even to do
that. Now what Service does it to me, that I have
3
come
188
1
CICERO'S EPISTLES
come before the Commencement of the new Tri
buneſhip, if my coming at all is of no Effect in it←
felf? Now, what can I hope from a Man whe
neyer was my Friend, after being harraffed and
oppreffed by his Acts of State. The Letters I re-
ceive from Balbus, are every Day more and more
cold. Cæfar receives a thouſand Letters from a
thouſand Parts, perhaps in my Disfavour. I have
myſelf to blame for my Ruin, I can load Fortune
with nothing. All my Mifery is owing to my-
felf. After feeing the Nature of the War, af-
ter being fenfible, that we were weak, and unpro-
vided in all Refpects, to act againſt an Enemy who
wanted for nothing! What was I to do? I refolved
to remain neutral. A Reſolution not brave indeed,
but more pardonable in me than in any other Man
alive.
Well, I yielded to, or rather I obeyed, my
Friends. One of them (the Perſon whom you re-
commend to me) has difcovered by his Letters to
you, what his Sentiments were. Never ſhould I
have opened them, had it not been upon the fol-
lowing Occafion. The Packet was brought to me,
I opened to fee if any Letters directed for me were
in it. There was none but one for Vatinius, and
another for Ligurius, which I ordered to be fent
to them; in a Trice they came to me, all flaming
with Fury, and exclaiming againſt my Brother's
Treachery. They then read to me his Letters,
which were filled with all Manner of Invectives a-
gainſt me. Ligurius then told me, in great Paſ-
fion, that Cæfar had been exceffively exafperated
againſt my Brother, and that it was only from his
Reſpect
to ATTICUS.
189
Reſpect to me, that he had not only taken him in-
to Favour, but made him fo confiderable a prefent
in Money. After receiving this ftinging Informa-
tion, I was curious to know what he had written to
his other Correfpondents, for I thought, that it would
turn to his own Prejudice, fhould the Report of
his monstrous Wickednefs diffuſe itſelf farther. I
perceived all his Letters were in the fame Strain. I'
have ſent them to you. You may order them to
be delivered, if you think they can ſerve him, for
they cannot differve me. As to their being un-
fealed, if I am not miſtaken, Pomponia has his
Seal. When he' difcovered this bitter Difpofi-
tion againſt me, it confounded me fo much, that
I have been liftless ever fince; and at prefent, I
am told, that he does not endeavour fo much to do
himſelf Service, as to do me Prejudice.
With fuch numberlefs Difficulties am I furround-
ed, that it is difficult, nay, impoffible, for me to
hold out longer against them. There is one Mis-
fortune were there no other, that muft fink me to
the Ground; the Thoughts of leaving my unfortu-
nate Daughter, ftript of all ſhe had to expect of
mine, or her own, Fortune. Therefore, I am im-
patient till you fulfil your Promiſe of ſeeing me.
For I have no other Friend on Earth to whom I
can recommend her, becauſe I underſtand that
her Mother is to expect no more Favour than my-
felf. But, fhould I not fee you, let this my Re-
commendation of her, ferve for all, and do all you
can to reconcile her Uncle to her. I write this
upon my Birth-Day. I wish I never had been born,
or that my Mother never had had another Son. My
Tears will not fuffer me to write more.
EPIST.
Iya
CICERO'S EPISTLES
M™
EPIST. X.
Y Troubles which are already inexpreffible,
were augmented by the News I had of my
Brother and my Nephew. Terentius, one of my
Intimates, had a great Share as an under Farmer in
the Toll of Carriage and Paſturage in Afia. He
faw the younger Quintus at Ephefus on the 8th of
December, and, from the Regard he has to me, hẹ
gave him a moft preffing Invitation to Supper;
and, upon his putting fome particular Queſtions to
him concerning me, my Nephew expreffed himſelf
to be my, moſt inveterate Enemy; fhowing him at
the fame Time, a Roll of an Oration which he
was to ſpeak againſt me before Cafar. Terentius
took great Pains to diffuade him from this frantic
Proceeding. He afterwards, at Patre,, had a long
Converfation with my Brother, who talked in the
fame unnatural, wicked Strain; and whofe Mad-
neſs you may perceive from the Letter I have fent
you. I know this will give you Pain, as it gives
me Torment, and the more, becauſe I am of Opi-
nion, that there will hereafter be no room, even for
my expoftulating with them,
Our News concerning the Affairs of Africa, are
very different from that you repreſent them to be
in your Letters. We are told, that nothing can
be more ftrong or alert, than our Party is there.
Add to this, the Revolt of Spain, the Diſlike of
Italy to Cæfar, the Weakneſs, and the bad Hu-
mour his Troops are in, and the defperate State his
Affairs are in. Have I any Reafon to enjoy my.
felf for a Moment, any longer than while I am
reading
to ATTICUS.
195
reading your Letters.; I know you would write me
more frequently, if you had any Subject to write,
which you
think could alleviate my Anguiſh, but
I beg of you not to forbear writing, be what it
will; and if you cannot hate thoſe who have treated
me fo cruelly, yet you may reproach them; not
that your Reproaches will have any Weight with
them, but that they, may be fenfible, that I am ſtill
dear to you. I fhall write you more, when you
have anfwered. my laft Letters. Farewell. Dated
January the 21st
S
EPIST. XI.
PENT as I am with a thouſand tormenting
Reflections, if I had any Thing proper to
write to you, it would not be eafy for me to do it.
At prefent, I have nothing to write you, eſpecially
as I have no Profpect of my Situation being bet-
tered. I am therefore, in no Expectation of having a
Letter even from you, though they always bring
me fomething that is agreeable. Therefore, con-
tinue to write to me by every Opportunity, I can
fay nothing in Anſwer to your laſt Letter, which,
by the bye, I received a long Time ago. The
Face of Affairs are much changed fince that Time;
our Patriot Party is in good Condition, and I
fmart moft miferably for my Folly.
You are to pay 240l. to Publius Salluftius, which
I received from Cnaus Salluftius, and I beg you
may do it inftantly, I have given my Wife Advice
of the fame, and indeed, this Supply is almoft ex-
haufted. Therefore, I wish you would concert
Meaſures
192
CICERO's EPISTLES
}
Meaſures with her how to procure a Supply for our
Expences. I could borrow Money perhaps here, if I
thought it could be paid at Rome upon Demand,
but I will not venture to borrow any, before I
know that I can draw for it. You fee how it is with
me. There is no Species of Wretchednefs, that I do'
not either bear, or expect, and my Anguifh is em-
bittered by the Reflection upon my own Mifcon-
duct. My Brother is inceffantly railing at me in
Achaia. It is ftrange that your Letters have had
no Impreffion upon him. Dated March the 8th.
O
EPIST. - XII.
N the Evening of the 8th of March, I receiv
ed your Letter of Cephalio, after having that
very Day in the Morning fent off an Exprefs, with
Letters to you. When I had read your Letter, how-
ever, I thought proper to write fomething in Anfwer,
eſpecially as I perceived 'you to be fomewhat du-
bious with regard to the Reafon which I am to
affign to Cæfar for my leaving Italy. I have no
Occafion for any new Reáfon. For, I have often
written to himfelf, and 1 have given it out to
many others, that I did all I could to bear with
the public Talk, but all was in vain, with a great
deal to the fame Purpoſe. There is nothing can
go more againſt my Inclination than that he ſhould
imagine, I have confulted any Body but myſelf,
in a Matter of this vaft Conſequence. Afterwards I
had a Letter from the young Balbus Cornelius, tell-
ing me, that Cæfar thought that my Brother Quin-
tus had founded the Alarm (for fuch is the Ex-
preffion
1
to ATTICUS.
193
preffion of his Letter) for my Departure. At that
Time I did not know in what Terms my Brother
Quintus had written of me to a great many People,
though he fpoke, and did a great many fhocking
Things to my Face, yet I wrote by Nilus to
Cafar, in thefe Words.
~
I am as anxious concerning my Brother Quintus,
'as I am concerning myſelf, but I dare not prefume, at
Such a functure as this is, to recommend him to you.
I will venture bereby, however, to beg of you, that
you will believe, he never did a Thing to difcourage
my giving you Proofs of my Regard and Affection;
but that be rather was always prompting me to a
clofer Connection with you, and that he was not the
Advifer, but the Companion, of my Flight. There-
fore, in all other Respects, I hope you will bestow
upon him, thoſe Favours that are conſiſtent with
your Humanity for him, and his Friendship with you.
Let me beg you, with the greatest Earnestness, again
and again, that I may do him no Prejudice in any
Refpect in your Efteem.
:
+
Should I therefore, have an Interview with
Cæfar, though I make no Doubt of his forgiving
my Brother, for he has declared ſo much, yet ſtill
I will be confiftent with myfelf, by fpeaking the
fame Language as ever.
But in my Mind, our chief Concern at prefents
ought to be with Regard to Africa, where, you
fay, Things have daily a better Afpect, ſo as to
induce us to hope, not that the honeft Party can be
fucceſsful, but that they may be able to make their
Terms. Would to Heaven it were fo! But my
VOL II.
Accounts
اری
>
194
CICERO's EPISTLES
t
Accounts are very different; and I make no Doubt,
that you yourſelf are of a different Way of thinking,
but that you write in another Strain, not to de-
ceive, but to encourage me, eſpecially as Spain is
at fo fmall a Diftance from Africa.
You adviſe me to write to Antony, and others
of that Party. If you think there is Occaſion
for that, I beg you would continue to do what you
have often done; I mean, to write to them in my
Name, for nothing that is proper for me to write
to them occurs to me at prefent. You hear
that I am more difpirited than ever. No Won-
der that I am, when you fee the glorious Actions of
my Son-in-law (1) crowning all my other Diftreffes.
However, I beg you will continue to write to me
as often as you can, (for he can be no Hindrance to
that) even though you have no Subject for writing,
for your Letters always bring me fome Comfort.
I have entered into Poffeffion of Gallio's Legacy,
and, I believe, I am fole Legatee, becauſe I have
not been ſerved with any other Notice. Dated
·March the 5th.
F
(1). Meaning Dolabella, who at that Time acted at Rome as
Tribune of the People, and was pufhing on a general Act of
Inſolvency, and other very pernicious Meaſures, in which he
was oppofed by Trebellius one of his Colleagues. This Differ-
ence between the two Tribunes, occafioned a great deal of
Bloodſhed, which was encreafed by the Senate's agreeing to
Antony's entering Rome at the Head of his Troops.
1
1
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
195
}
I
EPIST. XIII.
HAVE as yet, received no Letter from
Murena's Freedman; that which I now anfwer,
was delivered to me by Publius Sifer. What you
write me concerning the Letters of the elder Ser-
vius, is as true as is your Information, that mý
Brother is come to Syria, which is falfe. You defire
mẹ to inform you, how I ftand with thoſe who have
come hither. I have no Reaſon to think, I am not
well with every one of them, but I know, that you
are a Judge how far that is of any Confequence to
me. Every Thing helps to compleat my Mifery,
eſpecially as I fee myſelf reduced to that Pafs, that
nothing can ferve me but the Succefs of the Caufe,
which has ever been my Averfion (r). They ſay,
that the elder Publius Lentulus is at Rhodes, and
his Son at Alexandria; and it is certain, that Caius
Caffius is gone from Rhodes to Alexandria,
In an Apology which my Brother has fent me
for his Conduct, he has made Uſe of more bitter
Terms than he did when he perfecuted me the
moſt. For, he mentions, that he underſtands by your
Letters, that you are offended at his faying fo
(1) Meaning that of Caefar. The Defpondency, and the
Meannefs of our Author in the whole of his Conduct at this
Juncture, is far lefs defenfible, and much more ridiculous
than he showed under his Baniſhment. We find him ſtart
ing at every Breath, raiſing to himſelf Phantoms of Miſery, and
ingeniouſly tormenting himſelf with the meereft Chimeras.
Notwithstanding this, I am apt to believe, that he was not mi-
ſtaken, in fuppofing, that it would be much better for him that
Cafar fhould get the better, than that the Republicans fhould.
But the Declaration in this Place is very unworthy of a wife and
a good Man.
0 2
many
1
CICERO's EPISTLES
196
many fevere Things of me in writing; that he
was forry he had diſobliged you, but that he had
done nothing he could not anfwer for. He then
writes me his Reaſons, in very fcurrilous Terms.
But had he not feen me compleatly miferable,
never would he either now, or before this Time,
have diſcovered his Rancour againſt me. I wifh
I had come nigher to you, even though I had tra-
velled in the Night, as you adviſed me; for now,
where you are, or when I can fee you, is to me
an abfolute Secret.
You had no Occafion to write to me, concern-
ing the Coheirs of Fufidius. Their Demands are
no more than juft, and I approve of whatever you
have done in that Matter. I informed you long
ago of my Willingneſs to pay off the Mortgage of
that Eftate of Frufinum. I am ſtill in the fame Mind,
though my Circumftances were then better, nor
did I then think thofe of the Public fo defperate as
they appear to be now. I leave you to take the
proper Steps for finishing that Affair. I beg
that you will exert yourſelf as much as pof-
fible to procure proper Supplies of Money for
my neceffary Expences. All the Money I could
Spare, I gave to Pompey, at a Time when I thought
I was acting wifely in fo doing. I have therefore
been obliged to borrow fomewhat from your
Steward, and from other Hands, and, at the fame
Time, Quintus has been complaining by Letters,
that I could fpare nothing to him. He never
afked me for any, nor have I ever feen the Money
I mentioned. I beg you will try what can be done
for me, and that you would give me your beſt
Advice upon all Matters; you know the State of
my
}
to ATTICUS.
197
my Affairs. My Grief prevents my writing any
more at prefent. You will continue to write in my
Name, to the proper Perſons when Occafion offers,
and I beg you will let flip no Opportunity of writ-
ing to me. Farewell.
EPIST. XIV.
A M not a bit fhocked at your frankly telling
Ime in your
me in your Letter, that you will not even at-
tempt, as you formerly did, to comfort me under
my Afflictions both public and private, and your
confeffing it to be now impracticable, The Situa-
tion of Things are entirely altered from what they
were. For, to mention no other Circumftance, I
thought others were in the fame Situation with my-
felf. For all the humble Petitioners that were in
Achaia, and likewife thofe in Afia, thoſe who were
ignorant of, as well as thofe who knew the true
State of public Affairs, are about to ſet fail for
Africa. Lælius therefore, is the only Perfon who
is in the fame Situation with myfelf, through his
own Miſconduct, but in one Refpect, he has the
Advantage of me, becauſe he has been admitted
to Terms. With Regard to myſelf, I make no
Doubt, that Cæfar has written concerning me to
Balbus, and to Oppius, who certainly, if they had
received any agreeable Orders, would have com-
municated them to me. They likewife would have
imparted them to you; and I defire, that you will
talk to them upon that Head, and write to.me
03
what
¡
-198 CICERO's EPISTLES
?
what Anſwer you fhall receive; not that I think
his Affurances in my Favour are to be relied on,
but I may be able from thence, to form fome
Judgment of the Manner in which I ought to pro-
ceed. Though I hate the Sight of all the World,
eſpecially as I have fuch a Son-in-law, yet I can
find nothing elſe more eligible for me in this,
unfortunate Situation. Panfa and Hirtius write to
me, that my Brother goes on againſt me in his old
Way, and it is faid, that he is proceeding to Africa
with the others of that Party. I will write to the
elder Minutius, and I will fend him your Letter. I
will acquaint you how he proceeds, if he ſhould
draw upon me for Money. I am furpriſed how
you could raiſe that two hundred and fifty Pounds,
unleſs the Eſtate of Fufidius has turned out better
than we expected (1). That muſt be the Cafe.
But I expect you in Perfon, for my Affairs require
that I fhould fee you, if poffible. Now Matters
are come to a Criſis with me, it is eaſy for you tọ
form a Judgment of what is the leaft diftrefsful
Courſe for me to purfue. Farewell.
(1) The Senfe of the Original is here extremely doubt-
ful, not only on Account of Cicero's clofe curfory Way of
Writing, but of the various Readings in the Original. I
have endeavoured, however, to make it clear and confiftent
both with the beft Readings, and with other Paffages of our
Author,
>
$
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
199
As
EPIST. XV.
S you have fo many good Reaſons why I can-
not fee you at this Juncture, how, I pray you,
am I to proceed? For Cafar's Poffeffion of Alex-
andria is fuch, that he is afhamed to write of what
has happened there (1). Now they of the other
Party ſeem to be making Difpofitions for paffing
from Africa to Italy, and thofe who went from
Achaia to Afia, will either join them, or remain in
fome neutral Place. How then do you think I
am to proceed? I know it is difficult to adviſe
My Cafe is fingular, and has at moſt but one
Parallel, for I can neither return to the Party I
have quitted, nor have I any Affurances of Pro-
tection from the Party I have embraced. But ftill
I want to know your Opinion, and that was one
amongſt many Reaſons, why I defired, if poffible,
to ſee you.
I wrote to you before, that Minutius had paid me
no more than ninety fix Pounds; I beg you will take
Care that I fhall be paid the Remainder. My Brother
is fo far from expreffing any Concern to me for his
paft Behaviour, that he writes to me in the moſt
reproachful Terms; as to his Son, he is quite out-
ragious against me. My Oppreffions are incon-
ceivable; but nothing ftings me fo much, as the
Reflection upon my own grofs irretrievable Mif-
conduct; which would be fomewhat alleviated,
(1) Notwithstanding all the great Qualities of Cefar, his
Heart was fo acceffible to the Charms of the famous Cleopatra,
that his Gallantries with her at Alexandria, had almoſt proved
'fatal both to his Affairs and his Perfon.
04
had
200
CICERO'S EPISTLES
had I not been miſtaken in believing that fome
others would have acted as I did. But all others
had a reaſonable Profpect from what they have
done; I have none. Some were made Prifoners,
others were intercepted before any Doubts could
be formed of what they intended, and the rather,
becauſe as foon as they were delivered, they join-
ed their own Party. As to fuch of them as volun-
tarily ferved under Fufius (1), the worft that can be
faid of them is, that they were faint-hearted. Now
there are a great many, be their Conduct what it
will, who will be received into the honeft Party,
provided they are willing to join them. You have
therefore the leſs Reaſon to be ſurpriſed at my fink-
ing under fuch a Weight of Affliction. I am ſingle
(unleſs Lælius may be joined with me) in being
guilty of irretrievable Miſconduct. But what does
it avail me, to have one Companion in Miſcry? It
is faid, indeed, that Caius Caffius has altered his
Defign of going to Alexandria. I write to you
in this Manner, not that you are able to remove
my Uneafinefs, but that I may know, whether you
can give me any Advice in my prefent miferable.
Condition, which is additionally embittered by
the Conduct of my Son-in-law, and other Circum-
ſtances, which my Tears hinder me from writing?
Even the Son of Æſopus (2) gives me Pain. In
fhort,
(1) He commanded in Achaia under Cæfar, and was Con-
ful for the three laft Months of this Year with Vatinius.
(2) He was a celebrated Player, and our Author, who was
fond of Excellency in all Profeffions, had a particular Efteem
for him. He left an immenfe Eftate to his Son, who is men-
tioned here, and who fquandered it fcandaloufly in a very fhört
Time. But after all, I cannot be eaſily perfuaded, that the
Original
4
{
{
to ATTICUS.
201
fhort, nothing is wanting to make my mifery com-
pleat.
But, as I was juft now faying-what is your
Opinion I fhould do? fhall I fteal to fome Place
nearer Rome, or fhall I pafs the Sea? For here
I cannot ftay longer. Why could you do no-
thing in the Affair of the Fufidian Eftate? For
the Bargain was of that Nature, that feldom or
never admits of any Controverfy, becauſe the
Share, which feemed to be the leaft, might have
been made up by felling the whole Eftate by
Auction (1). I have fome Reafon to inquire in-
to this, for I ſuſpect, that the Coheirs believe my
public Situation to be very indifferent, and that,
therefore, they refufe to do any Thing in the
Matter. Adieu! Dated May the 14th.
I
EPIST. XVI.
A M not to blame, at leaſt at this Time, (for I
own I have been fo formerly) that Cafar's Let-
ter gives me no Comfort. For I perceive you ob-
ſerve, as well as I do, that it is wrote in narrow
Terms (2), and contains ſtrong Preſumptions that
it did not come from his own Hand (3), I will take
your
Original here is not vitiated. Gronovius is of Opinion, that it
ought to be read (inftead of Quin etiam Efopi filius) Quin
etiam tuæ fororis, filius.
(1) Orig. Cum ea pars, quæ videtur effe minor, lecitatione
expleri poffet.
(2) Orig. Exigue fcripta eft.
(3) We fee from this Paffage, and from the Practice of our
Author, that it was ufual for the great Men of Rome, to give a
general
202
CICERO's EPISTLES
}
}
your Advice, with Regard to my going out to
meet him. For his return to Italy is neither cer-
tain, nor do they, who come from Afia, fay, that
they have heard any Thing of Peace, and yet the
Hopes of that gave rife to all my miſtaken Mea-
fures. I now fee no Foundation for fuch a Hope,
eſpecially as Cæfar has received fuch Blows in
Afia (1), in Illyricum (2), in the Affair of Caffius (3),
in Alexandria itſelf, in Rome (4), and in Italy (5).
With Regard to myſelf, fuppofing Cæfar to be
upon his Return at the Time he is faid to be car-
rying on the War, yet I believe a decifive Blow
will be ftruck before that Time (6).
general Licence to their Friends, to make ufe of their Name in
writing to others, what they thought might be for their Service,
The Word Exigue, in this Sentence, would feem to imply that
the Compoſition was too mean for Cafar, but the Senſe, I have
given it, is more natural and agrees much better with our Au-
thor's Doubts. Befides Exigue does not fo properly fignify, mean,
as, contracted. Our Author mentions, exiguum tempus; Virgil,
exigua nox-Laudato ingentia Rura, exiguum colito.
(1) Cæfar's Lieutenant, Domitius Calvinus had been worſted
there by Pharnoces, the Son of Mithridates.
(2) Where Gabinus, one of Ceſar's general Officers, was de-
feated by Octavius Dolabella, in his March to join Cæfar.
(3) He commanded under Cæfar in Spain, where he mif-
behaved himſelf ſo much, that his Soldiers mutinied againſt
him, by which means the Republicans became again Maſters
of that Country.
(4) On Account of the popular Commotions there.
(5) Where Cafar's Soldiers were very much dilaffected, ef-
pecially on Account of his Behaviour with Cleopatra, which
feems to have been no Secret at that Time
(6) Meaning that Scipio, who commanded the Republican
Army in Africa, would find Means to transport it over to Ita-
, which would then fail into their Hands, But this was one
of our Author's vain Surmifes, arifing from the dreadful Con-
cern he was under left the Party, which he had fo often fo-
lemnly vowed to efpoufe at the Expence of his Life and For-
tune, as efteeming it more honourable to die with them, than
to conquer with Cafar (fee the preceding Epifles) fhould be
fuccefsful.
You
!
to ATTICUS.
203
1
You write me there appeared a Gleam of Chear-
fulneſs when they heard of Cafar's Letter. Well-
You take Care to omit nothing that, you think,
can give me the ſmalleſt Degree of Comfort. But
I cannot perſuade myſelf, that any Patriot can ſup-
poſe I value any Advantage that can happen to me,
at fuch a Rate, as to beg it of Cæfar, and the leſs
becauſe I am now fingle in the Conduct I have pur-
fued. They who are in Afia wait to know what
Turn Affairs will take. Thoſe in Achaia have even
given Fufius hopes, that they will fubmit. All
thoſe Gentlemen were at firft under the fame Ap-
prehenfions, and had come to the fame Refolution
with myſelf. The Stop which Cafar met with
at Alexandria bettered their Condition, but ruins
mine; I therefore repeat to you the Requeft I made
in my former Letters, to let me know whether, in
this defperate State of my Affairs, you fee any
Thing that you think proper for me to do? If I
am accepted of by Cafar's Party, which you per-
ceive is not the Cafe, yet ftill, during the War, I am
at a Loſs how to behave, or where to refide. Should
I be rejected my Condition is ftill worſe. I there-
fore wait for a Letter from you, and I beg you
will write to me pofitively upon this Head.
You adviſe me to impart Cæfar's Letters to my
Brother, which I would do, did they give me
any Pleaſure. Mean while, a certain Correſpondenţ
writes to me in the following Terms.
I pass my
Time at Patræ agreeably enough, confidering the pub-
lic Distractions; but my Abode would be the more
agreeable, if your Brother would talk of you in a Man-
ner that I like. You tell me he has wrote to you,
that I anſwered none of his Letters. I received on-
ly
204
CICERO's ERISTLES
ly one from him, and I answered it by Cephalio,
who has been detained, by contrary Winds, for fome
Months. I formerly acquainted you, that the
younger Quintus had wrote to me in, the moft fcur-
rilous Manner.
I ſhall conclude by begging you, (if you fhall
approve of the Meaſure, and think you can under-
take it) that you will concur with Camillus in talk-
ing to my Wife concerning her Teftament (1).
The Times call upon her Attention to diſcharge
her Debts, and to fettle her Affairs. Philotimus
has been heard to ſay, that, in ſome Things, fhe
has acted moſt ſcandalouſly; I can ſcarcely believe
that, but if there is any Thing in it, we muſt do
all we can to prevent the Confequences. I beg
you will write to me concerning every Thing, and
concerning her in a more particular Manner. I
want to adviſe with you in this Matter, though per-
haps you can form no Judgment of it, and I fhall
take it for granted, by your Silence, that you can-
not. Dated June the 11th.
•
EPIST. XVII.
HE Letter Carriers, who go with this, are
TH
none of mine, and they are in a Hurry; be-
fides, I am about to diſpatch my own, therefore this
Letter is but fhort, My Dear Tullia came to me
(1) Though Terentia was, at this Time, in perfect Health, and
enjoyed it for upwards of fifty Years after this; yet Cicero, and
fhe, had each of them agreed to make a Will, fettling
the Succeffion amongst their Children and Grandchildren, to
their feveral Eftates.
the
to ATTICUS.
205
the 12th of June, and was at vaſt Pains to inform
me of your great Regard and Kindneſs for her, de-
livering to me, at the fame Time, three Letters.
As to myſelf, I was fo far from having the pleaf-
ing Enjoyment which the Virtue, the Tenderneſs,
and the Affection fo excellent a Daughter ought to
have given me, that I was touched with inconceive-
able Anguiſh at feeing fo fweet a Nature linked to
fo wretched a Fortune, and that too, through no
Demerit in her, but through the moſt blameable
Away then at prefent with the
Balm of Comfort, which you are fo fond to admi-
nifter. Away with Advice, for I can follow none.
You have omitted nothing, I know you have not,
that could be fuggefted, in your former, and your
laft Letters.
Conduct in me.
I am thinking of fending my Son with Salluft
to Cæfar. As to my Daughter, I think it impro
per that I ſhould detain her longer about my Per-
fon in our prefent public melancholly Circumſtances.
Therefore, as foon as fhe will give me leave, I
will fend her back to her Mother. As to the Let-
ter, which you wrote to me in a Strain of Comfort,
you may fuppofe my Anſwer to be fuch as muft
fuggeft to yourſelf, were you in my Circumftances.
The Converfation, which you inform me you had
with Oppius (1), was, on his Part, pretty much as
I had fufpected. But I am certain that it will be
impoffible to perfuade Cafar's Party, fay what I
will, that I can approve in my Heart of their Mea-
fures. I will however be as moderate as poffible.
(1) He probably had defired Atticus to put our Author upon
his Guard againft talking fo freely as he did of public Affairs,
or rather to talk of them in Cefar's Favour.
And
об
CICERO's EPISTLES
}
And yet I cannot fee of what mighty Difadvantage
it would be for me to incur their Diſpleaſure. I fee
you have a very good Excufe (too good to my
great Sorrow) for not coming to ſee me.
We have as yet no Advice of Cafar's having
left Alexandria, and, it is certain, that no Body
has come from thence fince the 16th of March, nor
has Cæfar written to any one fince the 13th of
December, from whence you may conclude, that
the Letter bearing Date the 9th of February, is not
authentic (though it would be of no Confequence if
it were). We are certainly informed, that Lucius
Terentius has left Africa and is come to Paftum (1). I
am curious to know what News he brings, how he
eſcaped, and how Matters ftand in Africa, for we
are told, that he was conveyed away by Nafidius (2).
Pray inform me, by a Letter, of all you learn as
to that Matter. I fhall take your Advice as to that
eighty Pounds. Adieu, June the 14th.
14
{
W
EPIST. XVIII.
E have yet no Account of Cæfar's having
left Alexandria, and the general Opinion is,
that he has not, and that he has Work enough up-
on his Hands there. Therefore 1 have laid afide
my Refolution of fending my Son to him, and I
(1) This was a Town of Lucania, built at the Mouth of the
River Silaris.
(2) Scipio, who commanded the Republican Party in Africa,
had been at great Pains to cut off all Communication between
Cæfar and that Country; but this Nafidius, who commanded a
Fleet upon that Coaft, it feems, affifted Terentius in his Efcape
from thence.
beg
-
#
J
to ATTICUS.
207
!
beg that you will difengage me from this Place,
for I know no puniſhment fo great as my Staying
longer here. I have applied, by Letters to Anto-
ny, to Balbus, and to Oppius, upon this Subject.
For it will be extreamly improper that I fhould
be here, whether we fuppofe the War to be car-
ried on in Italy, or by Sea. It may perhaps be
by both, but that it will be by one is certain. The
Converfation, which you wrote me you had with
Oppius, made me entirely fenfible of the Purpoſes
of that Party, with Regard to myſelf, but I beg
you would try to foften them. At prefent I lay
my Account for the worst, and nothing but the
worst, though indeed my prefent Situation is as
bad at it can be. I therefore defire you will talk
with Antony, and with thoſe other Perfons, and do
all you can for my Deliverance, giving me as early
Advice upon every Thing as poffible.
dated June the 19th.
I
·
EPIS T. XIX (1).
Farewell,
Readily agree with you in what you write, when
you are at fo great Pains in making me fenfible,
that you know of no Way to affift me. It is true,
my Affliction is fuch, that it admits of no Com-
fort. Had the Caufes of it been accidental, it had
been tolerable. But all my Miſconduct aroſe from
a Complication of Miſtakes and Miferies, both of
Mind and Body, which I wifh my Relations had
:
(1) I have followed Monfieur Mongault in altering the Order,
in which the feven laft Letters, of this Book, ſtand in the com-
mon Editions.
endea-
!
208
CICERO'S EPISTLES
endeavoured, rather to have removed than to have
increaſed. I have not therefore the leaſt Glimpfe
of Hope that you can, in any Degree, give me ei-
ther Counſel or Comfort (1). Hereafter I will afk you
for neither. All I beg of you is not to diſcontinue
your Correſpondence; write me whatever occurs
to you, when you can find a Bearer, and as long
as you can have (which you cannot long have) me
for a Correfpondent.
We have here a flying Report arifing from a
Letter of Sulpicius, which has been confirmed by
all other later Accounts, that Cæfar has left Alex-
andria. I know not whether to wifh this Account
to be true or falfe, fo little can it affect me either
Way. I wrote you formerly concerning my Wife
making her Will, I could wifh fhe would depofit
it in fome fure Hand (2). I am rendered com-
pleatly miſerable by the wretched Situation of my
Daughter, who is with me. Never furely was Di-
ftrefs equal to mine. I am impatient to know
whether you can point out to me in what Manner
I can abate it, be it ever fo little. I am fenfible
the fame Difficulty fubfifts in giving me Advice as
formerly, but this, this is my chief Affliction. How
was I miſtaken as to that fecond Payment of her
Fortune, I wish it had been otherwife. But the
Thing is over. I beg of you, in this defperate Situ-
ation of our Affairs, that you will take care to
make fome Referve of Money if it is poffible, in
(1) This is another Mark of our Author's great Dejection.
(2) The Text is entirely corrupted in this Place, All I have
been able to do is to reſtore it from the moſt probable Conjec-
tures, without troubling myſelf about the Surmife of the Com-
mentators, which, when the Text is corrupted, are often ex-
travagant and always uncertain.
any
}
to ATTICUS.
209
any Shape, by felling my Plate, and fome Part of my
houfhold Furniture; for I think Matters now draw
towards a Crifis. We can now hope for no Terms
of Accommodation, and, fhould any be obtained, it
muft fall to the Ground of itſelf, even without an
Oppoſition (1). If you think proper you will talk
likewife upon this Subject with my Wife, when
you have an Opportunity. I cannot write more at
large. Dated the 5th of July.
IA
EPIST. XX.
Adviſed you, by Letter, to confult with Ca-
millus, and he writes me, that he has had a
Converſation with you, upon which I wait for a
Letter from you. But if that Affair has taken any
unexpected Turn, I fee not how it can be altered (2);
But I knew not what to make of receiving no Ad-
vice from you along with the Letters which Nilus
fent me, and I concluded that you was either indif
pofed (for you wrote me that you felt fome Symp-
toms of that Kind), or that you had yet come
to no Certainty as to the Affair in Queſtion. One
Acufius came here on the 18th of July, from
(1) Meaning as he hinted in a former Letter, that Cafar's
Succeſs would be of no long Continuance, even though he got
the better of the other's prefent Difficulties, and returned in
Triumph to Rome.
-
(2) Orig. Nifi illud quidem mutari, fi aliter eft, et oportet,
non video poffe. The Word Nifi carries often with it the fame
Import as fed amongſt ancient Latin Authors. Cicero himſelf
fometimes ufes it in that Senfe, Fam. Epift. Lib. xiii. Ep. 1. Nec,
cur ille tantopere contendat video, nec, cur tu repugnes: Nifi tamet
multo minus tibi concedi poteft quam illi liberare fine Caufa, Eod.
Lib. Ep. 13. De te nihil pojum judicere; nifi illud mihi certe
perfuades, te talem virum nihil temere feciffe.
P
VOL. II.
Rhodes,
i
210
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Rhodes, who tells me, that my Brother (1) Quins
tus upon the 29th of May, fet out for Cæfar; that
Philotimus came to Rhodes the Day before, and
that he had a Letter for me. You will hear what
Acufus himſelf has to fay, but he travels very
flowly. I have, therefore, fent off this Difpatch
by a more expeditious Bearer. I know not the
Contents of the Letter I am to receive from Philo
timus, but I am greatly complimented by my Bro-
ther Quintus, though indeed my Miſconduct has
been ſo great, that I cannot conceive how it is pof-
fible I fhall ever be able to bear with its Confe-
quences.
I beg you would beſtow fome Time in thinking
upon the Condition of my wretched Daughter, and
I repeat my former Requeft to you, that fomething
may be done to keep her from want, and likewiſe
to ſpeak to my Wife concerning her Teftament. I
was of Opinion that the Matter you hint at fhould
have been done before, but I was afraid of every
Thing. A Divorce was the beſt Courſe that could
been followed in their moſt uncomfortable Situation.
Something I would have attempted to fhow that
I was not quite infenfible,-on Account of his pufh-
ing the Acts of Infolvency, or of his nocturnal
Riots, or of his Intrigue with Metella, or of all his
other Provocations. This would have prevented
him fquandering my Daughter's Fortune, and
would have ſhown in me fome Symptoms of man-
ly Reſentment. Well do I remember your Let-
ter (2).—But you know what a Juncture that was;
yet
(1) Orig. Quintum F. which fome read Filium, others Fra-
trem
(2) When the Reader reflects on the Nature of our Author's
familiar
to ATTICUS;
211
At
yet he could not behave worfe than he did.
preſent he ſeems to throw Defiance into our Teeth.
For what, good Heavens, do I hear of public
Matters. It is poffible that my Son-in-Law fhould
be the Man who fhould make his Country Bank-
rupt. Well, be it fo, I am of your Opinion.-Let
him be ſerved with Notice of the Divorce. He per-
familiar Correfpondence with Atticus, he cannot at all be fur..
priſed at the Concifenefs of his Expreffion, and the dark Hints
he throws out which Atticus understood, though they are often
almoft unintelligible to us. The Truth is, the Correfpondence
between them is often little better than a Cypher, which ren-
ders the Difficulty of tranflating thefe Letters inexpreffible.
Add to this, that the different Situations of our Author feem
to have had a furprizing Effect upon his Stile. He fometimes
talks clear and diſtinct, and ſometimes, as in the Letter before
us, like a Man whofe Lungs are wafted by a confumptive Ha-
bit, gaſping for Breath, ſeeking to be underſtood by his Eyes
and Motions, rather than by his Expreffions. This is the natural
Effect of that Concern and Agitation of Spirit, which Cicero
was generally under, during the whole Courfe of his Corref-
pondence with Atticus, the Lofs of, whofe Letters leaves us
greatly in the Dark, as to our Author's Meaning, in many Paf-
fages. All that a Tranflator, under fuch Difficulties can do, is
to compare one Paffage with another, to attend to his Author's
Manner, to prefer Certainty to Probability, and Probability to ar-
bitrary Conjecture. I have always, when the Senſe did not
fuffer by it, imitated that Frugality of Words, for which our
Author is as remarkable in his Epiftles, as he is in other Writ-
ings, for the Perſpicuity and ſometimes Luxuriancy of his Stile.
But, poffeft as I am with the greateſt Veneration for Ciccro, I
cannot think it the Buſineſs of a Tranflator, to imitate him in
what was the Effect rather of his Misfortunes than his Judgment.
Neither is he at the fame Liberty as Cicero was, to fuppofe him-
felf to be underſtood by his Reader. Atticus knew the Mean-
ing of what is a Mystery to an English Man eighteen hun-
dred Years after, and therefore when a Tranflator can grope
out a Meaning, he is not to write in the fame Stile that Cicero
wrote to Atticus. On this Account I have made it a Rule, that
my Tranflation ſhould give the Reader all the Lights poffible,
through the dark Parts of the Original, which laves an infi-
nite Number of Notes, equally tirefome to the Tranſlator and
the Reader.
P %
haps
212
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
1
haps will demand the third Payment. You will
therefore take it into Confideration, whether the
Motion fhould not come from me,
that it fhould come firft from him.
rather than
If I can by
any Manner of Means, I will try, even though I
fhould travel in the Night, to fee you; I beg that
you will write to me on thoſe Matters, and upon
every Thing elfe, that may concern me. Adieu.
I
EPIST. XXI.
A
Never have omitted an Opportunity of writing
to you, even though I had nothing material to
write. Your Letters to me come more feldom,
and are more ſhort, than ufual, becaufe, I fuppofe,
you have nothing which you think I can read or
hear with Pleafure. Write to me nevertheleſs what
ever may happen, be what it will. You muſt
know there is one Thing, and but one Thing I
could wish for, (tho' I cannot hope for it) and that
is, a Treaty of Accommodation; for the flight
Hints, you fometimes throw out on that Subject,
force me to hope for what I can ſcarcely wiſh. It
is faid Philotimus will arrive here on the 13th of
Auguft. I beg from you an Anfwer to what I
formerly wrote you. I have no more Time than is
fufficient for me to look about me, (I who never, in
my Life, looked about me) in this moft wretched
Situation. Farewell. Dated July 22d.
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
213
I
EPIST. XXII.
AM fenfible of the Truth of what you former-
ly wrote to myſelf, and of what you twice wrote
to Tullia, concerning me. I am more unhappy than
ever (though my Mifery feemed before to be com-
pleat) that having received a moft ftinging Indig-
nity, I am not fafe to fhow a Refentment of An-
ger, nay, not of Sorrow.
How can I bear with
this? But born it I have, and yet I muft ſuffer
thoſe very Inconveniences againſt which you put
me upon my Guard. For fo peculiar has been my
Miſconduct, that be Maſters, or be Subjects who
will, I must continue to be unfortunate.
But now I myſelf take up the Pen, for what I
have to fay demands Secrefy. I beg that you will
look after that Teftament (1) which my Wife made
when ſhe firſt began to be uneaſy. I believe the
will not teaze you by any impertinent Enquiries (2),
at leaſt ſhe does not me. But be that as it will,
fince you are now upon fpeaking Terms with her,
you may adviſe her to put it into the Hands of
(1) The whole of this Paffage is at once fo perplexed and cor-
rupted, that Monfieur Mongault has thought proper to leave it
untranflated; I have not taken that Liberty, but have taken
Advantage of the Words, and, upon the Main, it is no unuſual
Thing for our Author's Diftrefs and Sufferings, to render his
Meaning very difficult to be come at, even when there is no
Corruption in the Text.
(2) This very poffibly might relate to the Reaſon of our Au-
thor's being ſo keen in the Affair of her Teſtament, which he
was willing fhould be kept fecret from her. The whole Paffage
according to the beft Readings, runs thus, Vide quæfo ctiam nunc
de teftamento, guod tum factum, cum illa quærere cæperat. Non
credo te commorit ; neque enim rogarit, ne me quidem.
P 3
fome-
}
214
CICERO's EPISTLES
fomebody who is quite a neutral Perfon, and who
never can fuffer by this War, be the Event
what it will. You are the Perfon I have chiefly in
my Eye for that Truft, if my Daughter here fhall
agree to it; but, poor Woman, I conceal from her
the Reaſons of this cautious Proceeding. As to the
other Affair, I know that nothing can be difpofed
of at prefent, but fomewhat may be ſecured and fe-
creted, fo as to be out of the Reach of this impend-
ing Ruin.
You write me that my Funds fhall always be
ready to fupply me (1), and that my Wife fhall
ever be welcome to yours. Yours I know of, but
where are mine? With Regard to my Wife, not to
mention the other numberlefs Vexations fhe has
given me, what can be worfe than the following?
You wrote her to fend ime Credit for ninety fix Pounds,
for that was the Ballance of my Money in your
Hands. She fent me no more than eighty which
ſhe ſaid was all the Ballance that remained. Now
if ſhe can clip fuch a Pittance from a Pittance, I
leave you to judge what he would have done had
the Sum been large.
1
There is no Philotimus yet arrived, nor has he fo
much as acquainted me, by a Letter, or an Ex-
prefs, of what he has done. People, who come
from Epbefus, fay, that they faw him foliciting a
private Law Concern of his own. My Concerns
it is very probable, are poftponed till Cafar's ar-
t
(1) Orig. Nam quod fcribis, nobis noftra, et tua Terentiæ, fore
parata. Monfieur Mongault tranflates this Paffage, Vous me dites
que je trouverai toujours dans mon bien et dans le vôtre, une ref-
Source pour moi et pour ma femme. But I think there is fome-
thing both in the Difpofitions of the Words, and in the Con-
nection which leads to my Senfe of this Paffage.
rival
to ATTICUS.
215
+
rival. Therefore I am of Opinion that he is charged
with nothing which he thinks of Confequence
enough to Occafion his fending an Exprefs to me,
and confequently that I become more and more
deſpicable in Cæfar's Eyes; or if he is charged
with any Thing of Confequence, he does not chufe
to communicate it to me, till after he has difpatched
all his own private Affairs. I own this provokes
me greatly, but not fo much as one would ima--
gine. For I think nothing ought to be more in-
different to me than any News which can come from
thence. I make no doubt but you know the Rea-
fon (1).
You advife me to accommodate my Looks and
my Words to the Times. Though that be no eaſy
Matter for me to do, yet I would conftrain my-
felf, did I think it would do me any Service. You
write me that you think the Affairs of thoſe, in
Africa, may be tranfacted by Letters. I wiſh you
would write me your Reafons for thinking fo, for
no Reaſon occurs to me. Mean while, write me
whatever contains the ſmalleſt Spark of Comfort;
ſhould there be none, which I believe to be the
Cafe, write me that there is none.
If I hear any
News fooner than you, I will let you know by a
Letter. Farewell. Dated August the 6th.
(1) The Reafon was, becauſe he was afraid, if Cafar
fhould treat him favourably, of being ill treated by the Repub-
licans.
EPIST.
P 4
1
216 CICERO'S EPISTLES
EPIST. XXII.
AIUS Trebonius (1) arrived here from Seleucia
Pieria (2), upon the 14th of August, having
been eight and twenty Days in coming, and he tells
me that, at Antioch, he ſaw the younger Quintus with
Hirtius waiting upon Cafar, and that they have,
with little or no Difficulty, fucceeded in their So-
licitations for my Brother. This would give me the
more Pleaſure, if his Succeſs were any Symptom of
Encouragement for me. But I have other Things
to fear from another Quarter; and even with Re-
gard to Cæfar, abfolute as he is, he may chufe
whether he will perform his Conceffions or not. He
has even pardoned Salluftius (3), and in fhort they
fay, he fends no Body away with a Denial. This
indiſcriminate Lenity gives me Sufpicion, that he
has fome Deſigns ſtill in reſerve. Marcus, the Son
of Quintus Gallius, has reftored to Salluftius all
his Slaves. He came to tranſport Cæfar's Troops
into Sicily, and he was inftantly to fet out for Cæfar
at Patræ. If Cafar's fhould go to Sicily, I will re-
fume my Thoughts of drawing nearer the City. I
am prodigiously impatient for an Anſwer to what
I laſt wrote to you, in which I have begged your
Advice. Farewell. Dated Auguft the 15th.
(1) He was a Roman Knight, and he is mentioned by Cafar
in his Commentaries.
(2) This City lay near Antioch and Apamea.
(3) This was not Sallust the Hiftorian, but Cnaus Salluftius,
who had been Quæftor under Bibulus in Syria.
1
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
217
EPIST. XXIV.
N the 25th of August, I received your Let-
ter dated the 19th, and I no fooner read,
Brother's Letter (1), than it renewed, in the moſt
fenfible Manner, my forgotten Grief, from the for-
mer baſe Injuries done me by him. Though the
Laws of Friendſhip could, by no Means, diſpenſfe
with your fending me that Letter, yet I wish it had
not been fent. With Regard to what you write
concerning my Wife's Teftament, you muſt fee
what is to be done, and in what Manner. I for-
merly gave you her Expreffions concerning that
Money, and I fhall make uſe of the Credit, you
gave me, as I fhall have Occafion. It is unlikely
that Cæfar will be at Athens the ft of September,
for he meets with great Obſtructions in Afia, par-
ticularly from Pharnaces. It is faid, that Sylla had
no fooner reached the Twelfth Legion, than they
drove the Fellow away with Stones, and it is be-
lieved that none of the Troops will march. Cæfar
is expected immediately in Sicily from Patre, but if
the above News is true, he muft of neceffity come
hither. But I ſhould be better pleafed that he
would hold on his intended Courfe, for I might
fomehow eſcape from hence. At preſent, I am afraid
that he expects I ſhould wait for him, and, amongſt
other Inconveniences, I am here dreadfully oppreffed
by the Thickneſs of the Air.
Over my
Ο
(1) This Letter had been wrote to Cæfar by Quintus Cicero,
and, being greatly to our Author's Difadvantage, Cefur gene-
roufly put it into the Hands of Balbus, that it might be con-
véyed to Cicero.
You
{
218
CICERO's EPISTLES
You adviſe me to accommodate myſelf to the
Time, I would take your Advice if my Circum-
ſtances would permit me, and if I could do it
by any Means; but fo great has been my Miſ-
conduct, and Sufferings from my Relations, that
I neither can do, nor can I pretend to do any
Thing worthy of my Character. You may recol-
lect the Times of Sylla. It is true, he was, per-
haps, not quite moderate in his exercife of Power,
but in all other Refpects, he drew his Sword in
Defence of the beft of Caufes. But the preſent
Times are fuch, that I muft forget what I owe to
my own and my Country's Dignity, and prefer
the general Welfare which is now become inſepara-
ble from my own. I beg you, however, to write to
me as often as poffible, and the rather, becauſe I cor-
refpond with No-body elfe, and though I did with
all the World, yet ftill I would wait with the
greateſt Impatience for your Letters. You write
me, that I can be of Service in reconciling Cæfar
to my Brother, I informed you already, that he
inftantly agreed to all the Requeſts of the younger
Quintus, without the leaft Mention of me. Farewell.
EPIST.
XXV,
HE Packet fent by the Courier of Balbus
TH
came duly to my Hand, for in your Letter
to me, you ſeem to be afraid that I did not re-
ceive that Packet, and indeed, I wifh I never had;
for the Contents of it have renewed my Sorrows.
Had it mifcarried, it could have brought me no-
thing new. For what can be now more notorious
than
to ATTICUS.
219
than my Brother's Hatred of me, and thoſe re-
proachful Letters he has written concerning me.
Cæfar, it is true, ſeems to intimate his Diſapproba-
tion of my Brother's Wickedneſs, by his fending
thofe Letters to his Friends; but in my Opinion,
it is in order to make my Misfortunes the more
public. You write me, that you are afraid his
unworthy Conduct may do him Prejudice with
Cafar, and that the Confequences ought to be pre-
vented. But let me tell you, that Cæfar granted
him his Pardon, even before it was afked for.
This gives me no Concern, but I am greatly con-
cerned, that he made no Conceffion out of any
Regard to me.
}
I believe Sylla will be here with Meffala To-
morrow, having met with a Repulfe from the
Troops, who refufed to ftir a Step without their
Pay, and their Arrears. They are going Poſt
Hafte to Cæfar. He will, therefore, contrary to
their Expectation, come hither. It is true, he will
be long upon the Road, for he orders his March
ſo, that he remains ſeveral Days in every Town.
Pharnaces, however, do what he will, will retard
him (1). How then, do you think, I am to be-
have? For, at prefent, I am ſcarcely able to bear
with the Groffnefs of this Air, and thus. Pain of
Body is added to my Anguifh of Mind. Shall I
give the Gentlemen who are going to Cæfar, a
Commiffion to make my Apology, and in the
(1) Cicero was miſtaken here; for the War with Pharnaces de-
tained Cæfar no more than five Days, and having beat him as
foon as he faw him, he fent to the Senate, the celebrated
laconic Account of Veni, vidi, vici.
mean
220
CICERO's EPISTLES
*
mean while, come nearer to Rome? Beftow fome
Thoughts, I beg of you, upon this Point, and
affift me with your Advice, which hitherto you
have not done, though I have often requeſted
you. I know, it is a Matter of great Difficulty.
But confider, at the fame Time, my Diftrefs. It
is likewife, of great Importance to me, that I
fhould fee you. Indeed, fhould that happen, it
would do me great Service. I hope, that accord-
ing to your Promife, you will mind the Affair of
my Wife's Teftament,
}
t
A
CICERO's
( 221 )
XXIS GERAIS CEXY5D CEXY59 CEXAS GERAIS
Å ha
?
IR KIRKK
?
?
?
? Y
FR FR DR SR
蛋糕
​CICERO's
EPISTLES
то
ATTICUS.
S
*XX
BOOK XII.
EPIST 1.
EVEN long Days has now paffed fince
I left you, and I write you this Letter
before Day-break, as I am leaving my
Country-houſe. I think of paffing this
Day at Anagni (1), and To-morrow at Tufculum,
that I may keep my Appointment with you on the
26th. I think, I could fly to embrace my Daugh-
ter, and to fondle your little Attica. I pray you
to let me hear about the Latter, ſo that, while I
ftop at Tufculum, I may be informed of her little
(1) This Town ftill retains its Name, and lies about twelve
Leagues from Rome.
Prattle,
222
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Prattle; or if ſhe is in the Country, let me know
what ſhe writes to you. Mean while, either fend in
writing, or deliver to her in Perfon, my Compli
ments, and. the fame to Pilia; and, though it is
not long till we meet, yet write to me whatever
fhall occur.
As I was folding up this Letter, your Exprefs, who
had travelled all Night, brought me one from you ;
and when I read it, I was greatly troubled about
your Attica having a flight touch of a Fever. I
fully underſtood from your Letter, all the other
Circumftances I wanted to be informed of. But,
as you jeer me, that my Morning Vigour begins to
droop; let me tell you, there is no greater Symp-
tom of old Age (1) than a drooping Memory. For
I am to be with Axius on the 27th, with you the
28th, and with my Brother the Day on which I ar-
rive, that is the 26th. So much for your Taunt
(2).—I have no News to write. Then, fay you,
why ſhould you write at all? Why not write about
nothing, as well as talk about nothing, when we
meet? Let me tell you, there is a Kind of a Plea-
fure in goffipping (3), if it were no more than tơ
hear one another talk.
(1) Orig. yegovrináregov. Senilius.
(2) Orig. Hoc igitur habebis.
(3) Orig. Noxn. Confabulatio.
EPIST
to ATTICUS.
225
YE
EPIST.
II.
E S-We have fome News here. 'Tis faid,
that Murcus has perifhed by Shipwreck (1);
that Afinius Pollio (2) has fallen alive into the
Hands of Pompey's Soldiers; that the fame Storm
forced fifty Ships to put in Utica; that Pompey (3)
cannot be found, and Patietus (4) is very poſitive,,
that he has not been upon any of the Balearic
Inlands (5); but all thofe Reports are deftitute of
Authority. I was willing, however, that you
ſhould know how we entertain ourfelves in your
Abſence. Mean while, public Plays are celebrat-
ing at Prænefte (6), where Hirtius with the Heads
of Cæfar's Party are, and the Exhibitions, it is ſaid,
will continue for eight Days. What Entertain-
ments! what Luxuries! and in the mean while, the
Fate of the War is, perhaps, decided. Excellent
Fellows! As to Balbus, he goes on building in his
own Way, for why ſhould he be troubled (7)? Now,
if you aſk my Opinion, let me tell you, he en-
joys Life (8), becauſe he thinks, that ſuch Enjoyment
does not confift in Virtue, but in Pleafure. Mean
(1) This News was falfe.
(2) He was the famous Captain, Orator, Poet, and Critic,
who afterwards made fuch a Figure under Auguftus Cæfar, and
who 's celebrated by Virgil and Horace.
(3) He was the Son of the Great Pompey.
(4) He was by Birth a Spaniard, and a Favourite of
Cæfar.
(5) Viz. Majorca, Minorca, and Yvica.
(6) This Town lay near to Tufculum, and is at preſent called,
Palefirine.
(7) Orig. Tì yàp avry péλes. Quid enim ille Cura eft?
(8) Orig. Bebiuras. Vita ada eft.
while,
224
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
while, you are afleep (1). Now is the Time, if
you would prove yourſelf a true Epicurean, for
practifing the grand Maxims (2) of your Sect. If you
afk what I think that is? I answer, I think it is
to enjoy Life with Pleaſure. But enough.-I fhall
foon fee you, and I hope you will come directly to
my Houſe. For we muſt appoint a Day of Au-
dience to Tyrannio (3), and we muſt ſettle all our
other little Matters.
I
EPIS T. III.
Think, there is only one Man in the World,
and that is yourſelf, who ſtands lefs upon Compli-
ments than I do, and whatever Differences we may
have with others, we have none between ourſelves.
Therefore, you hear no more than the plain Truth (4),
when I vow to you, my dearest Friend, that Tufcu-
lanum, though it is my favourite Refidence, is in-
fipid; nay, Elyfium (5) itſelf, would be infipid to me,
were I to live any Time in either without your
(1) Our Author here makes Ufe of a good many familiar
cant Words, of which I have given the Senfe, and which I
leave the Commentators to explain. The Strefs of his Wit
lies, in paying a very fine Compliment to Atticus, by accufing
him of Inconfiftency with the Principles of his Sect, which
were, that every Man fhould enjoy Life as much as poffible,
without regarding any Body but himself; whereas Atticus was
continually employed in the Duties of his Family and Friend-
fhip.
(2) Orig πρόβλημα. Sufio.
(3) He had written a Book which, it ſeems, he was to read
over to our Author and Atticus.
(4) Orig. ayonlɛúrws Sine fuco.
(5) Orig. paxápwv vños. Beatorum infula.
Company.
to ATTICU S.
225
•
Company. Therefore, as I fuppofe, and know
you are equally impatient for my Company (1), as
I am for yours, let us do the beſt we can to pafs
away thofe three Days of Abfence. But I wish,
I knew, what has paffed to Day about the Sale (2),
or what Day you can go thither. Mean while, I
divert myſelf with my Books, but I think myſelf
unfortunate, in´ not having with me the Hiftory
of Vennonius (3). But I muſt not forget my Bu-
finefs. I have three Ways of being paid the Debt
due to me from Cæfar. To make a Purchaſe of
confifcated Effects; a Purchafe more hateful to
me than the Lofs of the Debt would be; and in
Fact, befides the Difgrace attending it, it is,no better
than lofing all the Money (4). Or elfe, I must
take an Affignation upon a Buyer, to be paid a Year
hence. But whom fhall I truft with my Stock?
for my Broker's Year will, I am afraid, be as long
as that of his Greek Namefake (5): Or laftly, I muft,
liké
(1) Orig. wáðer. Affectu.
(2) There is fomething very dark in all this Epiftie, be-
cauſe it chiefly relates to private Bufinefs. I have tranflated
this Paffage differently from Monfieur Mongault, becauſe, I am
of Opinion, Cæfar owed Cicero Money, as will appear here-
after, and had got an Affignation from him upon fome for-
feited Eftates which were to be fold by Mcto, and Cicero
wanted Atticus fhould be prefent when Meto fold thoſe Goods,
in order to receive his Money. I fhall juft obferve, that Meto
was the Name of a Greek Philofopher, who invented the Cycle
of nineteen Years, and which was therefore called, Meto's
Year.
(3) He proved to be a very bad Author.
(4) Becauſe, he expected Cæfar could not long old the
Government, and he knew, that when he was dead, áll his
Acts would be reverſed, eſpecially his Gifts of Forfeitures.
(5) Viz. Meto, who feems in Fact to have been a Broker
between Cæfar and Cicero. After all that can be faid, the
VOL. II.
*
е
Senfe
226 CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
Ike Vectenus, make a Compofition for half the
Sum. Think (), therefore, upon this: Now, I am
afraid, that the Auctioneer will not make this Sale,
but while the Plays are celebrating, will fly to en-
creaſe the clappings (2), left fo great a Man fhould
be without his due Applatife But we will (3) think
of it (4).
Ho
EPIST. IV.
OW agreeable, how pleafureable were your
Letters to me. Believe me, they gave me
a Holiday. I was in great Pain at what Tyro
told me, of your appearing to have fome Symp
toms of a Fever (5). I will therefore, take your,
Advice in enjoying myfelf here a Day longer.
But, the Point with Regard to Cato, is a very de-
licate one (6). It is not for me to write of him in
fuch a Manner as to hope for Indulgence, far lefs
for Applauſe, from your Gueſts, for my Work.
Suppofing I ſhould drop all Mention of his patriot
Speeches in the Senate, his Zeal for his Country,
and his Readineſs to ferve the Public, and but
flightly (7) touch the Weight of his Behaviour,
and the Conftancy of his Refolution; even that
*
Senfe is very uncertain, and Manutius thinks, not without a
Shew of Probability, that Meto himfelf was our Author's
Debtor, while Monfieur Mongault is of Opinion, that it is a
Cant Word for Cafar himfelf.
(1) Orig. oxéu. Confidera.
(2) Orig. xrún. Ploufui.
(3) Orig. arcynon. Negligatur.
(4) Orig. μeno. Cura crit.
(5) Orig. Éveρevbésεpov. Rubicundiorem.
(6) Orig. πρόβλημα αρχιμήδειον. Ωuafio Archimedia.
(7). Orig. 4aws. Tenuiter.
Quæfiio
would
to ATTICUS.
}
227
I
would give Offence (1) to the Favourites of Cefar.
But let me tell you, a Patriot like Cato cannot be
celebrated without giving him this noble Teftimony;
that he forefaw all that has happened now, and all
that must happen hereafter; that he ftruggled vigo-
roufly to prevent it, and when he could not, rather
than fee it, he went out of the World. Is there a Fa-
Vourite (2) of Cafar, who can, with Patience, bear
the Mention of fuch a Character? But I beg you
will take Care of your Health, and apply, with-
Out Delay, that Prudence to re-eſtabliſh it, which
you diſcover in all other Concerns of Life.
Mr
EPIST. V...
Brother Quintus has not half, nay, not
the (3) thouſandth Part of a Grain of Senſe,
for he rejoices that his Son and Statius are become
Laperci, inſtead of thinking, that by fo doing,
they bring a double Stain upon our Family. I may
give Philotimus as an Inftance of the third (4) Mad-
nefs, that can be outdone only by my own in
being
(1) Orig. äneope. Auditio.
(2) Orig. Alledius. There have been great Diſputes about
this Name, but it is moft probably that he was fome Roman,
who was a Favourite both with Cicerò and Cæfar.
(3) I have taken a little, and but very little, Freedom with
The Original here. Quarium fapît, is an indefinite Term.
(4) There were at Rome two Sets of Luparcales (the Officers
of an ancient Feaft in Honour of the God Pan) who' had ſub-
fifted ever fince the Foundation of the City, the Fabiani, and
the Quintiniani. A third fet with Antony at their Head, was
about this Time inftituted in Honour of Caefar, called the
Lupercii Fali. As the Ceremonies of this Feaft confifted in
Q 2
Riot
228
CICERO'S EPISTLES
{
being troubled at it. But what Impudence was
it in him to afk you to defray his Share (1). of
the Expences, fuppofing as you ſay, your Sources
had not been drained (2), and that your Streams
flowed as plentifully as the Fountains of Pirene
(3), or Arethusa (4), for him to quaff, yet to talk
to you about defraying (5) thofe ridiculous Ex-
pences (6), eſpecially in his, narrow Circum-
ſtances! Where can fuch Folly end (7)? But let
himfelf anſwer for it. I own, I am pleaſed with
my Cato, but that is no more than Baffus Lucilius
is with his Compofitions (8)
I
Do you (as you write to me you will) enquire con-
concerning Calius. I know nothing of the Matter
farther than I have told you. We muſt take Caré
as to the Bullion, as well as the Species (9). Let ·
me
Riot and Diſorder, and the Inftitution itself was a Proof of
the abject Spirits of the Romans at this Time, Cicero was
very juftly offended, that his Nephew, and the two favourite
Domeſtics of the Ciceronian Family fhould enter thémfelves in-
to this Company.
(1) Orig. Epavov Munus.
(2) Orig. dulwσuv xpnrno: Sticulofum fontem.
(3) Orig. Пssp. Pirenem.
Πειρήνην.
(4) There is an Allufion here to a Paffage in the firſt Ode
of Pindar. It ſeems, our Author's Brother had applied to At-
ticus for Money to defray his Son's Part of the Expence of
this chargeable Society.
(5) Orig. äµπvevμa oeuvòv 'Anger. Refpirationem venerandam
alphei.
(6) Orig. xpnny. Fontem.
(7) Orig. woî Taûr de añoσýýý. Quonam hæc erumpent.
(8) Cicero wrote a Treatife entitled, Cato in Defence of
Cato's Perfon and Principles, which was anfwered by Cafar
by another Writing, which he entitled, Anti Cato. The Lu-
cilius Baffus here mentioned, feems to have been fome vain piti-
ful Writer of our Author's Acquaintance.
+
(9) Our Author very juftly apprehended, there might be
another Revolution of Government, which he ought to pro-
vide
to
10 ATTICUS.
229
·
4
me know, if you have any Doubts as to Hor
tenfius and Virginius (1). Yet, fo far as I can
perceive, you will have Difficulty to hit upon any
Meaſure that is more eligible. You will ſpeak
with Mustela in the Terms you write to me, as
foon as Crifpus (2) fhall arrive. I have written to
Aulus, that I have fatisfied Pifo. (3) concerning
what I knew extreamly well of the Gold. For,
I am of your Opinion, that fuch a Way of Pro-
ceeding will fpin Things too much out, and. at
this Juncture we are to fcrape together every Thing,
and from every, Quarter. As to yourſelf, I eafily
perceive, that my Concerns engrofs all your Time,
and all your Thoughts, and that they even debar
you from the Pleaſure you would have in. pay-
ing me a Vifit as you propofe. But I imagine,
that you are with me, not only becauſe you are
employed in my Bufinefs, but becauſe, I fancy, I
fee in what Manner you are employed, for I can
tell what you are doing every Hour of the Day..
I perceive, that Tubulus (4) was Prætor under
the Confulate of Lucius Metellus and Quintus
vide againſt, and therefore, intended to provide a Sum in
Gold, by changing into ready Money all his Plate, and moſt
valuable Moveables; but he was afraid of being impofed upon,
by having ſome bafe Gold put upon him by the Bankers, who
were to tranfact the Exchange for him.
(1) The Perfons here mentioned, feemed to have been
Bankers.
(2) They ſeem to have been concerned with our Author, as
Coheirs in a Succeffion to an Eſtate.
(3) Aulus and Pifo were Bankers.
(4) Atticus was a great Antiquarian in the Hitory and Ge
nealogy of the Families of Rome. We find our Author confult-
ing him upon feveral Points, and particularly with Regard to
the Tubulus, whom he mentions in his Treatife De finibus.
Q 3
Maximus.
280
CICERO
EPISTLES
}
*
*
Maximus. Now, I ſhould be glad to know, under
what Confuls Publius Scævola the Chief Prieſt ſerved
as Tribune of the Commons. If I am not mi-
ftaken, it was under the following Confuls, Capia
and Pompey, for he was Prator under Publius Fu-
rius, and Sextus Atilius. You will therefore, make
me fure as to the Time of his Tribuneſhip, and if
you can, of what Crime Tubulus was impeached,
And I beg you will enquire, whether Lucius Liba
(I mean him who impeached Sergius Galba) was
Tribune of the Commons in the Confulate of Cenfa-
rinus and Manilius, or under that of Titus Quintius
and Manius Acilius, for I am confounded with,
(what ſhall I call it ?) the Fannian Epitome of Brutus,
or the Epitome which Brutus has made of the
Annals of Fannius (1). I had copied over what
was in the End of that Work, and upon that Au-
thority I made Fannius the Author of this Hi-
ftory, to be the Son-in-law of Lælius. But you
have demonftrated (2) the Contrary. Now you
muſt ſtand your Ground againſt Brutus and Fan-
nius. As to what I have inferted in my Treatiſe
upon famous Orators, it refts upon the Authority
of Hortenfius, from whom I had it, and a good
Authority he is (3). You will, therefore, clear up
thofe Matters to me.
•
I have fent Tyro to meet Dolabella. He will re-
turn to me on the 13th, and on the 14th, I look
(1) Orig. Conturbat enim une epitome Bruti Fanniana) an
Bruti epitoma Fannianorum. This Fannius had wrote Annals,
which Brutus, who was a great Epitomizer of ufeful Works,
had abridged.
(2) Orig. youuerpixes. Argumentis geometricis.
(3) He was famous for having a good Memory.
for
to ATTICUS.
231
7
for you. I perceive how very dear my Tullia is
to you. I beg, in the moft earnest Manner,
that you will continue your Affection to her. Let
every Thing, therefore, ftand on its prefent Footing,
for fo you advife me in your Letter. Though it
is not at all amifs for me to avoid being at Rome.
on the firft of the Month, or having any Meeting
with thofe Duns (1) of Ufurers (2), and, though it
is proper I fhould have Time to make up my Ac-
counts, yet nothing can compenfate for my long
Abfence from you. When I was at Rome, and
was in Expectation of feeing you every Mo
ment, yet no Day paffed without my thinking the
Hours long till I faw you. You know, that
I am far from loving Compliments, and there-
fore, what I exprefs, often falls fhort of what I
feel.
}
.
}
I
EPIST. VI.
I Beg you will take Care, that there is not too
much Alloy in that Gold of Calius. I am no
Judge of thofe Matters, but (3) furely, the Ex-
change has been fufficiently to my Diſadvantage,
and fhould this Gold-But, what am I talking; I.
(1) Orig. apxéruña. Primigenias tabulas.
(2) The Original here is very obfcure, if not vitiated, but I
believe, I have hit upon Cicero's Meaning. The 'Intereft of
Money amongst the Romans, was paid commonly in the Be-
ginning, or Middle of every Month.
(3) Monfieur Mongault reads here, Ega ifte novi, but I
think, the common Reading is better, Ego ifa non novi, be-
cauſe he makes Ufe of the like Expreffion in the laſt Letter,
when he ſpeaks of the Banker Calius.
Q 4
leave
232 CICERO's EPISTLES
1
A
leave all to you. You have here a Touch of the
Hegeſian Manner (1) which Varro cómmends. Now,
as to Tyrannio, is it fo?-Sure, it cannot be
What without me!After I, who had fo much
Time upon my Hand, fo often refuſed to read his
Book without you. How will you anſwer to me,
for what you have done? There is but one Way,
and that is, by fending me the Book, which I ear-
neftly entreat you will do. And yet, I fhall not
have greater Pleaſure in the Book than I have had
in knowing that you admire it. For, I love in
Literature, as in Government (2), every Thing
that is condescending (3), and I am glad that you
have had fuch Pleaſure in an Effay on a Subject of
fo little Importance. Yet, that has been always
your Way. You pant for Knowledge, the only
Food of the Mind, But let me know what Service
thoſe Obfervations, either fharp or ferious, can be to
me, in my Treatife concerning the Ends of Things,
good and evil (4)? But this will lead us into too long
a Train, and, perhaps, you are even now bufied in
fome Concern of mine, and for that dry Entertain-
ment which you had in my little Garden, you
ſhall repay me with all that is coftly, and all that
is curious (5). But to return where I left off. If
you
(1) Hegeftas was an Athenian Orator, who affected, what the
English call a fnip-fnap Stile, which found a great many Ad-
vocates, and amongſt others Varro. Put our Author was no
Friend to it.
(2) Orig. πárra Piródnov Omnem popularem.
(3) Orig. Dewplay. Commentationem.
(4) Orig. Téλos. Finem.
(5) Orig. Et pro ifto affo fole, quo tu abafus es in noftro pratulo,
a te nitidum folem unumque repetemus. The Reader is here to
underſtand,
J
་
+
233
to ATTICUS.
you love me, fend me Týrannio's Book.
It is now
your Property, becauſe he has preſented it to
you..
1. 7
What, are you fo little of a Man of Buſineſs, as
to be able even to read my Orator (1)? That is
土
​done like my Friend. Go on, I take it kindly,
995
and will take it more kindly, if you will order
your Tranfcribers to infert, not only in your
Copies, but in thoſe of others, the Name of
Ariftophanes for that of Eupolis (2). As to Cæfar,
he made himfelf merry with your most humbly
fheweth (3), but the Expreffion is both elegant (4),
and polite. He defired you, however, to be
eafy and that, in fuch a Manner, as left me no
room to doubt of his favourable Intention for
you. I am forry your Daughter's Illneſs continues
fo long; but, as fhe has now no Shivering, I
hope fhe will foon recover..
*
underſtand, that the Affus Sol was an Expreffion made ufe of by
the Romans, to fignify their walking by Way of Regimen in
the Sun, quite naked, without anointing themſelves with Oil.
But the nitidus unctufque fol, fignified their Walking with their
Body prepared by rich Oils by Way of Prefervative for their
Health and their Skin.
(1) This Sentence is taken from a Speech of Menedemus, in-
the Heautontimoromen of Terence.
(2) Cicero's Direction was fo well followed in this Particular,
that we have no Copy of his Treatife, with this Blunder in it.
~13) Orig. Quæfo. Cæfar piqued himfelf greatly upon his
being a Critic, on the Parity of the Latin Tongue. Atticus
had prefented him a Petition for fome Indulgences to the In-
habitants of But hrotum, who were likely to fuffer feverely for
their Attachment to Pompey..
(4) Orig. aus. Elegans.
1
EPIST.
234
CICERO'S EPISTLES
I
-
EPIST. VII.
T
་
C
}
Wrote down every Thing you wanted to know
in the Tablets (1) I fent you, which I
which I gave
gave to
Eros. What I wrote was short, but it contains more
in Subſtance than you wanted to know. Amongit other
Things I mentioned my Son, for it was from you I
took the Hint with Regard to him. I fpoke to him
in the frankeft Manner, which I wish you would
learn from himſelf, when it fuits your Conveniency
to talk with him. But why need I to wait till
then? I acquainted him, that it was at my Defire
you had enquired whether there was any Thing he
wanted, or wished for. He had a Mind for Spain, and
that, he faid,would require handfome Appointments.
I told him, they ſhould be the fame as Publius had
given to his Son, or the Flamen Lentulus to his.
With Regard to his going to Spain, I ftarted two
Objections. The Firft was the fame I had men-
tioned to you, that I was afraid of public Re-
proach. Had we not gone far enough in abandon-
ing the Republican Party, that we fhould take
Arms against it?-In the next Place, I told him,
it would give him Pain to ſee himſelf outdone by
his Coufin in Intereft with the great Men, and in
all Diftinctions of Honour. I preffed him to leave
himſelf to my Generofity, rather than indulge his
own Fancy, but that I would put no Hardfhip
upon him; and this I faid, becaufe I understood,
you was not averfe to his going to Spain. I will,
however, beſtow farther. Thoughts upon that
(1) Orig. Codicilis.
$
Head,
4
to ATTICUS, A
235
a
Head, and I beg you will do the fame. Our
great and obvious Bufinefs is to remain quiet. It
is hand to fay, what may be the Confequences
should he go. But we fall confider farther. Í
wrote likewife, in the Tablets, concerning Balbus,
and I am ſtill of the fame Mind, as foon as he
ſhall return. But, if that ſhould not be foon, I
will fet out for Rome in three Days. I forgot to
tell you, that Dolabella is here with me.
}
•
>
1
A
EPIST. VIII.
Great many People approve of my Refolu-
tion concerning my Son(1), and the Perfon,
who is to attend him, is well qualified. But let us
previouſly take care of the firſt Payment of
my
Daughter's Fortune. The Term is at Hand, and
my Son is upon the Wing (2). Let me know I
beg of you what Celer reports Cæfar to have done
with Regard to the Candidates, whether he defigns
(1) Viz. To fend him to Ackens.
(2) Orig. Currit ille. Monfieur Morgault understands the
ille here to denote Dolabella, and has tranſlated the Paſſage, Et
Dolabella arrive, though I think, without any Manner of Pro-
priety. The Commentators think, that Cicero meant Cæfar,
whom he expected from Spain in a Hurry, and to whom he
awed Money. I cannot be of that Opinion, becaufe, it ap
pears from the Words immediately following, that our Author
did not apprehend Cafar's Approach to be To fudden, and we
have Reafon from other Parts of his Works to believe, that
he was ſo far from being in Cæfar's Debt, that Cæfar was in his.
I have therefore underſtood him to fpeak of his Son, which
makes his Meaning to be clear and confiftent. With Regard
to the other Buſineſs mentioned in this and the followiug Let-
ters, it moftly turns upon private Affairs, the Meaning of which
is very uncertain.
that
f
236
CICERO's EPISTLES
that our Magiftrates fhould be nominated in the
Meads of Spain (1), or in the Field of Mars ? To
fay the Truth, I ſhould be glad to know whether
there is any Neceffity for my attending the Elections
at Rome, for I cannot avoid obliging both your
Wife (2) and Daughter.
}
MY
EPIST.
IX.
Y Abode here would be very agreeable,
and would be daily more fo, were it not for
the Reaſon I mentioned to you in a former Letter.
Nothing could be more pleaſureable than this So-
litude would be to me, did not the Son of Amyn-
tas (3) fometimes break in upon me. What an
inceffant, what an infufferable Goffip he is (4)!
As to every Thing befides, you can form to your-
felf, nothing that is more delightful than is this
Villa, the Shore, the Profpect of the Sea, and in
fhort every Thing that is round me. But it is not
worth while to fwell a Letter with thefe Trifles.
And yet I have nothing more material to write,
and I am drowſy befides.
}
(1) Orig. "In Fænicularium.
(2) Whofe Brother Celer put in for a Government.
(3) Meaning Lucius Marcius Philippus from his being the.
Namefake of Philip of Macedon, the Son of Amyntas, and Fa-
ther of Alexander the Great.
(4) Orig.
loquacitatem!
amegavroλoyías andes! O infinitam et infuavem
1
1
EPIST.
1
to ATTICUS.
237.
1
I
*
E PIS T. X.
Am vexed, by Heavens I am, at the Death of
Athamas (1). It is natural for you to be con-
cerned at his Lofs, but it ought not to be to ex-
cefs. Of all the various Paths that lead to comfort.
the following is the moft direct; let Reafon ef
fect what Time muft effect. Let us take care of
Alexis. He is a fecond Tyro, whom I have ſent
back fick to Rome, and if epidemical (2) Diftem-
pers rage in your Quarter, let us convey Alexis to
my Houſe with Tifamenus. You know that all the
upper. Part of my. Houfe is empty, a Circumftance
which, I think, ought to have great Weight.
•
{
Τι
EPIST. XI.
HE Death of Seius (3), gives me a heavy
Heart. But every Lot of Humanity ought
to be borne with Patience. For what is Man, or
how long Time has he to employ himſelf below?
Let us think of Things that ought to concern us
more (and but a very little more) nearly. How
fhall I behave in the Senate ? That I may forget
nothing, Cafonius writes me Word, that Pofthumia,
the Wife of Sulpicius, is come to his Houſe.. I
have already told you, in Anſwer to yours, that I
have at prefent laid afide all Thoughts of the
་་
༣
مرا
(1) He was a favourite Slave of Atticus:
(2) Orig. Eidnμsor. Morbi popularis,
>
(3) He was a common Friend to Atticus and our Author..
Daughter
"
238
EPISTLES
CICERO
Daughter of Pompey the Great (1). As to the other
Lady you mention in your Letter, I fuppofe you
know her; never did
never did I fee any Thing more difa-
greeable. But I am ſoon to ſee you, and then we
will talk farther of thefe Matters.
•
1
Your Letter came to my Hand after this was
fealed up; I am glad your Daughter is in fo good
Spirits, but am very forry to hear, that fhe is not
free from fome little Diforders (2).
3
ÉP IS T. XII.
RESS more and more
the Payment of my
Daughter's Fortune (3).
It is flat Tyranny to
turn me over to Balbus. Put an End to the Thing
however at any Rátế. It is ſcandalous that my
Affairs fhould lie in this Diſorder. The Ifland near
Arpinum, ſeems to be proper for the Apotheofis (4)
I defign, but I am afraid it will not do hef fufficient
Honour (5), becauſe it is too remote (6) from the
Road. I therefore think of my Gardens, but I
muft take a Survey of them when I come to
Rome.
(1) As there is a confiderable Diſtance of Time between our
Author's laſt Letter and this, the Reader is to underſtand that,
in the Interval, he had been divorced from Teréntia, and he
was now thinking of a fecond Marriage..
(2) Orig. open abixw Una afficior
(3) The Reader is to underſtand, that Tullia died in Child-
birth, a few Weeks or Days after her Divorce from Dolabellas
and our Author was fo fenfibly affected with her Death, that he
was upon the extravagant Defign of celebrating an Apotheofis,
and building a Temple to her Memory,
(4) Orig anodéwow. Confecrationem.
(5) Orig, Trpen, Honorein.
(6) Orig. ingójog: A via remota,
}
You
1
to ATTICUS.
339
1
You fhall have your own Way with Regard to the
Ferfon who is to deliver the Sentiments of Epicu-
rus (1), yet I fhall not hereafter be fond (2) of
living Characters for my Interlocutors. You can't
imagine what Difficulties I find in this Matter. Let
me therefore return to dead Characters, for from
them nothing can be taken amifs (3). I have no-
thing farther to write to you, and yet I make it
a Rule with myſelf to fend you a Letter every
Day, that I may provoke you to give me an An-
fwer, not that I expect you will write to me upon any
Buſineſs, but I know not how it is, I am ſtill im-
patient for your Letters. Therefore, whether you
have any Thing material to write or not, yet ftill
write me fomewhat Mean while take care of your
own Health.
T
EPIS T. XIII.
Hough I' agree with the Phyfician Craterus,
yet I can't help having my own Fears
with Regard to your Daughter. It is true the Let-
ter, I received from Brutus, was written like a
Man of Senfe, and a Friend, yet ftill it filled my
Eyes with Tears. I am more calm in this Retire-
ment than I was in that 'Buftle. You are the only
Perſon whoſe Abfence I regret, but I write here
with the fame Eafe, as if I were at home. But ſtill,
the fame Melancholy preys upon my Spirits, and
(1) Atticus was of Opinion, that our Author ought to make
ufe of living Interlocutors in his philofophical Tracts.
(2) Orig. μlaguóquas. Commuta
(3) Orig. aveμéontov yap. Non enim invidiofum.
keeps
240
CICERO'S EPISTLES
}
keeps my Reflection alive, believe me, without
indulging it, though I own, I am at no great
Pains to banish it.
As to what you write concerning Apuleius (1), I
am of Opinion, you need not give yourſelf any great
Trouble about it, or ſpeak any Thing to Balbus
and Appius about it. He has already fatisfied them,
and has ordered me to be acquainted, that he would
by no means trouble me, but I beg you will take
Care from Day to Day, to renew my Excufes on
Account of my bad State of Health. Lenas has
undertaken to make Oath of this. To him you
may add Caius Septimius and Lucius Statilius. In
fhort, No-body will refufe to fwear, whom you
defire; but ſhould any Thing go againſt us, I will
come to Rome in Perfon, and fwear, that I am
not in Health, and never will be. For, as I in-
tend never to be prefent at thofe Entertainments, I
chooſe rather to have a legal Excufe, than that of
Sorrow, for my Abfence. I defire, that you will
dun Coccius. He has not performed his Promife
to me; and I want to buy fome Place where I
may retire, and where I may hide and enjoy my
•
Grief in Solitude.
(1) He was chofen into the Augural College, and Cicero,
as one of his Collegues, was obliged to attend a Feaſt he made
of Courfe, unless he could be excufed, by getting three Perfons
to fwear, that he was in a bad State of Health.
1
९
T
EPIST.
74
to ATTICUS:
241
EPIS T. XIV.
Sent you a Letter Yeſterday, about making
my Excufe of Abfence to Apuleius. I fuppofe,
you will find no Difficulty in it, for no body whom
you defire, will refufe to fwear, but you may
apply to Septimius, to Lanas, and to Statilius.
But Lænas took the whole upon himſelf to me.
You write me, that you are fued by Junius. Why,
Cornificius is a rich Man; but ſtill, I defire to know
at what Time I entered into thofe Recognizances,
and whether it was for the Father or the Son, and
the rather, becauſe, as you write me, you will
thereby fee the Agents of Cornificius, and the Cor-
morant Apuleius.
·
You expreſs your ufual Kindneſs in your En-
deavours, to make me baniſh this Melancholy.
You know, my Friend, I have done all I can.
There is not one Sentiment concerning Confolation
under Affliction, that I did not read over at your
Houfe. But my Sorrows have got the better of
all Comfort. I even went farther than any Man
ever did before me, for I ftrove to write myſelf
out of my Affliction, by addreffing Letters to my-
felf. I will fend you the Book of them, when my
Amanuenfes have tranfcribed them. Take my
Word for it, that no Kind of Confolation comes up
to it. I write for whole Days together. Not that
I make any Progrefs in my Cure, but it employs
me, not fufficiently indeed, for my Affliction is
very intenſe; but ftill I am amufed, and I do all
in my Power, not to cure my Mind, but, if poffi-
ble, to preſerve a decent Appearance. While I
VOL. II.
endeavour
R
£42
CICERO'S EPISTLES
}
1
endeavour to do this, I fometimes think I am tớ
blame; and fometimes, I think, I ſhould be to
blame, did I not endeavour to do it. I am fome-
what affifted by Solitude, but my Advances would
be much greater had I your Company; this is my
fole Reaſon for leaving this Place. For, confidering
my Afflictions, my Situation was tolerable, though
my leaving this. Place is the very Thing I am
forry for. For you can no longer be the fame to
me as you was, all that endeared me to you is
now vaniſhed.
I
I have already acquainted you by writing of
Brutus's Letter to me. He writes like a Man
of Senfe, but his Letter did me no Service.
with that he would come to fee me, as he wrote to
you he would. I make no Doubt, but that would
do me Service, becauſe he has fo great an Affection
for me. I beg that you will write me whatever
you hear; above all, when do you think Panfa
fets out. I am in Pain about Attica's Illneſs, but
yet I have great Faith in her Phyſician Craterus.
Do you forbid Pilia to torment herfelf; for
you are accuſtomed to grieve fufficiently for every
Body.
A
EPIST. XV.
S you do not think, that a general Excufe
for the whole Time is, proper, I beg you
will take Care to excufe me from Day to Day with
Apuleius. In this Solitude, I am without all Con-
verfation, and in the Morning, when I have
plunged myſelf into a thick ruggy Wood, I never
1
leave
to ATTICUS.
243
leave it before the Evening. Next to yourſelf, I
have no. Friend but Solitude. In it, all my Conver-
fation is with Letters, and even that Converfation
is interrupted by Tears, which I check as much as
I am able, but hitherto they are too hard for me. I
will, as you adviſe me, write an Anſwer to Bru-
tus. To-morrow you ſhall have that Letter. You
will deliver it whenever you have an Opportunity.
1
I
E PIS T. XVI.
Would not have you neglect your own Bufi-
nefs to come to me.
If you fhould be longer
detained, I would rather come to you. Nor in-
deed, would I have left your Company if any Thing
could poffibly have done me Service. Could my
Caſe admit of Relief; it muſt come from you alone.
As foon as it is in the Power of Man to give me
Comfort, that Man muſt be yourſelf. Even at pre-
fent, I cannot enjoy Life without you. But it was
inconvenient to live at your Houfe, and I coulḍ
not live at my own, and had I been nearer Rome,
yet ſtill I could not be with you. The fame Bu→
fineſs that now detains you from feeing me, would
have detained you then. Hitherto, I have found
no fuch Relief as in this Solitude. How I dread,
left Philippus fhould break into it, for he ar
rived Yeſterday in the Evening. Scribbling and
Reading do not footh my Sorrows, but they ftupify
my Brain.
* R 2
EPIST.
244
CICERO'S EPISTLES
I
•
EPIST. XVII.
HAVE a Letter from Marcianus, informing
you, that I am excufed with Apuleius by Late-
renfis, Nalo, Lanas, Torquatus, and Strabo. I beg
you
will take Care to write to them in my Name,
to let them know how much I am obliged to them
for this Service. Flavius fays, that about twenty-
five Years ago, I entered into Engagements for Cor-
nificius. The Party is worth Money, and Apu-
leius is a well-bred Land-Jobber; yet I beg, that
you will take Care to confult the Books of my
Co-fureties, whether it is fo or not. Before my
Ædileſhip, I had no Dealings with Cornificius.
Yet the Thing is poffible, but I want to be at a
Certainty, and if you think proper, you may
attach his Agents. Yet after all, what is it to me?
though ſtill one ought not to neglect fuch a
Thing. You will let me know, as foon as you
know yourſelf, when Panfa ſets out. Prefent my
Compliments to your Daughter, whom I beg you
will take all Manner of Care of, and to your
Wife.
W
EPIST. XVIII.
HILE I avoid thofe Remembrances
which produce a heart-biting Grief, I
avoid confulting with you. But if I have ftill·
that unaccountable Defire, you muſt pardon it.
For fonie of the Authors I am now reading, tell
me,
to ATTICUS.
245
me, that the Thing I fo often have mentioned to you,
and which I am fo earneft that you ſhould approve
of, ought to be carried into Execution (1). I mean,
that fame Temple, and as you love me you will
think of it. As to the Plan, I am in no Doubt of
fixing upon that of Cluatius, neither have I any ·
Difficulties as to the Materials; but I cannot fay
the fame as to the Place where it is to ftand. I
beg, therefore, you would beſtow fome Thought
upon that. For my own Part, I will in this en-
lightened Age, confecrate the Memory of my
(1) It must be acknowledged, that our Author was no more
fixed in his Principles of Philofophy, than in thoſe of Govern-
ment. Accidents, and different Situations of Life had great
Impreffion upon both. It is true, he wiſhed well to his Coun-
try, and his Heart was naturally good and fincere, but we find
him fometimes not quite confiftent with what he is at other
Times. When he wrote this Letter, he was greatly affected
by his Daughter's Death, and in that Difpofition of Mind that
is moſt ſuſceptible of religious Apprehenfions. This made him
pay the greater Regard to the Sentiments of thofe Philofophers,
who were the moſt averſe to the Epicurean Doctrine of his
Friend, and who encouraged the Belief of the Immortality of
the Soul, which our Author in many other Parts of his Works,
treats as a Doctrine, the Truth of which is more to be wiſhed
than hoped for. It is more than probable, that this Book of
Confolation, of which only a few Fragments now remain, was
compofed entirely upon the Principles of the Soul's Immortality,
for otherways. his building a Temple to the Memory of his
Daughter, and in a Manner confecrating the fame, maft have
appeared to Atticus ridiculous and fantaſtic. Mean while, it
may be proper here to remark, that the Building fuch Temples,
or confecrated Places by Parents, to the Memory of their
Children, is juftly accounted by the most ancient and vene-
rable Authors to be the great Source of Superftition. The
Grief of a Parent upon the Lofs of a Child, being more intenfe,
and confequently more extravagant than that of a Child upon the
Lofs of a Parent. Our Author even tells, that the Word
Superftition came from thoſe who all Day facrificed, and prayed,
that their Children might outlive themfelves. Qui tota die pre-
cabantur & immolabant ut fibi fui liberi fuperftites eſſent, fuper ftir fi
funt appellati. Lib. 1. de Nat. Deorum,
R 3
Daughter
246
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
Daughter with every Monument of every ingenious
Writer, be he Greek, or Latin; a Thing, which
may, perhaps, make my Wound bleed afresh.
But I now look upon myſelf as bound by a folemn
Vow and Engagement, and I am more affected by
that Length of Time in which I am to have no
Exiſtence in this World, than with the narrow (but
to me it ſeems too long) Span of Life, that ftill
remains to me.
t
>
1
Nothing have I left uneffay'd, but I can find no
Reft. For while I employed myfelf in that
Work, which I have formerly mentioned to you,
I foothed, as it were, my Anguish; but now I
loath every Thing; nor can I find any better Re-
fuge than in Solitude, which Philippus as I was
afraid he would) has not yet disturbed. For
Yeſterday, as foon as he had paid me his Compli-
ments, he fet out for Rome. I have, as you de-
fired, fent you the Letter which I have written to
Brutus; you will take Care, that it be fent off t
with yours; mean while, I have ſent you a Copy,
that if you are not pleafed with the Contents,
you may keep back the Original.
You write me Word, that my domeftic Affairs
are fettling in due Order; I pray you, write me
the Particulars; for there are fome I am impatient
to know. Take care that Cocceius does not give us
the Slip. I think, from what Eros writes, that
we may depend upon Libo's Word. As to my
Stock, I trust in Sulpicius and Egnatius. I cannot
imagine, what your Difficulties can be with Regard
to Apuleius, as it is ſo eaſy to obtain a Difpenfa-
tion. You write me, you intend to fee me; I beg
you
t
1
to ATTICUS.
247
you
will take Care, that it may put you to no In-
conveniency. For the Journey is a long one, and
fhould you be obliged to leave me foon, our
parting will give me infinite Pain.
But every
Thing fhall be as you incline. For my Part,
do what you will, I fhall always both think
it right, and that you do it out of Affection for
.me.
Yeſterday, when I underſtood by Letters from
others, that Antony was arrived (1), I was furprized
your Letters mentioned nothing about him: But
you, perhaps, wrote them the Day before their
Date. Even thoſe Matters, however, give me no
Concern. But I am of Opinion, that the Affair of
(1) He had fet out for Spain, but came back in a Hurry
to Rome, on the following Account. He was in great Favour
with Cafar, being one of the moft proper Inftruments which
that great Man could employ in fubverting the public Virtue
of his Countrymen, and confequently, the Conftitution of his
Country; not, I believe, that Cæfar would have defired either,
had not both of them been incompatible with his Safety. Add
to this, that Antony was a Man of Wit and Parts; he lived at
an immenfe Expence, and was in all Refpects, a Soldier of
Fortune. This, and his Intimacy with Cafar, made him pre-
fume upon that great Man's Friendſhip, and he had bought
molt of Pompey's Effects at Auction, in Hopes that Cæfar
would not call upon him for the Payment. But Cæfar was of
all Mankind the greateft Mafter of his own Affections, except-
ing that for Power. Like other great Politicians, he encou-
raged his Miniſters in their Extravagancies, that he might have
the Popularity of puniſhing them. The buying of the great
Pompey's Effects, had raiſed a terrible Clamour at Rome againft
Antony, and Cæfar wifely availed himſelf of it. For Antony
neglecting to make Payment (the Sum being very large) Cæfar
ordered Lucius Plancus to feize all Antony's Effects, and to fell
them for Difcharge of the Debt. The News of this Order
reached Antony's Ears when he was on his Road to Spain, and
it was to prevent that Sale that he returned in the Hurry men-
tioned here.
R 4
his
248
CICERO'S EPISTLES
his Purchaſe has brought him back in. fuch a
Hurry.
As to what you write me, Terentia fays con-
cerning the Witneffes to the fealing up of my
Teſtament (1); you are, in the firſt Place, to be-
lieve, that I mind none of thofe Matters, nor can
any Thing give me the fmalleft Concern or Sur-
prize. But, after all, in what does my Conduct
reſemble hers? She refufed to call in thoſe Wit-
neffes, whom she thought would enquire to know
the Contents of what they were to witnefs. But
did I make any Difficulty of that? Let her then do
as I have done. Let who will read my Teftament,
I am ready to produce it: She may fatisfy. herſelf,
that I could not fhew greater Regard, than I have
fhewn, for my Grandfon. As to my not calling
fuch or fuch Perfons to witneſs its fealing up; in
the firft Place, it did not come into my Head;
and for this Reafon, in the next Place, becauſe it
was of no Signification. Perhaps, you may your-
felf remember, that I spoke to you to bring fome
of your Friends to witnefs it. For what Occa-
fion was there for a great many? It is true, I or-
dered my Domeftics to attend. You was of Opi-
nion, that I ſhould fend for Silius;
and that put it
into my Head to fend for Pubilius to be prefent
and that
(1) Cicero was at this Time thinking of marrying another
Wife, Pubilia, whom he afterwards married. This feems to
have come to Terentia Ears, becaufe, Cicero had invited Pubi-
lius, the Lady's Brother, to be Witneſs to his Teſtament, and
had omitted to fend for the Relations of his own and her Fa-
mily. This furnished Terentia with Matter of Complaint, as
if our Author had done, or intended to do ſomething that was
unhandſome towards his Grandfon Dolabella's Son.
though
>
to ATTICUS.
249
though there was no Neceffity for either. You will
manage this Point as you fee proper.
EPIST.
XIX.
TH
♪
HIS I own is a véry pleaſant Place (1). It is
fituated in the Sea itſelf, and may be ſeen
from Antium and Circe; but, as in a long Succef-
fion of Ages, the Succeffion to Property (2) may
be next to infinite, I am to take Care, ſhould the
Monument I think of continue to exift, that it
fhall have the fame Regard paid to it as is paid to
confecrated Places. I now give myſelf no trouble
about Revenues; I can be contented with a little.
I fometimes think of purchafing fome Country Seat
on the other Side of the Tyber, and chiefly, becauſe
Ì know no Place that has a greater Refort to it (3),
But, we will confult about what Seat it fhall be
when we meet together, but ftill we muſt order
*
(1) Meaning Aftura, lying between the Promontory of
Antium, and that of Circe.
(2) The Antients, as appears from the Works of our Au-
thor, and many others, were extreamly delicate with Regard
to their Burying Places; and they commonly excepted them
from the other Parts of Heritage, which could be difpofed of
by Conveyance or Succeffion, and, as it were, entailed them
for ever upon the Purpoſes to which they were originally
defigned. Cicero, therefore, in this Paffage, enclines to entail
the Spot where this Temple fhould be built in the fame Man-
ner, and nothing was wanting that Laws or Imprecations
could effect to preferve fuch Deſtinations forever facred and in-
violable. Atticus feems to have advifed Cicero to build his
Temple at Aftura.
(3) Becauſe, he intended there to build his Temple, which
he wanted to have as public as poffible to do Honour to the
Memory of his Daughter.
1
Matters
250
CICERO's EPISTLES
Matters fo, that the Temple may be finiſhed thiş
Summer. Mean while, do you finish the Bargain
concerning the Pillars with Apellas of Chios.
I approve of what you write, concerning Coc-
veius and Libo, and chiefly with Regard to my fit-
ting as Judge (1). I fhould be glad to know, if
you have received any farther Information concern-
ing that Bail, and likewife, what the Agents of
Cornificius are faying; but yet I ſhould be loth to
put you, who have fo much Bufinefs already, to
any extraordinary Trouble in that Affair. Balbus
and Oppius have likewiſe written to me concern-
ing Antony, and that their Writing was agreeable
to you, for Fear I fhould have been difturbed. I
returned them Thanks, but I would have you to
know, as I have already writ to you, that I am to be
diſturbed neither by that News, nor any other that
can poffibly happen. If, as you mentioned, Panfa
is fet out this Day, you will inftantly begin to'
write me, how foon you look for the Arrival of
Brutus, that is, what Day he is to be at Rome. If
you know where he is at prefent, you can eaſily
form a pretty near Conjecture as to that.
As to what you write to Tyro concerning my
Wife, I beg, my dearest Friend, that you will take
the whole of that Matter upon yourſelf. No-body
knows fo well as you do, how far I am engaged
in Honour and Duty, and as fome think, in Juftice
to my Son. As to my own Part, I am deter-
mined by nothing near fo much as by the Ties of
1) He at this Time declined all public Offices of a Se-
nator, particularly in that of prefiding in the Courts of
Law, or upon Trials or Arbitrations.
Virtue
to ATTICUS.
251
Virtue and Honour, eſpecially as I think, all Af
furances of the other Party (1), are neither fincere
nor ftable.
·
1
You fem
1
EPIST. XX.
OU feem not to be quite fenfible, how very
unconcerned I am about Antony, and every
Thing of that Kind. With Regard to Terentia, I
informed you in the Letter I wrote Yeſterday.
You give me Advice, and you fay, you do it at
the earneſt Requeſt of my other Friends, that I
fhould conceal the Excefs of my Grief. Is it
poffible for me to do that better than by ſpending
whole Days in Study? I do it, it is true, not to
conceal my Affliction, but to footh, and to cure
my Mind; but though it may not have the Effect
I wiſh for upon myſelf, yet furely it conceals from
the World the Appearances of exceffive Grief.
This Letter is confiderably fhorter, becauſe I wait
for your Anſwer to my Letter of Yefterday. I am
chiefly impatient for your Sentiments, with Regard
to the Temple, and I am ſomewhat curious to
know about Terentia. I beg you will inform me
by your next Letter, whether Cnaus Cæpio, the Fa-
ther of Servilia, the Wife of Claudius, perifhed by
Sea in his Father's Life-time, or after he was dead,
or whether Rutilia died before or after the Death of
her Son Caius Cotta? Thefe Queſtions relate to the
Treatiſe I have compofed concerning the Means of
abating Affliction.
(1) Meaning Terentias
EPIST.
252
CICERO'S EPISTLES
-
1
EPIST. XXI.
back
•
Have read, and fent back to you, the Letter of
the Letter of
Brutus, which is, by no Means, a decent An-
fwer to your Requeſt. But let him fee to that (1),
and yet it is ſcandalous for him to be fo ignorant of
that Matter. He fuppofes that Cato firſt
gave his
Vote for putting the Confpirators: to death. Now
all the other Magiftrates, excepting Cafar, had
voted the fame Way before, and as the Opinion of
Cafar, who then ſpoke only in his quality of Præ-
tor, was fo fevere, he thinks that the Sentiments of
the Confulars, Catulus, Servilius, the Luculli, Cu-
rio, Torquatus, Lepidus, Gellius, Volcatius, Figu-
lus, Cotta, Lucius Cæfar, Caius Pifo, with Manius
(1) I have, in feveral Animadverfions upon our Author's
Works, thrown out fome Doubts with Regard to the Confpiracy
of Catiline, efpecially as it has been reprefented by our Author.
I fhall not here trouble my Reader with my Reaſons for being of
a very different Opinion from the Reft of the World upon
that Subject, and for believing that our Author, impelled by
his own Fears, put the Confpirators to death without any legal
Evidence of their Guilt. I cannot, however, help obferving, that
the Paffage before us very ftrongly confirms my Sufpicion of
Cicero's Infincerity in his whole Account of that Matter. Not-
withſtanding that Force of Affliction for the Lofs of his
Daughter, which he fo feelingly repreſents, we here fee his Va-
nity get fo much the better of him, that he employs his Friend
Atticus to prevail with Brutus, who was the very Soul of Truth,
to alter a Narrative of that Confpiracy which he had made in a
Panegyric upon his Uncle Cato, and in which our Author thought
he was not mentioned in Terms fufficiently for his Advantage.
In fact, Brutus begged to be excuſed, and admitted only of one
Circumftance, in which he was ſet right by Atticus. The Rea,
der is to obferve, that Cæfar, as Prætor, fpoke before Cato,
who was only Tribune elect. As fuch, however, he spoke be
fore all the private Senators, fo that the omnis, here mentioned,
is to be underfood not of the whole Body of the Senate, but of
thoſe who bore or had borne public Employments.
Glabrio,
to ATTICUS.
253
Glabrio, and Silanus, and Murena, Confuls elect,
was more mild. Why then was the Sentence drawn
up according to Cato's Opinion? The Reafon was
he ſpoke to the Point -more parfpicuouſly and co-
piouſly than the others did. With regard to me,
he praiſes me for reporting, not for difcovering, the
Confpiracy, without mentioning the Spirit I raiſed
againſt the Confpirators, and that the Meaſure
which followed was no more than what I refolved
upon before the Thing was debated in the Senate.
Cato extolled all this to the Skies, and was of Opi-
nion that it ought to be inferted in the Sentence,
for which Reaſon a Majority divided for his Mo-
tion. Brutus thinks he pays me a mighty Compli-
ment when he calls me an " excellent Conful." But
could an Enemy ſpeak of me in colder Terms ?
With regard to the reft, in what Manner has he
written to you? All he defires of you is to correct
the Refolution of the Senate. He could not have
avoided doing this, had his Miſtake been pointed
out to him by the moſt deſpicable of all our Ac-
quaintance (1). But let him anfwer for that like-
wife.
As you approve my Defign of a Country-
Houſe (2), I beg you will do fomething in that
Matter. You know my Funds. Now if we can
get any Thing from (3) Faberius, I fhall have little
or no Difficulty in making the Purchaſe. The Seat
of Drufus certainly is to be purchaſed, and perhaps
(1) Orig. Ranius, Who was it ſeems a Perſon of little or no
Confideration.
(2) Orig. Horti. Gardens which I have tranflated, a Coun-
try Houfe or Seat of which the Gardens were the chief Em-
belliſhment,
(3) He owed our Author Money.
thofe
254
CICERO'S EPISTLES
If I ſhould be miſtaken,
by being deceived by
Five hundred Pounds
thoſe of Lamia and Caffius. But we fhall talk of
thoſe Matters when we meet. As to Terentia; I
cannot write of her more handfomely than you do.
Let us, in the firft Place; have Regard to what
Virtue and Duty requires.
I ſhould chufe to fuffer;
her rather than by myſelf.
muſt be paid to Ovia, the Wife of Caius Lollius
Eros fays he cannot raiſe the Money without me, I
fuppofe on Account of his giving fome Goods and
Effects to be appraiſed. I wiſh he had talked of
the Matter to you, for, if, as he writes me it be true,
that Matters are in fuch Readineſs, the Affair may
be finiſhed by you; I beg you will enquire into and
fettle the whole Matter.´
$
You invite me to refume my Functions in the
Forum, the Place which I had declined before I
was overtaken by Affliction. What is the Forum
to me? Where are its Courts of Juftice? Where
is the Senate, while thofe, whom I cannot behold
with Patience, are perpetually rufhing upon my
Sight? You tell me the Public' calls upon me to
come to Rome, that it will not diſpenſe with my
Preſence, and that I have been difpenfed with hi-
therto only upon certain Terms. But be it known
to you, my Friend, that, for this long Time, you
fingly have been more dear to me than all the Pub-
lic, and I have not fuch a contemptible Opinion of
myſelf, as not to chufe to follow my own Senti-
ments, than that of all the others you mention, be
who they will. And yet I do not exceed the
Bounds that are preſcribed me by the moſt learned
Authors, whofe Writings I have thoroughly read
over, and all that is upon the Subject of Confola-
tion,
to ATTICUS.
255
tion, becauſe I thought it a Mark of Courage in a
Patient to fearch for his Cure. Nay, I have tranſ-
planted their Sentiments into my own 'Works,
which furely was no Symptom of a defponding,
abject, Spirit. I beg therefore that you will not call
me from this Regimen into the Buftle of Life,
left I ſhould relapſe.
IT
EPIST. XXII.
T is not acting by me with your ufual Friend-
fhip, to load me with the whole Affair of Te-
rentia. For thofe are the very Wounds which I
cannot bear to have handled without roaring out
through Anguiſh.
Do therefore all you can to
footh my Affliction; I afk no more of
you than
you can do, and befides you are the only Perfon
who can diſcover her true Sentiments.
As I per-
ceive you are in fome Difficulty, with Regard to
Rutilia, I beg you to write me as foon as you come
to a Certainty, and whether Clodia furvived Deci-
mus Brutus, the Confular. You may know the
firft from Marcellus, or at leaft from Pofthumia; and
the Second from Marcus Cotta, from Scyrus or Sa-
tyrus.
I beg leave again to put you in Mind of the
Country Seat I am to purchaſe, for which I muſt
employ, if my own Means fhould be ineffectual
(which I hope they will not be) the Credit of my
Friends, who, I am fure, will not fail me. Befides
there are ſome Effects which I can fell very conve-
niently. But if you will affift me, I need to fell
nothing, but pay Intereft for a Year and no longer
for
256
CICERO'S EPISTLES
for the Sum I agree for, which is the Method
would chufe. The Seat of Drufus is the moſt like-
ly for my Purpoſe, for he wants to fell it. Next
to them, I think on that of Lamia, but he is not at
Rome. Do you, however, be on the Scent as much
as you can. Silius makes ufe of no Country Seat,
and he can live very well upon the Intereft I fhall
pay him.
You are to lay yourſelf out for this
without minding the Situation of my private Af
fairs, which I am very little anxious about, but
you are to confider what I wish for, and my Motives
for wiſhing it.
YOU
EPIST. XXIII.
OU begin your Letter to me in fuch a Man
ner, that I expected fome News from it. You'
tell me that though I did not mind what paffed in
Spain (1), yet that you ftill would inform me by
writing. But I perceive that all you write is in
Anſwer to my Letters, particularly concerning the
Forum, and the Senate. But you tell me, my
Houſe is a Forum. What Occafion have I for a
Houſe itſelf, if I am debarred from the Forum ?
Long, long, my dearest Friend, have I made it no
Secret, and I make it none now, that I loft all
Reliſh for Life, after lofing the only Bleffing that
could make me love it. I therefore court Solitude a
and yet, fhould any Accident draw me to Rome, I
will endeavour, all that is in my Power (and I
¿
(1) Cæfar was then carrying on the War againſt Pompey's
Sons in Spain, of which Atticus had promiſed to give our Au-
thor fome Account.
know
to ATTICUS:
257
know it to be in my Power) that none befides my-
ſelf ſhall perceive my Anguiſh, nay, if poffible,
that even you ſhould not`perceive it. There is
another Caufe for my not going to Rome. You
remember the Requeſt which Aledius (1) made to
you; if in this Situation they pefter me, what
would they do fhould I go to Rome? You may
manage with Terentia; in the Manner you write me,
and in fo doing you extricate me from a mighty,
overload of mighty Affliction:
But now to make you fenfible that my Sorrows,
great as they are, have not bereft me of Senſe, I
obſerve that you mention, in your Annals, under
what Confuls Carneades (2) came at the Head of
that Embaffy to Rome. Now I want to know
what the Subject of that Embaffy was. If I mi-
ftake not, it was concerning the City of Oropus,
but I am not ſure. Taking that however for granted,
I fhould be glad to know upon what Subjects they
difputed, and likewife who the noble Epicurean was
at Athens, who, at that Time, prefided in their
Gardens (3), and likewife who was the moſt di-
ſtinguiſhed Stateſman (4) in thạt City. All this I
(1) He was a Friend of Cafar's, and he had informed Atticus
how kindly Cæfar would take it, if our Author would fo far
Countenance his Proceedings as to appear in the Senate at
Rome:
(2) This celebrated Embaffy came from Athens, with the
Philofopher Carneades at the Head of it, in order to obtain a
Mitigation of a Fine impofed, by the Romans, upon the Athe-
hians for plundering the City Oropus.
(3) The Difciples and Followers of Épicurus held their
Schools and Affemblies in his Gardens at Athens, in the fame
Manner as the Diſciples of Plato did in the Academy, thofe of
Ariftotle in the Lyceum, and thofe of Zeno in the Portico.
(4) Orig. TONITIxo. Reip. tractanda periti.
VOL. II.
S
believe
}
感​观
​1
CICERO'S EPISTLES
258
1
believe you may learn from Apollodorus (1). I am
concerned about your Daughter's Illnefs, but, as it
is flight, I hope fhe is in a fair Way. I have not
the leaft Doubt with Regard to Gamala's death;
for why ſhould Ligus be the only happy Father F
For my Part, had I my Choice of all I could de-
fire in this Life, I never could admit of Comfort.
You write me how much the Seat of Drufus is
valued at: I heard of it before, and if I miſtake not,
I mentioned it in my Letter to you of Yeſterday,
but be what it will, there is no paying too dear for
a Thing which one muſt have. Whatever Opinion
you may entertain, yet I know enough of myſelf
to be ſenſible that that Purchaſe, if it does not abate
my Anguiſh, will at leaſt acquit me of a Debt of
Duty. I have written to Syca, becauſe he is the
Friend of Lucius Cotta. If we can come to no Agree-
ment concerning the Tranftiburine Gardens, Cotta
has near to Oftia a Seat in a very frequented Place.
It is fmall indeed, but it is more than large enough
for my Purpoſe. I beg you would think of that,
but without being ſtartled at the Price of the other
Gardens. I have now no Occaſion for Plate, for Rai-
ment, or for Houfes of Pleafure. This Seat is all
I want. I know who can affift me in the Purchaſe,
but
you will talk with Silius, for nothing could fuit
me better than his Seat. I have given Syca a Com-
miſſion - concerning this Matter likewife, and he
writes me in Anfwer, that he has fixed a Day to
treat with Silius. Therefore write me what he has
done, and do as you judge proper.
(1) He was an Epicurean, and had wrote the Life of his
Mafter, with the Annals of the old Philofophers.
EPIST.
to ATTICUS:
259
!
IT
EPIST. XXIV.
T happens luckily that Silius has fettled that
Matter, for I was not willing to diſappoint him,
and I was in fome Doubts about my own Ability.
You will finish that Affair with Ovia, in the Terms
you promiſe me. I think now it is high Time to
diſpoſe of my Son. But let me know whether he
can have Credit upon Athens, for what Money he
may have Occafion for, or whether he muft carry
it with him in Specie? I beg you would confider
of the whole Matter, how, in what Manner, and
when he is to proceed. You may learn from Ale-
dius, whether Publius (1) is to go to Africa, and
when; and then I beg you will let me know by a
Letter. But to return to my own trifling Amuſe-
ments; I defire you will inform me whether Publius
Craffus, the Son of Venuleia, died in his Father's
Life-time, as I think he did, or afterwards. I have
the fame Queſtion to afk with regard to Regillus,
who, if I remember rightly, died before his Fa-
ther Lepidus. You will finifh the Affair of Cifpius,
and likewife that of Præcius. I am extremely glad
of Attica's Recovery. Pray make my Compli-
ments to her, and to Pilia.
(1) He probably was the fame, who, after the Death of Ce-
far, embraced the Caufe of Liberty, and was profcribed by the
Triumvirs. He afterwards came into great Favour with Au-
guftus Cæfar, who valued him the more for having the Courage
to carry
about with him the Portraiture of Brutus.
S 2
EPIST
260
CICERO'S EPISTLES
SICA
EPIST. XXV.
ICA has wrote me a very particular Account
of his Tranfaction with Silius, and he informs
me, as you do, that he has laid the Matter before
you. I am pleaſed with my Bargain and the Terms,
but I ſhould chuſe to pay him in Money, rather
than give him any Thing in exchange, for Silius
will put no Value upon a Houfe of Pleafure. Now,
with Regard to my Land Eſtate, I can live upon
it, and that is as much as I can do. Then, fay
you, how can you raiſe the ready Money? You
are to prefs Hermogenes for the Payment of that
fifty Pounds, eſpecially now that I am ftraitened
for Money; and I perceive I have as much in my
Houſe. As for the Remainder of the Sum, I either
will pay Intereft for it to Silius, while my Affair
with Faberius is fettling, or I will take a Draught
from Faberius for the Sum, upon fome of his Deb-
I fhall likewife receive fomewhat from ano-
ther Hand, but you fhall be Maſter of the whole
Tranfaction. For my own Part, I prefer his Seat
to that of Drufus, nor indeed were they ever com-
pared together. Take my Word for it I have. but
one Motive for the Purchaſe, and I am fenfible it
diſorders my Head (1), but I beg you will continue
to humour me in this Failing. As to what you tell
me concerning the Manner in which a Patriot ought
to ſpend his old Age (2), every Thing of that Kind
is over with me, I have other Purfuits in view.
tors.
(1) Orig. TeTupãodas. Nimia cupiditate accenfum.
(2) Orig. iynfapa. Senectutis occupatio.
1
EPIST.
to ATTICUS
261
1
EPIST. XXVI.
SICA. writes to me, that though he has come to
no Conclufion with Aulus Silius, yet he himſelf.
would come hither the 22d. I know how much you
are bufied too well, for me not to excufe you. I am
extreamly fenfible how willing, or rather how an-
xious, and how earneft you are, that we ſhould have
a Meeting. With Regard to Nicias (1), whom you
mention, there is no Man's Company whom I
could be more fond of than his, were I in a Dif-
pofition to enjoy the Charms of his Converfation;
but Solitude and Retirement are now my only En-
joyments. I am moft defirous of Sica's Company,
becauſe he can bear Solitude fo well. Beſides,
you are no Stranger to the Weaklinefs, the Delica-
cy, and the Habits of our Friend Nicias. Why
therefore ſhould I give him Pain, when he can
give me no Pleafure? His affectionate Offer, how-
ever, is to me extreamly obliging. There is one
Thing (2) you touch upon in your Letter, to
which I am determined to give you no Anſwer.
For I am in Hopes that I have prevailed with you
to rid me of that Plague. My Compliments to
your Wife and Daughter.
(1) He was a famous Grammarian.
.(2) Viz. His Difference with Terentia.
EPIST.
S 3
1
262
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Ith
EPIST. XXVII.
T is true, I am no Stranger to the Terms of
that Tranſaction with Silius, but, to Day, I fup-
poſe, I ſhall be inftructed by Sica, in all the Parti-
culars. You ſay that you know nothing about that
Seat of Cotta; I tell you that it is a ſmall mean
dirty Hovel, lying beyond the Seat of Silius, which
I fuppofe you are no Stranger to. It has no Ground
belonging to it, and it is large enough for no other
Purpoſe, but that which I intend. I want a Place
that is greatly frequented. If any Agreement is
made, that is, if you make any, (for it all reſts
on you) concerning the Seat of Silius, there is no
Occafion for me to think any more concerning that
of Cotta. I will follow your Advice, with Regard
to my Son. He fhall be Maſter of his own Time,
and you will take care to get him Credit for his
neceffary Expences. You will let me know, as
you mention, when you have learned any Thing
from Aledius.
up-
I obferve, from your Letters, as no doubt you
do from mine, that neither of us have any Subject
for Writing. 'Tis ftill the fame thread-bare Story.
over and over again every Day, yet I cannot, for
my Life, refrain writing to you every Day, that
you may fend me an Anfwer. Send me Word if
you know any Thing concerning Brutus (1), for I
fuppofe, by this Time, you know the Place where
he waits for Panfa. If, as is ufual, he waits for-
.
(1) Brutus was then Governor of Cifalpiue Gaul, and he was
be relieved by Panfa.
him
to ATTICUS.
263
him în the Frontier of his Government, he may be
at Rome, towards the Beginning of next Month. I
wifh it was not fo foon, becauſe I have many Rea-
fons for being extremely averfe from coming to
Rome. I am therefore in fome Doubts with myſelf,
whether I ought not to coin fome Excufe for them,
which I perceive would be no hard Matter for me
to do. But I fhall have Leiſure enough to think of
that Matter. My Compliments to your Wife and
Daughter.
1
3
EPIST. XXVIII.
XXVIII.
SICA had writ fo particularly concerning that
Affair with Silius, that I learned no more of it
from talking with him than I had done from his
Letters. Therefore, fhould you meet with Silius,
you will write to me if you fee Occafion.
As to
the Perfon, who you fuppofe has been fent to me,
I am quite in the Dark whether any fuch Perfon
has been fent or not, at leaſt no body has talked
with me upon that Head, You will therefore
proceed as you have begun, and if you can gain-
any Thing upon Terentia, which I think indeed is
impoffible, you may, if you pleaſe, introduce my
Son to her Favour. It is of fome Confequence to
him, that he ſhould appear to have a Regard for
her. For my Part, I take no other Concern than
that which you know of, and which indeed I am
greatly anxious about.
You invite me to return to my old Habits of
Life. It has long been my Fate to weep over the
Calamities of my Country. But my Grief was the
S 4
lefs
>
264
CICERO's EPISTLES
·
lefs exceffive, becauſe, I ſtill found a Satisfaction
in my own Family. At prefent, I can neither re-
liſh the Modes nor the Purſuits of the World, nor
do I think, I ought to be much concerned in what
Light others take this Matter. If my Confcience
acquits me, let the World talk as it will. I have
no Reaſon to repent thofe Letters of Confolation,
which I addreffed to myſelf. They have done me
this Service, that my Mourning, though not my
Grief is abated; for my Grief is, what I cannot
diminiſh, nor would I, if I could (1).
You are right in your Conjecture of my In-
tentions, with Regard to Triarius (2); you are,
however, to take no Steps but with the Confent of
his Parents. I love the Memory of the Deceaſed,
I am the Guardian of his Children, and I have an
Affection for the whole Family. With Regard to
that Affair of Caftricius, if he is willing to take
Money for the Slaves, and to be paid according
to the preſent public Terms of Payment (3), no-
thing
(1) Orig. Mærorem minui: dolorem nec potui, nec, fi poſſem,
vellem.
(2) He is one of the Interlocutors in our Author's Treatiſe,
upon the Ends of Things good and evil.
(3) Orig. Si Caftricius pro mancipiis pecuniam accipere volet,
eamque ei folvi ut nune folvitur. This Affair' feems to have
concerned Quintus Cicero, whofe unworthy Behaviour our Au-
thor appears no longer to have refented. Quintus Cicero owed
this Caftricius fome Money, and he made over fome Slaves to
him as a Security. When the Civil War was over, Quintus
propofed to Cafiricius to redeem the Slaves, in the Terms of
a Law made by Cæfar, för the more eafy Payment of Debts.
For that great Man, ſeeing the prodigious Diſorder into which
the Civil Wars had thrown all, Matters of Property at Rome,
ordered a Commiffion to be made out, to certain Perfons for
valuing Effects, which, according to the Price they bore before
the Civil War, the Creditors were obliged to take in Payment.
1+1
Our
+
to ATTICUS.
205
Į
thing can be more equitable. But, if the Bargain
has been made fo as that he can carry off the Slaves
themſelves, I think (fince you will have me to
write you my Mind on that Head) the other
Terms will not be fair. For I am unwilling that
my Brother Quintus fhould any Way involve him-
felf, and if I miſtake not, you are of the fame
Sentiments. I fhould think that Publius will go
to Africa by Sea, if (as you write me, Aledius
faid) he is to wait for the Equinox. Now, he told
me, that he was to go by Sicily. I beg you will
let me know, whether he holds in that Reſolution,
and when he is to fet out? I likewiſe entreat, that
you will at your Conveniency, vifit my Grandfon
Lentulus (1), and let him have what Slaves you
think proper. My Compliments to your Wife and
Daughter.
That
Our Author in many Parts of his Epiftles, hints at this Law,
which was called the Lex Julia. But the Law contained ano-
ther Claufe, which this Paſſage ſolely relates to. For, we learn
from Suetonius, that it ftruck off all Intereft that was paid for
Money, during the Continuance of the Civil Wars.
which had been paid, was deducted as Payment of the princi-
pal Sum, and if none had been paid, none was to be accepted.
Popma, therefore, and the other Commentators, have aburdly
applyed the eſtimatory Part of that Law to this Paffage The
Queſtion with our Author was, that Quintus Cicero fhould pay
ready Money for the Slaves, with the Deduction of the Intereſt
that had been paid. But at the fame Time, he was of Opi-
nion, that if the Terms of the Bargain were optional to Cafiri-
cius, whether he ſhould take the Money or the Slaves, it was
putting a Hardship upon Caftricius to force him to take the
Money in the Terms of the Julian Law.
1
(1) This was the Surname of the Cornelian Family, and Dola-
bella was the ſecond Surname of one of the Branches of the
fame Family.
Į
{
EPIST.
2.66 CICERO's EBISTLES
Y
EPIST. XXIX.
OU tell me you are to fee Silius to Day.
You will therefore, write to me to-morrow, or
rather with your Conveniency, whenever you come
to any Agreement with him. I am far from avoid-
ing Brutus, though at the fame Time I am far
from expecting from him any Relief to my An-
guiſh; but I had my Reaſons for not going to
Rome at this Juncture. Should thoſe continue, as
at preſent they bid fair to do, I muſt invent an
Excufe to Brutus. I beg you would finifh my
Bargain about that Country-feat. My first View in
having it is, what you know of,
I have Occafion for it myſelf.
live in a Hurry, nor can I be at fuch a Diſtance
from my Friends. I can find no Place fo well fuit-
ed for this Purpoſe as that Seat is, and I am ex-
tremely fenfible what your Deſign was in the Ma-
nagement of that Affair, and the rather, becauſe, I
think, you are of my Opinion, that I am very
well with Oppius and Balbus. You will let them
know how earneftly, and for what Reaſon I defired
to have that Seat, but my whole Succefs depends
upon my receiving Payment from Faberius (1).
and the next is,
For, I neither can
Put
(1) We are told by Appian, that this Gentleman was a Kind
of Secretary to Cæfar. Some Commentators are of Opinion,
that he owed Money to our Author, and that he gave him a
Draught upon Oppius and Balbus, who owed Money to him.
But I do not fee any great Occafion to fuppofe all this, Cæfar
himſelf, ſeems to have been originally our Author's Debtor,
and to have given Faberius, who was then in Spain with Cæfar.
a Grant of fome forfeited Eftates, upon the Condition, that he
ſhould out of them defray the Debt due to Cicero. Oppius and
Balbus,
to ATTICUS.
267
१
Put it to them, whether they will answer for my
being paid; whether there will be any Loſs arifing
in paying down the Money immediately, and how
much that may amount to, for I defpair of receiving
my whole Sum. In fhort, you are to learn, whether
they are inclineable to ſerve me in what I propofed. If
they are, it will be a great Affiftance to me;
if not,
we muſt endeavour to be affifted from other Quar-
ters. You are to look upon this Purchaſe, as
that old ἐγγήραμα or ἐντάφιον (1), which you mene
tion, for my latter End. I have laid afide all
Thoughts of that Houſe at Oftia. If I cannot get
this Seat, I muſt try to purchaſe that of Damafip-
pus, for I believe, it is impoffible to prevail with
Lamia to part with his.
I
EPIST. XXX.
Search for Matter to write to you, but I can
find none; 'tis all the fame Story over and over
every Day. I am extremely obliged to you for
the Vifit you have paid to my Grandfon. You
may allot him as many Slaves as you think proper,
and you may take your Choice of them. You
Balbus, therefore, may be fuppofed to have been Agents for
Faberius in felling his Eftates, and fettling his other Matters,
and this Conjecture agrees very well with all that is faid
here.
This alludes
(1) Senectutis occupatio. Funeris ornamentum.
to a Saying of Cato the Cenfor, καλλιτον ἐ[γήραμα τὴν πολιτείαν.
That it was a moft glorious Thing to grow old in the Service of
ohe's Country. The irrápior alludes to Funeral Ornaments. So
that Cicero fays, that all the Glory and the Ornament of his
Life and Death, confiſted in thoſe Gardens, and that Coun-
try Seat.
feem
268
CICERO's EPISTLES
feem to be apprehenſive, that Silius will not part
with his Seat, or that he will put an exorbitant
Price upon it. Sica is of another Opinion, but I
incline to be of yours; I have therefore, written to
Egnatius in the Terms propofed by Sica. As to
Şilius defiring you to fpeak with Clodius, it is very
agreeable to me that you ſhould, and much more
convenient than for me to write to Clodius as Silius
propoſed. I think, that it would be very proper
for Egnatius to finiſh the Bargain for the Slaves
of Caftricius, fince you write me, that they are in a
fair Way of agreeing. I beg you will take Care to
fettle that Affair with Ovia. As you tell me, your
Letter was writ after it was dark laft Night, I am
in Hopes the one you write this Day will be more
full.
EPIST. XXXI.
SICA will be furpriſed, that Silius has changed
his Mind. Indeed, I am the more furpriſed,
becauſe, having attributed this Change to his Son,
which I think is no unreaſonable Apology, (for he
cannot defire to have a more dutiful Child) you
tell me, you are of Opinion, if we ſhould pur-
chaſe another Eftate which he diflikes, after buying
that, he will fell us the other. You defire to know
of me the higheſt Price I am willing to give, and
how much I value it more than the Seat of Drufus.
I have never ſeen it. I know, that the Seat of Co-
ponius is both old and little. It has a fine Wood,.
but I know the Value of neither, and yet I think
it were proper that I did. But I muft value both
of
to ATTICUS.
269
14
of them, by the Neceffity I am under to have
either, and not by their intrinſic Worth. I beg
that you would endeavour to know, whether I
can purchaſe them or not. For if I should fell
the Faberian Eftate (1), I ſhould not doubt of be-
ing able to purchaſe the Country-houſe of Silius
with ready-Money, provided he can be prevailed
upon to fell it. If it is not to be fold, I will en-
deavour to get that of Drufus, even though I
ſhould pay as much for it as Egnatius told you
Drufus was willing to take. Hermogenes likewife
can be of great Affiftance to me in raifing the
ready Money. Indulge me, my Friend, in think-
ing on this Occafion, as a Man who is fond of the
Purchaſe he wants to make. And yet both that
Fondneſs and-my Grief fhall be regulated by your
Pleaſure. Egnatius has written to me; if he has
communicated any Thing to you, you will in-
form me by a Letter, for he is the moft proper
Agent we can employ in this Affair, which, I
think, ought by all Means, to be concluded. For
I cannot fee, that we can come to any Conclufion
with Silius. My Compliments to your Wife and
Daughter. This I write with my own Hand. I
beg you will adviſe me how I am to proceed.
(1) From this it appears, that Faberius, in the Terms of the
Julian Law, had made over to our Author for the Payment of
his Debt, an Eftate, or Effects of an adequate Value.
1
EPIST.
270
CICERO'S EPISTLES
}
EPIST. XXXII.
UBLILIA fends me a Requeft, that her
Mother and her Brother, with whom fhe had
confulted (1), may pay me a Vifit as they intend, and
if I pleaſe, that ſhe may come along with them. She
begs
Óne
}
(1) The Original here is very much depraved. One Copy
reads it, Cum Publilia loqui retur. Another loqueretur, ano-
ther loqui, and another locutam; and in this laft Senfe, I have
tranflated it. There is fomething ridiculous enough in the Cir-
cumſtances mentioned in this Letter. Our Author had put away
one Wife, a Woman of great Spirit, Virtue and Fortune, with
whom he had lived upwards of thirty Years, and who had
borne all the Reverſes of his Fortune with amazing Magnani-
mity, and with unparallelled Affection towards him and his
Family. It is true, no Man can be a Judge of another Man's
domeftic Sufferings or Concerns; and therefore, it would be raſh
to conclude, that Cicero divorced this Lady, merely through a
Peeviſhneſs contracted from the ill State of his Affairs, and the
Reflection upon his own Miſconduct, with which ſhe was, per-
haps, too ready to upbraid him, for there is fome Reaſon to
believe, that ſhe by no Means approved of the Part he had
acted. But at the fame Time, it is pretty extraordinary, that
we find nothing in his Epiftles to Atticus, (with whom he ſays,
he could converfe more freely than he could with his own
Heart,) that can give us a difadvantageous Idea of this Lady.
He mentions, indeed, fomewhat about a Remittance fhe had
made him, which fell a few Pounds fhort of what it ought to
have been, and that fome rafcally Domeftics about him, endea-
voured to give him a diſadvantageous Idea of her Conduct,
which he could not believe to be true. Be that as it will, it
is certain, this Lady was divorced at a Time of Life, that
leaves us little room to fufpect her of too much Gallantry,
which our Author no where feems to hint at; that ſhe was
afterwards married to two or three of the greateſt and the no-
bleft Men of Rome, with whom the lived, as far as we can learn,
without Reproach, and that he died in the 103d Year of her
Age, the Wife of Vibius Rufus, who was Conful in the Reign
of Tiberius, and who boaſted, that he was poffeffed of two Things
which had belonged to two of the greatcft Men who ever lived,
the Wife of Cicero, and the Chair in which Cæfar was killed.
Soon
1
1
to ATTICUS.
271
begs me in very copious pathetic Terms, that
I would give her leave, and that I would fend her
an Anſwer. You may be fenfible, how much
Trouble this Affair gives me. My Anſwer to her
was, that my Affliction was more intenfe than it
was at the Time when I told her, I wanted to be
alone, and therefore, I defired fhe might forbear
her Vifit at this Time. I was of Opinion, that unleſs
I fent her an Anfwer, fhe certainly would come
along with her Mother; I think, fhe will not ſo
foon, for it is plain, that thofe Letters were not
dictated by herfelf. Now I want to avoid the
Attempt, which I am fure they will make, to
pay me a Vifit, and there is but one Way to do it,
(how diſagreeable it is to me!) but Neceffity com-
pels me (1). I beg you will learn to what precife
Day I can remain here, before they attempt to fur-
Soon after this Divorce, our Author married Pubillia, a
Ward of his own, a Woman of Birth and Quality, rich, young,
and beautiful. Our Author, in other Parts of his Works, apo-
logizes for the Inequality of the Match, through the Neceffity
he was under to repair his private Affairs, which had gone to
Ruin through the Fault of thoſe with whom he had entruſted
them, but without fixing any particular or direct Charge upon
Terentia. It is remarkable, that he feems to have married this
Lady while he was in all his Bitternefs of Affliction for his
Daughter, or but a very little before her Death; and from the
Courfe of Life he afterwards ufed, we cannot fuppofe, that
The enjoyed a great deal of his Company. I think, it is pretty
plain, that both his Marriage, and the Death of his Daughter,
happened between the Time of his writing the eleventh and
the twelfth Letter of this Book, and in this Letter we perceive
him fo much out of Humour with her and her Friends, that he
ran away from his own Houfe to avoid both her and them.
·
(1) Monfieur Mongault and I differ in our Tranflation of
of this Paffage. I point it as follows, different from all Edi-
tions. Nunc, non puto; apparebat cnim illas literas non effe
ipfius. Illud autem, (quod fore video) ipfum volo vitare, ne illæ
ad me veniant; & eft una citatic, ut ego nollem! ſed ne-
ceffe eft.
prife
CICERO'S EPISTLES
ނ
priſe me with this Vifit. You will proceed (to ufe
your own Expreffion) in your own cool Way.
you
I beg you will propoſe to my Son, if think
it reaſonable, that in Order to defray his Expences
at Athens, he will fuit himself to the Rents of my
Argiletan and Aventine Houſes, which would havé
fatisfied him, had he remained at Rome, and hired
a Houſe as he was once thinking of doing, and if
you think proper to make him this Propofal, I beg
that you will order every Thing fo, that we may
ſupply him with whatever is neceffary from thoſe
Rents, and I will anfwer for it; they will maintain
him in as handfome a Manner as Bibulus, or
Acidenus, or Meffala (1), who, I hear, are to be at
Athens, can live in. I therefore, beg you in the
firſt Place, to look out who are to rent thofe
Houſes, and how much they will pay; and in the
next Place, that fome Perfon may pay him punc-
tually to the Day; and what travelling Expences
and Equipages he will want. He can have no
Occafion for any Wheel-Machine (2) at Athens.
As to what Horfes he may want upon the Road,
you yourſelf obferve, that I have at Home more
than can be fufficient for him,
I
EPIST. XXXIII.
Wrote to you Yefterday, that I was of Opinion,
you ſhould try what you could do with Dama-
fippus, if Silius fhould behave in the Manner you
(1) Theſe were three young Roman Noblemen of great Di-
ftinction.
(2) Orig. Jumento.
think
t
273
to ATTICUS.
}
think he will, and if Drufus fhould not be com-
pliable. He, if I miſtake not, has parcelled out
his Eftate upon the Banks of the Tyber into fuch
and fuch a Number of Acres, fo that every Parcel
has a fet Price which I am ignorant of. You will,
therefore, let me know, upon what Terms you
proceed with him. I am exceffively concerned
about the Illneſs of our dear Attica, but my Appre-
henfions of any Mifmanagement with Regard to
her, vaniſh, when I reflect upon the Worth of her
Tutor, the Sagacity of her Phyfician, and that
univerfal Regularity and Obſervance of every Kind
that prevails through all your Family. You will,
therefore, take care of her, for I can write no
more.
+
EPIST. XXXIV:
Onfidering my Misfortunes, I can enjoy my-
ſelf very well here, even without Sica, for
Tiro is better. But, as your Letter defired me to be
upon my Guard againſt a Surpriſe of a Vifit from my
Wife and her Friends (by which I perceive, you are
ignorant on what Day they will fet out on their
Journey) I thought proper to come to this Place;
and, I perceive, you are of the fame Mind. To-
morrow; therefore, I will come to Sica's Seat near
Rome, and after that, I think to take your Advice
of paffing fome Days about Ficulea (1). As I am
to fee you in Perfon,' we will difcourfe together
(1) It lay in the Country of the Sabines.
VOL. II.
T
con-
274
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
concerning the Matters you have mentioned
your Letters to me. I cannot help acknowledging
I am wonderfully charmed with the Affection, the
Affiduity, and the Wiſdom you expreſs in manag-
ing my Concerns, in the Meaſures you purſue,
and in the Advices you give me in your Letters.
Not
EPIST. XXXV.
Otwithſtanding what you write, I beg you
will inform me how you proceed with Silius,
the very Day on which I am to vifit Sica, and
chiefly what Place he intends to referve for him-
felf. You write, that it is towards the Extremity
of the Eftate, but I beg you will take Care, that it
is not the very Spot which you know invited me
to think at all of this Bargain. I have fent to you
the Letter I lately received from Hirtius, which is
moſt affectionately written. It did not come into
my Head before we parted, that the Public has at
Right to as much Money as exceeds the Sum al-
lowed by the Law (1), (I knew not how much that
is) to be expended upon a funeral Monument
This would not give me great Concern, were it
not that I have taken a, perhaps, unaccountable
(1) This was a fumptuary Law made by Cefar, and amongſt
other Extravagancies of Living, it repreffed the exceffive Ex-
pences which the Romans were beginning to lay out upon-
Tombs. But though Cæfar was pretty exact in enforcing this
Law, it was eluded foon after his Death by the Romans laying
out vaft Suras upon thoſe Monuments, to the Memory. of their
deceaſed Friends, which did not go under the Denomination of
Tembs.
Fancy,
to ATTICUS.
275
1) Fancy, that the Monument I intend fhould
paſs by no other Name than that of a Temple;
ſhould I perfevere in this, I am afraid that it can-
not be executed upon the Spot we propofe. I beg
you would confider what there is in this; for tho'
my Affliction is not fo pungent, and though I have,
in fome Meaſure, recollected myſelf, yet ftill I want
your Advice. I therefore again and again entreat
you, in a Manner more earneft than you either
require or will fuffer me to ufe towards you, that
you will employ the whole Faculties of your Soul
in thinking on this Matter.
I
EPIST: XXXVI.
Intend to erect a Temple, nor can that defign
be rooted out of my Hearf. I want to avoid
all the Appearance of a Tomb, not fo much on
account of the Penalty of the Law, as that I may
gain my End of celebrating an Apotheofis (2),
which I may do fhould the Temple be reared in
my own Gardens. But I have often told you
how much I am afraid of the Shiftings of Property.
Should I erect this Temple in an open Field, I
think I may poffibly fucceed, in Pofterity looking
upon it with all the Reverence due to Confecration
itſelf. I own, my Friend, theſe are Weakneffes,,
but they are Weakneffes you muſt bear with. I
can converſe more freely with you than with any
Man in the World, nay more freely than I can with
(i) Orig. añóyws. Sine ratione.
(2) Orig. atrodiwow. Confecrationem,
T2
my
V#
276
CICERO's EPISTLES
my own Heart. If you are pleafed with the thing
itſelf, with the Situation, and with the Defign, I
beg you will read over the fumptuary Law, and
fend it to me, and I will follow any Method you
think of to elude it,
If you ſhould write to Brutus, you may (unleſs
you think it improper) reproach him for not com-
ing to Cuma, for the Reafon he mentioned to you,
for, to my Mind, he could do nothing ſo unpo-
lite with Regard to me. If you are of Opinion
that I ought to continue to think of the Temple, I
beg that you would put Cluatius in mind of it,
and ſpirit him up. For, though I ſhould even think
proper to build it upon another Spot, yet I fhalb
fill ftand in need of his Affiftance and Advice.
You will perhaps come to morrow to your Coun-
try Seat.
EPIST. XXXVII.
Yesterday received from you two Letters, dated
the Day before, one by Hilarus, the other by
an Exprefs. That fame day I underſtood by the
Freedman Ægypta, that your Wife and Daughter
were in very good Health, but that Letter came to
my Hand thirteen Days after its Date.
I am
obliged to you for fending me the Letter you re-
ceived from Brutus. I have fent back the Original to
you with a Copy of my Anfwer annexed.
I ap-
prove greatly of your Scheme of Tufculum for a
Temple, if you cannot find out any Country Seat
for me, which, loving me as you do, you certain-
1
ly
to
2777
ATTICUS.
!
tainly may find out. It is true you are very faga-
cious in contriving, yet unleſs you took great Con-
cern in humouring the ftrong Paffion that I hive,
fo pretty an Expedient never could have come fo
patly into your Mind. But, I know not how it is,
I want a Place that is greatly frequented. There-
fore, there is a Neceffity for your finding me out a
Seat near Town.
The Seat of Scapula is very public. Befides it is
ſo near Rome, that it will not take me a whole Day
to travel betwixt both places. Therefore, before
you come away, I wifh you could fpeak with Otho
if he is at Rome. If that Propofal fhould come to
nothing, I muſt carry the Humour I have beyond
your uſual Patience with it, even to putting you
in a Paffion. For I muſt again repeat it, that Dru-
fus (1) certainly is willing to fell his Seat.
If no
other can be had, it fhall not be my Fault if I do
not purchaſe that. I beg you will take care that 1
do not overſtretch myſelf in this Bargain. Now
there is one Way to take Care of this, and that is,
by endeavouring to purchafe from Scapula, and I
hope you will let me know how long you intend to
be at your Country Seat near Rome.
I have Occafion to make ufe of the Intereft and
Weight which you have with Terentia, but you may
do as you think proper; as I am fenfible that when my
Intereft is concerned, you are at greater Pains than I、
am myſelf. I have a Letter from Hirtius informing
me, that Sextus Pompeius has left Cordua, and has re-
(1) Atticus was a great Manager, and was very unwilling that
qur Author ſhould pay too dear for this Whim.
T 3
treated
278
CICERO'S EPISTLES
treated into the farther Spain (1), and that his Bro-
ther Cnaus is fled, I knów not, 'becauſe I care not,
whither. We have nothing elfe that is new in
Hirtius's Letter, which is dated from Narbonne the
18th of April. You write to me concerning the
Shipwreck of Caninius (2), as if it were a Matter of
doubt with you. You will therefore write me
when you are better informed. You defire me to
ſhake off my Melancholly. It would give me
great Eafe could you find me a Spot for my Tem-
ple. Many Notions, concerning the Apotheofis (3),
crowd into my Head, but we mufc firft make our-
felves fure of the Spot. I therefore beg that you
would talk with Othe.
YOU
EPIST. XXXVIII.
OUR not writing to me, I take to be an in-
fallible Sign of your being very much bufied.
But my Fellow has acted like a Rafcal in not
waiting for your Leifure, that being the fingle
Purpole for which he was diſpatched. At preſent,
unleſs you have been detained by fome extraordi-
nary Buſineſs, you probably are at your Country
(1) This was the Part of Spain which was neareſt the Gauls,
and this Paffage ſhows this Letter to have been written after the
laft defeat of the Pompeian Party in Spain. Sextius Pompeius
was at Cordua, when that Battle was fought againſt his Brother
Cnæus, who, after loſing the Battle, embarked on board his Fleet,
which was burnt by Didius, Cefar's Lieutenant, and Cnaus him-
felf, after receiving feveral Wounds being abandoned by all his
Followers, was found concealed in a Cavern, where his Head
was cut off and carried to Cæfar.
(2) This News was falfe.
>
(3) Orig. siç dodéwan. Ad Confecrationem.
Seat
1
}
to ATTICUS.
279
Seat, while I here fpend whole Days in writing,
by which I gain fome Amufement to my Mind,
but no Relief to my Sorrows. Afinius Pollio has
written to me concerning our difgraceful Kinf-
man (1), and he ſpeaks very fully upon what the
younger Balbus had fufficiently intimated, and Do-
labella had but juft hinted at, before. It would
touch me fenfibly had I any Senfibility left for freſh
Affliction. But could there be any Thing more de-
teftable?-How is fuch a Fellow to be avoided?-
But for my own Part at leaft-I will however re-
ſtrain my Indignation.-As, my Friend, you have
nothing material to write, even write me what and
when you pleafe, at your Leifure.
You are of Opinion that I ought now to prove
the Greatneſs of my Refolution, and you tell me
that certain Perfons talk concerning me, in more
fevere Terms than either you, or Brutus, have in-
formed me by your Letters (2). If fome People
in
(1) Meaning his nephew Quintus, who was at that Time
with Cafar in Spain, and continued to rail againſt our Author.
(2) This Hints at a moſt villanous Report raiſed by our Au-
thor's Enemies, as if fomething criminal had paft between him
and his Daughter, whom he fo paffionately bewailed. This
Report was by no Means difcouraged in the Court of Auguftus,
where our Author feems to have been held in great Contempt.
The Truth is, that Prince had Reaſon to be ashamed of his Be-
haviour to Cicero, and might feek to justify himself by loading
his Memory not only with Weaknetles, which he really had,
but with Imputations that he did not deferve. It was generally
thought, at that Time, that Virgil alluded to our Author in the
following Line,
Hie thalamum insafit nate vetitofque hymenaeos.
And it is certain, that he was more directly charged with the
fame Crime by other Writers, particularly by Sallust, or whoever
was the Author of the Invective against him. But, after all, the
Charge ſeems to have been falfe and malicious. Our Author
I A
had
280
CICERO'S EPISTLES
in the World look upon my Spirit to be broken,
and my Senfes impaired, let them be made ac-
quainted with the Number and the Quality of my
literary Compofitions. If they are rational Beings,
they will think me far from being blameable, fince
I am already fo far recovered, as to bring my Mind
to fuch a compofed State as to be able to write on
difficult Subjects. Or fuppofing that I have chofen,
as an Amuſement for my Grief, an Exerciſe the
moft becoming of a Gentleman, and a Man of
Letters, they muſt think that I am to be com-
mended for it. But while I do every Thing I can
for my own Relief, do you compleat that Point
had great Senfibility of Diſtreſs, of Friendſhip, and, above all,
of Affection. This carried him often into Extravagancies
which were extremely ridiculous; witnefs his exceffive De-
fpondency during his Exile. This Concern for his Daughter
was of the fame Kind. But whoever will be at the Pains to con-
fult the human Heart cannot find, in our Author's Behaviour, the
fmalleft Trace of an unnatural Correfpondence with his
Daughter. He was a Man of Senfe and Learning, and how-
ever paffionately fond we can fuppofe fuch a Man to be of a
Woman in a criminal Way, Sorrow for her Death will never
take fuch a Turn as that of our Author's did, by worshipping her,
in a Manner, with divine Honours, and affigning her a Place
with the Souls of the Juft and the Virtuous in the other World.
At the fame Time, when we confider our Author's natural Dif-
pofition, the amiable Character, and the fire Qualifications of
a Daughter, who was the Darling of his Soul, and who had
anfwered the fondeſt Wiſhes of a fond Father; a Daughter,
whoſe Company foothed all his other Anguifh, we cannot be
furprized at the Excefs of his Affliction for her Lofs. But there
is one Prefumption not taken Notice of by Authors, which, I
think, entirely deftroys the vile Imputation, and that is, that
notwithſtanding fhe had been two or three Times divorced, we
do not find the ſmalleſt Taint upon her Character as to Chaftity,
though we cannot imagine if there had, that it would have
been concealed either to, or by her Hufbands. Add to this,
that her last Hufband Dolabella, even after his Divorce, lived
in as great Frindſhip with our Author as before, a Circumftanco
utterly inconfiftent with the Nature of the Charge in Queſtion.
ا
which,
to ATTICUS.
281
r
which, I perceive, you are as zealous about as I
am myfelf. This I look upon as a Debt I have
contracted; nor can I admit of Comfort till I have
diſcharged it, or at leaſt fee myfelf in a Condition
to diſcharge it, that is, by finding a Spot ſuitable
to my Purpoſe.
If, as you write to me, Otho told you the Heirs
of Scapula think of dividing thofe Gardens into four
Parts, and then peremptorily felling them to the
beſt Bidder amongſt themſelves (1), there will be
no Room for any other Purchaſer. But if the Sale,
as it poffibly may, fhould be open, we fhall then
have our Chance. For I had the Refufal of that
Eftate, which was advertiſed for Sale (2), and
which belonged to Trebonius and Cufinius, but you
know upon what Kind of a Spot it is ſituated, and
I can, by no Means, approve of it. The Gardens
of Clodia would fuit me extreamly well, but I be-
lieve they are not to be fold. Notwithſtanding
you are fo averſe, as you write me, to purchafing the
Gardens of Drufus, yet I muſt have my Refource
in them, unleſs you can find me out fome others.
I am not a bit ftartled at the Houfe being what it
is. For I will build nothing but what I would
have built, had I not made that Purchaſe. I am
as much pleaſed with the fourth and fifth Books of
Cyrus (3) of Antifthenes (4), as I am with the other
Works
1
(1) Orig. Heredes Scapulæ, fifies hortos, ut fcribis tibi Othonem
dixiffe, partibus quatuor facts, liceri cogitant: Nihil eft fcilicet,
emptori loci. The Cafe must have been as I have tranflated this
Paffage, and indeed the Word liceri impl es it.
(2) There are a great Number of Readings here in the Origi-
nal. I read Publicatus after the most ancient Editions.
(3) Orig. zõços d, e. Cyrus 4 & 5 Tomi.
(4) They are mentioned in the Catalogue given us by Dia-
nyfius
282 CICERO's EPISTLES
Works of that Author, who is a Man of more
Quickness than Learning.
EPIST. XXXIX.
but a
WH HEN my Meffenger returned to me with-
out a Letter from you, I thought the Rea
fon of your not writing was, becauſe you had
written the Day before upon the very Buſineſs to
which I have fent you an Anſwer in my laft Let-
ter (1). I was in Hopes, however, of having
fomething from you concerning the Letter of Afi-
nius Pollio; but I am too apt to form a Judgment
of your Leifure by my own. I therefore indulge
you not to think yourſelf under any Neceffity of
writing to me, unleſs you have ſomething very im-
portant to communicate, or unleſs you are very much
at Leifure. I would take your Advice concerning
the Letter Carriers, had I any Difpatches of Im:
portance, eſpecially, as formerly, when the Days were
fhorter, our Expreſſes arrived every Day at the ap
pointed Hour. Then indeed we had Matter for
Difpatches; we wrote concerning Silius, Drufus, and
other Affairs, but now, unleſs Otho had been in Be-
ing, we ſhould have had nothing to write upon. Yet
at prefent, even that Affair is fufpended by thus con-
verfing with you in your Abfence. But ftill I am much
nyfius Laertius of the Works of this Author, who was a Cynic
Philofopher.
(1) Orig. Hac Fpiftola. I fhould, from this Expreffion, be
inclined to think this Letter to have been a Kind of a Poftfcript
to the foregoing, after the Arrival of a Meffenger without
any Letters from Articus.
•
relieved,
to ATTICUS,
283
relieved, and much more when I peruſe a Letter
from you. But, as I ſuppoſe you are not now at
Rome, and as we have nothing of Importance to
communicate, let us give a Truce to writing, till
fomething new ſhall preſent.
F
EPIST. XL.
ROM a Writing fent me by Hirtius, in
which he makes a Collection of Cato's Failings,
but launches out into exceffive Commendations of
me, I can gather where Cæfar will lay the Streſs
of his Invective againſt my Panegyrick upon Cato.
I have therefore fent that Writing to Mufca, that
he might give it to your Tranfcribers; for I want
that it fhould be published, and I beg that you will
lay your Commands upon your People, that it may
be done with all poffible Difpatch. I often make
an Effay towards that political Counſel (1), but I
can make no Advance, though I have, before me,
the Difcourfes addreffed by Ariftotle and Theopom-
pus to Alexander (2). But what Parallel is there be-
tween our Situations? What they wrote did Honour
to themſelves, and gave Pleaſure to their Patron.
Do you, at prefent, find any Circumftance fuit-
able to thofe for my own Part, I can form
no fuch Idea,
;
You write me, that you are apprehenſive, that
my thus indulging my Melancholy, will impair
(1) Orig. EvμbaλEUTIxov. Confilium de adminifiranda Rep. This
was a very noble Defign, and fuggefed to our Author by Articus,
and it is to be lamented, that it never was executed by him.
(2) Orig. 'Αριστοτένες & Θεοπόμπε πρὶς ᾿Αλέξανδρον. Arifiotelis
Theoponti ad Alexandrum.
both
284
CICERO's EPISTLES
both my Intereft, and my Reputation. What Men
blame or require, I know not. Shall I not grieve?
How can I do otherwife? Shall I not be dejected?
Was ever Man leſs fo? While I had the Relief of
living in your Houfe, was any Man denied Access
to me? Or did any Man whom I faw, complain
of his Reception? From your Houfe I went to
Aftura. Thoſe merry Fault-finders with me, can-
not read fo much as I wrote there, How well it is
But the Man-
wrote, is nothing to the Purpoſe.
ner of Writing was fuch, as no Man under a broken
Spirit can execute. I afterwards ſpent thirty Days
at my Seat near Rome, and where was the Man,
during all that Time, who complained of any
Difficulty in either having Acceſs or Converfation
with me? At this very Time, my Application
to reading and writing is fuch, and upon fuch Sub-
jects, that they who are about me are under greater
Difficulties from their Leifure, than I am from
my Labour. But fome one may 'afk, why am I
not at Rome? I anfwer, becauſe all other Men of
Diſtinction have left it (1). Then, why am I not
upon fome of my little Eftates which fuit with this
Seaſon? I anſwer, becauſe I cannot bear to fee fo
much Company. I am at a Place where the
Man (2), who has the moſt agreeable Retirement
at Baia, ufed every Year to ſpend the Seafon,
When I fhall return to Rome, I will give no
handle to find Fault with me, either from my
Looks, or my Words. But never more can I
refume that Chearfulnefs with which we uſed to
(1) Orig. Quia difceffus eft.
(2) Meaning probably Lucullus.
1
fweeten
to ATTICUS.
285
fweeten the Bitterneſs of the Times in which we
live; yet, Refolution and Steadineſs fhall be want-
ing neither in my Soul, nor in my Expreffions.
1
As to the Gardens of Scapula, I think
you and
I may have Intereft enough to bring them to be
put to Sale. Unless we can do that, we fhall be
excluded from bidding. But fhould they come to
an Auction, my Keennefs would go much farther
than Otho's Purſe. As to what you write me con-
cerning Lentulus, the Matter does not ftick there.
If I can depend upon the Faberian Eftate, and if
you continue your friendly Efforts, I fhall obtain
what I wish for. You afk me, how long I am to.
continue here? I answer, a few Days; but the
precife Day when I fhall leave this Place, I know
not; when I do, I fhall inform you by a Letter.
At the Time of writing this Letter, I have News,
both by Word and Writing, agreeable to your Ac-
counts of your Wife, and your Daughter.
EPIST.
XLI,
HAVE nothing material to write to you, but
I want to know where you are. Let me, there-
fore, know, if you are from Rome; or, if you in-
tend to leave it, when you are to Return? You
want to know, when I leave this Place. I think
of being on the 14th at Lanuvium, and the Day
after that, to be at Tufculum, or at Rome, you
fhall know which, on the very Day, I am deter-
mined. You know, that Sorrow is apt to be
peevish (1); you have felt no fuch Effects from
mine. But ftill, I own my Paffion for this
(E) Orig..pinalTION σuppopa. Querula rès, calamitus.
Temple
#
286 CICERO'S EPISTLES
Temple to be very ftrong; unleſs, I will not fay
it fhould be effected, but, unless I fhall fee it
effected, I-will venture to ſay, and you will take it
with your ufual good Nature, you will feel fome
Sallies of my Paffion. Not that they are juftifia-
ble, but you will bear with what I now write, aš
you bear, and have borne with, every Thing that
comes from me.
I defire that you would contract all your Means
of Confolation into this fingle Point, to lay your-
felf out for what I paffionately defire. In the firſt
Place, for the Seat of Scapula; next, for that of
Clodia; thereafter, if Silius fhould be unwilling;
and Drufus unreafonable, for that of Cufinius and
Trebonius; I think, that Terentius is its prefent
Mafter, I know that Ribilus was. But, if you are
in the fame Mind which you intimated in fomie
of your Letters to me, that I fhould build my
Temple at Tufculum, I will agree to it. If
If you
want to give me Comfort, let this Affair be com-
pleated. At prefent, you reproach me more
feverely than is confiftent with your uſual good
Nature. But that, perhaps, has been abufed
through my Weaknefs, and what you do is from
Exceſs of Affection. But, in the mean Time, if
you want to comfort me, the building of this
Temple is the higheft, nay, if you would know
the Truth, the only Comfort I can admit of.
When you have read the Letter of Hirtius, which
to me appears to be a Specimen (1) of the Invective
wrote by Cæfar against Cato, let me know at your
Leifure, what you think of it. I now return to
(1) Orig, wρóññaopa. Specimen,
πρόπλασμένες
my
1
to ATTICUS.
287
my Temple. Unleſs it fhall be finifhed this Sum-
mer, which you fee we have all before us, I fhalk
think myſelf guilty of Sacrilege.
I
EPIS T. XLII.
NEVER yet have been one Day diſappointed
when I expected to hear from you; for I
knew what you write to me, and I fufpected, or
rather I understood, that you had nothing to
write. Ever fince the 10th of this Month, I fup-
pofe you have been from Rome, and therefore,
could expect nothing from you. Mean while, I
fend you a Letter every Day, for I had rather be
impertinent than that you fhould be without an
Opportunity of writing to me, in cafe any Thing
hould occur which you may think proper I
fhould know. Thus, I received on the 10th a
Letter from you, which was of little or no Con-
fequence, and indeed, what could you fay? And
yet, the Contents, fuch as they were, gave me
Pleaſure. It gives me Pleaſure to hear from you,
were it only to know that you have nothing to ſay.
You wrote, however, fomething concerning Clodia.
Where is fhe, or when will fhe come to Rome &
Her Seat next to that of Otho, fuits the beft with
my Purpoſe. But I don't fuppofe that he will be
willing to fell it, for fhe has a Fancy for it, and
fhe is rich, and you are not infenfible what Difficul-
ties attend the other Bargain. But I conjure you,
let us manage fo as to fall upon fome Expedient
for obtaining what I fo paffionately defire. I think
of
1
288
CICERO'S EPISTLES
of leaving this Place To-morrow. But I will go
either to Tufculum, or to Rome, from whence I
may, perhaps, fet out for Arpinum. When I
come to any Refolution, I will let you know by
a Letter. It occured to me to prompt you to do
the very Thing that you are doing, for I thought,
that you could go through that Affair more con-
veniently at your own Houfe, when you are free
from all Interruption.
O
EPIST. XLIII.
N the 14th, as I have formerly wrote to you,
I propoſed to lie at Lanuvium, from whence
I fet out either for Rome, or Tufculum. But I will
let you know the Certainty. You obſerve a ju-
dicious Silence as to my receiving great Relief from
the Temple I propoſe to build, fince, take my
Word for it, it will be greater than you can poſſi-
bly conceive. My very venturing to lay myſelf
open to you, is a Proof how paffionately fond I
am of the Thing, but you muſt bear with this my
Infirmity; bear with it, did I fay, nay, you muſt
encourage it. I am afraid I fhall fail as to Otho,
becauſe, perhaps, I am ſo fond of fucceeding; be-
fides, the Purchaſe may rife above my Purſe, eſpe
cially as my Competitor is himſelf fond of the
Seat, a rich Man, and one of the Heirs. Next to
that Seat, I have an Eye on that of Clodia. But
if it cannot be had, let me have fome one or
other. I think myſelf more facredly bound than
Man ever was by the moſt folemn Vow. You are
likewiſe to enquire after the Seat of the Trebonii,
though
'
289
to ATTICUS.
though the Owners are not at Rome. But, as I
wrote to you Yeſterday, you are to beſtow fome
Thoughts about Tufculum, for we muft by no
Means let the Summer paſs unactive.
IT
EPIST.
XLIV.
T gives me Satisfaction, that Hirtius has fo
feelingly (1). wrote to you concerning me. In
this he acts with good Nature, but I have ftill
greater Satisfaction in your having acted with fo
much greater good Nature, in not fending to me
his Letter, which might have renewed my Grief (2³).
I fhould be glad that your People would publiſh
the Treatife which he has fent to me concerning
Gato, becauſe, all Invectives from the Party, does
Honour to the Memory of that Patriot. In your
making Ufe of Muftella, you have a very proper
Agent, and one who has had a great Regard for
me, ever fince the Affair of Pontius. There is no
more in the Affair, than to have the Sale open. It
may, therefore, be eafy for you to come to fome
Conclufion, as this may be effected by gaining over
any one of the Heirs. I think, Muftella can bring
about this, if you aſk it of him. You will thereby fur-
niſh me with a Place proper for my darling Pur-
pofe, and likewiſe a fuitable Employment for my
old Age (3). As to the Seats of Silius and Drufus,
(1) Orig. Evµπäðŵs. Cum fignificatione doloris.
(2) I have added thefe Words as well as Monfieur Mongault
has others, the better to explain this Paffage.
(3) Orig 'Eylngapa. Senectutis oblectamentum.
VOL. II.
[J
I think,
290
CICERO'S EPISTLES
I think a Man cannot ſpend his Time and Fors
tune in them with any Grace (1), for who would
be confined for whole Days to fuch a Villa? There-
fore, I ſhould, in the firſt Place, chufe the Seat of
Otho, and next, that of Clodia. If we can get
neither, we muft either ufe fome Piece of Manage-
ment with Drufus, or I muft build at Tufculum.
You are in the Right to fhut yourſelf up at
Home. But I beg you will finiſh what you are
about, that you may have fome leiſure Hours to
fpare upon me. I am to ſet out, as I wrote you
before, from hence to Lanuvium on the 14th In-
ftant, and from thence to Tufculum next Day.
For I have laboured to get the better of this De-
ſpondency, and have, perhaps, fucceeded, pro-
vided I can perfevere; you fhall, therefore, be in-
formed perhaps To-morrow or next Day at fartheft.
But what, I beg of you, is the Matter? Philotimus
denies that Pompey is blockaded within Carteia (3);
(now Oppius and Balbus fent me the Copy of a
Letter written to Clodius Patavinus, exprefsly in
the Affirmative), and he fays, there is a great deal
yet to go through before the War can be finiſhed.
Why, he is the very Ape of Fulvius (4) in telling
Lies for Pompey. But I beg you will inform me,
if
you know any Thing for certain. I likewiſe want
(1) Orig. OmodeoTerina. Apta ad occupationem patris fa-
milias.
(2) Some place this City in Batica, at the Mouth of the
River Batis; others think it ſtood where Gibraltar does now.
(3) Orig. Fulviniafter. Our Author has, in a preceding
Letter, taken Notice how apt this Philotimus was to exaggerate
every Thing in Favour of Pompey's Party, and this Fulvius pro-
bably was a Perfon eminent for the fame Quality.
1
to
to ATTICUS.
291
to know, if there is any Truth in Caninius being
fhipwrecked.
È PIS T.
XLV.
HAVE here finiſhed two large Treatifes
(1), for I have no other Method of amufing
my Sorrows. I fee you have nothing to write,
but though you have not, yet ftill I would have you
write me that you have nothing, only putting it
into other Words. I am glad of Attica's Recovery.
I am forry at your being fo low fpirited (2), though
you write me, that there is nothing in it. It will
be much more convenient for me to live at Tuſcu-
lum, both becauſe I can more frequently correfpond
with you, and fometimes enjoy your Company.
In other Reſpects, Things fuited me better (3) at
Aftura. Nor can the Objects (4) here that re-
cal the Ideas of my Lofs, increaſe my An-
guifh; for I carry that about with me, go where
I will. I mentioned Cæfar being your Neighbour,
from the Circumftances you wrote me in your
Letter. I am pleafed he ſhould be an Inmate
(5) with Quirinus (6), rather than with the Dea
U 2
Salus.
(1) Orig. Zvrtáluara. Volumina:
(2) Orig. 'Axndia. Torpedo cum maflilià.
(3) Orig. avanтórepa. Tolerabiliora.
(4) Tullia died in our Author's Houfe by Tufculum, where
he was at the Writing of this Letter.
(5) Orig. Zvwaov. Contubernalem.
(5) The Reader is to obferve, that after Cafar had entirely
vanquished the Party of Pompey, the Senate carried their Adula-
tion of him fo far as to erect a Statue for him in the Temple
of Romulus with the Infcription, Deo invito. As the Houſe
of
}
292
CICERO's EPISTLES
Salus. Do not you, however, neglect to publiffs
the Writing of Hirtius. For, I think, as you
write, that however the Genius of our Friend
may be admired and approved of, yet ftill to at-
tempt (1) an Invective againſt Cato, muſt be held
ridiculous.
EPIST. XLVI.
Believe, I ſhall get the better of my Defpon-
I Believe, 1 dhall get
dency, and go from Lanuvium to Tufculum. I
either never muſt again enjoy myſelf at that Seat
(for my Grief may be diminiſhed, but never can it
ceaſe) or it is immaterial to me whether I go
thither now, or ten Years hence.
ten Years hence. For the Re-
membrances I fhall meet with there, cannot be
more fenfible than thofe which I am tortured
with Night and Day. How then! fay you, has
Study had no Effect upon you in this Affair? I am
afraid none, but for the worſe. Were it not for
Letters, I ſhould, perhaps, be more infenfible. A
Mind that has the Culture of Learning, has no Sen-
fations that are vulgar; it has no Feelings, but
what are exquifite.
+
of Atticus ſtood near the Temple of Romulus, and that of the
Dea Salus, or Goddefs of Health likewife; our Author ex-
preffes himſelf better pleaſed that Cæfar's Statue ſhould be
placed in the firft Temple than in the latter, for Romulus was
not made a God, nor had he the Name of Quirinus till after
his Death, which our Author alludes to in this Paffage.
(1) Orig. vmóleos. Argumentum.
1
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
293
WP
EPIS T. XLVII.
་
ELL, you will come hither as you have
propofed, provided you can do it without
incommoding yourfelf. Even the ſmalleſt Hint
will be fufficient to me in that Affair, nay, I would
go to Rome in Perfon, were it neceffary. You
may, therefore, manage in it, as you fee proper.
You may ſpeak to Muftella, as you propofe in
your Letter, though it is a Matter of great Diffi-
culty, for which Reaſon, I am the more inclined to
treat with Clodia. In either Cafe, however, I
muft call in the Debt due to me from Faberius,
and it will not be amifs, that you ſpeak to Balbus
concerning it, to let him know the plain Truth
of the Matter, that I want to make that Purchaſe,
but cannot do it unless I get in that Money, and
that I will not venture to conclude upon any Thing,
unleſs I am fure of being paid it. But as Clodia is
to be at Rome, and as you are fo much for that
Bargain, I have fixed my Mind entirely on her
Seat. Not that I prefer it to the other, but it is a
very troubleſome difficult Matter to difpute with
an Antagoniſt, who, befides his having a Fancy for
it, is a rich Man, and one of the Heirs. It is true,
I have as great a Fancy for it as any Man can have,
which is the only Circumftance in which we are
upon a Footing. But we will talk of this when
we meet. You will continue to publiſh the Wri-
ting of Hirtius. I am of your Opinion, with Re.
gard to Philotimus. Cæfar's Neighbourhood I
foreſee, will raiſe the Value of your Houfe. To-
day, I look for the Return of my Expreſs,
U 3
who
294
CICERO'S EPISTLES
who will bring me an Account of your Wife and
Daughter.
I
EPIS T. XLVII.
MAKE no Doubt of your having great Joy,
in ſhutting yourſelf up at Home. I fhould,
however, be glad to know, what Progreſs you
have made, or whether you have not yet finiſhed:
I look for you at Tufculum, and the rather, becauſe
you had written to Tiro, that you was to let out
immediately, adding, that you thought there was a
Neceffity for it. I have been always fenfible how
ferviceable you have been to me while you are
prefent, but I am much more fenfible of it when
you are gone. Therefore, as I wrote you before,
I will either wholly come to you, or do you to me,
as fhall be moft convenient.
EPIST. XLIX.
YEfterday, foon after we parted, you muſt
know, that fome People, who feemed to be
Men of Faſhion, brought me a Meffage, and a
Letter from Caius Marius (1), the Son of Caius,·
and Grandſon of Caius, conjuring me in the moſt
earneft Terms, by the mutual Relation between us,
(1) This Perfon was an Impoftor, and wanted to paſs for the
Son of the younger Marius, and confequently to be related to
our Author, whofe Grandfather had married the Aunt of Ma-
rius. He muft likewife, have been related to the Family of the
Craffi, and to Cæfar himſelf.
L
1
by
to ATTICUS.
295
by the Marius whom I celebrated in my Poem (1),
and by the Eloquence of his Grandfather Lucius
Craffus, that I would defend him; and, at the fame
Time he inſtructed me in his Caufe. I wrote him in
Anſwer, that he had no Occafion for any Body to
plead for him, becauſe Cæfar his Kinfman was ab-
folute Maſter of Rome, a Man of the greateſt Worth,
Learning, and good Breeding. I told him, how-
ever, that I would ſtand his Friend.
Could I ever believe, that I fhould live to fee the
Time when Curtius would have the Prefumption to
think of ſtanding for the Confulate. But enough
of that; I am concerned about Tiro, but I will
foon know how he does. I fent a Perfon Yeſterday
on Purpoſe to ſee him, and likewife charged him
with a Letter for you. I have fent you my Let-
ter to Cæfar. I beg you would let me know by a
Letter the precife Day when thoſe Gardens are
advertiſed for Sale.
&
YOUR
EPIST. L.
OUR Departure from hence gave me as
much Pain, as your Arrival here gave me
Pleaſure. Therefore, as foon as you can, that
is, as foon as you have attended Sextus's Auc-
tion, you will let me fee you again. Even one
Day of your Company, would be of Service;
I fhall not mention how kindly I would take it;
I myſelf would come to Rome, that I might enjoy
(2) Some Fragments of this Poem ftill remains.
ÚJ A
your
}
296
CICERO'S EPISTLES
your Converſation were I fufficiently informed how
to proceed in a certain Affair.
EPIST.
T. LI.
'IRO has come to me fooner than I appre-
TIR
✔
hended. Nicias too is come, and I under-
ftand, that Valerius will be here to-day. Though
this is a goodly Company, yet I fhall be more fo-
litary than I would be, had I no-body with me
but yourſelf. But I look for you as foon as you
have diſpatched the Affair of Peduceus. You hint,
however, fomewhat as if you might be here before.
Let that be as you can conveniently. You may
deal with Virgilius as you propofe. I fhould,
mean while, be glad to know when the Sale is to
commence. I perceive, that you are for my writ-
ing to Cæfar. Why, to tell you the Truth, I my-
felf was ſtrongly of the fame Opinion, and the rather,
becauſe there is nothing in the Letter I have addreffed
to him, but what is fuitable to the Character of the
beft of Citizens. I mean, the best in this Senſe;
one who will fuit himſelf to the Times with that
Temper which is recommended by all Writers upon
Government (1). You muſt know, however, that
Fam of Opinion, that Cæfar's Friends fhould fee
it beforehand. You, therefore, will manage that.
But unleſs you are fure that they will be pleaſed
with it, it ought by no Means to be forwarded to
Cafar. Now you will be a Judge of the Nature
of their Approbation, whether it be feigned or real.
(1) Orig. wonrixo. Qui de Rep. Scripferunt.
If
to ATTICUS.
297
*
If it ſhould be feigned, it is the fame Thing to me
as Rejection would be. But you have Sagacity
enongh to find this out (1).
Tiro has communicated to me your Sentiments,
with Regard to Carellia (2), that it is not con-
fiftent with my Dignity to be owing Money;
that you are of Opinion, I ought to give her a
Draught, and that, if the one fhould give me any
Uneafinefs, the other, that of being in her Debt,
ought to give me much more (3). But we will
talk of this and a great many other Matters, at
meeting. Mean while, if you think proper, I
muſt fufpend the Payment of that Debt to Cærellia,
till I know what I have to depend upon from Meto
and Faberius.
You
ÉPIST. LII.
OU are acquainted with Lucius Tullius, Mon-
tanus, who is gone to Athens with my Son,
I have received a Letter from his Sifter's Husband,
informing me, that by his becoming Bail for Fla-
minius, he owes Plancus one hundred Pounds, and
that Montanus had made fome Application to you
(1) Orig. Toro de unλwon. Hoc vero accurate pervefiigabis.
(2) This was the cei-biated old Lady, whom our Au hor is
faid to have fallen in Love with in his old Age, though he
was younger than ſhe was.
(3) Orig. Hoc metuere, alterum in metu non poncre. This is
a Verfe often made Ufe of by our Author, by Way' of Pro-
verb, but we know not from whom he had it. It answers,
however, fomewhat to the English Proverb, To turtle at
Mole-hills, and leap over Mountains The Meaning here is,
that Atticus reproaches our Author with preferring the great-
eft Evil, that of being in debt, to the leffer Evils, that of giving
a Draught for the Money.
{
од
298
CICERO's EPISTLES
on that Head. Why, really I think my Con-
nection with Montanus, makes it my Duty to beg
that you will do him all the Service you can, ei-
ther by applying to Plancus in his Behalf, or doing
any Thing elſe to affift him. If you know more
of the Matter than I do, or if you think proper
that any Application ſhould be made to Plancus, I
hope you will write to me, that I may know how
the Matter ftands, and what it is we are to apply
for. I am impatient to know what you have done
with Regard to that Letter to Cæfar. I am not
fo anxious as I was concerning the Seat of Silius ;
but you muft, by all Means, procure me either
that of Scapula, or that of Clodia.
You appear,
however, to me, fomewhat at a Lofs to know whe-
ther Clodia will come to Rome, and whether ſhe will
fell her Gardens. But I have heard the moſt ſurpri-
fing News that Spinther (1) has divorced his Wife.
You muſt, ſay you, be extreamly confident of the
Power of the Latin Language (2), fince you em-
ploy
(1) He was the Son of Lentulus, who was fo active in recal-
ling our Author from his Banifhment. His Wife's Name was
Metella, who was afterwards famous for her Intrigues with the
Son of the Comedian Æfopus. This Lentulus had the Nick-
name of Spinther, from the great Refemblance between him
and a Slave of that Name. There is a Pun here which is not
decent t› explain.
(2) I have eliewhere obſerved, that our Author, as he him-
ſelf often intimates, was the firſt who, as it were, moulded the
Latin Language to philofophical Terms, which Atticus, who
was a profeffed Champion for the Greek Tongue, had thought to
be impracticable. It is in this Senſe that I, as well as Monfieur
Mongault, have tranflated this Paffage, but I am not fure whe
ther there is not a farther Allufion in the Words. The Origi
nal is, De Lingua Latina fecuri es animi, dices, qui talia confcri-
bis; áróygapa (exempla) funt. The younger Gronovius very.
rightly obferves, that the Apimus fecurus here may imply his
Mind
to ATTICUS.
299
1
ploy it on fuch Subjects as you do.
All I do is to
copy the Sentiments of others. There is no great
Trouble in that. All I have to do, is to furniſh
Words, and of them I have plenty.
I
}
EPIST.
$
LIII.
Write to you, even though I have nothing to
fay, becauſe I have a Pleaſure in ſuppoſing my-
ſelf to be converfing with you. Nicias and Valerius
are here. To-day I look for your Morning Let-
ters, and perhaps I fhall have a Packet in the Af-
ternoon, unleſs you are prevented by your Dif-
patches from Epirus, which I do not chufe to in-
terfere with. I have ſent you a Letter to Marcianus,
and another to Montanus. Unleſs you have already
delivered them, I beg that you would make them
up into one Packet.
Mind being free from the exceffive Melancholy our Author had
long entertained for the Lofs of his Daughter, and which was now
fo far abated, that he could apply himself to write philofophically
in Latin. But I muft obferve farther, that this Fallage is likewife
applicable to the Sneer he had juft before paft upon Spinther, whofe
Name in Latin was Arroygaps, that is, tranfcribed from the Greek,
by which our Author brings forth this Piece of low Wit, with-
out having Recourfe to a Greek Word, and which he fuppofes
Atticus would be jealous of; neither Monfieur Mongrult, noi any
of the Commentators feem to have attended to this.
}
CICERO'S
1
}
1
1
#LILI
( 300 )
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​CEXAED CERAED CEXAED CEXASS CES CES
枣​枣
​染​染​染 ​染 ​染
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CICER O's
EPISTLES
то
ATTICUS
N
BOOK XIII.
EPIST I.
Othing could be more weighty, and at
the fame Time more engaging, than your
Letter to my Son (1) was. You faid nei-
ther more nor leſs than what I moft ear-
neftly defired
you ſhould ſay. You have likewiſe
wrote, in a very proper Strain, to the two Tullii.
Either, your Letters muſt have a due Effect, or I
muſt take another Courſe. As to the Money, I
ſee that you are exerting yourſelf, or rather you
have exerted yourſelf, moft indefatigably; fhould you
(1) He had been guilty of fame little Irregularities at Athens.
fucceed,
CICERO'S EPÍSTLES, &c. 30t
fucceed, I fhall look upon thofe Gardens as your
prefent. There is no Kind of Purchaſe I would pre-
fer to this, eſpecially confidering the ufe to which
it is to be appropriated; neither am I now fo much.
in a Hurry as I was before, becauſe you promife,
or rather you undertake, that the Building fhall be
compleated before the End of Summer. Let me
tell you likewiſe, that I know of no Place where I
could more comfortably pafs my old Age (1), or
Thofe Confiderations
wear away my Sorrows.
make me fo paffionately fond of this Purchaſe, that
I am ſometimes upon the Point of preffing you,
but then I check myſelf as having no Manner of
Doubt, that in a Matter in which you know me to
be very earneſt, you are more earneft than I am my-
felf. Therefore be perfuaded, that this is the only
Confideration that keeps me from dunning you.
I am impatient to know what the Sentiments of
theſe Gentlemen were with Regard to my Letter
to Cæfar. Nicias has a due Refpect for you, and
it gives him vaft Pleaſure to know that you re-
member him. For my own Part, I have a vaſt
Affection for our Friend Peduceus. I have for him
all, the Affection I had for his Father (2); I love
him equally on his own Account, and therefore he
is doubly dear to me. As to you, you are fuper-
latively fo, becauſe you have recommended to both
of us, that we ſhould live on fuch Terms of Friend-
ſhip. After you have looked upon the Gardens,
and told me your Sentiments of them in writing,
you will then furniſh me with fome Subject of
2
(:) Orig. xarabiwow. Reliquum vitæ decurfum.
(2) Orig. Nam ecquanti patrem feci, totum in hunc; ipfum per
fe æquo amo, atque illum amavi.
-
302
CICERO'S EPISTLES
a Letter to you. I will write, however, at any E
vent, for I never am without fome Subject or
other.
EPIS T. II.
I
Did not take your Arrival fo kindly as I did the
Diſpatch you made on the Road.
Was ever
fuch an Affront offered to Man? But I am now
become infenfible, I have now loft all the Feelings
of Fleſh and Blood (1).-This Day I looked for
your Letters, not that I expect any freſh Intelli-
gence from them.-For what more can be faid ?-
Well, let that pafs-You will order thofe Letters
to be delivered to Oppius and Balbus, and talk, when
you have an Opportunity, to Pifo about the Gold:
Should Faberius give a Draught, you will take Care
that it be for the whole Sum he owes me. You will
learn from Eros how much it is. Ariarathes (2), the
Son of Ariobarzanes, is at Rome. It is my Opinion
that he intends to purchaſe fome Kingdom or other
from Cæfar, for, in his prefent Situation, he has
(1) We are perhaps at no great Lofs in not knowing the
particular Hardſhip which Cicero alludes to here; whether it
related to Terentia, or which I think, more probably, to the in-
famous Reports which had been raiſed of him of his too great
Intimacy with Tullia.
(2) His Father Ariobarzanes was elected king of Cappadocia,
upon the Failure of the old Line of the Cappadocian royal Fa-
mily. As his elder Brother had no Children, Ariarathes was the
prefumptive Heir of that Crown, which gave Cæfar ſome Jea-
loufy of him, and therefore he had no Territories affigned him
in the general Settlement, which Cæfar was now making of the
Empire. He afterwards fucceeded his Brother, who was put
to death by Caſſius, but Antony ſtript him of his Crown and gave
it to Archelaus.
not
!
303
to ATTICUS.
not one Foot of Ground he can call his own. Our
Friend Seftius, who is Mafter of the Ceremonies in
ordinary (1), has wholly engroffed him. That he
do it with all my Heart. But as I was greatly
obliged to his Brothers, and very intimate with
them, I have fent him a Letter of Invitation to the
Ufe of my Houſe. When I fent off Alexander ex-
prefs for this Purpofe, I charged him with this Let-
ter. To-morrow, it feems, is appointed for the
Sale of Peduceus. You will then be more at Li-
berty to fet out for this Place, unleſs you ſhould be
detained by fettling Matters with Faberius. But
take your own Time. Our Acquaintance, Diony-
fius, complains bitterly, and not without Juftice, of
his long Abfence from his Pupils (2). He has
written very fully to me, and I fuppofe to you
likewife. He is in a fair Way to be much longer
abſent from them, which I am forry for, becauſe I
am uneafy for the Man's Company.
I
EPIS T. III.
AM ſo impatient for a Letter from you, that
I wonder none has yet come, though I write.
this in the Morning, With Regard to thofe Affign-
ments, I am fo well affured of the Credit of the
(1) Orig. Nofter Parochus publicus. The Bufinefs of the Pa-
rochi was to furnish foreign Princes and Ambaffadors with the
Money and Proviſions alotted them by the Public. They like-
wife furniſhed the Maſters and Governors of Provinces on the
Road with their Perquifites of Salt, Wood, Hay, and the like.
(2) Meaning himself and Atticus, for he cannot mean his
Son, and his Nephew, to whom Dionyfius had formerly been
Tutor.
{
Parties,
304
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Parties, that nothing ftartles me, but your feeming
to be in fome Doubt. I own I think it no good
Sign when you leave the Matter to me, for had I
been my own Agent in this Affair, I ſhould not
have taken one Step, but by your Advice. Mean
while, I am perfuaded, that your Doubt arifes from
your own ufual fcrupulous Exacthefs in Buſineſs,
rather than from any real Doubts you have as to
the Parties (1). For you do not approve of my
Tranfaction with Cælius (2), and you are againſt
my felling off any more of my Effects. I think you
are in the right as to both. There is therefore a
Neceffity for my making uſe of this Affignment,
or otherwife, you muft, once in your Life, and in
this very Bargain, become a Surety (3). But now
the whole refts upon myſelf (4). The Day when
I am
$
/
(1) Gronovius is in fome doubt whether the Scruple, men-
tioned here, does not relate to that which Atticus fuppofed
the Heirs of Scapula would have, with Regard to the Affign-
ments which Cicero was to give for Payment.
(2) The Reader may remember, that our Author propofed
to convert his Effects into ready Money, which he was to re-
ceive from his Banker, and that he was in fome Doubts as to
the Goodneſs of the Gold in which the Payment was made.
(3) I have been at fome Pains, and I hope I have fucceeded
in tranflating this difficult Epiftle. I have, in the Courſe of theſe
Notes obferved, more than once, that, notwithſtanding_the
celebrated Friendſhip between our Author and Atticus, the Lat-
ter dealt with the Former with great Exactneſs, not to fay Ri-
gour, in all Money Matters; and the Author of his Life give us,
in his Commendation, a Circumftance which really turns to his
Reproach; that he laid it down as a Rule to be Bail for no
Man. Cicero was no Stranger to this, and what he writes here is in
a Vein of pleaſantry, becauſe he will not feem to fuppofe that any
fuch Refolution could be confiftent with the Friendſhip between
them. The Reaſon therefore why Atticus was in fome Doubts
about the Validity of the Affignments was, left Cicero might
have called upon him to have anſwered for them to the Sellers
or their Agents.
(4) Viz. Becauſe the Affignments were fo good, that he did
not
to ATTICUS.
305
*
am to be paid, indeed, is at fome Diſtance, but let
there be no Obftacle in that. For if I can but
purchaſe the Gardens, I believe the Auctioneer (I
am fure the Heirs will) will give me as long a Time
for my paying them. You muft fpeak to Crifpus
and Mutella, and I want to know what Shares
they have in this Succeffion. Egypta, the Freed-
man of Brutus, has brought me a Letter from his
Mafter with the News of his Arrival. I have fent
the Letter to you, becauſe it is written with a Com-
plaifance unuſual to him.
1
É PIS T. IV.
Have, through your Labour, the Lift of the
ten Deputies (1), which indeed has put me up-
on thinking. For the younger Tuditanus was not
fo much as Quæftor, till the Year after Mummius
had been Conful, fo it muſt be the Elder, who is
mentioned in the Lift of Deputies. You are fre-
quently teazing me to know, whether I am fatis-
fied with that Affignment, and I have as often told,
you that I am. If you can finiſh any Thing with
Pifo do it. As to Avius, I make no doubt of his
acting as he ought. I wish you could be here be
fore Brutus; if you cannot, let us at leaft meet al-
not doubt but that the Sellers would take his own perfonal Se-
curity for making them good.
(1) After Mummius had conquered Achaia, the Senate, as
ufual, fent ten Deputies to regulate the civil Government of the
conquered Countries, and our Author intended to have made
them Interlocutors in a political Treatife he was about to com-
pofe. The Original here is dark, but I have fupplied it from
other Parts of our Author's Writings.
YOL, II.
together
306
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
together at Tufculum. It is of great Importance
for me to ſee you. If you will order one of your
Slaves to make Enquiry, you may learn on what
Day Brutus is to be here.
EPIST.
V.
I Took it that was one of th
pro
Took it that Spurius Mummius was one of the ten
Deputies, but, now I think of it, he ſerved
bably (1) as Lieutenant to his Brother, for it is cer-
tain that he was then at Corinth. I have fent you my
Torquatus (2). I beg you will talk, as you pro-
pofe, with Silius, and prefs him to diſpatch. He
refuſed to defer the Payment fo long as May, but
he agreed to every Thing elſe (3). But I beg you
would tranfact this in your own prudent Manner,
as you do every Thing elfe. After you have ſpoken
to Crifpus and Muftella, let me know what you
have concluded with them. Now that you have
promiſed me to be here when Brutus fhall arrive,
I am quite ſatisfied; and the more fo, as I fuppofe
you will ſpend the intermediate Time in finifhing
my capital Affair.
(i) Orig. sincyov. Verifimile.
Ma-
(2) Viz. The first Book of his Conferences de finibus,
which Torquatus explains, and defends the Epicurean Syftem.,
(3) Manutius is of Opinión, that this Paffage ought to be
read, Illam diem negabat effe menfe Maio, iftam non negabat; and
Monfieur Mongault lets the whole pafs without any Note.
mutius thinks farther, that the Matter, alluded to here, was,
that Silius was willing to delay the Payment, for his Gardens,
till the Month of May, but that the Heirs of Scapula refuſed to
lie fo long out of their Money for their Payment. But if this
could be the Senfe, I cannot fee with what Propriety Silius
could be the Nominative to negabat.
EPIST.
to ATTIC U S.
307
VI.
You
EPIST.
U have done quite right as to the Aqueduct.
-Take care that I have the Columns (1), be
the Expence what it will. Though I think I have
heard from Camillus, that the Law, in this Refpect,
is altered. What can we anfwer more genteelly to
Pifo, than that the younger Cato is here all alone (2)?
and this Anſwer will ſerve not only the Coheirs of
Hirennius, but, as you know, (for you was con-
cerned in the fame Affair with me) for the younger
Lucullus. For it is material to know, that his
Guardian took up that Money in Achaia. But Pifo
deals like a Man of Honour, for, he fays, he will
do nothing that can difoblige us. Therefore, as
you write to me, we will, when we meet, confult
how to fettle this Matter. You have done extremely
well in having had a meeting with the other Coheirs.
(i) Orig. Columnarium, vide, ne nullum debeamus. This al-
ludes to part of the fumptuary Law enacted by Cæfar. Some
of the Commentators imagine, that the Columnarium, here men-
tioned in the Original, was a Tax upon Columns, as Oftiarium
was upon Doors, which Cajar exacted of the Citizens of Rome,
upon Buildings already raiſed. But this is not very probable,
becaufe, in his third Book of the civil Wars, we find him blam-
ing Scipio for exacting that very Tax. It is more probable,
that his fumptuary Law laid a Tax upon all new Columns em-
ployed in Building. There is however an Obſcurity in the
Original which leaves it uncertain, whether our Author does
not mean to defire Atticus to take Care that he fhould not be
loaded with that Tax; in which Cafe, for nullum, we muſt
read ullum. The Columns, here fpoken of, were perhaps thoſe
which were to be employed in building the Temple, in Memo-
ry of his Daughter.
(2) Orig. Solitudinem Catonis. The Reader is to underſtand
that our Author was Guardian to young Lucullus, and probably
to the younger Cato likewife, whofe Eltate was in Arrears to
Pifo, and the Coheirs of Hirennius.
X 2
As
1
308
CICERO's EPISTLES
As to your wanting to fee my Letter to Brutus,
I have no Copy of it. Tyro fays, that you cer-
tainly have one, and I remember that, at the Time
I fent you his uncivil Letter, I fent you a Copy of
my Anſwer. You will take care that I am not
troubled with any judicial Functions. I was utter-
ly ignorant of that Tuditanus, the great Grandfather
of Hortenfius, and I took it to have been his Son,
who was the Deputy, which was impoffible. I am
quite certain that Mummius was at Corinth, for the
late Spurius often read over to me his Letters full of
quaint Witticiſms, which he wrote from Corinth
to his Friends. But I make no doubt of his hav-
ing been Lieutenant to his Brother, and not one of
the ten Deputies. I have likewife learned, that our
Anceſtors never named any Relations of a General
amongſt the ten Deputies, who were to controul
him, though later Times have been fo ignorant,
or rather fo neglectful, of this moft falutary Maxim,
as to fend Marcus Lucullus, and Lucius Murena,
and other of his neareſt Relations, to Lucius Lu-
cullus as his Deputies. It is likwife natural to fup-
pofe (1), that his Brother would prefer him, before
any other, to be his Lieutenant. What Work do
I cut out for you! who thus both read for me,
and negotiate for me, and that too with more At-
tention, to my Concerns than you give to your
own.
(1) Orig, sincyúraro. Maxime vero fimile.
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
309
EPIS T. VII.
ESTIUS has been with me, as Theopompus ( 1 )
SES
was the Day before. He tells me, that he re-
ceived a Letter from Cæjar, informing him, that
he was determined to remain at Rome (2), and that
he gives the very Reafon, mentioned in my Let-
ter, left, were he abfent, his Laws fhould be neglect-
ed, as his fumptuary Law has been. This is
This is very
probable (3), and is no more than what occurred to
myſelf before. But thofe Gentlemen muſt be hu-
moured, unleſs I fhould think proper to refume
what I at firft propofed. Well, it is certain then
that Lentulus has divorced Metella;
but you
know all thofe Matters better than I do; write
me therefore fomewhat in Anfwer; what you pleafe,
provided it be fomewhat. For, at prefent, no-
thing occurs to me that you can write, unleſs you
think proper to write fomewhat concerning Muftella
or Silius. Brutus came to Tufculum Yefterday a
bout five in the Evening. To-day therefore he
will vifit me, and I wish that you were prefent when
he does. For I ordered him to be told, that you
waited as long as you could for his Arrival;
that you would return if you heard of it, and that
I would inſtantly inform you, as I do by this Letter,
(1) He was a native of Cnidos, and a Favourite with Cæfar.
(2) This feems to contradict a Report which has ob-
tained in Hiftory, as if Cafar intended, upon his being peace ·
able Poffeffor of the Empire, to undertake an Expedition in
Perfon against the Parthians.
(3) Orig. sünoyor. Verifimile.
X3
1
EPIST.
٤٠
f
3.10
CICERO's EPISTLES
}
T
EPIST. VIII.
Really have nothing to write to you, for you
had no fooner left me than you fent me back a
Letter of three Pages (1) in Anfwer to mine.
I nothing,e than you fent
I
hope you will take care to convey this Packet to
Veftorius, and employ fome one or other to enquire
whether Quintus Faberius has any Eftate that is to
be fold in the Territory of Pompeii, or in that of
Nola. I beg you would fend me the Epitome of
Brutus of the Calian Annals (2), and get for me,
´from Philoxemus, the Treatife of Panatiuș (3). con-
cerning Providence (4). I hope to ſee you on the
13th, with your Family.
{
You
EPIST. IX.
OU were but juſt gone Yefterday when Tre-
batius and, ſoon after, Curtius arrived here.
The latter came only to pay me his Compliments,
but he ſtayed here upon my Invitation, and I have
Trebatius with me likewife. Dolabella arrived this
Morning. We converſed together for a long Time;
(1) Orig. Triplices remiferas. In Matters of fmall Moment,
the ancients uſed to fend their Tablets or Pocket Books to one
another with their Buſineſs written in them, and an Anfwer
was returned on the fame Tablets. The Bufinefs mentioned
here, took up, it ſeems, three Pages of thofe Tablets.
(2) They were compofed by Lucius Caelius Antipater. Bru-
tus was a great Epitomifer of Works of that Kind.
(3) He was a ftoic Philofopher, and wrote in Defence of an
immediate Providence.
(4) Orig. Havaitiov Tepi poroías. Panatii de providentia.
and
to ATTICUS.
311
and indeed nothing could be more open (1), nothing
more affectionate (2), than what he faid to me.
Mean while we fell upon the Subject of my Ne-
phew, of whom he told me many Things that are
not to be expreffed, and ought not to be related (3)
One Circumſtance, however, was of fuch a Nature,
that, unleſs the whole Army knew it, I fhould not
venture to dictate it to Tiro, nay, not to write it
with my own Hand. But I fhall find Time enough
for this. While Dolabella was with me, Torqua-
tus arrived
very feaſonably (4), and Dolabella very
handfomely told him in what Terms I had ex-
preffed myſelf concerning him, for I luckily had
talked with him in the moft earnest Manner, which
feemed to give Torquatus fenfible Pleaſure.
I expect to hear from you if you know any
Thing of Brutus. Nicias thinks the Marriage is
finiſhed, but he fays that his Divorce, from his firſt
Wife, is diſliked. I therefore, as well as you, am
earnest, that the Affair fhould be finiſhed. For if
he has given any Offence, this Step will remedy it (5
I must go to Arpinum; for I muft fettle the Af-
fairs of that little Farm, and I am afraid I fhall not
be at Liberty to leave Rome after Cæfar's Arrival,
of which Dolabella's Opinion is conformable to the
Conjecture you had formed from Meffala's Letter.
( ) Orig. Extevérepov. Prolixius.
(2) Orig. pinocopyóτepov. Amontius
(3) Orig. apara, adinynta. Non dicenda, non narranda.
(4) Orig. aúnaigus. Opportune.
(5) We fee, by this Paffage, that Plutarch was miftaken in
faying, that Brutus was married to Porcia in the Life Time of
her Father Cato. Our Author here means, that Brutus, by
marrying the excellent Daughter of the great Cato, would be a
fufficient Vindication for his divorcing Clodia, who had given
him no Caufe of Diſguft.
X 4
When
312
CICERO'S EPISTLES
When I fhall arrive at Arpinum, and when I have
underſtood what Bufinefs I have there, I will write
to you the precife Day when I fhall fet out on
my Return.
#
I
EPIST. X.
A M not at all furprized at your being fenfibly
affected by the Death of Marcellus, and at your
being apprehenfive in many other Refpects. For
how can we be on our Guard against an Accident,
which never had any Precedent, and which feemed
to be inconfiftent with Nature to permit (1). We
therefore have every Thing to fear. But how can
you, who are fo exact in thoſe Matters, be fo much
miſtaken (2) as to fay, that I am the only furviv-
ing Confular (3)? Make you then no Account of
Servius? But this is of no Kind of Importance,
efpecially with me, who think that thofe who are
dead are as happy as we are.
For what are we, or
what can we do? Of what Importance are we at
home or abroad? Had I not taken it in my Head
to amuſe myſelf with Writing fuch Trifles as thefe,
I ſhould not have known how to have borne my
own Exiſtence. -
(1) We have a curious Account of the Death of this great
Man, in a Letter from Sulpicius to our Author. After Cafar,
at the univerfal Requeft of the Senate, had pardoned him, he
was ftabbed to death in his Return home by this Magius, whọ
was his intimate Friend and Client.
(2) Orig. Taça ra isopian. Præter Hiftoriam.
(3) There were many Confulars befides our Author, and
Servius alive at this Time, but they behaved fo, as they had
nothing to fear from Cæfar.
3
I am
to ATTICUS.
133
I am of the fame Opinion with you concerning
Dolabella. Something that is public (1), and fome-
thing that is political (2), would fuit him beft. In
In
fhort, fomething must be done for him, for he is
very anxious about it. You will take Care to ac-
quaint me, if you know any thing of Brutus. The
fooner, (if he is determined upon it) that he finiſhes
his Marriage, ſo much the better; for he will there-
by reſtrain, or at leaſt, moderate all Tattling and
Goffipping about him. Some People have talked of
him, even to myſelf. But Brutus knows beſt
what Meaſures to take, eſpecially if he confults
with you. I think of fetting out on the 22d, for I
have no Bufinefs either here or there, or by Hea-
vens, any where. Yet I had fome Trifles to fettle
there.
This Day I look for Spinther, from what Brutus
wrote to me. In the fame Letter, he clears Cæfar
from having any Hand in the Death of young
Marcellus, nor indeed, had he been killed by
Treachery in the Dark, and by an unknown Hand,
could any Sufpicion have been fixed on him. But
now, that Magius is known to be the Affaffin, does
not his Frenzy explain the whole Affair? I am in-
tirely ignorant what his Motive could be; you will
therefore, let me know, though I have no Kind
of Doubt but about the Grounds of the Fury of
Magius, who had fome Time ago made Ufe of
him at Sunium, as a Bail. No doubt, this gave Rife
to his Fury, becauſe Marcellus was of himſelf in-
κοινότερα.
(1) Orig. xowóτepa. Magis communia.
(2) Orig. TONITIKúreça. Ad remp. adminiftrandam magis acr
commodata.
1
folvent.
314
CICERO's EPISTLES
folvent. I ſuppoſe, he aſked Marcellus for fome
Money, and that Marcellus's Anfwer, as was ufual
with him, was a little harfh.
ง
TH
EPIST. XI.
HERE is no judging of Things at a Di-
ſtance(1)-I believed I could have eaſily lived
without you, but I find it quite the Reverſe now
that we are feparated. But I was obliged to go to
Arpinum, both that I might fettle the Concerns of
my ſmall Eſtate there, and left I ſhould make our
Friend Brutus tired of his waiting upon me ;
for we can hereafter enjoy one another's Com-
pany with greater Pleaſure at Tufculum. But at
this Juncture, while he wanted every Day to ſee
me, and I could not poffibly go to him, he
was deprived of all the Pleaſure of his Seat at
Tufculum. Do you, therefore, inform me by a
Letter, whether Servilia be come to Rome, whether
Brutus has made any Advances, or whether he pro-
poſes any Thing, and when he is to meet the great
Man; in fhort, let me know every Thing that may
be proper for me to know, I beg you will, if poffi-
ble, talk with Pifo. You are fenfible, it is now
high Time, but let that be as your Conveniency
can admit of.
(1) Orig. où TqUTòr eidos. Non eadem facies. I have followed
Cafaubon in Beginning this Letter, with the Expreffion which
in other Editions finishes the preceding, as there is no Diſtinction
the oldeft Manufcripts.
EPIST.
1
315
to ATTICUS.
}
EPIST.
XII.
OUR Letters concerning our darling Attica
gave me great Concern, but they gave me
Comfort at the fame Time. For, I thought I had
fufficient Grounds for moderating my Affliction, as
you yourſelf take Comfort in the fame Letter.
You have difpofed of my Oration for Ligarius to
fine Advantage; you fhall be my Publifher, for
whatever I fhall write hereafter. As to what you
write concerning Varro, you know, that till lately,
I compoſed nothing but Orations, or fome fuch
feriaus Works, into which I could not interweave
Varro with any Propriety. Afterwards, when I
undertook a Work of more general Erudition (1),
Varro acquainted me, that he intended to addrefs
(2) to me a Work of great Weight and Importance.
Two Years paffed over, without his advancing one
Inch, though he is a very Mercury (3) for Dif-
patch in Writing. Now, all this while, I was
making Preparations for anſwering his Compliment
in the fame Coin (4), and with Intereſt (5), if I
could," for Hefiod in fuch Cafes, recommends the
Expreffion of "If you can (6)." At prefent, I
have addreffed to Brutus, as you defired me to
do, my treatiſe "concerning the Ends of Things
(1) Orig. Piñonoy@repa. Eruditiora.
(2) Orig. wpooQuvnow. Infcriptionem.
(3) Orig. Kaλidng. Callippides.
""
(4) Varro afterwards addreffed his Book upon the Latin
Tongue to our Author.
(5) Orig. auTy Tŷ μÉTρw Hai 2000. Eadem menfura, &
melius.
(6) Orig. axe dúvnar. Si poſſis.
good
1
CICERO'S EPISTLES
316
good and evil (1)," of which I own I am fond;
and you fignified to me, that fuch an Addrefs
would not diſpleaſe him. I will, therefore, intro-
duce Varro. into my academical (2) Difcourfes,
where the Interlocutors are Men of Eminence in-
deed, but by no Means proper to handle philofo-
phical Diftinctions and Niceties. Befides, thofe
Difcourfes proceed upon the Principles of Antiochus
(3), which he greatly approves of. We will in
other Places introduce Catulus and Lucullus, pro-
vided, however, that you approve of my Plan
and I expect you will write to me concerning it.
I have received a Letter from Veftorius, concern-
ing the Sale of the Effects of Brinnius. He fays,
there was not the leaft Oppofition in fixing it at
my Houſe (for they fuppofed I fhould be at
Rome or Tufculum) on the 24th of June. You
will, therefore, defire your Friend and my Co-heir
S. Vettius, or my Friend Labeo, to put off the
Sale for a fhort Time, for I fhall be at Tufculum
about the 7th of July. You have Eros at Rome
dealing with Pifo. Let us beftow all our Thoughts
upon the Gardens of Scapula; the Day of Sale ap-
proaches.
(1) Orig, megi Terv ovvTag. De finibus commentationem.
(2) Orig. 'Anadnuxnv. Academicam.
(3) Orig. 'Arriónsia. Antiochia. He was a Difciple of Car-
viades. Both Cicero and Atticus had ſtudied under him at Athens,
and Lucullus had afterwards brought him to Rome.
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
317
1
1
THE
EPIST. XIII.
HE Letter you wrote me concerning Varro,
had the Effect of making me transfer my
acadèmical Treatiſe from thofe Men of great Qua-
lity to our Companion, and inſtead of two Books,
I have made four. Though many Things are fup-
preſt in them, yet they are much larger than the
others were; you will write me, however, what
his real Sentiments are. Above all Things too I
want to know who the Perfon is, you think he is
jealous of (1); whether it is not Brutus? The
Knowledge of that would finally determine me;
but I want to be fure of the Fact. As to the Books
themſelves (unleſs an Author's Fondness for his
own Works (2) deceive me), I have finiſhed
them in fuch a Manner, that even Greece itſelf can
produce nothing of that Kind. I hope, you will
patiently put up with the Expence, of having my
Academics tranfcribed in the Form I fent them to
you. In their prefent Form they are a great deal
more perfpicuous, fuccinct and agreeable.
But, I am now at a Lofs (3) what to do; I
want to gratify Dolabella, who paffionately defires I
fhould addreſs fomewhat to him. I can find no-
thing; I am afraid People (4) talk already; if I
ſhould find any Thing that would be ſuitable, how
could I eſcape Cenfure (5)? I muft, therefore,
(1) Orig. nλOTUTEolas Invideri.
(2) Orig. Qinauría. Amor fui.
(3) Orig. aπopa. Dubito.
(4) Orig: aidéopas Tpaas. Vereor Trojanos.
(5) Orig. pépív. Accufationem. It was indeed, pretty ex-
traordinary, that our Author fhould live in fuch intimacy with
Dolabella, who had but juft repudiated his beloved Daughter.
But
318
CICERO'S EPISTLES
drop that Defign, or fall upon fome Expedient.
But why ſhould fuch Trifles employ me? I beg
you will let me know, how my Darling Attica
does I am greatly concerned about her. But
after often examining your Letters, I am more at
Eafe. Yet I look for freſh Accounts.
TH
EPIST. XIV.
HE Freedman of Brinnius, and one of his
Free e,
•
Coheirs with me, has written to me, that he
and Sabinus Albius the third Coheir, would, if it
was agreeable to me, wait upon me. This I am
abfolutely againſt. For the Legacy is not worth
the while. And yet, they might eaſily advertiſe
the Day of Sale (for it is to be on the 11th) if they
came to me at Tufculum in the Morning of the 6th.
If they want, however, to protract the Time,
they may do it two or three Days as they think
proper, for fuch a Delay will be of no Confe-
quence. Therefore, you will ſtop thofe Perfons,
if they are not ſet out before this comes to your
Hand. Let me know, if you hear any Thing of
Brutus, or of Cæfar, or any other News. I again
beg of you, to take it into your Confideration,
whether it may be proper to fend my Work to
Varro. And indeed, this Matter fomewhat con-
cerns yourſelf. For, be it known unto you, that
I have made you and him two Speakers in the
の
​But Cicero might likewife be afraid, left he ſhould be cenfured,
as if his Courtship of Dolabella, was in order to keep himſelf
with Caefar.
Conference.
to ATTICUS.
3 19
Conference. I, therefore, think it is high Time
for us to come, to a Refolution. For, though
the Names are inferted, yet ftill, they may be
eraſed, and others put in.
HO
EPIS T. XV.
1
OW, I pray you, does our darling Attica
do, for I have heard nothing from you for
theſe three Days? How should I? Since no body
has gone between us, and, perhaps, you had no
more Subject for writing than I had. I am this
Day, when I give this Letter to Valerius, in Expec-
tation of fome of my People. Should any one
come with Letters from you, I fhall then have fub-
ject Matter for writing.
་
S
EPIST. XVI.
UCH heavy and fuch inceffant Rains have
fallen here, that I have not as yet been able
to ftir without Doors, though all I now court are
Rivers and Retirements for the Abatement of my
Grief, I have inferted Varró as a Speaker through
the whole of my academical Treatifé (i). At firſt,
I had made Catulus, Lucullus, and Hortenfius the Inter-
locutors; reflecting afterwards, that there was fonte
Impropriety (2) in this, becauſe the Public knew,
that though thofe Perfons were not illiterate (3),
(1) Orig. Zùvrağı. Commentationem.
(2) Orig. Haga Tò πρéτov. Præter decorum.
(3) Orig, 'Aπaidevola. Ignorantia.
yet,
*
320
CICERO'S EPISTLES
!
yet, that they were not converfant (1) in thofe Mat-
ters, as foon as I came to my Country Seat, I put
their Parts into the Mouths of Cato and Brutus. This
produced your Letter concerning Varro, and I
thought no body more proper than he was for de-
fending the Doctrine of Antiochus (2). Still, I
hope, you will write to me in the firft Place, whe-
ther it may be proper for me to addreſs any Thing
to him; and, in the next Place, if it is, whether I
ſhould addreſs this Work? What is Servilia doing?
is the arrived yet? How does Brutus go on? is
the Day fixed yet? What do you hear of Cæfar? I
remain here as I told you, till the 7th. Endeavour
to come to fome Conclufion with Pifo.
A
EPIST.
XVII.
BOUT the 27th, I expect to hear fomewhat
from Rome, not that I ordered any of my Peo-
ple to come to me, therefore, I expect to hear by
yours concerning what I have fo often written about;
what Brutus defigns to do? whether he has concluded
upon any Thing? and whether any News is come
from Cæfar? But how can thoſe Matters concern
me? I want to know, how your fweet Daughter
does. Though your Letters bid me hope for the
beſt, yet they are of too old a Date. Mean while, I
expect more freſh Intelligence.
(1) Orig. 'Arpolía. Ufus nullus.
(2) Orig. 'Arrióza. Antiochia.
}
$
EPIST
to ATTICUS.
321
#
EPIST. XVIII.
OU fee the Benefit of our being Neighbours.
Yo
For my Part, I am determined to purchaſe
that Seat near Rome. While I was at Tufculum,
our Correfpondence by Letters was fo frequent,
that I imagined myſelf to be talking with you in
Perfon. Now I fhall have the fame Benefit, as you
adviſe me. I have compleated the Treatifes which I
have addreffed tọ Varro, which, I affure you, are fuf-
ficiently fubtile. 1, however, am impatient till you
write to me an Anſwer, in the firſt Place, how
you came to know that a Man, who, like Varro, has
wrote fo much (1) without addreffing any Thing
to me, fhould defire me to pay him that Compli-
ment? In the next Place, who the Perfon is he is jea-
lous of (2), whether it is not Brutus? If he is not
jealous (3) of him, he can be far lefs fo of Horten_
fius, or any of the Interlocutors in my Treatife
concerning Government. I would have you to be
Exprefs with me upon the two following Points;
whether you are ſtill of Opinion, that I ought to fend
my Work to Varro, or do you think, I have no Oc-
cafion to do it? But we will talk of thofe Matters
when we meet.
Mr
EPIST.
XIX.
Y Amanuenfis Hilarus was but juſt gone
from hence on the 27th, at which Time I
(1) Orig. Пoλvypapúralos. Multa fcribens:
(2) Orig. Enλorums. Invidere.
(3) Orig. (notumeï.' Invidet.
VOL. II.
Y
gave
?
322
CICERO'S EPISTLES
gave him a Letter for you, when your Letter-Car-
rier came with your Letters dated the Day before,
in which I read with the greateſt Pleaſure, that
your Daughter defired you not to be concerned,
and you tell me, ſhe is out of Danger (1). The
good Opinion you had of my Oration for Liga-
rius has, I perceive, fet it off to great Advantage.
For Balbus and Oppius write to me, that they are
wonderfully pleaſed with it, and cannot help ſend-
ing it, fhort as it is, to Cæfar. This is no more
than what you yourſelf wrote
before.
me ſome Time
As to the Bufinefs of Varro, I pay no kind of
Regard to what People may think of me, as if I
courted Fame (2) through him; (for I had laid
ît down as a Refolution to introduce no living Cha-
racters as Speakers in any Dialogue of mine), but,
becauſe you write me, that Varro is fond of hav-
ing fuch an Addrefs, and that he would be very
proud of it, I have therefore, finiſhed thofe Con-
ferences. I have in four Books comprehended the
whole Academic Syftem. How well it is executed,
I ſhall not pretend to ſay. But it is impoffible for
me to finish any Thing more highly. I have put
into Varro's Mouth all the Arguments which were
fo accurately collected by Antiochus againſt the
Doctrine of Comprehenfion (3). Theſe I have
anſwered myſelf, and you are the third Party in our
Converfation. Had I brought in Cotta and Varro
diſputing together, as you adviſed me to do in
(1) Orig. 'Axívduva. Sine periculo.
(2) Orig. Qiédogos. Gloria cupidus.
(3) Orig. Axalannvíar. Opinionem eorum qui nihil compre-
kendi poffe dicunt.
your
to ATTICU S.
323
طر
your laft Letters, I muft then have been a mute
Perfon (1). There is a fine Effect, when the Inter-
locutors are fuppofed to be dead, and it has been
followed by Heraclides (2) in feveral of his Con-
ferences; and in my fix Books concerning Govern-
ment. I am likewife extremely fond of my three
Books upon the Character of an Orator, where I
have done the fame Thing, and where the Inter-
locutors are fuch as neceffarily rendered me filent.
They are Graffus, Antonius, the elder Catulus,
Caius Julius the Brother of Catulus, Cotta and Sul-
picius. I was but a Boy when this Conference is
ſuppoſed to have happened, fo that properly, I
could have no Share in it. But as to my later
Compofitions, they are in the Manner of Ariftotle
(3), and the Speeches of the other Interlocutors are
fo difpofed, that I make the principal Figure myſelf.
Thus, in my Work concerning the Ends of Things
good and evil (4), I have affigned the Defence of the
Epicurean Doctrine to Lucius Torquatus, that of
the Stoics to Marcus Cato, and that of the Peripate-
tics (5) to Marcus Pifo. All whom I anſwer (6).
This I thought I could do, without giving any
Offence (7), becauſe all of them are deceaſed,
You know, that I introduced Catulus Lucullus
(1) Orig. Kwpor @goownov. Perfona muta.
(2) He was a Native of Pontus, and a Diſciple of Plato and
Ariftotle, but none of his Works are now remaining.
>
(3) Orig. 'ApisoTÉNELOV. __ Ariftotelicum.
(4) Orig wepi Teλwv. De finibus.
(5) Orig. wepena na Peripatetica.
(6) I have after Monfieur Mongault inferted thefe Words
for the better Understanding our Author's Meaning in the
Original.
(7) Orig. 'Anhorúanrov. Sine invidia.
INTO
Y 2
and
324
CICERO'S EPISTLES
and Hortenfius difputing in this academical Trea-
tife; but that was with no Kind of Propriety. For,
they were made to canvafs Subtleties (1) which
they could not be fuppofed fo much as to have
dreamed of. Therefore, as foon as I read your Hint
concerning Varro, I laid eagerly hold of it as if it had
been a Stray (2). Nothing can be better fuited than
his Part is to that Kind of Philofophy which he has
chiefly adopted, and his Arguments are put with
fo great Force, that I do not think, I make myſelf a
greater Figure, than he does, in the Debate. I have
been at Pains to give unto the Doctrines of Antio-
chus, all the ftrong Air of Truth (3) which he is
Mafter of. They have all the Force of his Reafon-
ing, cloathed in the Beauty of my Language, pro-
vided, you allow it to have any Beauty. But I
beg you will take fome Pains to know whether it
is
I ſhould addrefs thoſe Treatifes to Varro?
proper
Several Things occured to me on that Head; but
of that when we meet.
·
•
{
EPIST.
XX.
I
HAVE received Letters of Condolence from
Cafar, dated from Hifpalis the laft of April. I
do not underſtand the News about enlarging the
City; I wish I did.. I am glad that my Endeavours
to oblige Torquatus have been agreeable to him. I
will continue to encreaſe them. I can neither add
any Thing to my Oration for Ligarius concerning
(1) Orig. Aoyixaτepa. Subtiliora.
(2) Orig. Equatov. Lucrum infperatum.
(3) Orig. dara.
Пdava.
Probabilia.
Tubero's
to ATTICUS.
325
Tubero's (1) wife and his Stepdaughter (for it is alrea-
dy publiſhed), nor do I much incline to make any
Apology for Tubero, for he is a very troubleſome
Perfon (2). You muſt have had very excellent Di-
verfion in the Scene you mention. Though I en-
joy myſelf with great Satisfaction in this Place, yet
I earnestly defire to fee you. I will therefore, re-´
turn as I purpofed. I fuppofe, you have met with
my Brother, for which Reafon I fhould be glad to
know what paffed between you.
#
I am quite unconcerned with Regard to public
Report, notwithſtanding the foolish Stuff that I
formerly wrote to you. For it is below our Care.
All that Man has to do, is through the whole
Courſe of his Life, not to depart one Straw Breadth
from the Dictates of a good Conſcience. Don't
you fee how much a Philofopher (3) I am grown ?
Do you now think, that I have perufed thoſe phi-
lofophical Treatifes to no Purpoſe? What I men-
tioned (4) was of no Confequence. Therefore, I
would not have you to be uneafy (5). For now, I
return to my former Purpoſe. Do you imagine, that
I had any other View all along than not to be wanting
to my Friend? You may fay, that I do it, that I
may once more affert my Superiority at the Bar
of Juſtice. But even that does not ſway with me
(6). I wish that I could be as much fuperior to all
(1) He was a Proſecutor of Ligarius, but was fo afhamed of
the Profecution upon Ligarius being acquitted, that he wanted
to lay all the Fault upon his own Wife and his Stepdaughter.
(2) Orig. Qıλaíirios. Querylus.
(3) Orig. Psλocópws. Philofophice.
(4) Meaning the railing of his Nephew againſt him,
(5) Orig. Adaxtar. Mcrfum effe,
(6) Orig. Mn yap avros. Non enim ipfis.
Y 3
domeſtic
326
CICERO's EPISTLES
domeſtic Troubles as I am to thofe Vanities. What!
do you imagine, that I afpire at any Thing (1)
which I have not yet effected? Well then, may
not a Man change his Way of thinking? And yet,
I cannot but approve of what I have done already.
At the fame Time, I can with great Confiftency lay
afide, as I do, all Thoughts of doing fo any more,
But enough of Trifles.
EPIST. XXI.
GAVE a pretty long Letter for you to Hir-
tius, which I had wrote but a little before at
Tufculanum. I fhall at another Time anſwer yours
of the fame Date; but at prefent, I chufe to anfwer
your other Letters. How should I do any Thing
with Regard to Torquatus, without hearing fome-
what from Dolabella? As foon as I do, you fhall
know. I look for the Return of my Exprefs from
him to Day, or To-morrow, at fartheft. As ſoon as
the Diſpatches arrive, I will forward them to you.
I expect to hear from my Brother, for you know,
I fent him an Expreſs when I left Tuſculanum upon
the 24th.
But how to my Purpofe. I am now quite out
of Conceit with that fame Inhibere (2) which I was
fo fond of before. It is quite a Sea Term; I knew
(1) Viz. To be at the Head of Roman Eloquence.
(2) This is another Proof how very curious our Author was
in his Choice of Words. He has himſelf fufficiently explained
the Meaning of this. It feems, Atticus had adviſed him to
make Ufe of the Word Inhibere, to fignify that philofophical
Sufpence which the Academy profeffed, and which was known
by the Greek Word sπoxn.
that
1
to ATTICUS.
327
2
that before, but ftill I thought, that when it was
made Ufe of as a Word of Direction to Rowers,
they then reſted upon their Oars. But I was un-
deceived in this Notion Yefterday, while a Veffel
was plying near my Villa; for when that was the
Word, they did not reft upon their Oars, but they
rowed in another Manner than before. Now, this
is quite a different Senſe from that of the Eлоx (1).
You will therefore, replace the former Word in
your Copy; and apprize Varro likewife, unleſs he
has changed it already. No better Word can be
ufed than Suftinere in the Senfe Lucullus (2) ufes it.
Suftineat currum ut bonus fæpe agitator equofque.
Carneades always compares the Eяоxи (3) to the
Pofture (4) of a Boxer taking Aim at his An-
tagoniſt, or a Charioteer holding in his Steeds be-
fore he starts. But Inhibitio implies Motion, and
a ftrong Motion too; for it fignifies a Ship going
backwards.
You ſee how much more I am concerned about
this Matter than I am, about the Talk you mention,
or about the News concerning Pollio (5). Let me know,
if the News from Panfa (6) holds; for, I fuppofe, by
this Time it is public; whether you hear any Thing
of Critonius; or, have any certain Account con-
(1) Orig. iwox. Retentione.
(2) I cannot eafily believe that the Verſe here quoted was writ-
ten by Lucullus. It was more probably put into his Mouth by our
Author in the first Edition of his Academics, in which that
great Man is made an Interlocutor.
(3) Orig. iwox. Retentioni.
(4) Orig wpocon. Statum jamjam dimicaturi.
(5) He was left by Cæfar in Spain to watch the Motions of
Sextus Pompeius.
(6) He was then Governor of the Gauls.
Y A
4
cerning
328
CICERO's EPISTLES
cerning Metellus and Balbinus? But let me aſk
you, Do you think it proper my Works fhould be
publiſhed without my Orders? Hermodorus (1)
himſelf, who publiſhed the Works of Plato, (from
whence came the Proverb, Hermodorus fells other
People's Brains (2)) never did fo by Plato. Tell
me again, is it proper they ſhould be public to any
body before Brutus fees them, as I have addreffed
(3) them to him by your Advice? Now Balbus,
has written me Word, that by your Leave, he has
tranſcribed the fifth Book of my Treatife "con-
cerning the Ends of Things." I have not indeed,
made many Alterations in it, but fome I have made.
You will pleaſe, therefore, to reſerve the other
Books left Balbus fhould have what is incorrect (4),
and Brutus what is ftale (5). But I fay no more
on this Head, left I fhould feem to make much
ado about nothing (6). But, indeed, at this Time,
theſe are to me Matters of Importance, for what
have I to think of befides?
✔
As to what I have, at your Requeft, addreffed
to Varro, I make fuch Difpatch to fend it to him,
that I have fent it already to Rome to be tranfcribed.
You may have that Work when yoù pleaſe, for I
have wrote to the Tranfcribers, that if you de-
fire it, your Tranſcribers ſhould have leave to
(1) He was the Cotemporary and Difciple of Plato.
(2) Orig. Aoyowow Epuodwpos. Verbis Hermodorus. We lay in
English. A Man picks another Man's Brains, when he makes
Advantage of his Projects or Works.
(3) Orig. goo@www. Dico.
(4) Orig. 'Adsópowτa. Non correcta.
15) Orig. "Ewλa. Obfoleta:
(6) Orig. wspò musega owydá¿ew. In parviş rebus multum fludiž
ponere.
copy.
to ATTICUS.
329
copy it out. You will not, however, make it
public before I fee you; and I know you are very
obfervant when I put you upon your Guard. I
forgot to tell you, that Carelia, who has a ſurpri-
fing Paffion for the Study of Philofophy, is writ-
ing over my Works from your Copies; and the
has already my Treatife "concerning the Ends of
Things." Now, I give you my Word for it
(though all Mankind is liable to miſtake) that ſhe
did not tranfcribe them from my. Copy, for I
never fuffered it to go out of my Sight, and my
Tranſcribers were fo far from making two Copies,
that they have ſcarcely compleated one. I would
not, however, have you imagine, that your Tran-
ſcribers are any way in fault, for I neglected to
tell them, that I did not chufe my Work fhould
be publiſhed ſo foon. How long I dwell upon
Trifles! for, indeed, I have no Bufinefs. to write
of. I agree with you as to Dolabella. The Co-
heirs, as you advife, will come to Tufculanum.
Balbus has wrote me Word, that he does not be-
lieve Cafar will come to Rome before the 1ft of
Auguft. It gives me Pleaſure to hear that your
Daughter is fo eafy, fo well, and fo chearful in
her Spirits (1).
#
You mention what my Thoughts are of that
Matter, in which I am as folicitous as you are (2).
Hitherto, I approve greatly of the Party, fo far as
I know about him, I mean his Rank, his Family,
(1) Orig Euxónws. Placide.
(2) This probally was a Marriage propoſed between a femalę.
Relation of Atticus, perhaps his Daughter (though fhe feems to
have been rather too young for Marriage at this Time), and fome
Roman Nobleman of Diftinction.
and
330
CICERO's EPISTLES
and his Eftate. It is, indeed, very material, that
I am not perfonally acquainted with him, but I
hear an exceeding good Character of him from
Scrofa. He is likewife to be my Neighbour (1),
if that can be of any Service; and I know, he has
better Blood (2) in him than that of his Father (3).
But when we meet, I will talk to you, and that in
a Manner which ſhall convince you how much I am
for the Match. For, I fuppofe, you know, that
I love, and have had Reaſon for a long Time to
love, his Father, not only more than you love him,
but more than he himſelf knows of.,
EPIST. XXII.
T is not without Reafon I am fo impor-
It
tunate that you will let me know your Mind
with regard to Varro. Certain Things have oc-
curred to myſelf, but of thoſe when we meet. As
for you, it is with the greateſt Pleaſure (4) that I
have introduced you into my Works, and here-
after I will take all Occafions to do the fame.
T
For
(1) Orig. Proxime accedit. Monfieur Mongault has followed
the Senfe of Bofius and Manutius, in tranflating this Paffage,
Il loge auprès de vous, and he owns, that he is far from being
fatisfied that it is Cicero's Meaning, but that he cannot find any
better in the Words. I cannot, however, help thinking, that it
is more natural to apply them to the Neighbourhood of our Au-
thor, than of Atticus, becaufe of the following Expreffion, Si quid
boc ad rem, as if, he would make it his Bufinefs to be acquaint-
ed with the young Nobleman, if that would do Atticus any
Service.
(2) Orig. Evyevéregos. Generofior.
(3) Meaning that his Mother was more noble than the
Father.
(4) Orig. 'Aoμevés ara. Libentiffime.
by
to ATTICUS.
331
by your laſt Letters, I know, (for the firſt Time,)
that it would not be diſagreeable to you. Caffius
had already written to me concerning Marcellus,
and I had a very particular Account (1) from Sul-
picius. What a lamentable incident it was! But
to return to my Writings; I never can wish them
to be better lodged than in your Hands. But let us
agree that they never fhall become public, but when
both of us think proper; and yet I intimated that the
Cafe was otherwife when I wrote you, that Carelia
had got fome of them in her Hands, which ſhe could
not have got but through you. I perceive that
you was determined to oblige Balbus, but I was
unwilling that the Work fhould be ftale before it
came into the Hands of Brutus, or that it fhould be
imperfect when it came into thofe of Balbus.
you think it proper, I will fend my Work, as ſoon
as I have ſeen you, to its Patron Varro, and when
we meet I will impart to you the Difficulties I have
hinted at.
If
I think you have done extreamly right (2) in
ferving thoſe who have given me Draughts, with
Notice of Payment. I am forry that you have fo
much Trouble concerning. that Eftate which be-
longed to your Grandmother. What you tell me
concerning Brutus muſt be very mortifying to him,
though fuch Rubs are common in Life. With
regard to the Ladies, it is unnatural in them to be
at fuch Variance with one another, while they agree
in every other Point of Duty (3).
(1) Orig. và xατà uegos. Singula particulatim.
(2) Orig. Attributos quod appellas, valde probo.
You
(3) This relates to fome Differences between Servilia, the
Mother of Brutus, and Porcia his new married Wife. There
1
18
1
}
}
332
CICERO'S EPISTLES
You had no Occafion to ferve Tullius, my Se-
cretary, with Notice, for if he had had the Money
of me, I would have defired you to call upon him
for it. But there is no Part of that which was de-
figned for Building the Temple in his Hands. He
has however fome Money of mine, which I am
now determined to apply to that Purpoſe. I there-
fore was in the Right to tell you that I had Money
there, and he was in the Right to deny that I
lodged it there with that View. But let us forth-
with fet about the Work itſelf. I do not think a
Grove to be a proper Situation for a Building con-
fecrated to an undeified Being (1), becauſe of its
being but little frequented. It is however conve-
nient (2). But in this, as in all Things, your Opi-
nion fhall be decifive with me.
I fhall be at Tufculanum as I appointed, and I
wish you could be there the fame Day. But fhould
any Thing happen, as many Things may, let it be
next Day when the Coheirs are to meet me, and it
would be ſpiteful in you to fuffer them to furprize
me alone. In your two laft Letters, you mention
nothing concerning your Daughter, but I look upon
your Silence as the beft of Symptoms. In one
Reſpect I am diſobliged, not with you, but with
her, for not fending me her Compliments. But I
*
is a great Elegance in the Original here, Cum utraque officio
parant.
(1) Orig. Lucum hominibus non fane probo. I think I have hit
upon the Meaning of this Expreffion, though the learned Ma-
nutius is of Opinion, that Cicero diſapproves of the Situation of
a Grove, becauſe he intended to make his dwelling Houfe,
and the Temple he defigned to build, as i were, under the
fame Roof. Therefore fuch a Situation was not fit Hominibus
for living People.
¿
(2) Orig. evλoyíav. Convenientiam.
defire
to ATTICUS."
333
defire you will make a thouſand on my Part, both
to her and to your Wife, without the leaft Hint
that I take any Thing amifs. I have fent you Ca-
far's Letter in cafe you had not read it.
;
EPIST. XXIII.
Anſwered immediately Yefterday your Letters of
the Forenoon, I now anſwer thofe of the Even-
ing. I ſhould have chofe that Brutus had invited me
to come to Rome. As he was fpeedily, and fudden-
ly, to fet out upon a long Journey, there was the
more Reaſon for me to have waited upon him, and,
by my Faith, we are both of us now in fuch a Tem-
per of Mind, that we pofitively can have no reliſh
for one another's Company; for you know the
chief Heads of our Entertainment (1), and therefore
I ſhould have been glad to have ſeen him at Rome,
rather than at Tufculanum. The Books, I have ad-
dreffed to Varro, could not detain me in this Place.
For they were tranfcribed, as you faw them, and
they are now correcting the Slips of the Pen. You
know my Difficulties with regard to this Work,
but I leave all to you. My Tranſcribers are like-
wife at Work upon the Treatife I have addreffed to
Brutus.
I beg that you would finish the Commiffion with
which I charged you in the Manner you mention;
though Trebatius fays, that all my Debtors have
taken the Advantage of that Deduction (2). What
(1) Orig. ovµbíwors. Convictus.
is
(2) This probably related to a Debt which had been owing
to our Author before the civil Wars broke out, and during
which ſo much had been paid for Intereft, which, by Cæfar's
Law,
334
CICERO'S EPISTLES
!
1
*
is
your Opinion of them?--You know the Houfé
which I am offered at the Appraiſement; therefore let
us put a friendly End (1) to the Tranfaction. You
cannot believe how little I trouble myſelf about theſe
Matters. I affirm to you, by all that is facred, and
I hope you will believe me, that any little Eſtates I
have, gives me more Pain than Pleaſure; I mean,
that I am more afflicted at not having my Daughter
to fhare in it, than I am pleaſed with having
what ferves my neceffary Expences (2). Trebatius
informed me, that he told you the fame Thing as
he did me, about that Tranfaction. But you per-
haps was afraid left I ſhould not have cared to hear
it. This was indeed a good natured Confideration
in you, but, believe me, thofe are Matters, which,
at preſent, I do not mind. Thereforé enter upon
Conferences, lop away what you will, and finiſh;
excite, flatter, and ſpeak, but fo as not to forget
that you are ſpeaking to Scava (3). You are not
however to think, that they, who uſed to com-
mand other Peoples Properties, will relinquifh
their own. You are only to endeavour to fix the
Day of Payment, and even that muſt be tenderly
handled.
Law, was to be now deducted from the Principal. By the
fame Law Cicero feems to have been obliged to receive the
Houſe here mentioned as Part of Payment, at the Appraiſement
which it bore before the civil War.
(1) Orig. svalwyws. Cum facilitate.
(2) Orig. Me non habere cui tradam, quam habere qui utar..
If our Author had not had a Son, and a Grand-fon, or no Iſſue
of his own Body, there could have been no Difficulty in this
Paffage. The Meaning of it must have been as I have tran-
flated it.
(3) He was a great Partizan for Cafar, and our Author gives
Atticus this Hint, left he might exafperate him by fome unfea-
fonable Warmth or Tenaciouſneſs.
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
335
HEr
EPIS T. XXIV.
Ermogenes Clodius talked to me ſomewhat as if
Andromenes had told him that he had feen my
Son at Corcyra. I fuppofe, if it was fo, you muſt
have heard it.-No Letters then from him?-Or
is the Information falfe?-Pray let me come to a
Certainty. What fhall I anſwer you with Regard
to Varro? You are in Poffeffion of the four
Books (1). I will approve of whatever you do,
without minding public Tattle (2). For why fhould
I? I was more apprehenfive as to the Manner in
which Varro would receive this Compliment. But
now 'that you have undertaken for him, I can fleep
in peace.
1
I
EPIST. XXV.
HAVE wrote an Anſwer to your Letters
which were fo carefully penned concerning that
Diſcount. You will therefore finiſh the Affair, and
that too without any boggling or looking back.
This is proper, nay neceffary, to be done. I thought,
as you write, that our Intelligence about Andro-
menes was falfe. For you muſt have known, had
the Thing been as was reported, and you would
have told me of it. Your Letter is fo full concern-
ing Brutus, that you have faid nothing of yourſelf.
But when do you think he will come to Tufcula-
num? For I go to Rome on the 14th. I meant to
(1) Orig. do Jegía Pelliti fupp. Libri.
(2) Orig. aidéopai Tewas. Vereor Trojanos.
tell
336
CICERO'S EPISTLES
tell Brutus in my Letter (but, as you tell me you
have read it, I have perhaps been a little obfcure (1))
that I underſtood by your Letters, that he was a-
gainſt my coming to Rome at this Time, for no
other Reaſon, as it were, than to pay my Com-
pliments to him. But, as I am now about to ſet
out, I beg you will order Matters fo, as that the
Buſineſs, of the 15th, may be no Hindrance to his
coming to Tufculanum at his own Conveniency.
For I fhall have no Occafion for his Prefence at the
Sale. You are fufficient to manage any Affair of
that Kind. But I wanted him to witneſs my Teſta-
ment (2), though I can put that off to another
Time. Left I ſhould feem to come to Rome on that
Account, I therefore have written to Brutus, that
I fhall have no Occafion for him as I thought I
would upon the 15th. I therefore beg you will
manage this whole Affair, fo as that we may not
difconcert Brutus in the fmalleft Circumſtance of
his Conveniency.
But why, my Friend, do you appear to be un-
der fuch Terrors at my making you anſwerable for
the Reception my Books fhall meet with from Var-
ro? If you have even now any Difficulties, let me
know them. Sure nothing can be more elegant (3),
than
(1) Orig. a'oapésegos. Obfcurior.
(2) He had probably, in confideration of Terentia, his for- .
mer Wife, upon whom his Son and Grandfon had a Dependence,
made his Teſtament a-new, and had it witneſſed by more cre-
dible and difinterefted People than before.
(3) I queftion whether Monfieur Mongault has not miſtaken
the Senfe of this Paffage. The Original is, Nihil eft enim illis
elegantius. He tranflates it, Il n'eft rien de mieux écrit que ce
Livres. I am not p fitive whether this may not be the true
Senſe; I only ſhould be glad if our Author has not been guilty
of fuch grofs Vanity, and if he only jokes here upon the Ele-
gance
to ATTICUS.
337
than they are; I have addreffed them to Varro,
chiefly becauſe he defired that Compliment, but he
!
!
is you
know
So keen that Innocence cannot escape
His wayward Humour
ל
(1).
I very often think I fee him grumbling and com-
plaining-perhaps that my Part, in thofe Trea-
tifes, is more fully defended than his. But, by
Heavens, I appeal to yourlelf that it is not, and
you fhall be judge when you have leifure to read the
Books at Epirus; for at prefent the Diſpatches be
tween you and Alexion (2) muft engrofs all your
Attention.
L
2
Mean while, I really cannot be of Opinion,
that Varro will diſlike the Compliment I have paid
him, and as I have been at the Expence of large
Paper for the Dedication Book, ſhould be very well
pleaſed that you would prefent it to him. But I
tell you again and again, that you muſt be anſwer-
able for the Succefs of its Reception. Therefore if
you have any fcruple, inftead of Varro, let us fix
upon Brutus, for he too is a Follower of Antiochus.
How much do my Academies refemble the Aca-
demy itſelf, never ſettled, always fluttering from
this to that, up and down (3). But let me afk you,
are
gance of the Binding, the Writing, and the like, of the Dèdica.
tion Book which he hints at more feriously a few Lines after.
I have therefore tranflated his Words literally, and the Reader
may make what Application of them he pleafes.
(1) Orig. Δεινός ανὴρ· τάχα κεν καὶ ἀναίτιον αιτιόωτο. Acer Vir,
et qui fortaffe vel infontem accufet.
(2) He was Steward and Agent for Atticus, upon his Eſtates.
in Epirus.
(3) Meaning that his Academies had as often ſhifted their
VOL. II.
Ze
Patrons
<
338
CICERO's EPISTLES
are you not greatly pleaſed with my Dedication to
Varro? Let me perifh if ever I was at fo much
Pains (1) about any Thing; I did not even dictate
it to Tiro, who can follow out whole Periods (2),
but to Spintherus Word by Word.
EPIST. XXVI.
I approve greatly of what you propofe concern-
ing Virgilius (3), you will therefore put it in Ex-
ecution. Let that Seat be our firft Confideration;
and Clodia's the next. If I can get neither, I am
afraid I ſhall be ſuch a Fool as to buy that of Drufus
at any Price. You are no Stranger to this Affair,
and to the immoderate Paffion I have to fee it fi-
niſhed. I therefore fometimes refume the Thoughts
of Building at Tufculum, for I will do any Thing
rather than it fhall not be finiſhed this Summer.
In my preſent Circumſtances, I can enjoy myſelf
no where better than at Aftura. But the Compa-
ny that is with me (I ſuppoſe becauſe they cannot
put up with my melancholly Difpofition) are mak-
ing hafte to Rome. I am determined, as I wrote
you, to leave this Place, left I fhould feem to be
quite forlorn, though I could like very well to
Patrons and Interlocutors, as the Scholars of the Academy did
their Sentiments and Opinions.
(1) Orig. Egyov. Opus.
(2) Orig. wεproxas. Periodos.
(3) He was one of the Coheirs of Scapula; I have not altered
the Order in which this Letter is placed in the common_Edi-
tions, but it is eafy to prove that it was wrote about the Time,
and many of the following Letters, of this Book, were wrote
about the Time of the Writing the 40th, 43d, and 45th of the
Freceding Book.
{
live
to ATTICUS.
339
live here. But whither fhall I go? To Lanuvium?
I ſhould love to go to Tufculanum.—But it ſhall not
be long before you know my Determination. Do
you proceed in Writing. You cannot believe how
much I write all Day, nay all Night, for I am
a Stranger to ſleep. Yesterday I finished the Let-
ter to Cafar, which you, adviſed me to write, and
it was right I ſhould write it, in caſe you ſhould
judge it might be neceffary to fend it. As Matters
are now circumſtanced, I can fee no fuch Neceffity,
but that ſhall be as you think proper; I fhall how-
ever fend you a Copy of it from Lanuvium, if I do
not go to Rome. But you fhall know farther To
morrow.
!
W
EPIS T.
XXVII.
ITH Regard to myfelf, I alway's thought
it extreamly proper that Cæfar's Friends
Thould fee the Letter I fent him before it came to
his Hands; I fhould have acted difrefpectfully to-
wards them had I done otherwife, and dangerouſly
for myſelf had I given him any Offence. As to
them, they have acted very openly. It gives mẹ
Pleaſure that they fpeak their Sentiments fo frank-
ly as they have done, but I am better pleafed that
they want fo many Alterations, that I must writę
the Letter a-new, which they cannot expect. Yet
after all, why ſhould I hint at any Thing concern-
ing the Parthian War, but what-I knew would be
to his Liking; for what is the whole Defign of my
Letter, but to keep him in good Humour (1)?
(1) Orig. nodanía. Aſſentatio.
Z 2
Should
1
340
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
Should I have been at a Lofs for Expreffion, had
my Intention been to have fpoken to him in what
I think ought to be the Language of a good Pa→
triot? We muſt therefore let the Matter, of this
Letter, reft as it is. For where no great Good (1)
could arife from Succefs, and where the Confe
quences may be troubleſome through the ſmalleſt
Slip (2), why should we run any Rifque (3)? ef-
pecially when we confider that, as I had wrote no-
thing to him before, he might conclude that I ne-
ver would have addreffed any Thing to him, unleſs
the War had been entirely finifhed. I likewife an
apprehenſive left he ſhould think that I defign this
Letter to be a kind of an Attonement (4) for my
Panegyric upon Cato. In fhort I repent greatly of
the Thing, and nothing, in the whole, gives me
fo much Pleaſure as that my Complaifance (5) has
been diſapproved of; not to mention my expofing
myſelf to the Ridicule of his Party, and of your
Nephew amongſt the reſt.
But now as to the Gardens.-Unleſs it is in eve-
ry Reſpect agreeable to you, I would not have you
to go to them. For there is no Hurry. But what-
ever happens, let us do all we can to get Payment
from Faberius. Mean while, inform me if you
know any Thing of the Day of Sale. I inftantly
diſpatched to you the Meffenger who came from
Cuma, with the News of your Daughter's perfect
Recovery, and of his having Letters for you.
(1) Orig. èπírevſua. Lucrum.
(2) Orig. άπóτevſua. Infelix fucceffus.
(3) Orig. Tagaxuduvedew. Temere fe periculo objicere.
(4) Orig. pɛíñſpa. Lenimentum.
(5) Orig. owady. Studium.
}
t
EPIST.
to 341
\
ATTICUS.
}
A
EPIST. XXVIII.
S you was to fee thoſe Gardens To-day, I fup-
poſe I fhall know To-morrow what you
think of them. As to Faberius, we will talk of
him when he arrives.
With Regard to my Letter to Cafar, believe me
when I fwear to you, that I can do nothing in it.
It is not the Scandal of the Thing, (though that
ought to be a powerful Diffuafive with me) that
deters me. For how ſcandalous is it for a Man to
flatter the Man, under whom he ought to be a-
ſhamed even to live? But, as I was faying, it is
not the Scandal of this that deters me; I wish it
were, for I fhould then act more confiftently with
what ought to be my own Character. But nothing
occurs to me. You are no Stranger to the Nature of
thoſe perſuaſive Addreffes which were made to A-
lexander, by Men of Eloquence and Learning, They
addreffed a young Prince fired with the Love of the
trueſt Glory, and panting for thoſe Counſels which
lead to the Paths of unperiſhable Fame. A noblę
Subject is a Source of Eloquence. But what can I
do? And yet I had ftruck out of the Block, fome-
what that had fome Refemblance to an Idol (1);
but becauſe fome Strokes in it were better than thoſe
which we have ſeen, and daily fee, they are blamed,
(1) Orig. Tamen nefcio quid equercu exfculpferam, quod vide-
retur fimile fimulacri. Monfieur Mongault tranflates this Paffage,
J'en avois tire parti li mieux que j'avois pú, but that comes, by
no Means, up to our Author's Meaning, which is, that he ac-
tually had flattered Cæfar, and that he had cut out, for him,
ſomewhat refembling a Simulacrum, which was a Compliment.
applied only to the Gods. Simulacra Deum. Virg.
Z 3
at
1
CICERO's EPISTLES
342
at which I am by no Means forry, as, believe me
I ſhould have been had that Letter been, forwarded
to Cæfar.
Reflect, my Friend, how fublime was the Ge-
nius, how amiable was the Modefty of that Pupil
of Ariftotle; but, after being hailed king of the
Eaft, he grew haughty, extravagant, and cruel,
How then can you imagine that the Man, whofe
Statues are carried in Proceffion with thoſe of the
Gods, and ſtands under the fame Roof with that
of the Father of Rome, can have any agreeable re-
liſh for that plain, that modeft, Letter of mine? Let
him blame me for not writing, rather than condemn
what I write. In fhort, he may do as he thinks
proper; I am no longer troubled with the Doubts
and Difficulties (1) which I imparted to you. By
Heavens, I am much more defirous for that Event,
be what it will, than I dreaded it before.
I ſhould be glad to fee you here, unlefs fome-
what of Confequence fhould detain you. Nicias
is earneſtly called upon by Dolabella, (for I faw the
Letter) I was forry for it, but yet I adviſed him to
go. This I write with my own Hand.
W
•
EPIST.
XXIX,
HILE I was aſking fome indifferent Que-
ftions, of Nicias, concerning Men of learn-
ing, our Converfation fell upon Talna. Nicias faid
no mighty Matters of his Genius, but he faid that
he was a modeſt induſtrious Man. There was one
(1) Orig. wpólamua dgxyundusov. Quæftio Archimedea.
Thing
to ATTICUS.
343
Thing, however, I did not like. Nicias faid that he
knew Talna had lately courted Cornificia, the
Daughter of Quintas Cornificius, an old Woman,
and one who had been feveral Times married, but
that ſhe, and her Female Relations, did not ap-
prove of the Match, becauſe they found that his
Eſtate did not amount to above 6400l. I thought
proper you ſhould know this.
I have received Information about the Gardens,
from your Letter, and from Chryfippus. I was no
Stranger to the Inelegancy of the Houſe, and I per-
ceive it has received few or no Alterations. Chry-
Sippus however gives a good Character of the large
Baths, and he fays that Winter Baths may be made
of the ſmaller ones; I must therefore add a ſmall
covered Gallery, and though I fhould make it as
large as that I have built at Tufculanum, yet this Seat
will coft me little more than half of what the other
did. As to my Defign of erecting a Temple (1),
nothing can be more proper than the Grove which I
remember; but when I knew it, it was an unfrequent-
ed Place, though now I hear it is greatly frequented,
I conjure you, by the Gods, to indulge me in
this Paffion (2). Let me but once be paid by Fa-
berius, and never mind the Price. I would have you
outbid Otho, whom I know too well to believe that
he will bid extravagantly; I hear he has fuffered fo
much, that he will be no formidable Competitor.
Had he Money, would he ever bear with what he
has borne? But what am I talking? If you get in
the Debt of Faberius, let us buy them at any Rate;
(1) Orig. a¤ídpupa. Fanum.
រ
(2) Orig· τὸ τύφον με πρὸς θεῶν τροποφόρησον. Cupiditate ma
per Deos indulge.
Z 4
if
344
CICERO'S EPISTLES
if you do not, I fhall not be able to buy them at
at
a low Rate. We muſt in that Cafe, apply to Clo-
dia, with whom I am in fome Hopes I can deal,
both, becauſe her Gardens are far lefs valuable, and
the Time of Dolabella's Payment is fo' near, that I
can promiſe her ready Money. So much for Gar-
dens. To-morrow I expect yourself, or your Ex-
cufe. Perhaps you may be employed with Faberius.
But come if poffible.
-
IH
EPIST.
XXX,
HAVE fent you back our Nephew's´ Letter.
How hardened muft you be if you do not trem-
ble at the Dangers he has run. At the fame Time
he blames me in a Letter which I would have ſent
you, had you not fent me yours; for every Thing
elfe that regards the Campaign is, I believe, the
fame in both Letters. To-day I have diſpatched
an Expreſs to Cume, and charged him with your
Letter to Veftorius, which you delivered to Phar-
naces. Juft as I had fent Demea to you, Eres ar-
rived here. But there is no other News in the
Letter he brought, but that the Sale will be in
two Days. After it is over, therefore you will
come as you promife me: I wish you could firſt
finifh my Tranfaction with Faberius. Eros fays,
that he is not arrived at Rome to-day, but he
thinks that he will To-morrow Morning. You
muft pay your Court to him, for there can be no
Guilt (1) in any Complaiſance of that Kind. I hope
to ſee you the Day after To-morrow.
་
(1) Orig, noħanías. Aſſentationes.
#
1
I wiſh
13
to ATTICUS.
345
{
Į wiſh you could recover the Names of the ten
Deputies who were fent to Mummius.
They are
not mentioned by Polybius, I remember Albinus the
Confular, and Spurius Mummius were two of them.
If I Miſtake not, Hortenfius told me Tuditanus was
another. But I perceive, from the Annals of Libo,
that Tuditanus was not made Prætor till fourteen
Years after the Confulfhip of Mummius. This does
not tally. I defign to compofe a Difcourfe held in
an Affembly of Patriot Statefmen (1) at Olympia,
or fome other proper Place in the Manner of your
Friend Dicearchus.
1
EPIST. XXXI.
N the Morning of the 27th, I received a Let-
ter from Demea, dated the Day before, by
which I ought to expect you to Day or To-mor-
row, but I believe, though I wiſh for your coming
fo foon, I fhall be the very Perſon who will prevent
it. For though that Tranſaction with Faberianus
is in great Forwardneſs, yet it is not fo forward as
not to Occaſion ſome Delay to your fetting out. As
therefore you have ftaid fo long, you may come
with your Conveniency. I beg you would fend me
the Treatifes of Dicearchus, which you mention,
you may likewife add that upon the Defcent (2).
I have laid afide (3) all farther Thoughts of the
(1) Orig. TOMITINòv oúλλoyov. Conventum virorum reipublica
tractanda peritorum.
(2) Orig. naτabáoews. De defcenfu fupp. in Antrum Trophonii.-
See Vol. 1. p. 318.
(3) Orig. xexpına. Decrevi.
!
Letter
346
CICERO's EPISTLES
Letter (1) I addreffed to Cæfar; and yet, in it, I
adviſed him to the very Meaſure which his Friends
fay he has declared in Writing; that he would un-
dertake nothing againſt the Parthians, until he had
fettled all the Affairs of the Roman Government.
But, at the fame Time, I left it to himfelf what
Courſe to take. Now you muſt know that he
waits for my Opinion, nor will he do any Thing
till he knows it. Let us, my Friend, fling from
us all Confiderations of that Kind; let us be, at
leaft, half free, which we can be only by Bridling
our Tongues, and fecreting our Perfons.
But you will, as you write to me, make at At-
tempt upon Otho. My deareft Friend finish that
Affair. For I can find no other Place where I can
keep myſelf retired from the Public, and, at the
fame Time, enjoy your Company.
Now my
Scheme, as to the Payment for that Seat, is as
follows. Caius Albanius, has bought of Mar-
(1) It is pity that this Letter has not come to our Hands, for,
in the Manner our Author talks of it, it muſt have done great
Honour to his Memory. Mean while I can't help thinking
there is a great deal of Grimace in his Appiehenfions from Ca-
Jar, who was too great a Man, and had too great a Superiority of
Genius to take any Thing amifs, that our Author could fay.
Cicero however had great Managements to obferve towards Ce-
far's Friends and Miniſters, and fo had Atticus, which was the
true Reaſon why they durft not ſend that Letter to Cæfar, with-
out their Participation. There might be many Things in it
which Gafar might be fond of, (and indeed I believe our Au-
thor knew, and thought fo) and yet be extremely diſtaſteful to
the great Men who acted under Cefar. Mean while, if the Ora-
tions, which our Author, about this Time, pronounced before
Cæfar, are the very fame with thoſe which have come to our
Hands, we have full Proofs of the noble Indulgence which Ca-
far gave to his Eloquence, and that it was not Cayar, but his
Minifters whom Cicero dreaded.
'
Cus
to ATTICUSіс
347
.
ens Pilius, a certain Number (1) of Acres, for
which he is to pay him nine hundred Pounds, to
the beſt of my Remembrance; though, you know,
that the Price of every Thing is now greatly
fallen. But I have a ftrong Defire for the Place,
nor do I think, I ſhall have any Body to bid againſt
me for it, excepting Otho. But, perhaps, you
may be able to make fome Impreffion upon
him, eſpecially if you can get Canus to back you.
What an infenfible Cormorant he is! Does he
think that my Paffion as a Father (2).—But write
me an Anſwer when you think proper.
ΤΗ
È PIS T. XXXII.
HIS Day I have received from you a fecond
I received
to
Letter. Therefore, I am unwilling to put
you off with only one. Do you deal with Faberius,
as you mention in yours. The whole of my
Scheme depends upon that Tranſaction, and (be-
lieve me in this as in every Thing elſe) it never
otherwife would have entered into my Head.
Therefore, continue your Earneftnefs, which I
(1) The reading here is very uncertain in the Original, I
have, therefore, as the Matter is of little Confequence, kept
an indefinite Number of Acres.
(2) Orig. Pufet me patris. The Reader mult perceive how
extremely uncertain Cicero's Meaning is here, I have given it
the moſt probable Turn I could. He probably either meant to
fay, Does he think, that my Paffion as a Father, for having
this Temple erected, will carry me fo far as to gratify Otho at
any Rate, or to bid extravagantly for the Eftate; or does he
think, that my Paffion as a Father, for my Son who has run
into extravagant Expences at Athens, has difabled me from buy-
ing it?
know,
1
·348
CICERO'S EPISTLES
know, cannot be exceeded. Haunt him, prefs
him, finifh with him. I beg you will fend me the
two Treatifes of Dicæarchus concerning the Soul
(1), and that upon the Defcent into the Cave of
Trophonius (2). I can neither find his Tripolitics
(3), nor the Letter he addreffed to Ariſtoxenus (4).
I ſhould be extremely glad to have thoſe three
Books at prefent, becauſe they fuit well with my
Intention. My Torquatus is at Rome, and I have
ordered it to be delivered to you. If I miſtake
not, I ſent you before my Catulus and Lucullus. Į
have prefaced them a-new, with large Commenda-
tions of thoſe two great Men. I have ordered you
to have thoſe Prefaces, and fome other Additions.
I perceive you miſapprehend what I wrote to
you concerning the ten Deputies, becauſe, perhaps,
I wrote it in Short-hand (5), My Enquiry was
concerning Caius Tuditanus, who, as I was told
by Hortenfus, was amongst the ten Deputies. Now,
I perceive by the Annals of Libo, that he was
Prætor under the Confulate of Publius Popilius,
and Publius Rupilius. My Difficulty is, whether
he could have been a Deputy fourteen Years before
he was Prætor, unlefs, which I cannot fuppofe,
(1) Orig. wegì luxus. De anima.
(z) Orig. Karaßáoews. De defcenfu.
(3) Orig. TRITONITIO Tripoliticum. This Treatife is quoted
by Athenæus, and I fuppofe, received its Name from his treat-
ing of three States, viz. thofe of Athens, Corinth, and Pellene.
(4) He was a very voluminous Author, and a Diſciple of
Ariftotle, whom he followed in not believing the Soul to be im-
mortal.
(5)_Orig. Avd onμewv. Per notas.
From this, and many
other Paffages of Antiquity, it appears, that the Practice of
writing in Short-hand was common in the Days of our Author,
and under the Emperors it was brought to great Perfection.
that
1
to ATTÍCUS.
349
that he was very old when he was made Queſtor
(i). For, I perceive, that he went readily through
the Curule Magiſtracies in the Years appointed by
Law. As to Poftumius, whofe Statue you fay, you
remember in the Ifthmus of Corinth, I know he
was one of the ten Deputies. He is the fame who
was Conful with Lucullus, whom you gave me
as a proper Perſon to take a Part in thofe Confer-
ences (2). Find out fome others if poffible, that
the Dignity of the Interlocutors may give ſome
to the Work (3).
WH
EPIST. XXXIII.
$
HAT amazing Negligence! Can you
imagine that Balbus and Faberius did not
often tell me, that the Declaration had been made
(4)? I even fent one at their Requeft (for they
faid, it was proper) to make it, and it was made
by our Freedman Philotimus. If I miſtake not,
you are acquainted with the Clerk. Whether you
are or not, write to him, and let him forthwith
engrofs the Deed. I have written to Faberius, in
1
(1) Our Author cannot imagine, that this Tuditanus fhould be
an old Man, when he firſt was made Queſtor, which was the
lowest of all public Offices, as he went through all the higher
Offices with fuch Dispatch and Regularity.
(2) Orig. Zúλλoyov. Conventum,
(3) Orig. πομπεῦσαι καὶ τοῖς προσώποις. Pompam agere etiam
perfonis.
(4) Orig. Profeffionem relatam, This refers to a Declaration,
which every Roman was obliged to get before the Prætor, of
the Encreaſe of his Eftate fince the laft general Cenfus or Sur-
vey of the People, at which Time he was obliged to make a
Declaration of all he was worth.
the
350
CICERO's EPISTLES
the Terms you defire. I fuppofe, that you have
concluded upon fomething with Balbus to day in
the Capitol. I have no Kind of Check (1) upon
myſelf, with Regard to Virgilius (2). Surely, I am
far from being under any Obligations to him, and
fhould I buy his Share of the Gardens, how can he
be at an any Lofs (3)? But let us take Care, thàt
he does not act the Part of a Calius (4) in Africa.
You will talk concerning that Debt with Cifpius,
but if Plancus has an Eye upon the Effects, the
Tranfaction will be attended with Difficulties. I
am as impatient as you are for your coming hither.
But that Affair muft be by no Means neglected.
You tell me, that it is poffible to prevail with
Otho, which gives me great Satisfaction. When
we begin to treat, we fhall then think of the Var
luation (5), though he wrote nothing to me, but
(1) Orig. drownia. Verecundia.
(2) Our Author feems to have been fometimes very pliable
in his Principles of Patriotiſm. Nothing was more common for
him than to exclaim in the moft bitter Manner againſt thoſe who
bought Eftates confifcated by a Conqueror, and yet, he could
buy this Eftate of Virgilius, which was confifcated for his Ad-
herence to his Country's Intereft, without any Scruple. By this
Purchafe he ſtood in the Place of Virgilius, who was one of the
Coheirs of Scapula, and he was thereby at Liberty to bid for
the Gardens. It is true, this Virgilius was Governor of Sicily
during our Author's Banifhment, and was far from being com-
plaifant to him at that Time. But ſtill, one ſhould think, that
the Principles of Patriotiſm might have got the better of any
private Refentment or Affection.
(3) Becauſe, if he obtained his Pardon, he would have a Title
to the Purchaſe-Money, which, however, was generally far
below the Value of the Purchaſe.
(4) This is the Calius whom our Author mentions in the
twelfth Letter of the tenth Book, who made a Stand in the
Marian Intereſt, and obtained his Terms.
(5) Probably Otho was willing to give over Thoughts of the
Purchaſe, provided our Author would fell him part of his Eltate,
which was to be valued.
concern-
to ATTICUS.
35*
concerning the Quality of the Land he wanted.
Endeavour to come to a Conclufion with Pifo if pof-
fible. I have received the Treatife of Dicearchus,
and I look for his Defcent into the Cave of Tro-
phonius (1).
If you employ a proper Hand, he will find what
I want to know in the Regiſter of the Senate's Re
folutions, under the Confulate of Cnaus Cornelius
and Lucius Mummius. With Regard to Tuditanus,
your Opinion is very plaufible (2). Hortenfius
would not without goad Grounds, have affirmed,
that he was at Corinth, and if fo, he muſt have then
been a Queftor, or a military Tribune. You may
come at the Truth by Antiochus. Inform your-
ſelf likewiſe, in what Year he was a Queſtor, or a
military Tribune. If neither of thoſe anſwers with
the Year, whether he did not ferve amongst the
Prefects, or amongst the Voluntiers (3) provided
he ferved at all in that War.
As I was going to ſpeak of Varra, he comes
in, like the Wolf in the Fable. He is just arrived
here, and at an Hour that required my keeping
him all Night. But my Entreaties to make him
ftay, were not ſo preffing as to tear his Robe. For
I remember your Manner; befides, he had a great
deal of Company along with him, and I was not
prepared for their Entertainment. But there is no
great Matter in that. Soon after, Caius Capito ar,
(1) Orig. Karaldosws. De defcenfu.
(3) Orig. Contubernalibus. They were young Gentlemen of
Fortune and Family, who ferved under Generals of Reputation,
and were treated pretty much upon the fame Footing, as our
Voluntiers of Diſtinction.
(2) Orig. Einoyor. Probabile.
rived
1
CICERO'S EPISTLES
352
J
rived with Titus Carrinas, and I but juſt touched
their Garment, when they confented to ftay, which
happened luckily enough. But by Accident Capito
talked about the Project of enlarging the City; he
faid, that the Tiber was to, be turned from the
Milvian Bridge, and to run by the Foot of the
Vatican Mountain; that the Campus Martius was
to be encloſed and built upon within the Walls,
and that the Vatican Field was to fupply its Place.
What faid I, is your Opinion? Am I ſafe, to buy
the Gardens of Scapula? Take Care, anfwered he,
what you do in that, the Law will certainly paſs,
for Cæfar is much for it. I was glad to receive
this Intelligence, but fhould be forry were the
Thing carried into Execution. But what is your
Opinion? But why fhould I aſk that? For you
know, that Capito does not yield even to Camillus
himſelf, in hunting after Intelligence of News.
two.
་
Upon the whole, you will make me certain as
to the Tranſaction of the 15th, for it is that which
carries me to Rome. It is true, I have other Bufi-
neſs, but I could eaſily put that off for a Day or
Mean Time, I would not have you fatigue
yourſelf by the Journey, and I excufe Dionyfius like-
wife. As to what you write concerning Brutus, I
have left him entirely at Liberty as to what regards
me, for I wrote to him Yeſterday, being the 15th
of May, that I fhould have no Occafion for his
Attendance:
ÉPIST.
to ATTICU S.
353
1
I
EPIST. XXXIV.
Refted for three Hours at Lanuvium, to ſhun the
exceffive Heat, fo that I did not come to Aftura
till the 23d. If it is not too much Trouble to
you, I beg you would order it fo, as that I
need not come to Rome before the 7th of next
Month. You may bring this about by the Means
of Egnatius Maximus. I beg of you above all
Things, that you will finiſh that Affair with Pub-
lilius (1) before my Arrival, and write me what
the World ſays concerning it. So then, Peo-
ple talk of it, it feems. By Heavens, I did
not think they would, for the Story is now ftale!
Alas! in what I write, I only mean to fill up this
Page. Why fhould I fay any more? For I am to
ſee you in Perfon, unleſs you give me a farther
Leave of Absence. It was with that View that I
have written to you concerning the Sale of the
Gardens.
EPIST.
XXXV.
OW ſcandalous is it, that your Countryman
HO
(2) is upon enlarging the Walls of Rome,
though he faw it for the firft Time but two Years
ȧgo. Does he then think it too little, when it is
(1) He was Brother to his laſt Wife, and this probably re-
lated to our Author's Divorce.
(2) Orig. Gentilis tuus. He probably was a Greek; for our
Author often jokes Atticus with being a Greek from his great
Affection to that Country,
VOL. II.
A a
large
354.
CICERO'S EPISTLES
large enough to contain even him. I therefore,
expect a Letter from you upon that Head. You
write me, that you will give my Books to Varrog
as foon as he fhall arrive. If fo, they are delivered
by this Time, and now you cannot retract. Alas!
you know not to what Danger you have expofed
yourſelf. But, perhaps, my Letter on that Head
has kept you back; tho', when you wrote your laſt,
had not received it. I therefore, am impatient
you
to know how that Affair will turn out.
W
EPIST. XXXVI.
HEN you tell me of the Affection Brutus
has for me, and of your ſocial Converſe to-
gether, you tell me nothing that is new. I have heard
the fame Thing often, but the oftener I hear it, I
hear it with the greater Pleaſure, and that too is
augmented by the Satisfaction which it gives you;
and I am the more fure not to be miſtaken, fince I
have my Information from yourſelf.
TR
EPIST. XXXVII.
HIS is my fecond Letter to Day. With
Regard to the Debt due to you by Xenos
and the three hundred and twenty Pounds which lies
for
you in Epirus, nothing can happen more con-
veniently and fitly than what you write. The
younger Balbus mentioned the Thing to me in the
fame Manner you do. I have no Kind of News
but that Hirtius is a ftrenuous Champion for me
againſt
very
to ATTICUS.
355
againft our Nephew Quintus, who rails againft me
on all Occafions, and eſpecially at Entertainments.
When he is tired of abufing me, he then falls up-
on his Father, but he fays nothing fo credible (1)
as that both of us are irreconcileable to Cafar, who,
he fays, ought not to trust us, and that he ought
to take Care left I fhould do him a Mifchief, (this
might have dreadful Confequences (2) with Regard
to me, did I not know that our Mafter thinks I
have no Spirit left) and that I am a very Tyrant
to my Son.But let him talk as pleaſes.-
•
I am glad that I gave to Lepta my Panegyric
upon Porcia (3), before I received your Letter. If
you love me, you will take care, if it is fent at all to
Brutus and Domitius, that it be the very fame as it
goes out of my Hands. I beg you will daily in-
form me concerning the Gladiators, and of all the
other goffipping Affairs (4) you mention. If you
think proper, I wish you would talk to Balbus and
Offilius, about advertiſing that Sale.. I have my-
ſelf ſpoke to Balbus, and he has confented to it. I
fuppofe, Offilius has a Catalogue of all the Effects,
as well as Balbus. But Balbus was for having the Sale
to be within a Day or two, and at Rome. If Cæfar
fhould not come fo foon, it may be put off for
fome Time. But it is probable, that he will
arrive immediately. You will therefore, think of
(1) Orig. a&ionisws. Probabiliter.
(2) Orig. QoCεpòv v. Formidabile erat.
ñv.
(3) She was the Sifter of Cato, and the Mother of Domitius
Enobarbus. Thofe Panegyrics upon old Ladies, which were
common in Roms, anfwered pretty much to our funeral Ser-
mons. That mentioned here never was pronounced, and is
how loft.
1
· (4) Orig. aveμopópnra. Ventis mittenda..
A a 2
all
356
CICERO's EPISTLES
all this, Veftorius is of the fame Opinion with
me:
1
I
EPIST. XXXVIII.
PIS
Scribled I know not what to you before Day-
break by the fame Lamp, and with the fame
Pen with which I was writing againſt the Epicu-
reans (1), and I fent it off before it was light. After-
wards, falling asleep again, and waking with the
Sun, I received a Letter from your Nephew,
which I have ſent to you. The Beginning of it,
though perhaps, he did not attend (2) to it, is
very affrontive to me. For, he fays, “I do not
approve, that any Thing unhandfome fhould be
faid of you," meaning, that though a great many
unhandſome Things may be faid of me, yet, that
he was againſt their being faid. Can any Thing
be more fcandalous (3) than that? But I have fent
you the Letter, fo you may read the whole. You
may perceive (4), that he was ftartled by the daily
and hourly Encomiums which Brutus made upon
me, and of which many People have given me
Information, and this made him write to me, as I
(1) He was then compofing his Tufculan Queſtions.
(2) Orig. in ités nosv. Non advertik.
(3) Perhaps the Reader may think with me, that our Author
is a little too fore upon this Occafion; for indeed, I can fee no-
thing in the Paffage here quoted, that ought to give him ſo
much Offence,
(4) I read the whole of this Paffage as follows, Jam cetera"
leges, mifi enim ad te ; judicabifque, Bruti noftri quotidianis affi-
duifque laudibus, quas ab eo de nobis haberi permulti mihi renuntia-
verunt, commotum iftum aliquando, feripfiffe aliquid ad me: credo
& at te.
ſuppoſe
to ATTICUS.
357
ſuppoſe he has to you. If he has, you will let me
know what it is. I know not what he has wrote to his
Father, but you ſhall hear how reſpectfully he writes
to his Mother. "I wanted, fays he, that you
fhould hire me a Houſe, that I might be the oftner
with you, and I wrote you fo much, but you took
no Notice of it; we therefore, can have very little
of one another's Company; for I cannot bear that
Houſe of yours, you know for what Reaſon." Now,
my Brother ſays, that the Reafon he hints at here is,
his Hatred to his Mother.
Now my deareſt Friend, affiſt me with
your Ad-
vice; fhall I tread the fteep Afcent to Juftice (1),
that is, fhall I defpife and difdain this Fellow, or
fhall I temporize (2)? For, as Pindar fays, " To
fay the Truth of it, I am a little irrefolute (3)." The
former is moſt agreeable to my Inclination, but the
latter, perhaps, is better fuited to my Circum-
ftances. You may depend upon my agreeing with
your Advice be it what it will. I am extremely
afraid, left he ſhould ſurpriſe me at Tufculum.
Were I at Rome, I could manage better. Then
ought not I to go to Aftura? But what if Cæfar
ſhould arrive fuddenly. I beg you will affift me
with your Counſel. I will do whatever you fhall
think proper.
(1) Orig. Tórepor díxas Teixos dov. Utrum juftitia murum
altum.
(2) Orig. nonoλiãs áráras. An verfute fraudis.
σκολιᾶς ἀπάτας.
(3) Orig. Sixa mos vóos árpéxerar eiten. Ut zerum loquar,
animus mihi dubius.
$
EPIST
A a 3·
358 CICERO'S EPISTLES
t
WH
EPIST. XXXIX.
HAT an arrogant Fellow this Nephew of
ours is! He writes to his Father in very
dutiful Terms, that he muft leave his Houſe on
Account of his Mother.
he pules, and fays, that
As to the old Gentleman,
his Son has Reafon to
hate his Mother. But I will follow your Advicę.
For I fee you are for temporizing Meaſures (1). I
will, as you counfel me, come to Rome, but even,
that will be againſt my Inclination, for I am ex-
tremely buſy in writing. You will fay, that I fhall
fee Brutus at the fame Time. But that would
be no Motive for me, were it not for another Rea-
fon. I don't like the Quarter from whence he has
come (2). He has not been long away, nor has
he written to me any Letter. I am, however, im-
patient to know what Succeſs he has had, upon the
whole, in his Journey. I beg that you will fend
me the Books which I wrote for to you before, and
eſpecially the Remarks upon Plato's Phædrus, and
the Lives of the illuftrious Men of Greece. (3).
(1) Orig. σκολιά. Obliqua.
(2) Meaning from Cæfar.
(3) Orig. Φαιδρι περισσῶν, καὶ Ἑλλάδος. De iis quæ redundant
in Phædro & de vita Gracie, This I have tranflated upon Con-
jecture for the Original is very dark,
1
1
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
359
D
EPIST.
XL.
OES Brutus then fay, that Cæfar brings
us
good News (1) for our Patriots? but where
can he find them untefs he hangs himſelf, and fol-
low them into the other World? for his Power is
too well eſtabliſhed in this. Where, where is now
your fine Device (2) which I faw hanging in your
Cabinet (3)? I mean, an Abala and a Brutus in
One Piece. But what can he do? It happens
luckily, that even the Author of all the fcandalous
Things our Nephew has done, has no good Opi-
nion of him. I was afraid, left Brutus himſelf
fhould have fallen in love with him, for he intimat-
ed fo much in the Letters he wrote in anſwer to
mine. I fhould have been glad to have heard fome-
thing of their Converſation. But, as you write to me,
we will talk of this at meeting. But what will you
adviſe me to? Am I to go inſtantly to Rome, or
am I to ſtay here? I am, indeed, extremely fond
of my Studies, and I am unwilling to receive that
Fellow here. I hear his Father meets him to-day
at the Acronoman Stones. You cannot conceive
in what a Paffion he went. To befure, I chid
him for it. I myſelf am in Sufpence (4), I muft
(1) Orig. Evalyén. Bonos Nuntios.
(2) Crig. Pinovémua. Opus ftudiofe elaboratum.
Φιλοτέχνημα.
(3) Orig. Parthenon. This probably fignifies a Maiden
Apartment, and perhaps was fo called by Atticus, becauſe only
a very few choice Relations or Friends got Admittance into it.
The Servilius Abala, here mentioned, was an Anceſtor of Bru-
tus by the Mother's Side, and was famous for killing Spurius
Melius. By the Hint which our Author gives us in this Paf-
fage, it is plain, that the greateſt Men of Rome had thrown
their Eyes upon Brutus, as the Deliverer of his Country.
_(4) Orig. KETOμa. Volaticus fio.
A a 4
therefore
1
360
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
therefore take Time to confider. Mean while, da
you confult with yourſelf, and let me know your
Opinion about my going to Rome, and if you can
have any Inſight of the other Matters (1) by To-
morrow, let me know early next Day.
I
EPIST. XLI.
HAVE actually fent off to my Brother, the
Letter addreffed to your Sifter, upon his com-
plaining of the Variance between his Wife and Son,
which he ſaid, would oblige him to leave his own
Houſe to the Latter. I have acquainted him, that
he has written a civil Letter to his Mother, but
none to you. My Brother feemed to be furprized
at the firft Part of this Intelligence, but with Re-
gard to his omitting to write to you, he took that
Blame upon himself, becauſe he had often in his
Letters to his Son, complained bitterly of your
having treated him ill. When he intimated, that
his Refentment was now cooled, (and after reading
your Letter (2) adviſing to temporize) I told him,
(1) Orig. Ta xa. Omnia.
that
(2) Monfieur Mongault has certainly miſunderſtood this Paf-
fage, by its not being properly pointed in the printed Editions.
The Original according to my Pointing is, Ego, ei, tuis litteris
leftis, oxonias áráras, (verfata fraudis) fignificavi me non fore.
And he tranflates it, Je lui ai dit que depuis que j'ai reçû la lettre
où vous me conſeillez de menager notre neveu, je ne ferois pas plus.
en colore que lui. But this never can be Cicero's Meaning; for it
is plain, from the Tenor of all the former Letters between him
and Atticus upon this Head, and even from the Letter before
us, that there was no good Underſtanding between Quintus and
Atticus, and that our Author did not make his Brother his Con-
fident in what paffed between Atticus and himſelf. It is plain,
that
to ATTICUS.
361
We
that I ſhould ſhow as little Refentment as he. Wę
then talked of Cana, and fhould that Marriage be
adviſeable, it muſt neceffarily be brought about by
lenient Meaſures. But as you advife, we muſt ſtill
have Regard to our own Characters and Importance,
and we ought to act entirely in Concert together;
though indeed, his Treatment of me has been more
diſreſpectful, and is doubtlefs more notorious. If
Brutus, however, brings us any new Light, there
can be no Manner of Doubt of our following thofe
Meaſures. But we ſhall talk farther at meeting,
for the Matter is weighty and delicate. I there-
fore, unleſs you give me a farther Leave of Ab-
fence, will fet out To-morrow.
TH
EPIST. XLII.
HE young Man our Nephew, has been with
me in great Dejection (1). Why fo Grave
(2), faid I? Need you to aſk that, anſwered he,
fince I am now on the Wing to fet out, and that
too for a Campaign (3) as dangerous as it muſt be
difgrace-
that they looked upon Quintus to have great Weakneffes with
Regard to his Son, and that he was a worthleſs young Fellow.
But at the fame Time, as he was fo much in Favour with
Cæfar, and as they had a great Match in View for him, that it
was very proper to manage him.
(1) Orig. n μána narnons. ¯ Admodum triſtis.
(2) Orig. av de dy rí cúmes. Tu vero quid cogitabundus.
(3) Monfieur Mongault for fome plaufible Reaſons, thinks
the Campaign here mentioned to have been that againſt Pom-
pey's Sons in Spain, and not, as is commonly thought, the intend-
ed War againſt the Parthians. He obferves, that it muſt have
been written towards the latter End of December in the Year
of Rome 707, at which Time of the Year Cæfar actually
fet out upon the Campaign against Pompey's Sons, whereas the
Parthian
362
CICERO's EPISTLES
4
difgraceful to me. And pray, faid I, are you un-
der any Neceffity to do this? Yes, replied he, I
Parthian Expedition was not to take Place before the Months
of April or May in the Year 709. In the next Place, that
Cicero fpeaks here of the Differences between the Mother and
the Son, as being a new Matter; whereas, it had made a
great Noiſe after the Spanish War was finished. Lastly, he ob-
ferves, that if the War mentioned here is that againſt Pompey's
Children, the Expreffion of the younger Cicero is entirely con-
formable to the Sentiments of Cicero and all his Family, who
thought it difgraceful to ferve againſt Pompey and the Republi-
cans. For thofe Reaſons he concludes, that this Letter ought to
ftand before almoſt all the Letters of the twelfth and thirteenth
Books. But after all, I cannot eafily be of this learned Gentle-
inan's Opinion. For in the firft Place, this Letter might very
well be written in the End of December 708, becauſe, though
Cæfar did not himſelf purpoſe to ſet out to the Parthian War,
till the Beginning of April following; yet three Months was
a Time fhort enough for the other Officers to put themſelves in
Readineſs for their March from Rome to the Place of Rendez-
vous. This is confirmed by a Paſſage in Appian, lib. ii. de Bel.
Civ. who tells us, that Cæfar in the Winter of the Year of
Rome 708, or rather in the Beginning of the Year 709, fent
across the Adriatic Sea, fixteen Legions of Foot, and ten thou-
fand Horfe for the Parthian War. Suppofing therefore, as we
may reaſonably do, that the younger Cicero was ordered to
this Service, there can be no Abfurdity in his holding the
Converfation repeated here with his Uncle in the End of Decem-
ber 708, especially as in all Probability he was not within lefs
than three or four Weeks of his Departure, fince we perceive, he
purpoſes to celebrate his Marriage before he went Abroad.
As to Monfieur Mongault's fecond Reaſon, I think, the Fact is
against him; for I can perceive nothing in this Letter that fup-
poſes the Differences between the Son and the Mother, to have
been of a late Standing, but rather the Contrary; befides, in
Fact, the younger Cicero cannot well be fuppofed before the
Campaign in Spain, to have contracted ſo much Debt as he is
reprefented to have done here; for he was not, even at this
Time, above two and twenty Years of Age at moft.
As to his
laft Conjecture of the Conformity of the younger Cicero's Sen-
timents with thofe of his Family, our Author does not give us
the leaft Intimation that the young Gentleman had any Qualms
on that Account. Nay, he was fo far from having any, that he
was very forward in embracing Cæfar's Cauſe, and even out-、
ftript his Father in his Zeal. Upon the whole, I have not ven-
tured to alter the Place of this Letter.
am
to ATTICUS.
363
me to the Camp.
I borrowed a little
-never a Word.
am in Debt, and I have not wherewithal to carry
This was a Topic (1) in which
of your Eloquence, by faying
But, continued he, my Uncle
gives me the greateſt Pain.-How fo, faid I?-Be-
caufe, replies the other, he is angry with me.
Then why do you fuffer him to be fo? for I
chofe to talk to him in that Strain, rather than
fay, "Why do you give him Caufe?" I will not
fuffer him, anſwered he, for I will take from him
all Ground of Refentment. In that, faid I, you
will do quite right. But, if it is not dif
agreeable to you, I fhould be glad to know what
thoſe Grounds are ?-Becaufe, replies he, when
I was in fome Stand concerning my Marriage, I
diſobliged my Mother, and, of Courfe, my Uncle.
At prefent, every Thing of that Kind, is indifferent
to me, and I will do as they would have me. I wifh
you, continued I, all Happineſs in the Match, and
I think you are extremely in the Right to comply.
But when is it to be?-Why, faid he, as I am
determined upon the Match, all Times are alike to
me. Then, I fuppofe, concluded I, you'll finiſh
it before you fet out, and you'll thereby give Con-
tent to your Father likewife. With all my Heart,
replied he. And here our Converſation ended.
But !-I had almoft forgot-Do you know, that
the 3d of January is my Birth-day, I therefore,
expect your Company. As I am writing this, be-
hold I receive a Meffage from Lepidus, entreating
me to come to Rome. I fuppofe, they have not a
fufficient Number of Augurs for the Confecration
(1) Orig. Hoc loco.
· of
364
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
of the Temple (1), I will therefore go, though it
is againſt the Grain (2), and I fhall then fee you. -
W!
EPIS T. XLIII.
ELL, I will make ufe of my Leave for
another Day's Abſence, and you have been
very obliging in intimating the fame to me, at a
Time when I did not look for it, for your Letter
ſeems to have been written juft after the Plays were
over. It is true, I have fome neceffary Buſineſs
at Rome, but it may be done two Days hence.
YOUR
EPIS T. XLIV.
OUR Letter gave me Pleaſure, the Pagean-
try, Pangs; yet they are alleviated by fome
Circumſtances, fuch as that of Cotta (3). As to
the
(1) Monfieur Mongault looks upon the Greek Expreffion that
follows here to be irrecoverable to any Senfe, and in this I
agree with him. But he feems to fuppofe that the Temple,
here. mentioned, the Dedication of which, required a cer-
tain Number of Augurs, at least three, to be prefent, to have
been either the Temple of Mars, or of Venus, both which were
built by Cæfar. But I muft obferve that Plutarch, in the Lifę
of Cæfar and Appian, de Bel. Civ. lib. ii. inform us, that there
was a Temple built, at this Time, by the Public, dedicated to
Clemency, in which the Statues of Cæfar and Clemency were
erected as joining Hands together. As this Temple was built
by a Decree of the Senate, after the Spanish War was finiſhed,
it confirms my Conjecture in the preceding Note,
(2) Orig. 1λías ozógde.
(3) We are in the Dark as to this Circumſtance. Monfieur
Mongault, upon the Suppofition that this Letter was written
before Cafar's return from Spain, thinks that this Paffage can-
`not relate to this Cotta (who was one of the Commiffaries for
keeping the Sibylline Books) intending to make a Motion in the
Senate,
1
to ATTICUS.
365
'
the People, they acted nobly in giving no Ap
plauſe even to Victory herſelf, while fhe was cou-
pled to fuch a Companion. Brutus has been with
me, and, he is earneft that I fhould addrefs fome-
what to Cæfar. Well, I will humour him, but let
him look upon the Pageantry (1).
Mean while, have you ventured to preſent my
Work to Varro ?-I long to know his Sentiments
of it. But he must first read it-and when will
that be? I approve of your Indulgence to Attica.
The very Exhibition itfelf, as well as the Ideas of
Religion and Reverence which it raiſes, gratifies the
Imagination; and fo far it is right. I beg that you
will fend me the Cotta. I have the Libo here, and
I had the Caſca before (2). Brutus has informed
me, from Titus Ligarius, that I was miſtaken in
making mention of Lucius Curfidius in my Oration
for Ligarius, but this was no more than a Slip of
the Memory (3). I knew that Curfidius was inti-
Senate, for declaring Cæfar King, becauſe the Sibylline Ora-
cles had declared the Parthians could not be fubdued but by a
King; "for, fays that Tranflator, the Report of making Cafar
a King did not rife till long after this Letter was written." Not-
withſtanding this Gentleman's Opinion, it is certain that the
Parthian Expedition was talked of even before Caſar ſet out,
for the Spanish War, and his Creatures, for fome Months be-
fore his Death, had been hinting at the Expediency of making
him King. But they were always difcouraged by the People.
Appian, de Bel. Civ. lib. ii. tells us that immediately upon his
Return from Spain, " fome People were for making him King;'
nor can I find either by Plutarch or Appian, or the belt Autho-
rities, that the extravagant Honours, mentioned in this Letter,
were paid to Cæfar, till after the Battle of Cordova, when the
Republican Party was entirely deſtroyed.
(1) Meaning that all the Compliments he could pay, muſt be
infipid after the extravagant Flatteries of the Senate.
(2) Theſe three Gentlemen had compofed Books which bore
their ſeveral Names.
(3) Orig. umumxdv àµágrnua, Memoria Capfus.
mate
366
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
You
mate with the Ligarian Family, but I perceive that
he was dead before I fpoke that Oration,
will therefore take care that the Tranfcribers Phar-
naces, Antæus and Salvius, erafe his Name out of
all their Copies.
L
EPIST. XLV.
1
AMIA was with me after your Departure,
and fhewed me a Letter that Cæfar had
fent him. It was indeed of an older Date than
that which Cæfar wrote by Diochares (1), but it
pofitively intimated that he would be at Rome be-
fore the Celebration of the Roman Plays. Towards
the Clofe of his Letters, he orders him (2) to take
care that every Thing be in readineſs for the Exhi-
bition of the Plays, and he charges him to take
care that he might not be diſappointed after the Diſ-
patch he had made to come to Rome. In fhort,
from thoſe Letters, there can, I think, be no Man-
ner of Doubt of his being at Rome before that Time,
and Lamia told me that when Balbus read that Let-
ter, he was of the fame Opinion.
I fee I have got a farther Leave of Abſence for a
few Days. Pray let me know for how many?
You can know it from Babius, and from your
other Neighbour Egnatius. Your advifing me to
employ thoſe Days in my philofophical Compo-
fitions, is like pouring Oil upon a Flame (3), but
(1) He was a favourite Freedman belonging to Cafar.
(2) Lamia was one of the Ediles to whom the Charge of
thofe Exhibitions were committed. They begun the 4th of
September, and continued for nine Days, and they were cele-
brated in Honour of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva.
(3) Orig Currentem tu quidem.
you
་
to ATTICUS.
369
you perceive that I muft fpend thofe Days with
Dolabella. And yet unleſs I had been employed in
the Buſineſs of Torquatus, thofe Days would be fuf-
ficient for making an Excurfion to Puteoli, and
returning to the Time. Lamia, it feems, was in-
formed by Balbus, that there was, in the Houſe (1),
a large Sum of Money which muſt be divided forth-
with; that there was likewife a great Quantity of
Plate, befides Lands, all which must be fold off
at Auction by the firſt Opportunity.
Let me
know your Opinion upon this Matter.
own Part, were I to look through all Mankind, I
think I could not pitch upon a more active, faith-
ful and affectionate Agent than Veftorius is. I have
wrote to him in a very exact Manner, and I fup-
pofe you have done the fame. This I take to be
fufficient, but what is your Opinion? for there is
one Thing only that gives me Concern, which is,
left fhould I be thought to neglect my own Intereſt.
I therefore look for Letters from you.
•
For my
EPIST. XLVI.
POLLEX, according to his Promife to return
by the 13th of August, came to me at Lanu-
vium upon the 12th. But this fame Pollex is no
Conjurer (2). You may therefore inform yourfelf
from
(1) Monfieur Mongault takes no Notice of this Paffage, tho'
it is a pretty obfcure one. From comparing it with other Paf-
fages it appears, that Brennius had left his Eftate to our Author,
and others, and that upon taking an Inventory of his Effects,
the Particulars here-mentioned were discovered.
{3) Orig. Sed Pollex plane non Index. He is a Thumb not a
Fore-
1
368
CICERO'S EPISTLES
C
from him. I have talked with Balbus, for Leptàs
who is extreamly anxious about his Wine Affair (1),
carried me to him. He was in that Houfe at La-
nuvium, which he made over to Lepidus. He firſt
accofted me thus. "I have juſt received a Letter
in which Cæfar is very pofitive, that he will be at
Rome before the Roman Plays begin." The Let-
ter I read. He fays a great deal in it concerning
my Cato; particularly, that by frequently reading
it, he had enriched his own Style; but that when
he read the Cato of Brutus, he thought himſelf elo-
quent (2).”
From
Fore-finger. It is impoffible to preferve this Pun in Engliſh.
It is fufficient to inform the Reader, that the Forefinger was
termed Index from its being made uſe of in demonftrating ma-
thematical and other Propofitions.
(1) The Plays and Entertainments, which Cæfar exhibited
about this Time, are very famous in Hiftory; and the Affair,
mentioned here, probably related to a Commiffion which he
was foliciting from Cæfar to become one of his Wine Purveyors
for the Feaft he gave to the People.
(2) Orig. Multa de meo Catone, quo fæpiffime tegendo fe dicit
copiofiorem factum: Bruti Catone le&to fe fibi vifum difertum. Mon-
fieur Mongault, I am afraid, has not fufficiently attended to this
Paffage. He tranflates it, Il dit qu'en le lifant fouvent fon fiyle en
devient plus riche; et que lors qu'il avoit lu le Caton de Brutus, il
s'étoit trouvé éloquent. It is true, this Tranſlation, in the Main,
is the fame with mine. But he does not obſerve the farcaftic
Turn of the Paffage. Brutus was, at that Time, a young Man
of great Parts and Spirit, and the republican Party had con-
ceived the higheſt Expectations from his Virtues. Being a pro-
feffed Stoic, he thought it did not become him to difguife his
Sentiments either of Men or Things; and we fee, in the Courſe
of theſe Epiftles, a certain fecret Malevolence which our Au-
thor all along bears him for the Freedom with which he ſpoke
and wrote. It is true, they came afterwards to have great Con-
nexions together; but that was becauſe Cicero could not longer
help perceiving the exalted Character of Brutus, and the
World would think the worfe of him, if Brutus was not his
Friend. But even this Confideration was not fufficient for him
to fuffer Brutus to come in Competition with him, for the Palm
of
to ATTICUS.
369
From him I firſt underſtood (what a Negligence
was it in Veftorius not to inform me !) that the Ad-
miniſtration to the Will of Cluvius, might be done
by an Attorney in Prefence of Witneffes, and any
Time within the fixty Days. I am afraid that
Veftorius will have Difficulties in adminiftering (1).
I am now to fend off an Expreſs for him to admi-
nifter for me, and Pollex returns to him for that
Purpoſe. Balbus fpoke very much like a Gentle-
man to me, when I talked to him concerning the
Gardens of Cluvius, for he faid he would inftantly
write to Cæfar (2). He told me likewife, that
Cluvius had burthened the Share of Titus Hordonius,
with a Legacy of 400 l. to Terentia, à Tomb,and ma-
ny other Particulars, but that he had not burthened
mine with a Farthing; I beg that you will talk round-
ly to Veftorius. How can he be excufed? Never to
inform me, though my Domeftics were always
going between us, of a Matter which Balbus learned
of Eloquence or Compofition. Both of them had wrote upon
the fame Subject, viz. in Praife of Cato, and Cefar, who was
one of the greateſt Judges in the World, had read both. But
our Author would not have reported his Opinion to Atticus, in
the Manner he does, had he not thought that it contained a real
Compliment to himſelf, at the Expence of Brutus; as if Cæfar
had faid, The Stile of Cicero enriches my own; but when I
read the Work of Brutus, I think myſelf an eloquent Man,
Uz. in Compariſon of Brutus.
(1) Orig Metuebam ne ille arcendus effet. This may either
relate to the Time for accepting the Adminiftration being almoſt
expired, or to fome Scruples which Veftorius might have as to
the Value of the Effects, and that Part of the Eftate which was
deviſed to him; or it may be tranflated, I am afraid that I
muft preſs Veſtonius to accept of the Adminiſtration." If we read
with fome old Manufcripts Ne arceffendus, it fignifies, that he
muſt ſend to talk with him.
(2) Who was one of the Coheirs in the Succeffion to Cluvius,
and Balbus was his Agent.
VOL. II.
B b
diftinaly
370
CICERO'S EPISTLES
diſtinctly from the Slaves of the Perfumer Plotius,
a long Time ago. I am forry for the Lofs of
Coffinius, I loved the Man, I will affign the
Overplus of my Money to Quintus, if there
ſhould be any Qverplus after my Debts, and Pur-
chafes are paid. When I have done that, it is
my Opinion, that I muſt borrow. Money myſelf. I
know nothing concerning that Houſe at Arpinum.-
But hold.-
Veftorius is not to blame. For after this Letter
was fealed up, my Exprefs arrived from him in the
Night Time with very full Letters from him on
that Head, and with a Copy of the Will.
1
A
EPIST. XLVII.
FTER Agamemnon (1) hinted to me on your
Part, not that I fhould come to Rome, as I
would have done, had it not been for the Affair of
Torquatus, but that I fhould write to you, I in-
ftantly dropt all other Buſineſs I was about, that I
might execute your Commands. I beg that you
will receive from Pollex, an Account of the Dif
burſements I have made, for it would be fcanda-
lous to fuffer my Son, be his Behaviour what it
will, to be in want for this firft Year. Afterwards
I will manage more frugally. Pollex, muft, be dif
patched back to Puteoli, that Veftorius may admi-
nifter for me. For my own Part, it is impofi-
ble for me to go thither, both for the Reaſons I have
(1) He was a Slave, or a Freedman of Atticus.
mentioned
to ATTICUS.
371
mentioned to you, and becaufe Cæfar is in the
Neighbourhood.
Dolabella writes me Word, that he will be with
me by the 14th. The Maſter of the Horfe, (and a
troubleſome Mafter he is to me) laft Night wrote to
me from Antium (1), where he is in the Houfe I
fold to him. He is very earneſt that I ſhould affift
in the Senate the firft of next Month, and he fays,
that both Cæfar and he would take it as the greateſt
Favour. I fuppofe, had there been any Thing to
do, Oppius, as Balbus is indifpofed, would have`
mentioned it to you. But I fhall chufe to lofe my
Journey rather than be abfent if there fhould be
Occafion for my Prefence, the Confequences of
which, might be troubleſome to me hereafter. To-
day, therefore, I fet out for Antium, fo as to reach
Rome To-morrow in the Forenoon. I expect a
Vifit from you and Pilia, if you are not already
(1) The whole of this Paffage runs thus in the Original, Do-
labella fcribit fe ad me poftridie idus, O magiftrum moleftum
Lepidus ad me beri vefperi litteras mifit Antio. Monfieur Mon-
gault has chofen to refer the Expreffion, O magiftrum moleftum
tỏ Dolabella, becauſe Cicero in another Epiftle fays, that he
taught Hirtius and Dolabella to ſpeak, and they taught him to
eat; but I have chofen rather to refer it to Lepidus, who was then
Mafter of the Horfe to Cafar. Monfieur Mongault might have
produced another Paffage more to his Purpofe, vix. in Epift. 7.
Lib. 9. Fam. Epift. where fpeaking of Dolabella, he calls him
his Magifter, or Inftructor, as to the Manner in which he was
to behave to Cæfar. But as the Word Magifter is thus indif-
ferently applied, I cannot eafily believe, that in this Place it
means Dolabella. Befides, it would have been highly improper
for our Author to have applied that Expreffion to him, without
previouſly acquainting, or hinting to, Atticus the Reafon for his
calling him fo, which we do not find he does in any of the pre-
ceding Letters. But with Regard to Lepidus, the Reason is
obvious, viz. becauſe we find him perpetually teazing Cicero to
leave his beloved Retirement, and come to Rome, not to men-
tion the Patnefs cf the Pun in this Place, and on fuch an Oc-
tafion.
Bb 2
engaged
372
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
engaged by the laft of this Month. I hope you
have finiſhed the Affair with Publilius. For my
own Part, after the firſt of next Month, I will run
back to Tufculum, for I chufe that all Bufinefs with
thofe People ſhould be fettled in my Abfence. İ
have ſent you my Brother's Letter, which is not
a very civil Anfwer to mine, but, I fuppofe, he
fays enough for your Purpoſe. You are the beft
Judge.
YEA
EPIST. XLVIII.
in
Efterday I heard fomewhat as it were con-
fufed, and in the Crowd, as if you talked of
coming to Tufculum. I wiſh, my Friend, how do
I wish that you would, could it be confiftent with
your Conveniency? Lepta begs me to fly to him if
he fhould have Occafion for my Affiftance, now
that Babullius is dead, who, if I miſtake not, has
left Cæfar his Heir for a Twelfth. That, however,
is not fo certain, as that he has left Lepta his Heir
for a Third. Now, he is afraid, for who can
help the groundleſs (1) Fears of fome People, that
he will be interrupted in entring upon the Succef-
fion. Should he require me, I will run to affift him,
otherwife, I will not ftir before there is Occafion.
Difpatch Pollex back to me as foon as poffible. I
have fent you a corrected Copy of my Panegyric
upon Portia, which I have been the more expe-
ditious in finiſhing, that it may be the Copy that
fhall be fent, if any is fent, either to her Son Do-
mitius, or to Brutus. I earneftly beg, if it is not
(*) Orig. añóywy. Sine caufa.
too
{
to ATTICUS.
373*
too much Trouble, that you will take Care of this
Affair, and that you will fend me the Panegyrics
of Marcus Varro, and of Lollius (1), (but by all
Means, that of Lollius, for I have read the other)
upon the fame Subject. I fhould, however, be
willing to run over Varro's again, for I read it fo
flightly that many Things may have eſcaped me.
EPIST.
XLIX.
M
Y Compliments in the firft Place to Attica,
who, I fuppofe, is in the Country, and like-
wife my Compliments to Pilia. Let me know, if
you have heard any Thing lately concerning Tigel-
lius (2). For, as Gallus Fabius writes to me, he has
trumped up a moft villainous Accuſation (3) againſt
me, as if I had betrayed Phameas (4), after I had
undertaken to plead his Caufe. It is true, I was
far from being fond of undertaking it againſt the
Sons of Cnaus Octavius (5), and at the fame Time,
Į was under Obligations to Phameas, for if you re-
member, when I ftood for the Confulfhip, he
made me by you, a tender of his Services. It is
true, I had no Occafion for them, but I look upon
the Obligation to be the fame as if I had.
(1) This was the noble Roman, to whom Horace has addreſſed
two of his Epiftles.
1
(2) He was the famous Mufician mentioned by Horace, and
though a worthless whimfical Fellow, yet he had ingratiated
himſelf fo with Cæfar and his Court, that he was looked up,
on as a Man of fome Importance.
(3) Orig. péµ» avapeper. Accufationem intendit.
μέμψιν αναφέρει.
(4) He was Grandfather to Tigellius.
(5) He was Conful in the Year of Rome 677, but he was of
2 different Family from Octavius the Father of Auguſtus Cæfar.
Bb 3
Now,
1
374
CICERO'S EPISTLES
氯
​Now, Phameas came to tell me, that by the
Judges Order, his Affair came on that very
Day, when by the Pompeian Law, the Caufe of
our Friend Seftius was peremptorily to be tried,
and you know, that the Rules for Days by that
Law are not to be altered. My Anfwer was, that
he was no Stranger to my Obligations to Seftius,
but let him pitch upon any other Day hẹ pleaſed, I
would ferve him; upon which, he went away in a
Paffion, as I believe, I told you when we were
together. I cannot fay, that this gave me any great
Pain, nor did I think, that I had the leaſt Reaſon
to be concerned at the groundleſs Refentment of a
Man, to whom I was almoſt a Stranger. I ac-
quainted Gallus, however, next Time I came to,
Rome, with what I had heard, but without naming
the younger Balbus. Gallus, according to his Let-
ters, executed the Commiffion I gave him, and he
tells me, that Tigellius faid, I fufpected him, be-
cauſe my Conſcience told me, I had betrayed
Phameas.
+
Therefore, all that I have now to recommend
to you is, if poffible, to fish out of him fomewhat
concerning our Nephew, but without troubling
yourſelf about me. It is a Pleaſure to be at Li-
berty to treat fuch a Fellow with Contempt, and
not to be an univerfal Cringer. And yet, by
Heavens, as you well obſerve, thofe Fellows make
more court to me, if Refpect is any Mark of that,
than I make to them.
+
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
375
}
EPIST. L.
OU having adviſed me in feveral of your
Letters, to write in a fuller Manner to Cafar,
and Balbus having lately acquainted me at Lanu-
bium of a Letter fent by him and Oppius to Cæfar,
informing him, that I had read his Book againſt
Gate, and I greatly admired it; I have written to
Cæfar a Letter upon the fame Subject, which I
fent to Dolabella under Cover to Oppius and Balbus,
with a Copy of the fame, defiring them not to fend
the Original to Dolabella, unless they approved of
the Copy. Their Anſwer to this was, that they
never read any Thing that pleaſed them better, and
that they had forwarded the Original to Dolabella.
•
Veftorius has written to me, that I fhould fend
him by his Slave, a Power of Attorney for my
Part of the Succeffion, to authorize him to fell one
of the Farms of Brinnius to one Heterius, ſo that
he may tranſact the Affair while he is at Puteoli.
As that Slave comes hither by the Way of Rome,
and as Veftorius, I fuppofe, has written by him to
you, I beg that you would difpatch him to me.
The Accounts given me by Balbus and Oppius con-
cerning Cafar's Journey agree with yours. I am
furprized that I have heard nothing of what has
paffed between you and Tigellius.-Were it no more
than how he received my Apology.--Well, it
does not fignify a Ruſh to me.-And yet, I fhould
be glad to know. You afk me where I intend to
meet Cafar. Don't you think it fufficient, if I
•
B b 4
meet
376 CICERO'S EPISTLES
meet him at Alfium (1). For this Purpoſe, I have
written to Murena concerning a Lodging, but he,
I ſuppoſe, is gone with Matius. I therefore, muft
try what can be done with Salluftius. Juft as I am
writing this Eros tells me, that Murena has fent him
back with a more obliging Anſwer to my Requeſt.
I therefore, will lodge with him, for the Houfe of
Silius is without Bedding, and that of Dida will
be fo full, that I fuppofe, he will be obliged to
turn out of it himſelf.
IT
EPIST. LI.
T flipped my Memory to fend you a Copy of
my Letter to Cæfar, nor did that Omiffion pro-
ceed from the Cauſe you fufpect, as if I was
afhamed to ſhow you the aukward Figure I make,
when I play the Courtier and the Cringer (2), for,
by Heavens, I wrote to him in the very Strain of
one, Equal writing to another (3), Nay,-you
know, I told you when we were together, that I
really had a good Opinion of his Anti-Cato, I
therefore, wrote to him in a Strain of Freedom (4)
indeed, but ſuch, I believe, as he will read with-
the higheſt Satisfaction. My Heart is at laft at
Eafe, with Regard to Attica. I therefore, fend,
her and you my Compliments upon her Recovery.
Give me the whole of your Converſation with Ti-
1
•
}
(1) This was a Town of Tuscany, about twenty Miles from
Rome, fituated near the Sea upon the River Arus.
(2) The Original here is very obfcure, but I have tranflated
it as Cicero probably meant it.
(3) Orig. weds oor, quotor. Equalem, fimilem.
(4) Orig. axoλaxsúrws. Sine adulatione.
gelliusa
to ATTICUS.
377
噜
​gellius, and that too as foon as poffible,' for I can-
not be eafy till I have it. You muſt know, that'
To-morrow our Nephew comes to Rome, but whe-
ther he is to lodge with you or with me, I know
not. He wrote me Word, that he would be at
Rome by the 23d, but I fent him an Invitation to
my Houſe, and I am now going to Rome left he
fhould get thither before me.
+
WEI
EPIST.
LII.
ELL, this formidable Viſit at laſt is over,
without my having Reafon to repent of (1)
my Gueſt, who ſeemed to enjoy every Thing he met
with. You must know then, that on the Evening
before, being the 18th, when he came to the Houſe
of Philippus, it was fo crowded with Soldiers, to the
Number of two Thousand, that there was fcarcely
a Room empty for Cæfar himſelf to fup in. This
I own to you, gave me Apprehenfions as to my
own Cafe next Day, but I was delivered from them
by Barba Caffius (2), who appointed me, a Guard.
Thus the Soldiers encamped in the Fields, and my
Houſe was kept clear. He paffed the 19th at Phi-
lippus's Houfe till Noon, without fuffering any
Perfon to be admitted to him, being bufied,
I fuppofe, in fettling Accounts with Balbus.
From thence, he walked to my Houſe by the
Shore (3); after two, he went into the Bath. He
(1) Orig. aµerapéλntov. Non pœnitendum.
(2) He probably was a Tribune in Cafar's Army.
(3). It appears, there was ſcarcely the Diſtance of a Mile be-
tween the Houſe of Cicero and that of Philippus.
then
378
CICERO'S EPISTLES
;
then heard the Verfes upon Mamurra (1), without
changing his Countenance. After this he was
anointed, and fat down to Supper, when he eat
heartily, and drank freely (2), for you muſt know,
he had taken (3) a Vomit (4), and indeed, every
Thing was well dreffed, and the beft of the Kind.
But of our Pleaſures, that was but the laft,
For Wit and Humour feafon'd our Repaſt (5).
Befides, Cafar's Table, his Retinue was (6)
plentifully ferved in three other Dining-Rooms;
and nothing was wanting in the Entertainment
of his Freedmen of the fecond Rank, and his
Slaves; for his Freedmen of the better Sort, were
elegantly treated. In fhort, I came off like my-
felf, though, let me tell you, he is a Gueſt to
whom one would not fay, Pray do me the Ho-
nour to call here as you return." No, no, one
Vifit is enough. We talked nothing of Bufinefs
(7), but a great Deal about Learning (8). To
conclude, he was free, eafy, and happy. He told
'દ
(1) They were written by Catullus, and are ftill extant.
This Mamurra was a Roman Knight, and General of the Artil-
Jery to Cæfar, but noted for Extravagancy and Luxury in Living,
The Verfes in Queftion lafhed Cæfar as well as Mamurra.
(2) Orig. adews. Fidenter.
(3) EμsTixnr. Curationem per vomitum:
(4) It appears from many Paffages, that the Ancients thought
vomitting to be a great Prefervative of Health, and a great
Preventor of Surfeits' in eating or drinking. Monheur Mon-
gault, is of Opinion, that Cæfar took this Vomit before he
came Abroad in the Morning; but I think, from the Words of
our Author, there is no Neceffity to fuppofe that.
(5) This is a Verſe from Lucilius, and is mentioned elſewhere
by our Author.
υτόν
(6) Orig. of wagi avtor. Qui in ejus comitatu erant.
(7) Orig onedator dev. Serium nibil.
(8) Orig. Pıλonóya. Erudita.
me
to ATTICUS.
379
誉
​me, that he would pafs one Day at Puteoli, and
another at Baie. Thus I have given you an Ac™,
count of my Entertainment, or rather of the Man-
ner of my Entertainment (1) of this great Man,
which put me to fome Inconveniency, but to no
Trouble. I will ſtay here a little, and then remove
to Tufculanum. When Cæfar paffed by Dolabella's
Houſe, all his Troops marched clofe to his Horfe
upon the Right and Left, which they did no where
elfe (2). This I learned from Nicia.
(1) Orig. imisalusar. Hofpitii procurationem.
(2) Monfieur Mongault is of Opinion, that this must have been
done by Way of Honour to Dolabella. But the learned Gen-
tleman ought to have reflected, that Cæfar's not paying Dola-
bella a Vifit, confidering the great Pofts that Dolabella held un-
der him, and that he paffed by his Houfe, was no great Mark
of Confidence; but though there ſhould be nothing in this Re-
mark; yet it is certain, that there was at this Time a Va-
riance between Dolabella and Antony, who had Cæfar's Ear,
and had accufed Dolabella to Cefar, which proceeded to
open War in the Senate. This therefore was the true Reaſon of
Cefar's Caution,
1
CICERO's
1
(380)
*
FFILIV
裝
​更​更​更
​CLAYES CIAVED CIAMIS CIZMED CHANTS CLASS A
SR SK JR SK FRA IRA
kx x x #
CICERO's
4
EPISTLES
то
ATTICUS
I
XX
BOOK XIV.
EPIST. I.
HAVE called upon the Perſon (1) we
talked of in the Morning.-According
to him, all is defperate, and irreconcile-
able. For, if a Genius like that of Cafar
failed in Expedients for Unanimity, who can hope
now to fucceed? In fhort, he faid, (though I am
not fure it is fo) that all was undone; but he affured
me, at the fame Time, with great Joy, that the
(1) All the Letters of this and the following Books, were
written after Cafar was killed in the Senate, which happened
on the 15th of March, in the Year of Rome 709. The Perfon
here ſpoken of was Matius,
Gauls
to ATTICUS.
381
Gauls would invade our Empire (1) in lefs than
twenty Days. That he has had no Converfation
with
•
(1) Orig, Gallicum tumultum. There was a Difference between
the Gallicum bellum, and the Gallicus tumultus. The former
ferved to exprefs the War when it was confined beyond the
Alps, to Gaul itſelf. The Latter was very dreadful to the Ro
mans, ever fince the Invafion under Brennus, when Rome itfelf
was burnt; and when fuch an Invafion was threatened, the Ap-
prehenfions of the Romans were fo great, that very extraordi-
nary Precautions were taken to defend Italy, for at that Time,
as in the Time of a Civil War, the Cenfors exempted no Perſon
from carrying Arms.
•
The Reader may readily aſk, why Matius fhould be in fuch
Raptures, upon telling Cicero this difagreeable Piece of News?
To which I anſwer (though I think it has been taken Notice of
by no Commentator or Tranflator) as follows. Cafar, notwith-
standing his prodigious Succeffes, and the extraordinary Means
he had made ufe of to endear himſelf to his Countrymen, found
that their Minds were ſtill irreconcileable to Slavery; and as
the moſt glorious of his Victories had been obtained over the
beft and the greateſt of the Romans themſelves, he was fenfible,
that Tomething of Horror and Grief mingled in all their Ac
clamations. According to all Accounts, he had a fecret Paffion
to be created King; but the vifible Joy of the People, upon his
faintly rejecting that Title, took from him all Hopes of fuc-
ceeding, until he had done fomething that might raiſe his
Power as well as his Glory beyond all Poflibility of an At-
tack. It was upon this Principle, that he projected the Scheme
of the Parthian War, and all thofe mighty Defiges which could
have been formed only by his Genius, and executed by his Power.
In fhort, if we compare his Conduct with what happened after-
wards, it is plain, that he did not think Peace was as yet com-
patible with his Safety. An unconftitutional Power, fuch as
his was, was not to be upheld by the Practice of the moſt ami-
able Virtues, or the Exercifes of the most commanding Genius.
All the mighty Things he had done to reconcile the Heads of
the Republican Party to his Intereft, the amazing Proofs he
had given of Clemency, Moderation, and Magnanimity, were
ineffectual for removing in the Minds of the People the De-
fects of his Title to be the Maſter of Rome. Every Day gave
him new Proofs, that Empire acquired by Arms, muft be fup-
ported by Arms. His Veteran Army, it is true, (by their long
Abfence in the Gallic, and other, Wars, and by their being fo
long accuſtomed only to the military Modes of Life,) he was
fure would ferve him faithfully; becauſe, they had almoſt for-
got
:
}
i
382
CICERO'S EPISTLES
with any of that Party excepting with Lepidus
ever fince the 15th of March; and upon the whole;
that Things would take another Turn (1). How
wifely
}
got they had a Country, and they knew no other Authority but
his. But his frequent Wars, and length of Time, had great-
by reduced the Number of thoſe Veterans he could depend on,
and his other Troops were commanded by Generals who were
jealous of one another, and many of them fecretly diſliked
his Service. But he knew, that all of them would unite againſt
a common Enemy in a foreign War, and that a fhort Time,
if he commanded them in Perfon, would eafily reconcile them
to his Views and Principles, while the keeping them employed
in the remote Parts of the Empire, fecured his Government at
Home from all Attempts. But he was cut off in the Midſt of
thofe mighty Defigns, without leaving a Succeffor capable of
carrying them into Execution. His Friends and Followers
however, were no Strangers both to the Maxims, and the Ne
ceffities of his Government; they knew that they poffeffed the
Sword; but they knew they must always hold it drawn, other-
wiſe it muſt be wrefted from their Hands, and that tob in a very
short Time, or elfe they muſt live upon free Quarters, there be-
ing no Perfon now powerful enough to bring the Senate and Peo-
ple to confent to their Proceedings. An Invafion from the Gauls
therefore, the moſt dreadful Terror that could be ſpread through
Rome, was the only Expedient that could reconcile their Coun-
try to their Service; and though this News was falfe, yet we
find, that Matius one of Cafar's ſtrongeſt Partizans could not
help mentioning it with Raptures.
(1) Orig. Ad Jummam non poffe iftac fic abire. Upon the
Death of Cæfar, on the Ides of March, in the Confulship of
Marcus Antonius, and Cornelius Dolabella, to whom Cæfar had
refigned the Confulfhip upon his Undertaking his Parthian
Expedition, the Confpirators proclaimed Peace and Liberty to
the People; but finding them in too great a Confternation and
Ferment to bear to be ſpoken to immediately, they retired to
the Capitol; and Brutus in a Speech to the People whom he
had fummoned thither, juftified the Act of Cafar's Death, and
pathetically exhorted them to protect that Liberty which he
and his Friends had purchaſed for them. His Speech was fe-
conded by our Author, while Antony throwing off his Confular
Habits, hut himſelf up at Home, and by a very matterly Con-
duct, he bade fair to fucceed to all the Power of Caefar. For
Lepidus, who was a vain irrefolute Man, being at the Head of
a fine Army, with which he was to have marched to the Go-
vernment
•
to ATTICUS,
383
wifely does Oppius act, who, though he bewails the
Death of Cafar, yet drops nothing that can give
any Offence to the Patriot-party? But enough up-
on this Subject.
1
I beg you will not think it too much to write
me all the News, for I expect a great deal-Let
me know, whether the Accounts concerning Sex-
tus Pompeius (1) are confirmed; but, above all
Things, inform me as to our Friend Brutus. The
Perſon I have been with, told me, that Cæfar uſed
to ſay of Brutus, "It is of great Importance whať
he is earnest for, for when he is in earneft, he is in
great Earneft," and that Cæfar made that Obfer-
vation upon him when he fpoke at Nicea (2), in
Favour of King Dejotarus, for whom, he faid, he
fpoke with amazing Force and Freedom. The
fame Perfon, told me farther, (for I love to write
to you whatever comes uppermoft) that laft Time
I was with him at the Defire of Seftius, and fate
down, waiting till I ſhould be called in, that Cæfar
faid, ** Can I now doubt my being greatly hated,
When Marcus Cicero waits without, and cannot,
vernment of Spain, which had been conferred on him by Cafar,
had fome Thoughts of feizing the Government, and of deſtroy-
ing the Confpirators, which he might eafily have done, had he
not been artfully diverted from the Thoughts of both by Antonys
who thereby gained fome Credit with the Confpirators. Mean
while, both Parties feemed diſpoſed by our Author's Advice, to
paſs an Act of Amnefty, by which, both Parties were mutually
to forgive, and forget all Injuries, and Antony and Lepidus in-
terchanged Vifits with Brutus and Caffius.. It was eafy for Ma
tius to forefee, that Things could not continue long in this
Situation.
(1) He was a Son of Pompey the Great, and was then at the
Head of an Army in Spain.
(2) This was not the Capital of Bithynia as the Jefuits Catrau
and Rouille imagine in their Roman Hiftory, but the prefent City
of Nice lying upon the Ligurian Coaſt in Italy.
*
when
384
CICERO'S EPISTLES
when he pleaſes, have Accefs to me, though, if
any Man is eaſy upon that Head, he is the Man }
and yet, I am ſure, he hates me ?" A great deal
of fuch Converſation päft between us. But, as I
was faying; write me Things of fmall, as well as
of great, Importance: For my Part, I fhall be
punctual.
EPIST:
II:
Eſterday I received two Letters from you.
The firft informed me of the theatrical News.
and the Archnefs of the Actor Publius (1), all of
them good Symptoms of the People's being
pleaſed with what has been done. As to the Ap-
plaufe Caffius met with, I think, there is fomewhat
in it that is humorous. In your other Letter, you
mention Matius, you rightly imagine, that we
fhall find no (2) Rock of Safety (3) in his Bald-
pate. I but juſt touched at it, and left it; the
Stay I made was occafioned by his talking upon in-
different Matters. What I wrote to you about them
was, perhaps, fomewhat dark, but it was in Ef-
fect, thus; he told me, that when I went to ſee
(1) We have already feen in the preceding Epiftles, fome
Specimens of the Liberties which the Roman Actors took
with their great Men; and as their Theatre contained Audiences
infinitely more numerous than any of ours can, the Applauſe
which thoſe Strokes of Satire or Panegyrick met with, was
looked upon to be the Senſe of the People.
(2) Orig. Qaraxpwua. Calvitium feu promontorium.
Φαλάκρωμα.
(3) There is a Pun here arifing from the Greek Word,
which fignifies the bald Prominence of a Rock, and the Bald-
nefs of Matius's Head, which I have endeavoured to preſerve
in the Tranflation, but it is of very little Confequence to explain
it, becauſe, if there is any Wit in it, the Reader will eafily per-
ceive it.
Cæfar
to ATTICUS.
385
1
\
Cæfar at the Entreaty of Seftius, and was waiting
till I ſhould have Acceſs to him, Cæfar faid to him,
"I am not fo fimple as to believe, that this Man,
condefcending as he is, is my Friend, fince he
waits, fo long, till I pleaſe to fee him." Depend
upon it, that a Storm lowers about this fame bald
Rock, which will break out against the public
Tranquility, that is, againſt Brutus. To-day, I
go to Fufculum; To-morrow to Lanuvium, from
whence I defigned to go Aftura. My Houſe is
prepared to receive Pilia; I wish your Daughter
was to come along, with her, but I forgive your
Fondneſs, and fend my Compliments to both.
A co
EPIS T. III.
Ccording to your Letter, all Things are
quiet; long may they continue fo! for Ma-
tius is pofitive that they cannot. Mean while, my
Workmen, who had gone to Rome for Corn, re-
turned back empty, and told us, there was a ftrong
Report there, that Antony had carried all the Corn
to his own Houfe. Surely, had there (1) been any
Foundation for fuch a Report, you would have let
me know. I have heard as yet nothing of Ccr-
nufius that Freedman of Balbus, and yet, I am no
Stranger to his Name, for they fay, he is an able
Architect. There may be Reafons, why fome Peo-
ple fhould be fond of calling upon you to witneſs
their Teftaments (2) in my Favour; they would
(1) Orig. πavıxòv Inanis terror.
(2) Because our Author was now likely to become of great
Importance, on Account of his Credit with both Parties, and
it was uſual for the Romans to court the Friendſhip of a great
Man, by giving him to understand, that they had put him
into their Teftament,
VOL. II.
Cc
have
386
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
have me too, to believe them in earneft, and I
know no Reaſon why they are not. But what is
that to me? I would have you however fmell out
what Antony's (1) Intentions are. For my Part I
believe him to be fo great a Friend to good Living,
that he is incapable of any dangerous Defigns. If
you have any Thing of Confequence, pray let me
know it. If not, write to me what the (2) Difpo-
fitions of the People appear to be, and the Jokes
of the Theatre. My Compliments to your Wife
and Daughter.
YOU
EPIST. IV.
OU furely don't fuppofe that I can write your
any News from Lanuvium. But that is not
your Cafe at Rome, from whence I every Day look
for fome Revolution (3); Matters are now ripen-
ing to a Crifis. If the Difpofitions of Matius are
as I acquainted you, what muſt thofe of others be?
I fpeak it with Grief, never was it known before,
that a People recovered their Conftitution and not
their Liberty. The Talk, the Menaces, of the Par-
ty are dreadful. I am in Pain about an Invaſion
from Gaul, and what is become of Sextus Pompeius.
But come what will, I will take Comfort from the
Remembrance of the Ides of March. As to our
Heroes (4), all that they could perform, they per-
(1) Orig. Siádeow. Senfum.
(2) Orig iπionpaoías. Animi fignificationem.
(3) I point this Paffage as follows, very different from the
other Editions I'have feen. Nunc quid putas me Lanuvii? At
ego te. Ific quotidie aliquid novi ſuſpicor.
(4) Orig. "Howes. Heroes.
formed
to ATTICUS.
387
formed greatly and gloriouſly. Their remaining
Meaſures require Troops and Money, in which
we are entirely unprovided. I write this to engage
you to write me an immediate Account of what-
ever ſhall happen, for I look every Day for fome
News; and, fhould there be none, yet ftill let us
keep up our uninterrupted Correfpondence by Writ-
ing, which fhall not fail on my Part.
EPIST.
V.
Hope you are now recovered, becauſe I know
that (1) Abftinence (2) uſes to cure you of thoſe
flight Diſorders; I fhould, however be glad to
know how you are. It carries a good Appearance
with it, that Matius is uneafy at his being fufpected
by Brutus; but it will carry a bad Appearance if
thofe Legions fhould, with a warlike Appear-
ance (3), march out of Gaul (4) for Rome. Don't
you think the Legions that were in Spain will infift
upon the fame Terms? As will thofe which are
(1) Orig. 'Hoínoas. Cibo abftinuißi.
(2) This puts me in mind that the Author of the Life of
Atticus tells us, that, towards his latter End, he took a Refo-
lution of neither eating nor drinking, which had a very good
Effect upon his Difeafe, which was a Fever; but he perfifted fo
obftinately in this Abftinence, that he could never be perfuaded
to eat nor drink, and he accordingly ftarved himself to death.
(3) The Reader, no doubt, will be offended at the Jingle
that is here, but as à faithful Tranflator, I do not think my-
felf at Liberty to omit following my Author, even in his Play
of Words, when it can be done with tolerable Propriety in our
Language. The Original runs, figna bella, quod Calvera_mo-
lefte fert, fe fufpectum effe Bruto. Illa figna non bona, fi cum fignis
legiones veniunt è Gallia.
(4) It was talked, that they intended to demand the Re-
wards which had been promifed them by Cafur.
C c 2
marched
388
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
marched under the Command of Annius (1), Par
don me—I mean Canninius (2). The Gamefter (3)
raiſes a (4) dreadful Difturbance; for were the De-
figns of Antony juftifiable, the Tumult, made by
Cafar's Freedman (5), might have been eafily
quafhed.
}
What a bafhful Fool was I, who refufed a Le-
gation (6) before the Senate broke up, leaſt I ſhould
ſeem to abandon my Country, now that her Affairs
are drawing to a Crifis. Could I affift her, it
would be my Duty to attend.But you fee what
kind of Magiftrates, if they can deſerve that Name,
we have got. You fee the Body Guards of the
Tyrant are poffeft of provincial Governments; you
fee an Army of his Veterans at our Doors, and that
all is upon the Brink (7) of Confufion. Mean while
the Men, whofe Safety, nay whofe Glory, merits
the Attendance of a grateful World, are fo far
from being rewarded with the Praifes and Affections-
of Mankind, that they are forced to fly behind
Walls for Shelter (8). But come what will they
muft
(1) Orig. Mynμonzov ápάpráva. Lapfus memoriæ.
(2) There is an Obſcurity here in the Original, but I believe
I have hit upon our Author's Meaning, which was to ridicule
the Irrefolution of Antony and that. Party, by frequently chang-
ing the Officers under them,
(3) Meaning Antony.
(4) Orig. Qupμès monis. Conturbatio multa.
(5) Viz. When his Funerals were celebrated:
(6) We have already feen that thofe Legations exempted the
Perfons on whom they were conferred from being prefent in the
Senate Vide Vol. 1, p. 85. Note 3.
(7) Orig. εúpíπısa. Mobilia.
(8) This happened through the artful Speech which Antony
made when he produced Cafar's dead Body before the People,
and which is fo inimitably well imagined by Shakespear. That
Speech-
>
to ATTICUS.
389
muſt be happy, it is our Country that is mi-
ferable. I fhould be glad to know whether the Ar-
rival of Octavius (1) has made any Alteration; whe
ther there is a great Refort to him? And whether
he will be able to give a (2) new Turn to Affairs?
I don't think that he will, but I would gladly know
the Truth. I write this on the 11th of April, as I
am leaving Aftura.
/
•
U
EPIST.
VI.
PON the 12th I received your Letter at
Fundi, while I was at Supper. In the first
Place, I am glad that you enjoy better Health, and
that you tell me better News; for that of the
March of the Legions for Rome was very difagree-
able. As to Octavius, I give myfelf no Trouble
about him. I long to hear what Marius (3) is a
doing, I thought Cafar had fent him out of the
World. The Interview, between our Heroes and
Antony, proved very ferviceable, as it happened;
though hitherto nothing but the Ides of March has
given me Pleaſure.
For now that I am at Fundi with our Friend
Ligus, I am tormented at ſeeing that Wretch Curti-
Speech made fuch an Impreffion upon the People, that Brutus,
and his Friends, thought proper to retire from Rome.
(1) This extraordinary young Man was, at this Time, but
about nineteen Years of Age, and was at Apollonia, in order
to attend his Uncle Cafar in his Parthian Expedition, when he
heard of his Death, and that he had appointed him to be his
Heir.
(2) Orig. NewTepious. Rerum novarum.
(3) We have already taken Notice of this Impoftor, who
pretended to be deſcended of the Great Marius.
Cc 3
Aus
1
390
CICERO'S EPISTLES
lius in Poffeffion of the Eſtate of Sextilius. What I
fay of him is to be underſtood of all the reft. For
what can be more deplorable than for us to givę a
Sanction to thofe very Meaſures (1), for which we
hated Cæfar. Have we not confirmed the Nomina-
tion of his Confuls and Tribunes for two Years? I
can, by no Means, fee how I can (2) take any Con-
cern in public Matters; for a (3) greater Abfurdity
cannot be imagined than to extol to Heaven the (4)
Slayers of the Tyrant, and yet confirm that fame Ty-
rant's Acts. But look upon our Confuls; look upon
our Magiftrates, if they can be called Magiftrates;
look upon the Defpondency of our Patriots. As to
our Corporations, they exult through Joy. Their
Tranſports are inexpreffible; how they flock about
me! how eager they are to hear my Account of
that Action; and yet, all this while, no Decrée
paffes the Senate; fór our public (5) Conduct has
been fuch, that we are afraid of thoſe we have van-
quifhed. Thus far I had dictated when the fecond
Courſe was ſerved in; I will write more fully, and
(6) more to the Purpofe hereafter. Let me know
what you are doing, and what is paffing abroad.
(1) At the Conferences already mentioned between both
Parties, when the Amnefty was agreed upon, it was refolved to
take from the Army all Pretexts of Fear that Cafar's Death
fhould make any Alteration in the Diftribution of the Lands,
and the other Favours he had conferred upon the Reft of his
Veterans. An Act therefore paffed confirming all he had done,
and particularly his arbitrary Nomination of the Confuls and
'Tribunes, which was looked upon as one of the moſt unjuſtifia-
ble Stretches of his Power.
(2) Orig. TONITED'Soda. In republica verfari.
(3) Orig. σóhoinov. Abfurdum.
(4) Orig. Tupawoxтóves. Tyrannicidas.
(5) Orig. TETONITEUμeoda. Publicè nos geffimus.
(6) Orig, worikárepa. Quæ ad Reipublicam magis pertineant.
EPIST
}
1
to ATTICUS.
3.91
U
EPIST. VII.
PON the 14th, I faw Paulus at Gaetta, and
he gave me an Account of Marius, and fome
other very bad News of public Matters. All this,
while not a Scrap from you; for none of my Do-
meſtics are come from Rome. But I hear that our
Friend Brutus has been feen near to Lanuvium.
Where will he fix at laft? This is one of the ma-
ny Things which I earnestly defire to be informed
of: I write this on the 16th in fetting out from For-
mia, fo as to be next Day at Puteoli.
I have received, from my Son, a Letter in an
elegant Style (1), and of a reaſonable Length. I am
not fo certain as to the other Particulars I hear of
him, but, by the Manner of his Writing, I am
fure (2) he has improved in Learning. I therefore
now earneſtly repeat what I mentioned to you late-
ly, that you will take Care he wants for nothing,
for I cannot otherwife do Juftice to my Duty, my
Character, and my Dignity, and, if I am not mif-
taken, you are of the fame Opinion. Therefore if
our Funds anſwer, I think of going to Greece next
July, where I will put every Thing upon a better
Footing. But as the Juncture is fuch, that I can
arrive at no Certainty as to what is moft becoming
my Character, what is within my Power, or what
is moſt conducive to my Intereft; I beg you will
take Care that my Son be provided for in the moſt
genteel, liberal, Manner. You will pay your ufual
(1) Orig. TeπwwμÉvas. Eleganter Scripta.
(2) Orig. Tivos. Nitor.
Cc 4
Atten-
392
CICERO's EPISTLES
Attention to this, and all my other Concerns, and
though you ſhould have nothing material to write
to me, I beg you will write whatever comes up-
permoft.
W
EPIST. VIII.
THEN you wrote your laft, you imagined
that I was fomewhere here upon the Sea-
coaft, but I was in my baiting Place at Sinuefca (1)
on the 16th, when I received your Letter. I am
glad of what has happened to Marius, but I am
forry if he was the Grandfon of Lucius Craffus.
Nor could I have heard better News, than that our
Friend Brutus approves of Antony's Conduct (z).
You write me, that Junia (3) had brought him a
Letter couched in Terms of Moderation and Friend-
fhip, but Paulus put into my Hands a Letter
from his Brother Lepidus, the Clofe of which inti-
mated, that a Plot had been laid against his Life,
and that he had diſcovered it by undeniable Evi-
dences. This Information was difagreeable to me,
but much more fo to Paulus. I am not a Bit
forry for the Flight of the Egyptian Queen (4).
But
1) This was a kind of a Stage where Cicero baited at, when
he went between his Country Houſe at Tufculum, and that at
Formia.
(2) Brutus, and his moft intimate Friends, were the more
readily deceived by Antony, becauſe he had put this fictitious
Marius to death, and becauſe they knew that he had entered
into fome Deſigns against Cæfar, before he was killed in the
Senate.
(3) She was the Sifter of Brutus, and the Wife of Lepidus.
(4) She was the famous Cleopatra, who had been for fome
Time
to ATTICUS.
393
But I beg you will write to me in what Manner
Clodia has proceeded. I beg you will take Care of
the Byzantines, and my other Concerns; and fend for
Pelops (1). I will obey you in informing you of
every Thing that paffes at Baia, and of that Affem-
bly which you are fo curious to know of, as foon as
I have feen it, fo that you fhall be ignorant of
nothing.
I am extreamly impatient for News from Gaul,
from Spain, and from Sextus Pompeius. Let me
know of all with your uſual Exactneſs. I am glad
that you had indulged yourſelf on Account of your
Diſorder in your Stomach, in a little Refpite from
Bufinefs, of which I was fenfible when I read over
your Letter.
Fail not to write to me every Thing
concerning Brutus, where he is, and what he in-
tends to do. I am in hopes that, at this very Time,
he may walk fecurely all over Rome without Guards.
But we fhall fee farther.
You
1
EPIST. IX.
OUR Letters, of which I received feveral
at one Time from the Freedman of Veſto-
rius, gave me great Lights as to public Matters.
As to what you defire to know, I will answer you
in a few Words. In the firft Place, I am overjoyed
at the Eſtate left me by Cluvius. You afk me why
I fent for Chryfippus ? The Reafon was, that two
Time at Rome, and was in great Favour with Cæfar, but left
Rome abruptly upon his Death.
(1) He was a Byzantine, and appears to have been a Man of
fome Confideration in Learning.
Tene-
394
CICERO'S ÉPISTLES
1
Tenements of mine are fallen to the Ground, and
I have others in fuch a fhattered Condition, that
not only the Inhabitants, but the very Rats (1) have
left them. This would give many People Pain,
but it does not give me fo much as a Thought. O
Socrates (2), and ye Followers of Socrates, never
can I expreſs what I owe you. Immortal Gods,
with what unconcern do I regard thofe Matters!
Mean while I have, by the Advice, and upon the
Plan, of Vetorius, fet about Re-building them in
fuch a Manner, as to make my Lofs profitable.
We have a great deal of Company here, and,
by what I underſtand, we fhall have more. A-
mongſt the others are our two pretended Confuls
elect. Immortal Gods! Tyranny is alive, while the
Tyrant is dead. We rejoice at his Death, while we
adopt his Meaſures. How cutting, and yet how
juſt is the Impeachment which Marcus Curtius
brings againſt us! Well may we be ashamed to
live. For would not a thouſand Deaths be prefer-
able to what we fuffer, and to what we muſt ſuffer,
Heaven knows how long? Balbus is here, and we
ſpend a great deal of Time together. Vetus has
fent him a Letter the laft of December, informing
him, that when he had furrounded and cooped up
Cæcilius (3); Pacorus, the Parthian, came with a
great Army and refcued him, and that Vetus had
loft a great many Men, the Blame of which he
lays upon Volcatius. Thus I think War is unavoid-
(1) We fee here the vulgar Notion prevailed even in Cicero's
Time, that the Rats always left a falling Houſe.
(2) If the Rant in this Paffage is not ironical, as I am apt to
think it is, it ſhows our Author in a very ridiculous Light.
(3) He was furnamed Baffus, and efcaping from the Battle
of Pharſalia, he made head againſt Cæfar's Party in Syria.
ble
to ATTICÙS.
395
ble on that Quarter, but that is the Concern of Do-
labella and Nicias (1). Balbus has other Letters
from Gaul, written one and twenty Days ago, with
better News than we had Reaſon to look for; that
the Germans, and the other Nations there, having
heard of Cafar's Death, had fent Deputies to Au-
relius, who is Lieutenant to Hirtius in thoſe Parts,
with Affurances of entire Submiffion on their Parts.
In ſhort every Thing is calm there, which is very
different from the Accounts I had from our bald-
pated Friend.
I
EPIS T. X.
S it then fo? Has all that has been done by my,
and your Brutus, come to this, that he fhould
live at Lanuvium, and that Trebonius (2) fhould
fculk by unfrequented Roads to his Government!
That all the Actions, Writings, Words, Promifes
and Purpoſes of Cafar, fhould carry with them
more Force than they would have done had he been
alive (3)? You may remember what loud Remon-
ftrances
(1) He was a great Friend to Dolabella.
(2) He was the only Confular who was engaged in the Con-
Spiracy against Cæfar, who gave him the Government of the
lèffer Afia.
(3) The Cafe was this. Antony having obtained, through the
plaufible Pretext of keeping the Veterans quiet, that Cæfar's
Acts fhould be confirmed, made a very bad uſe of this Decree
of the Senate; for Cæfar kept a Regiſter, in which he entered
all his Grants, Promifes, and other public Deeds, and which
Antony brought the Senate, or at leaſt the Majority of them,
to look upon as a Kind of Record, which was to leave them as
a Direction for making thofe Acts good. Mean while he made
himſelf Matter of this Regifter, and, at the fame Time gained
oyer Faberius, Cafar's Secretary, by whofe Hand all his Acts
were
1
396
CICERO's EPISTLES
}
ftrances I made the very firft Day we met in the
Capitol, that the Senate fhould be fummoned thi-
ther by the Prætors (1). Immortal Gods! What
might we not have then' carried amidſt the univer-
fal Joy of our Patriots, and even our half Patriots,
and the general Rout of thoſe Robbers. You dif-
approve of what was done on the 18th of March,
but what could be done? We were undone before
that Day. Don't
Don't you remember you called out
that our Cauſe was ruined, if Cæfar had a public
Funeral (2)? But a Funeral he had, and that too in
the Forum, and graced with pathetic Encomiums,
which drove Slaves and Beggars, with flaming
Torches in their Hands, to burn our Houfes. What
followed? Were they not infolent enough to ſay,
Cafar gave the Nod and you must obey." I
cannot bear with thefe and many other Things, I
therefore think of retiring from the World (3).
Mean while, is the Diſorder in your Stomach (4),
over? For I have fome Reaſon to believe, by your
Manner of Writing, that it is. But I return to
were entered; fo that it was eafy to forge whatever he had a
Mind. By thoſe Practices, and by feizing the Treature, laid
up by Cæfar, he amaffed upwards of fix Millions Sterling, and
had his Application to Bufinefs been equal to his Parts and Abi-
lities, he might eafily have fucceeded to all Cæfar's Power.
(1) Who were Brutus and Caffius. This was truly a ve-
ry patriot Advice of Cicero, and, had it been taken, muſt have
certainly had great Confequences in Favour of public Liberty;
becauſe it was, in effect, difowning the Power of the Confuls,
that had been nominated by Cæfar, and whofe Bufinefs it was
to ſummon together the Senate; but, upon a Failure of the Con-
fuls, it belonged to the Prætors to iffue the Summons.
(2) Atticus was in the Right to oppoſe this Funeral, for it
was the firft Thing that difconcerted the Meaſures of the Con-
fpirators for the Caufes here mentioned,
(3) Orig. you wpò yns. Longe lateque terrarum.
(4) Orig. véusog. Inanis.
the
{
1
to ATTICUS.
397
the Thebaffi, the Scave, and the Frangones (1). Do
you imagine that they will think themſelves fecure
in their Poffeffions while we ftand our Ground, and
Experience has taught them, that we have not in us
the Courage which they imagined. Are we to
look upon thoſe to be the Friends of Peace, who
have been the Fomenters of Rebellion? What I
wrote to you, concerning Curtilius, and the Eſtates
of Seftulius, I apply to Cenforinus, Meſſala, Plan-
eus, Pofthumius, and the whole Gang. It had
been better to have ftood to all Extremities, even
though they had been fatal, after Cafar's Death,
than to have lived to fee fuch doings (2). Octavius
came to Naples about the 16th, where Balbus waited
upon him next Morning, and from thence he came
to me at Cuma the fame Day, where he acquainted
me, that he would accept of the Succeffion to his
Uncle's Eftate. But this, as you obferve, may be
the Source of great Conteſts (3) between him and
'Antony.
I ſhall beftow all-due Attention and Pains upon
your Affair of Butbrotum.
Affair of Butbrotum. You afk me whether the
Legacy, left me by Cluvius, will amount to five hun-
dred Pounds a Year. It will amount pretty near it,
but this firft Year I have laid out four hundred upon
(1) Theſe were all Subalterns and Creatures of Cæfar, as
were the others mentioned in this Paragraph.
(2) I think, in the common Reading, there is here fome De-
ficiency, or rather Contradiction, in the Senfe. Monfieur Mox™
gault reads this Paffage, Melius fuit periije illo interfecto, quod
numquam accidiffet, quàm hæc videre, and he tranflates it accord-
ingly. But I like the Reading of Gronovius better, Quod uti-
nam accidiffet. I am not however pofitive on either Sice, and
have tranflated it in a Manner, that does no Harm to either
Reading,
k3) Orig. ¿ogóbegun. Furis concertationem.
Repairs
398
CICERO'S EPISTLES
-Repairs,
My Brother complains greatly of his
Son, who, he fays, is now exceffively Complaifant
to his Mother, though he hated her, at a Time,
when the deſerved his Refpects. He has fent me
flaming Letters againſt him. If you have not yet left
Rome, and, if you know what he is a doing, I beg
you will inform me, by a Letter, as I fwear
you muſt do of every Thing elſe, for your Letters
give me the greateſt Pleaſure.
TH
EPIST. XI.
HE Day before Yeſterday I ſent you a long
Letter, and I now fit down to anſwer your
laft. I wiſh, by Heavens, that Brutus would come
to Aftura. You complain of the Infolence (1) of
Cæfar's Partizans, but can that be any Surprize
to you? For my Part I wonder they are not more in
folent than they are. I ought indeed to laugh at
fuch Things, and yet I lofe all Patience in reading
that Harangue (2), where he is ftiled fo great a Man
and fo eminent a Citizen. But mark what I ſay;
the Cuſtom of thoſe ruinous Harangues prevails at
the Expence of our Friends, who ought rather to
be deemed Gods than Heroes, and whofe Glory,
though it muſt be eternal, muſt ſtill be accompanied
with Envy, nay with Danger. But they have a
noble Comfort, the Conſciouſneſs of having per-
(1) Orig. anoλaolav. Intemperantiam.
(2) The Harangue, here mentioned, was either that of Octa-
vius or Antony, or fome of their Followers, who now took all
Opportunities of difplaying the Virtues and amiable Qualities of
Cafar; and the Harangues produced the Effects here-men-
ioned,
formed
to ATTICUS.
399
formed a great and a glorious Action. But what
have we to comfort us, fince the Tyrant is dead,
without our recovering our Liberty? But let For-
tune anſwer for all, fince Reafon has no Au-
thority.
What you write me concerning my Son, gives
me great Satisfaction; I hope it will continue. As
to your Care in fupplying him plentifully with the
Means of fubfifting and appearing genteely, I am
extremely obligéd to you for it, and I beg you
will continue it. You are in the Right, as to your
Meaſures about the Affair of Butbrotum, to which I
ſhall give a particular Attention. I fhall even under-
take for the Succefs, as I perceive it to be daily more
and more practicable. As to the Eftate I have
got by Cluvius, (becauſe I ſee you are more folici-
tous about my Affairs than I am myſelf,) you muſt
know, it amounts to above five hundred Pounds a
Year. The Dilapidations have not hurt the Eſtate,
I know not whether they will not make it better. I
have here with me Balbus Hirtius, and Panfa. Ota-
vius, who ſeems to put himſelf entirely under my
Direction, is just arrived at the Houfe of my
Neighbour Philippus. Lentulus Spinther paffes
this Day with me, and leaves us To-morrow
Morning.
A
EPIST. XII.
LAS! my Friend, my Friend, I am afraid
all we have reaped from the Ides of March,
is but the ſhort lived Joy in killing the Object of
our Hatred, and the Author of our Sufferings.
What
400 CICERO'S EPISTLES
What News do I hear from Rome! what Managea
ment do I fee here! It was indeed, a glorious
Action, but it was left imperfect (1). You know
how much I love the Sicilians, and how much I
thought myſelf honoured in being their Patron,
Cæfar (and I was glad of it) did them many Favours,
though granting them the Privileges of Latium
was more than could be well borne. However,
I faid nothing even to that. But here comes An-
tony, who for a large Sum of Money, produces a
Law paſt by the Dictator in an Affembly of the
People, by which all Sicilians are made Denizens of
Rome, an Act never once heard of in the Dictators
Life-time. Is not the Cafe of our Friend Dejo-
tarus almoft the fame? There is no Throne which
he does not deferve, but not through the Intereft of
Fulvia (2). I could give you a thouſand fuch In-
ftances. Thus far, however, your Purpoſe may be
ferved. Your Affair of Buthrotum is fo clear, fo
well attefted, and fo juft, that it is impoffible for
you to fail in obtaining part of you Claim, and
the rather, as Antony has carried through many
Things of the fame Kind.
Octavius lives here with me, upon a very ho-
nourable and friendly Footing. His own Do-
meftics call him by the Name of Cafar, but his
Step-Father Philippus does not, neither do I, for
that Reaſon. I deny that he can be a good Citizen,
he is furrounded with fo many that breathe De-
ſtruction to our Friends, and who fwear Vengeance
W
(1) Orig. ὦ πράξεως καλῆς μὲν, ἀτελοῖς δέ.. Ο fa&ium præ-
clarum quidem, fed imperfe&um.
(2) She was the Wife of Antony, and Daughter to Clodius,
. Cicero's capital Enemy.
againft
to ATTICUS.
40r'
againſt what they have done. What is your Opi-
nion will be the Confequences, when the Boy fhall
go to Rome, where our Deliverers cannot live in
Safety? It is true, they muſt be glorious, and
even happy, through the Conſciouſneſs of what they
have done. But we, who are delivered, if I mi-
ftake not, muft ftill remain in a State of deſpicable
Servitude. I therefore, long to be gone where the
News of fuch Doings can never reach my Ears. I
hate even thoſe appointed Confuls, who have forced
me to play the Declaimer fo, that even Baie (1)
was no Retreat for me. But this was owing to my
too great Condefcention. It is true, there was a
Time 2) when I was obliged to fubmit to fuch
Things, but now it is otherways, be the Event of
public Meaſures what it will.
←
<.
It is long fince I had any Thing to write to
you, and yet I am ftill writing, not that my Let-
ters give me Pleaſure, but that I may provoke
you to anſwer them. I write this on the 21ſt of
April, being at Dinner at the Houſe of Vetorius
who is no good Logician, but I affure you, he is a
fpecial good Accomptant (3).
(1) To which the Romans retired in the fame Manner as the
Englife do to the Bath for Health, and Amuſement only. It
feems, Dolabella, and many of the Nobility, had in a Manner
Obliged Cicero when he was at the Baie, to give them Leffons
upon the Art of Declamation.
(2) Viz. In the Life-time of Cæfar.
(3) He was a Banker.
VOL. II.
Dd
EPIST.
L.
402
CICERO'S EPISTLES
I
EPIST. XIII.
Received your Letter on the 18th, not till the
feventh after its Date, in which you aſk me a
Queſtion, which you think I fhall be puzzled to re-
folve you in, whether I am moft in love with.
rifing Grounds and fine Prófpects, or the fmooth
level Lawns (1) for walking? I fwear, it is as
you obferve; for both are ſo pleaſant, that I am at
a Loſs which to prefer. But I am at preſent in the
Situation of the Greeks, who waited upon Achilles,
•
A greater Care fits heavy on my Soul,
Not eas'dly Banquets, or the flowing Bowl.
What Scenes of Slaughter in yon Fields appear!
The Dead we mourn, and for the Living fear (2).
It is true what you write me, concerning the
Arrival of Decimus Brutus (3) at his Army, is
great and welcome News, and I expect great Con--
fequences from it. But, fhould a civil War break
out, which I know muſt be the Confequence, if
Sextus Pompeius continues in arms, as I am fure he
will continue, I am at a Lofs to know how we ſhall
'behave, for then we ſhall not be at Liberty, as we
were during Cafar's War, to join either Party. For
1
(1) Orig. dλITEVET. Plana & humili.
(2) Οrig.
αλλ' ἐδαιτὸς ἐπηρώτε ἔργα μέμηλεν.
᾿Αλλὰ λίην μέγα πῆμα, διοτρεφές, εἰσορόωντες.
Δείδιμεν. ἐν δοιῇ δὲ σαωσέμεν, ἢ ἀπολέσθαι,
દૃ
Sed non eft nobis cura convivium; verum magnam cladem a Fove
immiffam intuentes, extimefcimus; incertumque eft Jalvine futuri,
an interituri fimus. The Lines are Part of the ninth Book of
Homer's Iliad. The Tranflation is Mr. Pope's.
(3) He was Governor of the Cisalpine Gaul, and the Confpi-
rators had great Dependance upon him, on Account of the
Nearness of his Province to Italy.
there
to ATTICUS.
403
?
there is not a Man whom this abandoned Crew ſhall
ſuppoſe to have rejoiced at Cæfar's Death, as all
of us furely did in the moſt public Manner, whom
they will not mark out as their Enemy, and this
very Circumftance points towards an univerfal
Maffacre. We then have nothing to do but to
join the Army, either under Sextus or Brutus:
This is a difagreeable Thing at our Time of Life,
not to mention the doubtful Events of War, for, I
think, you and I may in fome Senfe fay to one
another,
'Tis not my Friend for thee to follow War,
Be thine the placid Trophies of the Bar (1):
C
But we muſt leave theſe Contingencies to For-
tune, which fways more than Reafon does in fuch
Affairs. All I can anfwer is, for what ought to
be within every Man's Power,, that happen what it
will, I fhall bear it refolutely; and evenly remem-
bering that I am a Man, that I may ftill find fome
Relief from reading, and a great deal in reflect-
ing upon the Ides of March.
I will now lay before you the Difficulties that per-
plex me; ſo many Reaſons occuring for either Part
of the Queſtion. I am now, as I propofed, to fet
out upon my Legation for Greece. It is true, I
may thereby have a Chance of eſcaping the Danger
of the threatened Maffacre, but at the fame Time,
Í muſt incur the Reproach of abandoning my
Country in the Day of her Diftrefs. Now, fup-
(1) Orig. Τέκνον ἐμὸν, ἔτοὶ δέδοται πολεμήια ἔργα,
᾿Αλλὰ σύγ' ἱμερόεντα μετέρχεο ἔργα λόγοιο.
Fili mi, non tibi data funt opera bellica, verum tu placida per-
fequere munera eloquentiæ.
7
D] 2
pofing
}
CICERO's EPISTLES
·404
pofing that I ftay in Italy; I fhall indeed expofe
myfelf to Danger, but I may happen to do Service
to the State. On the other Hand, I have private
Reaſons for going Abroad. I think, I could be af
great Service in compleating my Son's Education at
Athens, fhould I go thither, and indeed, this was
the only Motive that determined me to folicit a Le-
gation from Cæfar. You will therefore, confider
this whole Matter in Queſtion, in the fame friendly
Manner as you do of every Thing that you think
concerns me.
I now return to your Letter. You tell me,
fome Reports are gone Abroad, that I am about
to fell my Eftate near the Lake Lucrinus; and that
I am to make over at an extravagant Price, my
Tittle Country-feat, to my Brother Quintus (1), that,
as his Son tells you, he may carry thither his Bride
Aquillia. For my Part, I have no Thoughts of
any fuch Sale, unless I find fomewhat that pleaſes
me better. As to my Brother, he does not trouble
himſelf about any Purchaſe at this Time; for he
meets with fufficient Difficulty in refunding Attica's
Fortune, in which he owns himſelf to be under
great Obligations to Egnatius. As to any Thoughts
of marrying, he is fo far from it, that he declares,
he thinks no Pleafure equal to that of lying fingle
in a Bed-But enough of this likewife.
I am now to return to the Subject of our wretch-
ed, or rather annihilated, Government. Antony has
written to me concerning the recalling Sextius Clo-
dius (2) from Baniſhment. I fend you a Copy of
(1) He had been by this Time divorced from the Siſter of
Atticus.
(2) He was the Freedman, and Inftrument of Publius Clodius
in all his Outrages againſt our Author.
!
}
his
to ATTICUS.
405
}
his Letter, in which you may fee with what Refpect
he treats me, but at the fame Time, you must readily
conclude his Requeſt to be fo abandoned, ſo ſcan-
dalous, and fo pernicious, that we are tempted
to wiſh Cafar were again alive. For what Cæfar
never would have done, never would have ſuffer-
ed to be even propofed, he is now propofing
from Cæfar's forged Journals. For my Part, I
moft chearfully yielded to Antony's Requeft, which
he would have carried through, even though I had
oppofed it, fince he has now perfuaded himſelf, that
he may do what he pleaſes, for which Reafon I
fend you a Copy of my Anſwer.
Antony Conful to Marcus Cicero, wisheth
Profperity.
IT
T was owing to my Hurry of Buſineſs, and
your fudden Departure, that I did not addreſs
you in Perfon upon the Subject of this Letter; and
I am therefore apprehenfive, that you will treat
my Requeſt with the lefs Regard in my Abſence.
It will, however, give me Pleaſure, if your Good-
nefs fhall anſwer the high Opinion I have always
entertained of you. I afk'd, and obtained from
Cæfar the Reftitution of Sextus Clodius, I was even
at that Time determined to make Ufe of this In-
dulgence no farther than it was agreeable to you,
and I now with more than ever, that you would
give me your Confent to carry it into Execution.
But ſhould you appear inſenſible of his wretched un-
done Situation, never fhall I put myself in Compe-
tition with you. And yet, methinks it is my Duty to
Dd 3
fupport
406
CICERO'S EPISTLES
ſupport the Regiſter of Cafar. But, by Heaven,
if you would do a humane, a wiſe, and an ami-
able Thing for me, you will fuffer yourſelf to be.
foftened, and have a Pleaſure in making that ex-
cellent and hopeful Youth Publius Clodius fenfible,
that when it was in your Power, you did not gratify
your Refentment againſt the Friends of his Fa-
ther.
Let me beg of you, to make it evident to the
World, that you differed with the Father only
upon a Patriot-Principle. Continue no longer the
Foe of his Family. For, we can with more
Dignity, and more Eaſe, lay afide Refentments
contracted on Account of our Country, than thoſe
arifing from perfonal Motives. Let me, in fhort,
prevail with you to fuffer me to form the Boy to
this Principle, and to implant it in his Mind now
fufceptible of the Impreffion, that Enmities ought
not to be handed down to Pofterity. It is true,
Sir, I am entirely fenfible, that no Danger can
come near your Fortune; yet do I believe, that
you would choofe your old Age fhould be accom-
panied with Dignity and Eafe, rather than with
Toil and Trouble. Let me add, that I have of
myſelf a Kind of a Title to folicit you for this
Favour; fince I have left nothing unattempted to
ferve you. If I cannot obtain this Favour of you,
I fhall not extend it to Clodius, that you may be
fenfible how powerful your Authority is with
me, and for that Confideration fuffer yourſelf to be
foftened,
Cicero
to ATTICUS.
407
Cicero to Antony Conful,
wisbeth Profpe-
rity.
THERE is one Reaſon why I wish you had
treated with me in Perfon, rather than by
Letter, for then you might have difcerned the Af-
fection I bear you, not only by the Expreffion of
my Lips, but of my Eyes, my Face, and my Fea-
tures, for I have ever loved you. You endeared
yourſelf to me firft by your Attachment, and next
by your Services to my Perfon; and your public
Behaviour, at this Juncture, has been fuch as fets
you equal with any Man alive in my Efteem. Your
Letter, which is fo full of Refpect and Love
for me, has affected me in fuch a Manner, that I
ſeem not to beſtow but to receive a Favour, fince your
Requeſt is attended with an Affurance, that, unleſs
I will give you leave, you will not fave even your
old Friend, becauſe he is my Enemy, when, at
the fame Time, you venture nothing in doing it.
As to myfelf, my Antony, I facrifice my Refent-
ment to you, acknowledging at the fame Time the
Obligations you have laid me under by your moſt
polite and respectful Letter. Had the Matter been of
far greater Importance, I ſhould have thought my-
felf bound to refign myſelf entirely to your Requeſt,
but, in this Cafe, I likewife gratify my own Dif-
poſition and natural Temper. I never harboured,
within my Breaſt, any Spirit of Revenge, nor did
I ever extend Refentment or Severity, farther than
the Good of my Country abfolutely required. Let
me add, that I never diftinguiſhed myſelf by any
particular Spite againſt Sextus Clodius, for it has
1
D d 4
ever
408
CICERO's ERISTLES
*
1
ever been a Maxim with me, that we ought not to
perſecute the Friends of our Enemies, eſpecially
thoſe of an inferior Sort, for Fear of taking fuch
Supports from ourſelves.
As to young Clodius, it is, I think, your Duty
to ſeaſon his Mind, which, as you obſerve, is now
ſuſceptible of Impreffions, with fuch Principles as
may give him no Room to think, that there is now
any Variance between our Families. In my Conteft
with his Father, I acted for my Country, and he
for himſelf. It is long fince the Public has decided
upon our Controverfies, and, were he now alive, I
fhould confider him no longer as my Enemy.
Therefore, as you declare that you will not, without
my leave, carry this Meaſure into Execution, tho'
what you requeſt is in your own Power; I beg,
if think
that
proper, you will make my Com-
pliance a Compliment to the young Clodius like-
wife. I am too old, and he is too young, for me to
fufpect Danger from him, nor can I be appre-
henſive of any Competition in Dignity; but it is
in order that you and I may be more intimate than
we have hitherto been. For while thofe Enmities
interpofed, your Heart was more open than your
Doors. But of this enough.-I conclude with af
furing you, that I fhall always, with the greateſt
Readineſs and Zeal, execute whatever I think can
give you Pleaſure, or can do you Service, and of
this I beg you will be thoroughly convinced (1).
you
(1) I am forry that the Obfervations, which I am obliged to
make upon theſe two Letters, are, by no Means, in our Au-
thor's Favour. That of Antony is polite, open, and rational;
that of Cicero is fawning, diffembling, and falfe; and his great-
eft Advocates ought to blush when they attempt to reconcile it
to the Character of a brave and a virtuous Patriot.
EPIST.
to ATTICUS.
409
}
M
T
EPIST, XIV.
HAT Sound again (1)! Our Nephew gar-
landed at the Parilia!--What! garlanded at the
Shews celebrated in Honour of Cæfar!-How fay
you, was he ſingle ?--Hold, you mention Lamia too,
and that ſurpriſes me! But I long to know who
were garlanded befides; though I know there
could be none but Reprobates. You will therefore
give me a particular Detail of the whole. You
muſt know that it happened after I had diſpatched a
pretty long Letter to you, on the 25th, that not quite
three Hours after I received one from you, and one
too of great Confequence. You need not doubt
that your Jokes, which are fo full of Wit and Hu-
mour upon the Veftorian Herefy, and about the
Sharks (2) that Swarm on the Shore of Puteoli,
made me laugh abundantly,, but now to public
Matters (3).
So-you take up the Defence of the Bruti and of
Caffius, as if I had impeached them, while, at the
fame Time, I want Words to expreſs my Regard
(1) I have taken, I hope, a juftifiable Liberty in tranſlating
this Paffage, which our Author has taken from Pacuvius. For
I have tranflated by an Hemiftich of our English Pacuvius
Shakespear, of the very fame Import. The Original is, Iteran-
dum eadem ifta mihi.
(2) There is a great deal of Trifling in the Conjectures of
Commentators about the Original of this Paffage, the true
Reading of which is now irretrievable, and, if it were not, it
would be perhaps next to impoffible to come at the Wit. It is
fufficient to obferve, that Veftcrius being a Banker, profit was
probably all his Religion, for which Reafon our Author calls
him a Heretic, and there appears to be fome Kind of a Jingle
intended between the Puteal, which was a Kind of Exchange
for Bankers and Merchants at Rome, and Puteoli the Place where
Veftorius then refided.
·(3) Orig. TOMITIXúrepa. Quæ ad rempublicam magis pertineant.
for
410
CICERO's EPISTLES
7
for them. What I fent you was a detail of Facts, and
not an Impeachment of Perfons. I tell you again,
that the Tyrant is removed, and yet the Tyranny
remains. His Succeffors in Power, as in the Cafe of
Clodius, are doing what he would not have attempt:
ed. Yes, I can anfwer for it, that, fo far from do-
ing it himself, he would not have fuffered it to have
been done by others. We fhall next hear of the
Recall of Rufio, the Antagoniſt of Veftorius, and of
Victor who never was mentioned in Cæfar's Regifter,
and of as many as Antony ſhall pleaſe. For who
can we fay will not? I fay this is paying Obedience
to the Writings of that Man, to whofe Perfon we
difdain Subjection.
Let me now afk you, how could one` have avoid-
ed affifting in the Senate, on the 18th of May? But
ſuppoſing it had been optional for us to be preſent
or abſent (1), after we were there, could we have
delivered our Sentiments with Freedom.? Muft we
not have fallen upon every Meaſure to have grati-
fied the Veterans, who furrounded the Senate-Houfe
in Arms, while we were defencelefs? You know
that I was againſt our Party's Retreat into the Capi-
tol, and what followed. But was that the Fault of
our Friends the Bruti? No, it was the Fault of
others, who, though they are very Brutes, look
up-
(1) Monfieur Mongault feems not to have comprehended the
Meaning of Cicero in this Expreffion. The Original, is, Nam
Liberalibus quis potuit in Senatum non venire? Fac id potuiffe ali-
quo modo: num, etiam cum veniffemus, libere potuimus fententiam
dicere? He tranflates it, Quant à l'aſſemblée du dix-huit de Mars,
qui pouvoit fe difpenfer d'aller au fenat? Mais je suppose que nous
l'eufions pú, quand une fois nous y avons été, avons-nous pú opiner
librement? But it requires little Reflection to obferve; that this
Tranflation implies fome Contradiction,
1
on
to ATTICUS.
411
on themfelves to be Men of Circumfpection and
Wiſdom. All of them thought it enough to re-
joice, fome congratulated, but none ftaid to fup-
port the Action. But enough of what is paſt. Let all
our Care and Intereft be employed to defend our
Deliverers. Let us take your Advice in reflecting
with Pleaſure on the Ides of March, which has
opened to our Friends, thofe Gods upon Earth,
the Gates of Heaven, but not of Liberty to the
Roman People. Remember your own Admonition.
Remember how loudly you called out, that all was
ruined, if the Body of Cæfar fhould be publickly
buried. This, as the Confequences have fhewn, was
the Remonftrance of a wife Man.
You write to me that Antony will, on the 1ft of
June, make a Motion concerning the Provinces,
and that he himſelf may have the two Gauls, and
his Government of both prorogued beyond the
legal Term (1). Let me afk you, can I ſpeak
my Mind freely upon this Queftion? If I can,
I fhall rejoice at the Recovery of public Liberty.
If I cannot, what Benefit have I reaped from this
Change of Maſters, but the Pleaſure of ſeeing a
Tyrant meet with the Death he deferved? You
tell me, that the Temple of (2) Ops has been plun-
dered. That is no more than I had foreſeen. Well
(1) One of the beft of Cefar's Acts was his limiting the
Term of a Prætorian Government to one Year, and that of a
Confular to two at moft. Antony, who knew the Confequence
of Decimus Brutus being Governor of the Cifalpine Gaul,
wanted to have that Government to himfelf, and to fet afide
Cæfar's A&t.
(2) Where Antony found near fix Millions Sterling ready
Money, which had been laid up there by Cæfar for the Par-
thian War.
it
་་
412
CICERO's EPISTLES
ar muſt be owned, that glorious were the Hands
which broke our Fetters, and yet we are not free.
Thus, they have the Glory and we the Blame: fine
Encouragement this for me, to undertake the Hi-
ſtory which you adviſe me to attempt! What muſt
it be but a Collection of the Villainies of thoſe who
even now hold us at Bay? But may I not beftow
a good Word upon thoſe whofe Teftaments you
have witneffed in my Favour? There is fomething
in that, though it is not Intereft which governs
But it is a difagreeable Taſk to throw out
any Abuſe upon Men, be what they will, who
ftrive to oblige us.
But, as you write to me, I fhall be able to deter-
mine more certainly upon the whole Plan of my
Conduct by the 1ft of June. On that Day I will
affiſt in the Senate, and employ all my Intereſt and
all my Abilities, (I mean'affifted by your Advice,
your Influence, and the great Equity of the Thing
itſelf) to obtain a Decree of the Senate concerning
the Affairs of Butbrotum, according to the Terms
you propofe in your Letter. You defire me to think
once more upon a certain Meaſure (1). Well, I will
think of it, though, in my laſt Letter, I recommend-
ed it as the Subject of your Confideration. Mean
while, you are as liberal in reinftating your Neigh-
bours, the Maffilians (2), in all their Privileges, as
if our Country had already recovered her Liberty:
But, let me tell you, that it is not our Authority,
but our Sword that muft do this, and how fharp
that Sword is I know not.
(1) Meaning his going to Greece.
(2) Probably their Ambaffadors lodged near Atticus at Rome;
and they had been ſeverely treated by Cæfar for their Oppoſition
to him.
}
}
EPIST.
!
to ATTICUS.
413
EPIS T. XV.
OUR laft fhort Letter gave me fenfible Plea
You
fure from what Bratus wrote to Antony, and
now Things begin to wear a much better Afpect than
heretofore. But, it is now Time for me to confider
where I am, or whither I intend to go. That
charming Dolabella of mine, for now I can call him
mine, heretofore I did it only by Halves, what a
glorious Action (1) it was!--Some thrown from the
Rock-others nailed to the Crofs-the Pillar de-
moliſhed the Area ordered to be paved (2). All, all
was great, all was heroic. To me he feems to have
put an End even to every Pretext of Mourning (3)
for Cafar, which till then, daily gained Ground, and
muſt at laſt have fettled, I apprehend, into fomewhat
that might have proved fatal to our Tyrannicides.
Now, I agree to what you write in your Letter;
(1) Orig. avalswpnois. Animadverfionem.
(2) As foon as Antony had left Rome, to make fure of the
Veterans of the Army who lay difperfed in the Country of Italy,
the lower Kind of People erected an Altar and a Pillar to Ca-
Jar's Memory, and were guilty of fuch Outrages as were very
threatning to the Friends of Liberty. But Dolabella demoliſhed
both the Altar and Pillar, and threw thofe Votaries who were
Citizens of Rome, from the Tarpeian Rock.
(3) Orig. Simulationem defiderii. Monfieur Mongault tranf-
lates this, Ce regret que le peuple paroiffoit avoir de la mort de
Géfar. And Dr. Middleton in his Life of Cicero, having Occa-
fion to tranflate Part of this Epiftle, tranflates this Paffage by
the Words,
"All Appearance of Regret for Cæfar." But nei-
ther of thoſe Gentlemen has expreffed our Author's Meaning.
The Fact was, that the moft needy and abandoned Part of
Rome pretended a mighty Veneration for the Memory of
Cafar, and under that I'retence, met together at this Place of
Devotion; where, in Reality, they confulted together how
they might rob and murder the Men of Property, which
they very often did, as we perceive from our Author and
other Writers,
I now
414
CICERO'S EPISTLES
>
I now hope for better Days, and yet, I cannot bear
with thoſe, who under the Maſk of an Accommo-
dation are enforcing thoſe criminal Acts. But
every Thing is not to be had at once. Matters arè
much more mended than I imagined, nor will I
leave this Place, till you adviſe me, that I may dơ
it with Honour.
You may depend upon my being wanting in no
- Refpect to our Friend Brutus. Had I no manner
of Connection with him, I would ferve him for
his matchlefs, his amazing, Virtue. Being to fet
out for Pompeii on the firſt of May, I leave our
dear Friend Pilia, the Miſtreſs of my Houſe, and
all that therein is. How earneſtly do I wish that
you could perfuade Brutus to come to Aftura?
EPIST.
XVI.
I
WRITE this Letter, juft as I am going ori
board an open Boat from the Gardens of Cla-
vius, after delivering over to Pilia, the Charge of
my Houſe near the Lake, my Workmen, and Pur-
veyors. As for myſelf, I this very Day threatned
our Friend Pætus to take a Part of his Cheeſe
and pickled Cabbage (1). A few Days hence, I
defign to go to Pompeii, from whence I will fail
back to the delightful Regions of Puteoli and
Cuma. What pleaſurable Spots theſe are in other
Refpects? were it not that Crowds of Company
break in and almoft drive me from them.
But to come to Bufinefs. How great is the
'Action' (2) my Dolabella has performed! What a
(1) Orig. Tyro'arichum. See Vol. 1. p. 202.
(2) Orig. agissian. Rem geftam.
lovely
to ATTICUS.
415
lovely Proſpect (1) has it opened! Well, never can I
fufficiently praiſe and encourage him to proceed.
It gives me Pleaſure, that in all your Letters, you
intimate your Sentiments of the Action and the
Perfon, who performed it. Truft me my Friend,
Brutus might carry through the Forum, even a
Crown of Gold upon his Head, for who durft offer
Violence to him while the fear of the Rock and the
Croſs is before their Eyes, eſpecially as the Punish-
ment was inflicted amidft fuch Applaufes, and fuch
Rejoicings of even the lower Ranks of People?
Now, my Friend, you muſt take Care to fit me
out for Greece, a Journey I am extreamly defirous to
perform, as foon as I have fully compleated my
Engagements to our Friend Brutus. It is of great
Confequence to my Son, or rather to me, in-
deed, to both of us, that I fhould overlook
his Studies in Perfon. For, give me Leave to afk
you, what is there in that Letter of Leonidas which
you ſent to me, that ought to give me fuch mighty
Joy? The Reſerve he makes Ufe of in praifing
my Son, in my Opinion, renders his Commenda-
tion very imperfect. "At prefent," fays he, this
is not the Language of Affurance, but of Appre-
henfion for what may happen hereafter. Now,
though I gave it in Charge to Herodes that he fhould
write me minutely (2) of every Thing, yet I have
not as yet had one Scrap from him; which, I am
afraid, is owing to his having nothing to write,
which he thinks would give me Pleaſure. I am
extreamly obliged to you for writing to Zeno.
Both my Duty and my Character require, that my
Son ſhould want for nothing.
(1) Orig. avaleúgnoss. Animadverfio.
(2), Orig. xarà μízov. Per filum fingillatim.
1
I under-
'
416
CICERO'S EPISTLES
I underſtand, that Flamma Flaminius is at Rome
I have written to him, that I have fent to defire
you to talk with him upon the Affair of Montanus:
I beg you will take Care, that my Letter be de-
livered to him, and that you will talk with him ať
your Conveniency. I think, if the Man has any
Shame in him at all, he will take Care, that other
People do not in any Shape fuffer for him. I am
extreamly obliged to you for not telling me, that
your Daughter was indifpofed before you acquaint-
ed me of her being recovered.
*
I
EPIST. XVII.
CAME to Pompeii the 3d of May, the Day
after I delivered up to Pilia the Charge of
my Houfe at Cuma, as I wrote you before. While
I was at Supper' there, I received a Letter which
you fent by Demetrius the Freedman, the 30th of
the laft Month. In that Letter, you make many
wife Reflections. But as you rightly obſerve,
they may go for nothing, fince Caprice and For-
tune has now fo much Influence upon all Mea-
fures. We will, therefore, take a farther Opportu-
nity when we meet together, to confult of thoſe
Matters. It would be of great Service to your
Butbrotian Affair, if I could by any Means talk
with Antony. But I am afraid, he will not turn
out of his Road for Capua, and that his Journey
thither, may prove to be the Deftruction of his
Country (1). Lucius Cæfar, whom Yeſterday I ſaw
(1) Antony went to Capua, in order to bring the Veterans,
whom Cæfar had fettled thereabouts into his Meaſures.
4
very
to ATTICUS.
417
$
7
very much indifpofed at Naples, was of the fame
Sentiments. Therefore, we muft delay to treat or
conclude any Thing on your Affair, till the 1ft of
June. But fo much for that.
wrote in moſt oppro-
The younger Quintus has
bious Terms to his Father, who received his Letter
juſt as I arrived at Pompeii.
He begins with tell-
able to endure his
perhaps, he may
but what will you
ing him, that he ſhall never be
Step-mother Aquillia. In this,
not be fo much in the Wrong,
fay to what follows? He tells them, that he had
every Thing from Cæfar, nothing from his Father;
that he depends upon Antony for the reft of his For-
tune. What a Reprobate the Fellow is? But let
him fee to it (1). I have written to our Friend Brutus,
to Caffius, and to Dolabella. Incloſed you have Co-
pies of the feveral Letters I fent to them, not that
I am in any Doubt in the World, whether they
are proper to be delivered to them, for I am quite
fatisfied as to that, but becauſe I believe I write the
very Thing you think.
Suffer me my dear Friend, to give you the
Trouble of fupplying my Son with what Money
you think proper, and I am extreamly obliged to
you for all your paft Favours of that Kind. I
have not yet finifhed to my Mind my Book of
Anecdotes (2). As to the Additions which you
want ſhould be made to thein, they will require a
ſeparate Volume. For my Part, and I believe,
(1) Orig. MEOE. Cura erit.
μελήσει.
(2) Orig. cvéndorov. Nontdendum. Dion fays, that Cicero left this
Book fealed up in the Hands of his Son, with a Charge that
it fhould not be opened before his Death; but Monfieur Mon-
gault thinks, that this is improbable from what our Author fays
in this Place.
VOL. II.
E e
'you
418
CICERO'S EPISTLES
you may depend on what I fay, I am of Opinion,
there was lefs Danger in talking of thofe deteftable
Meaſures while the Tyrant was alive, than there is
now that he is dead. For though I know not
how it happened, he bore with wonderful Patience,
all I faid to him (1). At prefent, we cannot ftir
without being called to order not only with what
Cæfar did, but what he defigned to do. As
Flamma is at Rome, you will take Care of this Af-
fur of Montanus. I think the Affair at prefent is
in a better Situation.
Cicero to his dear Dolabella Conful, wifheth
Health.
I
7
T is true, my Dolabella, that I was contented
with the Glory you had acquired, and it gave
me a ſufficient Degree of Joy and Pleaſure; yet I
cannot help acknowledging, that my Tranfport ex-
ceeded all Meaſure, when I underſtood that the
-public Voice pointed me out as the Partner of your
Merits. I meet with no-body (for you muſt know,
I fee a great deal of Company here, becauſe a great
many excellent Perfons refort to this Neighbour-
hood on Account of their Health, not to mention
the great Number of my Friends from our Corpo-
rations) who, after extolling you to Heaven, in the
moſt honourable Terms, do not immediately after
return me their moſt hearty Thanks. They tell
me, they are convinced, that directed by my Pre-
cepts and Counfels, you are become, as you are, an
•
"
(1) We have many Inftances of the great Liberties which
Cefar indulged our Author in, particularly in breaking upon
him feveral cutting Jefts; but Cæfar was fecure in the Supe-
iority of his own Genius, which was not the Cafe with his
Succeffors.
excellent
▸
to ATTICUS.
419
excellent Patriot, and an incomparable Conful.
Now, though I could with great Juftice tell them,
that what you do is the Refult of your own Judg-
ment, and your own Inclination, without ſtanding
in need of Counſel from any Man; yet I neither
heartily join with them, for fear of detracting from
your Merit, if all you do fhould appear to be the
Effect of my Counfels, nor am I very forward in
contradicting them. For you must know, that
my weak Side is a Paffion for Glory. And yet,
let me tell you, your Dignity receives no Di-
minution in that which was held to be an Honour
to Agamemnon himſelf, the King of Kings, to have
a Nestor to direct him in his Counfels. With re-
gard to myſelf, I efteem it a Glory, that young
as you are, you make fo exalted a Figure as a
Conful, and that you are deemed to be the Pupil
of my Cares.
When I paid a Vifit to Lucius Cæfar, whom I
found fick at Naples, though he was racked with
Pains all over his Body, yet before our firft Com-
pliments were over, "O my Cicero, faid he, I
congratulate you upon having fo much Influence
over Dolabella. Had I as much over my Nephew
(1), all might yet be well with us, and our Coun-
try. As to your Dolabella, I congratulate him,
and I thank him. He is the only Man fince the
Days of your Confulate, whom I really can call a
Conful." He then talked a great deal of what you
had done, and the Meaſures you had executed.
That never was there any Thing done more mag-
(1) Meaning Antony who was Son to Julia, Sifter to Lucius
Cafar.
1
{
I
Ee 2
nanimouſly,
420.
CICERO'S EPISTLES
}
,
nanimouſly, more gloriouſly, or more for the Ser
vice of our Country, and all the World agrees
in the fame Sentiments. Give me Leave there-
fore, to beg of you, that you will allow me to
avail myſelf of this falfe Title to a Glory, which
belongs to you, and that you will fuffer me in
fome Degree, to become the Partner of your
Praiſes.
}
Yet, after all, jefting apart, my dear Dolabella;
if I have acquired any Glory, I would more wil
lingly transfer the whole of it to you, than rob
you of the fmalleft Share of yours. You are fen-
fible how much I have ever loved you, but now
the Flames of my Love burn as fierce as Paffion
ever did. For, believe me, my Friend, Virtue is
the faireſt, it is the brighteſt, it is the lovelieft Ob→
ject of human Paffion. You know, how dearly I
have always loved Marcus Brutus, on Account of
his elevated Genius, his amiable Manners, his
matchlefs Probity and Refolution, yet the Love I
bore him, received fuch an Addition from the Ides
of March, that I wondered how that Meaſure,
which to me ſeemed long, before almoſt to over-
flow, could admit of Encreafe. Who could have
thought, that my Affection for you could have
been enlarged? Yet fo much is it enlarged, that
what I feel for you now is Paffion, and all before
feems only to have been Efteem. Why then,
fhould I exhort you to perfevere in the Paths of
Dignity and Glory? Why fhould I, like thofe who
deal in Exhortations, place before your Eyes the
Examples of illuftrious Heroes, fince I know none
more illuftrious than yourself? You have now
nore
to ATTICUS.
421
none but yourſelf to imitate, none but yourſelf to
outdo. After the glorious Actions you have per-
formed, you are not, Sir, at Liberty to be unlike
yourfelf. To exhort you therefore, is unneceffary.
Give me leave, rather to congratulate you, upon a
Contingency, which, I believe, is unprecedented,
that the extreme Severity of the Puniſhment was fo
far from being odious, that it was even popular,
and gave Pleaſure to all Degrees from the worthieft
and the wealthieft, even to the poorest and the
meanest of Romans. Had this been owing to For-
tune, I ſhould have complimented you upon your
Felicity, but it was owing to the Greatnefs of your
Soul, your Genius, and your Wiſdom; for you
muſt know, that I have read your Harrangue to
the People. Nothing furely was ever better con-
ducted. So gradually do you open the Motives of
your Action, fo artfully do you clofe it, that all
-muſt allow the Offence to be ripe for the Puniſh-
ment you inflicted.
You therefore, have freed the City from Danger,
and her Government from Dread, by an Action
not only meritorious at this Time, but exemplary
'to after Ages; an Action which ought to make you
fenfible that the Government now refts upon you,
and that you are not only to protect, but to diftin-
guiſh, thofe Heroes who gave Rife to our recovered
Liberty. But in a Day or two, I hope to fee
you
in Perfon, and to talk with you more fully upon
theſe Matters. As you have faved us and your
Country, I beg my deareft Dolabella, that you
would take the moſt tender Care of yourſelf.
Ee 3
EPIST.
422
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
•
You
EPIST,
XVIII.
OU now frequently teaze me for the over-
weaning, exaggerated, Praifes I have beſtowed
upon Dolabella's Action. Now you must know,
that though I think it really had great Merit, yet the
Manner, in which you wrote to me of it once, and
again, induced me to extol it in the Manner I did,
But you have taken an entire Difguſt at Dolabella,
for the very fame Reafon for which I do likewife
hate him heartily. What a fhameleſs Fellow he is!
My Money was due the 1ft of January, and he
has not paid it yet, though he could free himfelf
from an immenfe Load of Debt by the Hand of
Faberius, who was his Help in Time of Need (1).
-You fee I muft have my Joke, left you ſhould
think I lay Matters too much to Heart. On the
8th I wrote to him early in the Morning; and, that
very Evening, I received at Pompeii your Letter
fo foon as the third Day after its date; but, as I
wrote to you that fame Day, I fent a pretty fharp
Letter to Dolabella, which, I believe, if it has
no other Effect, will have that of making him not
dare to look me in the Face. I fuppofe you have
finiſhed that Affair with Albius. You have highly
obliged me in enabling me to diſcharge that Debt
of Patulcius. It is like all your other Acts of
Friendſhip to me. But I thought it was fufficient
(1) There is fomething here that looks very like what we call
a Conundrum in English. The Original is, Opem ab eo petierit.
That is, He fought Affiftance from him. But the Wit lies in the
Similarity of Opem to the Accufative of Ops the Goddefs, in
whofe Temple Cafar's Money was depofited, of which Dola-
bella received a large Share,
1
1
if
to ATTICUS.
423
if I left Eros at Rome, becauſe he ſeemed to be cut
out for fuch Sort of Buſineſs, and yet through his
unpardonable Overfight, my Debtors have failed.
But I will have Patience till I fee him.
I teg
you will take upon you the Care of that whole At-
fair of Montanus, as I have often defired you to do
by my Letters.
I am not a bit ſurpriſed that Servus, when he was
leaving Rome, talked to you as if public Affairs
were defperate, for he cannot have a worfe Opi-
nion of them than I have. If our worthy Friend
Brutus fhall not affift in the Senate on the 1ft of
June, I know not to what Purpoſe he thould ap-
pear in public at all. But he is the beft Judge of his
own Conduct. From the Meafures which I fee
going on, I cannot think that the Ides of March
have greatly mended our Situation.
Therefore my
Inclination to go over to Greece daily encreaſes.
For I cannot fee how I can ferve my dear Brutus,
who, as you write to me, thinks of going into vo-
luntary Baniſhment,
I am not quite fatisfied with a Letter I have re-
ceived from Leonidas. I agree with you as to
Herodes. I wish I had ſeen the Letter of Saufeius. I
think of fetting out from Pompeii the 10th of
May.
1
O
EPIST. XIX.
N the 7th of May, when I was at Pompeii,
I received two Letters from you, the one on
the 6th, the other on the 4th Day after its Date. I
begin with the Former. I am greatly pleafed that
E e 4
Barnæus
424
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
Barnaus has delivered my Letters fo feaſonably.
You have dealt like yourſelf with Caffius. It hap
pened luckily, that four Days before, I received
your Letter, I wrote to him in the very Terms you
point out to me, and I have fent you a Copy of
my Letter. But at the very Time when I was
driven to the greateſt Diſpair by the Inſolvency (1)
((2) as you call it) of Dolabella, behold, I receive a
· Letter from Brutus, and another from you. Brutus
thinks of going into voluntary Baniſhment (3). For
my Part I fhall look out for another Harbour (4),
that is better ſuited to my Time of Life. Before
I enter it, I could wish to fee our Friend Brutus
happy, and our Conftitution eſtabliſhed. But at
prefent, as you obferve, we have no Choice left us.
For you are of my Opinion, that nothing is more
unſuitable than War, eſpecially a civil War, is to
my Time of Life..
Antony has only anfwered me as to Clodius. He
thanks me for my Gentlenefs and Clemency, and
he tells me I ſhall find great Satisfaction in both.
But Panfa (5) appears quite outrageous as to Cla-
dius, and likewife as to Dejotarus, and, if we are
to believe him, he talks in a very high Strain. I
do not however think it looks well in him to con-
(1) Monfieur Mongault thinks that Cicero is in Jeft here,
which I much doubt of, becauſe, in the preceding Letter, he
is very much in earneſt upon this Head.
(2) Orig. ariola. Solutionis defectu.
(3) We must not underſtand this Queſtion literally. Our Au-
thor's Meaning is, that if Brutus fhould leave Italy, as, Pompey
had done, he must never expect to fee it again.
(4) Meaning Death.
(5) Cicero was miſtaken in his Opinion of this great Man,
who was afterwards killed in the Battle of Mutina againſt
Antony,
demn
1
to ATTICUS.
425
ca.
demn fo violently, as he does, the Action of Dola-
bella. When our Nephew was reproached by his
Father, for being garlanded, he wrote him back in
Anſwer, that he wore a Garland, to teftify his Re-
fpect for Cæfar, and that he laid it afide to teftify
his Grief. In fhort, that he looked upon it as an
Honour to be reproached for loving Cafar even af-
ter Death. Í have, becauſe you adviſed it, wrote
very particularly to Dolabella, and likewife to Sic-
That is a Tafk I do not impofe upon you,
becauſe I want that you fhould be well with Dola-
bella. I have reflected upon the Words of Servius,
and I perceive in them more Fear than Wiſdom,
and yet I agree with him, becauſe we are all of
us frightened out of our Senfes. Publilius has
trifled with you. For Carellia (1) came to me as
a Kind of an Envoy from them, and I eafily per-
fwaded her, that what fhe requested was not only
againſt my Inclination, but not within my Power.
If I ſhould ſee Antony, I will deal with him, the
beſt I can, about your Affair of Butbrotum.
I now come to your laſt Letter, though I have
already anſwered every Thing concerning Servius,
and that I think the Action (2) of Dolabella to be
greatly meritorious. By Heavens, I think a greater
I could not have been performed on fuch an Occa-
(1) We have already obferved that our Author has been ac-
cufed of certain Levities with this Lady, who was confiderably
older than himſelf. But I think the Paffage before us carries
with it a ſtrong Prefumption of his Innocency. For had there
been any Thing criminal between them, fhe was a very im-
proper Agent to have been employed in the Affair mentioned
here, which was a Negotiation fet on foot by the Brother and
Friends of Cicero's laft Wife for his taking her back to his Fa-
mily.
(2) Orig. apăźw. Factum.
fion,
426 CICERO's EPISTLES
fion, and at fuch a Juncture. Mean while, what-
ever Praiſes I gave him, was owing to your Man-
ner of Writing, though I must own myſelf to be
fo far of your Opinion, that this Action (1) would
be much more glorious if he would pay me what
he owes me. I wish that Brutus may come to
Aftura. You think I am in the right not to deter-
mine any Thing concerning my Voyage, before I
fee how public Matters will turn out. I am now
of another Opinion. I fhall however determine up-
on nothing before I fee you. I am glad that my
dear Attica returns me. Thanks on Account of her
Mother, whom I have left Miftrefs of all my
Houſe and Provifions, and I am thinking of feeing
her by the 11th of this Month. Do
Do you make
my Compliments to your Daughter, and I will
take care of your Wife.
1
EPIST. XX.
Went by Water from Pompeii, and reached the
Houſe of our Friend Lucullus on the 10th,
about nine in the Evening. I was but juſt landed
when I received your Letter of the 7th, which, I
was told, was brought to Cuma oy your Exprefs.
Next Day, about the ſame Hour on which I landed,
I received from Lucullus, yours dated from Lanu-
vium on the 9th; therefore I fit down to anfwer
them all.
In the firſt Place, I am obliged to you for your
Management in my Concerns, for the Care you
(1) Orig. wpaw. Factum.
J
have
to ATTICUS.
427
1
•
have taken of that Payment, and for the Affair of
Albianus. Now, with Regard to your Affair of
Butbrotum, you muſt know that when I was at
·Pompeii, Antony came to Mifenum, but left it be-
fore I heard of his being there, and went to Sam-
nium. Thus you fee that I must meet with him
in Rome upon that Matter. The Harangue of Lu-
cius Antonius (1) was horrible, that of Dolabella no-
ble. He may, for ought I care, keep my Money
in his own Hands, provided he pays me the Intereſt
punctually. I am forry that Tertulla (2) has miſcar-
ried, for there is now as much Occafion for the Pro-
pagation of the Cafii, as of the Bruti. I wiſh to
know farther about the Queen of Egypt, and
about her Son Cæfario (3). Thus much for your
firſt Letter, now to your fecond.
When I come to Rome, I will, as you adviſe
me, talk to my Brother and Nephew, and follicit the
Affair of Butbrotum. You have obliged me in fup-
plying my Son with Money. You think I am in
the Wrong to reft the whole Intereſt of our Coun-
try upon Brutus alone. But the Thing certainly is
fo. Our Country muft either be nothing, or ſhe
muſt be ſaved by him and his Friends. You adviſe
me to draw up an Harangue and fend him. Give
me leave, my deareft Friend, to give you what I
(1) He was Brother to Mark Antony; and the Harangue, men-
tioned here, was a Speech he made to the People for the Di-
ſtribution of certain Lands to ftrengthen his Brother's Intereſt a-
mongst the Soldiers.
(2) She was Sifter to Brutus, and married to Caffius. Her
Name was Junia; but he was called Tertulla, from her being
the third Daughter in the Family.
(3) Whom the pretended fhe had by Cæfar; and he was af-
terwards put to death by command of Auguſtus.
think
428
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
think a general Rule (1), as to thofe Matters in
which I had a pretty large Experience. Never was
there Poet or Orator, who thought another Man ex-
celled him in his own Art (2). If this is the Cafe (as
in fact it is) with indifferent Poets, what muft
you fuppofe of Brutus, who is really a Man of Ge-
nius and Learning? I had lately had fome Proof
of him upon the Occaſion of an Edict which I wrote
for him at your Requeft. I preferred my own, and
he his. Nay, when he prevailed upon me, almoft
upon his Knees to addrefs to him a Piece upon the
best Manner of ſpeaking, he wrote not only to my-
felf, but likewife to you, that he, by no Means, ap-
proved of my Tafte. "Every Man to his Mind,
fay I, and write for himfelf. Every Man kifs his
Wife in his own Faſhion (3)." This is no very
elegant Phraſe, for it is taken from Attilius, who
is a very hide-bound Poet. I wish, however, that
Brutus were at Liberty to harangue the People. All
would be our own if he could remain at Rome with
Safety. For the Leader to a new civil War, will
either have no Followers, or fuch as may be eafily
vanquished.
T
I now come to your third Letter, I am greatly
pleafed that my Letters were fo agreeable to Bru-
tus and Caffius. I have therefore anſwered theirs..
They infift upon my making Hirtius a better Pa-
triot
; which indeed I endeavour to do, and he
(1✈´Orig. - xaðoλxòv Dewqnµa. Generalem regulom.
(2) Nothing can be more true than this Obfervation of our
Author, notwithstanding the affected Humility of many great
Writers
(3) There is here in the Original two Lines in Iambic Verſe,
which Cicero makes ufe of as a Proverb, and which anſwered fo
well in our Language, that I have tranflated them accordingly.
gives
to ATTICUS.
429
"
gives me fair Affurances. But he lives and dwells
with Balbus, who likewife is a fair Speaker. We
ought to look before we truſt either. I perceive you
are greatly pleaſed with Dolabella. For my Part,
I am charmed with him. I have paffed fome Time
at Pompeii with Panfa, who gives me the ſtrongeſt
Proofs of his having honeft and pacific Sentiments.
I approve of the Edi&t.of Brutus and Caffius. You
defire that I would beſtow fome Thought in what
Manner they ought to proceed. But, let me tell
you, that depends upon Circumſtances and Junc-
tures, which you fee vary every Hour. The
firft Action of Dolabella, and this laft Harangue
he made againſt Antony, have, in my Opinion,
done a great deal of Service. Matters are now in a
fair Way. For now there is an Appearance of our
having a Leader (1), which is the Thing that all
our Corporations and Patriots moft earneſtly wiſh
for.
Shall you then pretend to quote Epicurus ? Have
you the Prefumption to fay,. "I will not meddle
with ftate Matters (2) ?" I think the very Look of
Brutus ought to frighten you out of fuch Expref-
fions (3). You tell me that the younger Quintus is
the right Hand (4) of Antony. We may therefore,
through -
(1) Meaning Dolabella. From the whole Strain of this. Let-
ter, it appears to have been written before the preceding, which
hints at Dolabella's being bribed by Antony.
L
(2) Orig. µù rodílevεodas. Accedendum non effe ad Rempublicam.
(3) This is a fine Compliment to Brutus, who, by the bye,
is repreſented on the Coins and Statues with a very noble open
Countenance.
(4) Orig. Dextella. I have fome Doubt as to this Paffage:
The Manufcripts read Quintus F. If Cicero is ferious here the
F. Htands for Frater. If he ſpeaks ironically it ftands for Filius,
and
!
430
CICERO's EPISTLES
through him, eafily obtain all we want and all we
wifh. If (as you are of Opinion, he would) Lucius
Antonius has produced Octavius before the People,
I long to know what Kind of a Harangue he made.
I am fo preffed by the Exprefs of Caffius, that I
write' this in a Hurry. I now go to pay my Com-
pliments to Pilia, and then I fet out in a Barge to
an Entertainment made by Veftorius. My Com-
pliments to your Daughter.
On
EPIST. XXI.
N the 11th of this Month, foon after I had
charged the Meffenger of Caffius with a Letter
to you, my own Exprefs arrived, and, which was
prodigious, without any Letter from you. But I foon
conjectured that you muſt have been at Lanuvium.
Now you muſt know Eros has difpatched him in a
Hurry, that I might the fooner receive Dolabella's
Letter (which did not indeed concern my own Af-
fair, for mine had not yet come to his Hand) but
was an Anſwer, and a very fatisfactory Anfwer it
is, to that Letter of which I fent you a Copy. I
had but juſt ſent off Caffius's Exprefs, when in
comes Balbus. Good Heavens! how eafy it is
to perceive how much he is afraid of public Tran-
quillity? And yet you know he always is upon the
Reſerve. But he made no Secret of Antony's Pro-
and I have tranflated it in that Senfe. I have tranflated Dex-
tell, riut Hand, which is certainly our Author's Meaning; but
the Commentators, who never chufe to deviate from the Se-
verity of Language, and never nake Allowance for the Fami-
Harities of Expreffion, have given this up as a defperate Word.
ceedings.
to ATTICUS.
431
ceedings. He told me, that he had been going
round to all the Veterans, to bring them to ap-
prove of Cæfar's Acts, and to bind them by an
Oath, to ſupport and maintain them, and that
two Magiftrates fhould look into them every
Month. He likewife complained of the Prepof-
feffions againſt himſelf, but all his Converſation had
a Caft of Affection towards Antony. He is not,
in fhort, to be depended on.
In my Opinion, there can be no Manner of
Doubt that a War is inevitable. The Action of
our Friends' was manly, but their Meaſures are
childiſh. Who is fo blind as not to fee, that Cæfar
has left an, Heir to his Power (1). Now, what can
be more abfurd than to be afraid of one, and not
of the other, though indeed, we live in an Age of
political Solecifms (2). For Inftance, that the Mother
of the chief Tyrannicide ſhould ſtill poffefs the Nea-
politan Eftate of Pontius (3). I muft read over and
over again the Cato major which I fent to you. For,
I perceive myſelf fowered through Age (4). Every
Thing difcompoſes me. Living is now over
with me (5). Let young Men enjoy Life who
can.
Do you continue to take Care of my Intereft.
I have written, or rather dictated this at the Houſe
(4) Meaning Antony, Some of the Confpirators were for
killing him at the fame Time with Cæfar ; but this was gene-
rouſly oppoſed by Brutus.
(2) Orig. Voronoixa. Sub abfurda.
(3) We have already taken Notice of Servilia, the Mother
of Brutus, being the Miftrefs of Cefar, who had made her a
preſent of this Eftate, which had been confifcated for the Au--
thor's Adherence to the Caufe of his Country.
(4) He was about 63.
(5) Orig. Reßiwrgi. Atas alt 1 eft.
वई
432 CICERO'S EPISTLES
of Vestorius, when the fecond Courfe was fet upon
the Table. To-morrow I intend to fee Hirtius, the
laft of the five (1) Cominiffioners for Cafar's Fu-
´neral. Thefe are the Means I make Ufe of to-
reclaim this great Man to our republican Party.
Yet, I know it to be a Labour in vain (2). There
is not a Man amongst them who is not afraid of
Peace. Let me therefore be gone-any where ra-
ther than to a Camp. I beg you will make a thou-
fand Compliments on my Part to Attica.
impatient for the Harangue of Ottavius. Write me
every Thing that occurs, eſpecially, if there is
any Cafh from Dolabella (3), or whether to get rid
of my Debt, he will not paſs a Bill in Favour of all
infolvent Debtors (4).
I am
BE
EPIST.
XXII,
EING informed by Pilia, that an Expreſs
was going off for you upon the 15th, I im-
mediately ſnatched up my Pen, that I might write
to you fomewhat or other. In the first Place,
therefore, be it known to you, that I fet out from
hence to Arpinum on the 17th of May, you will
therefore, ſend thither any Letters you write to me,
though I fhall very foon fee you in paffing. For
I am defirous before I come to Rome, to have a
furer Scent of what will be the Event of public
Matters. And yet, I am afraid, that my own Ap-
(1) Orig. Et quidem Tevréλostov. De quinque reliquum.
(2) Orig. Angos moλus Nuga multæ.
(3) Orig. Ecquid Dolabella tinniat. That is, whether Do-
labella chinks.
(4) This was the Meaſure that had been long fufpected.
i
prehenfions
to ATTICUS.
433
prehenfions are but too well grounded. The De-
figns of the Party are but too plain. As to my
Pupil (1), who is to fup' with me this Evening,,
dearly does he love the Man whom our Brutus
wounded; and if I muft fpeak it (for I fpeak it from
what I fee and know) they, in general, hate Tran-
quillity. The Reaſons they adopt (2) and profefs
are, that a moft illuftrious Perfon has been mur-
dered; that his Death has convulfed the whole Sy-
ſtem of our Government; that, as foon as our Fears
are over, all his Acts will be cancelled; that his
Clemency was his chief Misfortune, and, had it not
been for that, he might fill have been alive.
Now I am of Opinion, that if Sextus Pompeius
ſhould come to Italy, as he probably will (3) at the
Head of a fufficient Army, a War muſt be inevita-
ble. The Appearances and Apprehenfions of this
give me infinite Difquiet, for we ſhall not now have
the fame Liberty as we had in the late War. We
have avowed our Party by our Rejoicing publicly
for Cæfar's Death. And his Friends are perpetually
accufing us of Ingratitude. We fhall then have
nothing of that Liberty which we (4), and a great
many others, had at that Time. I must therefore
(1) Meaning Hirtius. It feems our Author's Country Seat
and his lay very near one another For, though he went
to fee Hirtius, we find him entertaining him in his own
Houfe:
(2) Orig. vπółeσw. Caufam quam prætexunt.
(3) Orig. euλoyov. Probabile.
(4) Monfieur Mongault here tranflates the plural Number by
the Singular. But I think it is more natural to underſtand
what is faid here of Atticus, as well as of Cicero ; becauſe the
Former openly oppofed the giving Cafar's Body a public
Funeral.
VOL. II.
F f
throw
434 CICERO's EPISTLES
throw off the Mafk (1) and take the Field, which
will be more difagreeable than a thouſand Deaths
at my Age. The Ides of March, therefore, give
me no fuch Joy as they did fome Time ago, for
they contained a mighty Omiffion (2). And yet
cur young Confpirators have Merit fufficient to
cancel all Reproach of their Conduct (3).
If you, however, have any Grounds for hoping
better Things, as you have more Opportunities of
Converfation, and of being prefent at Confultations,
I beg you will let me know by a Letter, and be-
ftow fome Thoughts how I aim to proceed in the
Affair of my votive Legation. The Truth is, a
great many People here put me upon my Guard
againſt being prefent in the Senate on the 1ft of
June. They tell me, that Soldiers have private
Orders to be in Readineſs that Day 'to diſpatch our
Friends; and it appears to me, that they will be in
more Safety any where than in the Senate.
(1) Orig. Pawonpоownтéov. Aperta facie procedendum.
(2) Meaning that Antony was not killed along with Cafar.
The Greek Line which follows here, and of which I have given
the Senfe, is taken from an ancient Poet, whofe Name we
know not. From this Paffage and many others, it appears,
that our Author was not at all in the Secret of the Confpira-
tors. The Truth is, he had given fo many Proofs of Weakneſs
and Irrefolution, that they did not chufe to truft him. There
was another Reaſon, befides that of Magnanimity, why Brutus
oppofed the putting Antony to death along with Caefar, and that
was, that he had been engaged with Trebonius to kill Cæfar up-
on his laſt Return from Spain. Antony afterwards was recon-
ciled to Cæfar, but he never diſcovered his Engagements with
Trebonius, and the Confpirators, for that Reafor, agreed that
Trebonius fhould under fome Pretext keep Antony from going
into the Senate-houſe when Cæfar was killed, for fear they
ſhould have been obliged to have killed him likewife, if he had
endeavoured to have faved Cæfar.
(3) Orig. "Αλλοις ἐν ἐσθλοῖς τόνδ' ἀπωθοῦνται ψόγον. Aliis in
bonis boc dedecus hoc detrudunt a fe.
CICERO's
1
( 435 )
炎
​BA. CEAXED, CERATO CEKA'S CEZA59 CEXASS CLAS
柒 ​IRA IR
(
CICERO's
EPISTLES
то
ATTICUS.
W
BOOK XV.
EPIST. 1.
HAT woeful News to me is the Death-
of Alexio! It is incredible into what Af-
fliction it has thrown me, and I fwear
from other Motives than moft of the
People about me fuppofe. Where, fay they, will
you find another Phyfician? What Occafion have I
now (1) for a Phyfician? If I had, they, furely, are
not ſo ſcarce. But I regret him for the Affection he
(1) Meaning that Life was not worth his Care, when his
Country was in fo deplorable a Situation.
{
Ff 2
bore
}
436
CICERO's EPISTLES
}
1
}
bore me, for the Elegancy of his Manners, and the
Sweetnefs of his Temper; let me add likewife, that
it is an alarming Confideration for ourſelves, that
fuch a Man, notwithſtanding his great Temperance
and Skill in his Profeffion, fhould be hurried fo
fuddenly out of the World by the Force of a Di-
ftemper. But there is one general confolatory
Maxim for all Events of that Kind, that the Tenor
of our coming into the World is to fubmit to every
Lot of Humanity.
I acquainted you, by a former Letter, that I had
not feen Antony. For, while I was at Pompeii, he
came to Micenum, which Place he left before I knew
of his being there. But it happened, while I was
perufing your Letter, that Hirtius was at my Houſe
at Puteoli. I therefore read your Letter, and preffed
your Affair home, to him. He told me, in the firſt
Place, that whatever Service he did in the Affair
ſhould be done for your own Sake only, and he
concluded by telling me, that he would be directed
by me, not only in this Affair, but through the
whole Courſe of his Confulfhip. With Regard to
Antony, I will deal with him in fuch a Manner as
To convince him, that, if he obliges me in this
Particular, he will make me wholly his. I am in
Hopes Dolabella will pay me what he owes me (1).
to
Now to return to our Friends, of whom you in-
timate your good Hopes on Account of their mo-
derate Edicts. You must know when Hirtius parted
from me at Puteoli on the 16th, to meet Panfa at
Naples, I fatisfied myfelf as to his Sentiments; for I
(1) Orig. Dolabellam fpero domi effe. It is, if I miftake not,
an Act of Bankruptcy for a Tiader to deny himſelf, if he is at
Home, to his Creditor.
took
to ATTICUS.
437
took him aſide, and exhorted him to pacific Mea-
fures. You may be fure he told me that his Incli-
nation lay that Way, but that he was as much afraid
of Violence from our Friends, as from Antony; that
in the mean while, though both Parties had Reafon
not to appear abroad without their Guards, yet he
was equally apprehenfive of both Sides drawing the
Sword. In fhort he is not to be depended up-
on (1).
I agree with you as to the younger Quintus,
whofe Father received wonderful Satisfaction and
Delight from your Letter. As to Carellia, I eafi-
ly brought her over, nor indeed did I think her
much in earneſt, and if ſhe was indifferent, furely
I have much more Reafon to be fo. As to that
other Perfon '(2), who, you fay, teazes you fo
much, I am furprized you give her a Hearing at
all. It is true, I have fpoken well of her before her
Friends, and in the Hearing of her three Sons and
Daughter. But that is now all over (3). Why fo,
fay you? Why fo?-again. Why fhould I walk
in a Maſk? Has not old Age disfigured me fuf-
ficiently already?
You tell me that Brutus defires to fee me before
the ift of the next Month, and he has fent me a
Letter to the fame Purpofe. It is very poffible I
may fee him, but indeed I know not how I can
ſerve him. For how can I give him Counſel when
I am fo much. at a Lofs for it myſelf, and as his
(1) Orig. div vysés. Nihil fincerum.
(2) This is a Piece of private Hiftory. The Perfon, here-
mentioned, very probably was Mother to Publilia, Cæfar's latt
Wife, or perhaps it was a new Miſtreſs propoſed to Cicero.
(3) Orig: & d'autò in rỡ airs. Non idem ex eodem.
Ff 3
Action
#38
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Action has rendered his own Name immortal, but
has left our Tranquillity precarious. The Report
about Cleopatra is come to nothing. I beg that
you would deal with Flamma all you can.
I wrote to you Yeſterday, as I was leaving Pute-
oli to go to Cume where I found Pilia almoſt en-
tirely recovered; I likewife faw her at Bauli. She
was come thither (1) from Cuma to attend a Fune-
ral, at which I likewife affifted; for our Friend
Cneus Lucullus was then burying his Mother. I
therefore paffed Yefterday at Sinueffa, and have
this Morning written this Letter to you, before I
fet out for Arpinum. Now there is nothing hew
that I can either tell you, or you me, unleſs you
think there is any Thing in the following Cir-
cumſtance. Our Friend Brutus has fent me the
Speech, which he made in the Affembly at the
Capitol, and he begged that I would ufe what
Freedom I pleaſed in correcting it before he pub-
liſhed it. Now you muſt know, that nothing can
exceed it in the Elegancies of Style and Sentiments.
But, had I been to fpeak on fuch a Subject, my
Arguments (2) fhould have blazed with more glow-
ing Spirit (3). You know the Character he af
fumed,
*
(1) Bauli lay between Baie and Cumæ.
(2) Orig rotées Argumenta.
(3) Our Author is certainly in the Right in his Obfervations
of the Difference between himſelf and Brutus ; and there are, to
this very Day, two Parties of the fame Kind in the Republic
of Letters. Brutus had received a regular Education; he had
applied himself to all the Elegancies of Stile and Language;
his Sentiments were juft and beautiful, and nothing could be
more irreprehenfible than all his Compofitions. Such I fay was
Brutus, and fuch the Generality of the Noblemen and Gentle-
men, who made great Figures at that Time at Rome, and fuch
at this Day is the Character of the moft diftinguished Moderns
for
{
\
1
439-
to ATTICUS.
fumed, and therefore I could correct nothing in the
Speech. For, according to the Manner which our
· Friend Brutus thinks the beft, and the Judgment
which he forms of a compleat Speaker, he has fucceed-
ed fo well in that Speech, that in Elegance it is not
to be out-done. But my Tafte is quite different.
Whether I am right or wrong I know not.
I
would have you, however, read that Speech, if you
have not read it already, and let me know your
Opinion of it. And yet I am afraid that you will
be biaffed, by your own Appellation (1), into a
Super-Attic (2) Judgment. But if you reflect upon
the Thunder of Demofthenes (3), you will there fee
that Force may be reconciled to Elegance (4). But
for Learning who have gone through a regular Courfe of Edu-
cation, and apply themſelves to Study. But, though theſe are
Qualities that form fine Writers and good Speakers, there goes
more to the Compofition of a great Genius. Our Author
thought, that this either was wanting in Brutus, or that it had
been too much polished away. He felt it within himſelf, he
had ſeen its Effects, but was himſelf too great a Genius to de-
fcend to the Drudgery of proving and defending it upon the Prin-
ciples of Art, becauſe, in fact, it is fomewhat that is beyond
the Bounds of Art, though it conftitutes its chief Beauties. With
Regard to Eloquence, we have had fewer Inftancies of Genius in
it than in Painting, Poetry, or any of the fine Arts, while the
Compofitions of learned Speakers are, in general, lefs faulty
and more juſt than Compofitions upon any other Art. There
was ſcarcely a great Man at Rome, who was not a fine Speaker
and a fine Writer, who did not pique himfelf in publiſhing his
Compofitions, and who did not hope for Immortality from
them. But they were without the Characteristic I have men-
tioned, which fo eminently diftinguiſhes our Author, and there-
fore their Compofitions are long loft.
(1) Viz. That of Atticus. We find our Author, in feveral
Places, blaming his Friend for his too great Delicacy in
Criticiſm, which, he thought, damped that noble Spirit, which
marks the Works of a great Genius.
(2) Orig. VπegaTrixos. Nimis Atticus.
(3) Orig. Anμooléves. Demofthenis.
(4) Orig. άTTIHúrara. Maxime Attica,
Ff 4
of
440
CICERO's EPISTLES
of this we will talk when we meet. At prefent I was
unwilling that Methrodorus fhould go to you either
with no Letter, or with one, only for forms-fake.
1
O
EPIST. II.
→
}
N the 18th, as I was leaving Sinueffa to go
to Cuma, after Writing a Letter to you, I
received yours from the Express. You ought not to
have faid fo much to me in it as you do, concerning
the Affair of Butbrotum, which lies, and fhall lie,
as near to my Heart as it does, or can, lie, to yours.
It becomes each of us to take care of the others
Concerns, and I have taken up this Affair upon
the Footing of its being of the higheſt Confequence
to me. I heard by your, and other, Letters, of
that wretched Harangue made by 'Lucius Antony,
but I know nothing of the Particulars, for you do
not give me fo much as a Hint of them. I am
glad of what is happened to Menedemus. Our Ne-
phew certainly vapours in the Manner you write. I
am glad that you think me in the Right in not
compofing what you requeſted of me, and you
would think me much more fo, were you to read
the Harangue which I mentioned in my former
Letter of this Day. Your News of the Le-
gions (1) proves true. But I think you have not
fufficiently confidered that the Authority of the
(1) Antony had called fome Legions from Macedon, the Pro-
vince that had been alotted him by Cæfar, with an Intention
to employ them in Gaul, which was the Province he had his
Eye upon at this Time, and Atticus thought that this was a fa-
vourable Circumftance for the Affair he was folliciting at Bu-
tbrotum, which lay in the Neighbourhood of Macedonia.
Senate
to ATTICUS.
441
Senate alone will not be able to carry through our
Butbrotian Affair. So far as I can fee (though all
is but Conjecture) our own Safety will be but pre-
carious. But if I am miftaken in this, you muſt
fucceed in your Butbrotian Affair.
I am of your Opinion, as to the Harangue of
Octavius, but I don't love the Preparations for his
Plays (i), and that Matius and Pofthumius fhould be
his Managers. Saferna (2) makes a very proper
third Hand. Now, you are fenfible, that all thoſe
Fellows hate Peace as much as we do War. I
fhould be glad to contribute all I can in abating
the public Prejudice againſt Balbus. But he
himſelf thinks that impoffible, and therefore,
he is at work upon other Schemes.
overjoyed, that what I have faid in
my firſt
Tufculan Difputation has ftrengthened you againſt
the Fear of Death, which is the beſt and the readi-
eft Refuge from Calamity. I am glad that Flamme
promiſes fo fairly. I am ignorant, as to the Parti-
I am
(1) O&avius, as Heir to Cæfar, intended to celebrate certain
Plays in Honour of the Julian Family, which that great Man
defigned to exhibit before he was killed. Cicero did not like
this Proceeding. As yet, he looked upon Octavius in no other
Light than that of a Boy, who from the Nearnefs of this Re-
lation to Cæfar, might be made Ufe of to ballance the Power
of Antony. But he did not like, that the Remembrance of
Cafar's Perfon fhould be awakened in the Minds of the People
by fuch Exhibitions, and he certainly was in the Right of it.
The Truth is, public Affairs were then very much perplexed at
Rome. If the Confpirators were in the Right to kill Cafar,
nothing could be more abfurd, as our Author often obferves,
than to inforce his Meaſures, and in a Manner, even to deify
his Perfon. If they were in the Wrong, it was equally abfurd
in the Body of the People, to bestow fach Applaufes as they did
upon every Meaſure taken by the Confpirators for the perpetual
Abolition of Tyranny.
(2) Theſe three were known, and violen: Partizans of
Cafur.
culars
442
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
culars of the Cafe of the Tyndaritans (1), about
which you are ſo earnest. Mean while, I will en-
deavour to ferve them. I find, that Hirtius (2) is
alarmed at the prefent Proceedings, and eſpecially
at Antony's Profufion of Money.. I am forry for
the Lofs of Alexio, but I think it a Happineſs for
him, that he is dead, as his Diſeaſe was ſo violent.
Mean while, I fhould be glad to know who are
his fecond Heirs, and the Date of his Teftament.
O
EPIST. III.
"that we
N the 22d I received at Atina, two Let-
ters from you, in Anfwer to two of mine,
the one dated the 18th, the other the 21ft.
Now, in Anſwer to the Firſt. You'll make Haſte
to Tufculum as you write, and I think of being
there myſelf on the 25th. You write,
muft obey our Conquerors." I will anſwer, at leaſt,
for myſelf, that I will not. I know many Meaſures
preferable to that. You put me in Mind of the
Decree (3) that was made in the Temple of Apollo,
under the Confulate of Lentulus and Marcellus. But
give me Leave to fay, that the Party is not the
fame, nor are the Junctures fimilar, efpecially as
you write to me, that Marcellus and others, are go-
ing off. I must therefore, try before hand, and
1
1
(1) They were the Inhabitants of a City in Sicily.
(2) Orig. Tevtéλoiπov Reliquum e quinque.
(3) This was when, upon Cæfar's marching to Rome, the Se-
nate, as in the Caſe of a Rebellion, or Confpiracy, or any other
momentous Concern to the Public. gave it in Charge to the
Confuls, "to take Care that the Common-wealth fhould receive
no Detriment,"
come
1
to ATTICUS.
443
}
come to fome Refolution, whether I can be fafe at
Rome or not. I am very jealous of the Poffeffors
of our new Plantations. Thus, fcarcely can I move,
without Danger (1). Yet, I make Slight of this
Situation, I even defpife the greateſt Dangers. I
am acquainted with the Contents of Calva's Tefta-
ment, who was a fcandalous mean Fellow. I am
obliged to you for the Care you have ſhown in the
Sale of Demonicus. It is fome time fince I wrote
very fully to Dolabella concerning Marius (2). I
hope my Letters came to Hand, for I pay all
due Attention to his Intereſt.
I now come to your fecond Letter. I know all
I wanted to know, concerning Alexio. Hirtius is
entirely yours. I wish it were worſe with Antony
than it is (3). What you write to me concerning
my Nephew, gives me a World of Pain. I will
fpeak with his Father when I fee him. I am great-
ly defirous to ſerve Brutus as far as I am able,
and I perceive, you are of my Opinion, with Re-
gard to his fhort Harangue. But I cannot com-
prehend how you can imagine, that I fhould com-
poſe a Speech, and put it off as that which was
(1) Meaning, that if he goes to Rome, he was there in Dan-
ger from Cefar's Party, and, fhould he ſtay in the Country, from
the Veterans which Antony had gained over by a late Diſtribu-
tion of public Lands amongst them.
(2) He was a Friend and Relation to Cicero; and ſome of his
Letters are ftill extant.
(3) Orig. Antonio, quam eft, volo pejus effe. Monfieur Mon-
gault thinks, that this Expreffion regards Lucius Antony, who
had oppoſed his Sollicitations, in the Affair of Buthrotum. But
I fee no Reaſon, why we may not underſtand it of Mark Antony,
whom our Author begun to be more than ever jealous of, eſpe-
cially, as he had made ſeveral fruitlefs Attempts to talk with
Mark Antony about that Affair, the Succefs of which depend-
ed more upon him than it did upon Lucius Antony.
pro-
444
CICERO's EPISTLES
pronounced by Brutus, now that he has publiſhed
his. How would this, look, or would you have
me to go upon the Topic, that it was lawful to
kill the Tyrant. I fhall ſpeak and write a great
deal on that Head, but it muſt not be after that
Fafhion, or at this Juncture. The Tribunes have
behaved nobly in the Affair of Cæfar's Throne (1),
and I likewiſe approve of what our Knights have
done. I am glad that Brutus has been at my
Houfe, provided he has enjoyed himſelf there,
and without being hurried away.
1
A
EPIST. IV.
BOUT two in the Afternoon, on the 23d,
I received a Difpatch from Quintus Fu-
fius (2), containing a Kind of a Note written in his
ftale, ftupid, Manner, begging me to reſtore him to
my good Graces. Mean while, it may poffibly
happen, that when one does not love a Perfon, he
looks upon every Thing to be ftupid which that
Perfon does, or writes.. My Anſwer was fuch, as, I
believe, you would approve of. The fame Expreſs
brought me two Letters from you, the one of the
22d, the other of the 23d. Now, as to the Firſt→
(1) This was a golden Chair which the Senate had decreed
for Cæfar, in all public Places, a Compliment paid only to the
Gods. When Octavius attempted to bring this Chair upon the
Theatre, he was oppofed in it by the Tribunes, who were pro-
bably feconded by the Knights, who were diſpoſed in fourteen
Rows of the Theatre.
(2) His furname was Calenus. He had been the Friend of
Clodius, and was afterwards attached to Antony.
~
What
to ATTICU S.
445
What, a whole Legion left Antony (1)!-Excellent
News indeed! Carfulenus too turned honeft! I
fhould have as well thought, that Rivers would
flow back to their Source (2). What you tell me of
Antony's Meafurés, is very threatning; I wish that
he would apply to the People, as I believe he will,
rather than to the Senate (3). But the whole Plan
of his Conduct, feems to point towards War, if it is
true, that he intends to deprive Decimus Brutus of
his Government. According to the Opinion I have
of his Spirit, I don't think Antony will gain his
Point without Blows. But, as he has become re-
ſponſible for your Solicitation in Favour of the
Butbrotians, I wish he may meet with no Oppofi-
tion (4). You will perhaps, afk me, why I am
fo merry upon this Subject. But give me Leave
to tell you, that I am ſo far from being merry,
that I am ſorry the mighty Favour you obtained,
has not been obtained by my Affiduity and Intereft.
•
You tell me, you are quite at a Lofs to con-
ceive how our Friends the Confpirators ought to
proceed. I have been at the fame Lofs (5) for a
long Time. It is therefore, ftupid in us, to think
now of comforting ourſelves from the Ides of
March. We acted like Men, but we confulted
like Boys; indeed we did. The Tree was felled,
(1) Orig. Et Legio? This Legion was called Martia, and was
commanded by the Carfulenus here mentioned, who went over
to Octavius, and was afterwards killed at the Battle of Modena,
where his Legion was cut in Pieces.
મ
(2) Orig. åvw poτapy. Surfum fluminum.
(3) Our Author was afraid of any Thing coming from the
Authority of the Senate, that looked like condemning the
Action of the Confpirators.
(4) This is ſpoken ironically.
(5) Orig. a'πogia. Dubitatio,
but
46
CICERO'S EPISTLES
but its Roots were not plucked up, and therefore;
you ſee how it fhoots forth its Shrubs.-Let us,
therefore, have Recourfe to our Tufculan Diſpu-
tations (1), becauſe yoù are ſo fond of them. If
you pleaſe, we will conceal this laft Circumſtance
from Saufeius, who never fhall know it through me.
You tell me, Brutus defires to know from you;
on what Day I am to be at Tufculum. Let him
know, about the 27th, as I wrote you before, and
I ſhould glad to fee you as foon as poffible. For,
I am of Opinion, that I muft go to Lanuvium, which
I know, will be greatly talked of (2). But I muſt
confider of it (3).
I now return to your firſt Letter, without mind-
ing what you fay in the Beginning of it concerning
the Butbrotians, whofe Intereft I have very deep'
at Heart, provided, as you intimate, I fhall be at Li-
berty to appear in their Favour. You ftill infift, and
that too as peremptorily as you did before, on my
writing a Speech for Brutus. What fhall I treat
of? the Subject that has been handled by him? and
treat of it too without his defiring me! the moſt af-
frontive of all Intrufions (4)! Do it, ſay you,
in the Manner of Heraclides (5). Well, I am
not againſt that, but I must form my Plan, and
I muſt have Time to execute it maturely. You
may entertain what Opinion you pleaſe of me,
(1) Vix. Againſt the Fear of Death, and againſt the Epicu
reans, of which Sect Saufeius was.
(2) Becauſe Brutus and Caffius were there.
(3) Orig. Meλnou. Cura erit.
(4) Orig. Tapeyxpeσs. Molitio in alieno opere.
(5) Orig. Heaxλeidiov. Heraclideum. This Author is men-
tioned already in the 19th Letter of the 13th Book.
and
to ATTICUS.
447
•
and I hope you always will entertain a very good
one, but believe me (and I mean no Offence) that
if public Matters continue as they are at prefent,
I fhall have no Pleafure in reflecting upon the
Ides of March. Had we ftruck at the Root, we
ſhould not have had a fecond Cæfar, nor fhould
we have been terrified into a Confirmation of all
his Acts. At leaft, for my own Part (that I may
fpeak in the Stile of Saufeius, and not in that of
my Tufculan Difputations, which you exhort even
Veftorius to read) I was fo much in Favour with
Calar, of ever curfed Memory, that fince I have not
recovered my Freedom by the Death of that Ty-
rant, he would have been at this Time of my Life,
by no Means, an undefireable Mafter. I blufh,
believe me I do, at what I write, but as I have
written it, it ſhall even ftand (1).
1
1
I wish, that the News concerning Menedemus,
may be true, and likewife, that concerning the
Queen of Egypt. I will talk with you when we
meet of all the other Matters, eſpecially how our
Friends are to proceed, and what I am to do my-
felf, ſhould Antony befet the Senate-houſe with his
(1) Our Author here, gives us a very true Picture of himſelf.
Whatever his Profeffions are, it is plain, from the conftant Tenor
of his Letters, that when he did not meet with the Confidera-
tion he thought he deferved, nothing went well in the Govern-
ment. We find him by Turns courting the Confpirators, Antony,
Octavius, Dolabella and Hirtius, and all to recover his own Im-
portance. The Apology offered for him by Dr. Middleton and
his other Admirers, as if he had done this in Order to keep the
Parties ballanced, fo, that his Country might recover her Liberty,
is the most defpicable that can be imagined. For he could not
well, at this Time, be ignorant of the Views of Octavius, who
had the Addreſs to footh his Vanity, and Weakneſs, and to
make Ufe of him in all his moft pernicious Defigns upon the
public Liberty.
Sol-
448
CICERO'S сі
EPISTLES
Soldiers. I have not trufted his Meffenger with
this Letter, for fear he ſhould break it open, and,
as I was at any Rate to anſwer yours; I have fent it
off by Exprefs.
*
$
I wiſh, with all my Heart, that you could have
anfwered the Requeſt of Brutus (1). As you can-
not, I have let him know fo much by Letter. I
have fent Tyro with a Meffage, and a Letter to
Dolabella. You may fend for him, and write by
him whatever you have to fay to me. When I
write this, Lucius Cæfar comes acroſs me, begging
that I would fee him at his Houfe in the Wood, or
that I would write to him where he can wait upon
me, for that Brutus wants very much, that we
fhould meet together. What a vexatious endleſs
Buſineſs this is! Well! fo far as I can foreſee at
preſent, I will give him the Meeting, and then go
to Rome. I write to you as yet only in general,
for I have heard yet nothing from Balbus. I there-
fore, am impatient for one from you, with an Ac-
count of your own Conjectures, as well as the
preſent Contingencies.
TH
EPIST. V.
HE Express is returned from Brutus, with
Letters from him and Caffius, who are ex-
tremely defirous of being adviſed by me. Nays
Brutus afks me, which of the two Things (2).
You underſtand me; wretched Situation! It will
(1) Monfieur Mongault for very good Reafons, is of Opinion,
that this Paragraph begins a new Letter.
(2) Viz. Whether he fhall go to Rome, or leave Italy.
not
x
to ATTICUS.
449
not bear writing upon, I therefore, think of an-
fwering him by Silence, unleſs fomewhat fhould
occur to you. If there does, I beg you would in-
form me by a Letter. As to Caffius, he is ex-
tremely earneſt and importunate with me, that I
would convert Hirtius into a Patriot. Would not
you think the Man's Brain a little touched, thus to
bid me waſh a Blackamore white (1)! I have fent
you his Letter. Both Balbus and Hirtius write to
me in the fame Manner as you do concerning the
Senate's coming to a Refolution upon the Provinces
of Brutus and Caffius. Hirtius tells me, that he
has actually left Rome, and is returned to Tufculum,
and he is violently againſt my going to Rome, and
that too on Account of the Danger I muſt be ex-
poſed to, of which he himſelf had had a Share. For
my Part, though there were no Danger, I ought to
be fo cautious of incurring Antony's Jealoufy,
through my not feeming to be pleafed with his
Profperity and Power, that I have all the Reaſon
in the World not to go to Rome, for fear I ſhould
fee him.
You muſt know likewife, that our Friend Varro
has fent me a Letter, fent to him by I know not
whom, for he has eras'd the Writer's Name, in-
forming him, that thofe Veterans (2) who were
excluded from the Divifion of the Lands (for fome
of them were excluded) talked very defperately,
and that all who feem not to favour their Inte-
reſts, muſt be expofed to great Hazards, fhould
they go to Rome. How then muſt 1 go, return,
look, and walk about, amidſt fuch Ruffians If, as
(1) Orig. & ypapers árpaneús. Fulullo carbonarius.
(2) They afterwards went over to Octavius.
VOL. II.
G g
you
450
CICERO's EPISTLES
you write, Lucius Antonius is ordered to command
againſt Decimus, and other Generals are appointed
to act against our Friends the Confpirators, what
fhall I do, and how fhall I behave? My preſent
Reſolution is to abfent myſelf from a City where, in
Profperity, I.flourished with the higheſt Dignity;
and with a little, even in Servitude. But my Re-
folution is not fo fixt to leave Italy, upon which
I will confult with you, as it is not to go to
Rome.
་
O
EPIST. VI.
UR Friend Brutus and Caffius having written
to me to employ all my Intereft with Hirtius,
whom they think is a good Patriot, to confirm
him in his preſent Difpofitions, from which they ap-
prehend he may fwerve. I have written and recom-
mended to him a due Regard for Brutus and Caffius.
Mean while, though he is at prefent at fome Qua-
rel with Antony's Perfon, yet, I know him to be a
Friend to the Party. I was willing you fhould fee
his Anſwer, which I have fent you, and to know
whether you are of my Opinion, that that Party
is apprehenfive that our Friends have more Courage
than they really have.
Hirtius to his Friend Cicero, wifheth Health.
You
OU afk me, whether I am now returned to
the Country, and whether I am unactive
amidſt this univerfal Combuftion. You muſt know,
then, that I have left Rome, becauſe, I thought it
my beſt Courſe. I write this in my Journey to
Tufculanum,
1
to ATTICUS.
451
Tufculanum, for you are not to think me fo much
of a Hero, as to return to Rome by the 5th. For,
I can fee nothing now that can require my At-
tendance there, fince the Governments are be-
ftowed for fuch a Term of Years. I wiſh, that
you could as eaſily diffuade Brutus and Caffius from
running into any violent Meaſure as you can truly
perfuade them of my being directed by you. I ob-
ſerve you ſay, that they were leaving Italy when
they wrote to you. Whither, or why, are they
going? Diffuade them, I conjure you, my Cicero,
from this Intention, and fuffer not the whole Syftem
of our Government to be ruined, which is every
Day, by Heaven, receiving fundamental Shocks
from the Rapines, Burnings, and Slaughters that
are committed. All they have to do, is to be up-
on their Guard, if they apprehend any Danger, but
let them not ſtir an Inch farther. Believe me, they
cannot by the moſt violent Meaſures, come nearer
to their Purpoſe than they can do by the moſt in-
active, provided they are circumfpect. As to what
is paffing now, it cannot be durable, but ſhould a
civil War break out, it muſt be immediately per-
nicious and fatal. Let me know your Sentiments
of them when I arrive at Tufculum.
Such is the Letter of Hirtius, and my Anfwer
was, that to my certain Knowledge, my Friends
had nothing violent in View. I was willing you
fhould know how this Matter has paffed. This
Letter was fealed when Balbus wrote me, that Ser-
vilia was returned, and affures him, that Brutus
and Caffius will not leave Italy. I now expect a
Letter from you.
EPIST,
G g 2
1
1
452
CICERO's EPISTLES
T
EPIS T. VII.
HE Letters you forwarded to me, gave me
great Pleaſure, eſpecially that of our Friend
Sextus. That, fay you, is, becauſe it is ſo much in
your own Praiſe. There may, by Heavens, be
fomething in that, and yet, before I came to this
Place, I was charmed both with his Sentiments
upon public Matters, and his Affiduity in writing
to me. As to our pacific Friend Servius (1) with
his little Secretary, he feems to have undertaken
the Negotiation, and to be guarding againſt all
Quirks in the Deeds of Agreement. But he ought
to have reflected; that it is not the Law but the
Sword (2) that will decide the Queftion. I expect
to have a Letter from you likewiſe.
SIN
EPIS T. VIII.
INCE you left me, I received two Letters
from Balbus without any News, and one from
Hirtius, intimating his terrible Diſguſt with the Ve-
terans. I am extremely impatient to know, what
will be done the firſt of next Month (3). For that
Purpoſe, I have difpatched Tyro, and along with
him, feveral of my Domeftics, any of whom you
may charge with a Letter when any Thing happens
(1) Servius Sulpicius was remarkable for affecting in the for-
mer War, to negotiate between Cæfar and the Senate; and he
was eſteemed the greateſt Lawyer of his Time.
(2) This is taken from a Verfe of Ennius.
(3) The original has Kal. Martiis. But this must be a Mi-
ftake, fince our Author evidently Means the Firft of June,
when the Senate was to meet.
•
worth
1
to ATTICUS.
453
1
worth your Writing. I have even written to Antony
concerning a Legation, for fear he fhould have
taken it amifs, had I written to Dolabella fingly.
As Antony, however, is faid to be pretty difficult
of Accefs, I have written to defire Eutrapelus (1)
to put my Letter into his Hand, and have acquaint-
ed him how ſerviceable that Legation would be to
A votive Legation would be more honour-
able (2), but I may make Ufe of either.
me.
I beg you would diligently examine your own
Situation. I wish that we could confer together
upon it, but if that ſhould be impracticable, we
may do the fame Thing by Letters. Graceius (3)
has written to me, that he has received a Letter
from Caius Caffius, informing him, that a Number
of armed Men have got together, and are ordered
to march to my Houfe at Tufculum. This News
does not ſeem very probable to me.
I muſt be upon my Guard, and muſt have an Eye
upon my feveral Country-houſes. But to-morrow,
I-fhall better know what to determine,
Mean while,
2
O
EPIST. IX.
N the Third, in the Evening, I received a
Letter from Balbus, informing me, that the
Senate would meet on the 5th, that Brutus was to
be diſpatched to Afia, and Caffius to Sicily, to buy
up Corn, which they were to fend to Rome. How
defperate is our Situation! Firſt, that they fhould
(1) He was an Officer of the Artillery under Antony.
(2) Vix. Than a Lieutenancy under Dolabella.
(3) He was very intimate with Brutus and Caffius.
Gg 3
receive
454.
CICERO'S EPISTLES
M
Feceive any Commiffion from fuch a Faction, and
next, if they received any, that they fhould receive
one in which they can act only in the Capacity of
Deputies (1). Perhaps, it had been as well to have
fent them to divert themſelves on the Bank of
Eurotas. But all muſt be as Fortune directs.
Balbus tells me likewife, that the Senate at the
fame Time will come to a Refolution for affigning
Provinces to them and other Prætorians. This, in-
deed, is better than their walking under the Perfican
Portico. For you muſt know, that our Friend has
a Lacedæmon at Lanuvium (2). You afk me, why
I ſhould laugh in talking of ſuch Matters? What
fhall I do, I am tired with crying?
Immortal Gods! into what an Agony was I
thrown, by reading the firft Page of your Letter?
What! armed Men breaking into your Houſe! But
I was glad that this Cloud foon blew over.
I am
extremely impatient to know how you fucceeded in
your melancholy as well as difficult Negotiation,
of bringing our Friends into one common Con-
(1) Becauſe the Year of their Prætorfhip not being expired,
they could only have the Title of Legati, and not of Pro-
prætores.
(2) A good many private Circumftances are touched at in
this, and the preceding Sentence. Monfieur Mongault after
Grævius, thinks it probable, that Brutus had built at Lanurium,
a kind of an Epitome of the famous Perfican Portico which
was at Lacedæmon, in Commemoration of the Victories of the
Lacedæmonians over the Perfians, and that the River Eurotas,
where the Lacedæmonians uſed to indulge themſelves in Time of
Peace, was reprefented there, either in Painting, or by fome
real Rivulet in the Neighbourhood, to which Brutus gave that
Name. Mean while, from the Manner of our Author's Ex-
preffion, I am apt think, that befides thoſe Alluſions, he has a
fecret Glance at Brutus's laconic Way of Writing, which he fo
much diſapproved of.
cert
to ATTICUS.
455
cert (1). This feems to be impracticable, fo clofely
are we beſet on all Hands with Troops. As to
myſelf, that Letter from Brutus, which you fay
you read, ftruck me fo, that though I was before
uncertain what to adviſe, I am now rendered ftill
more undetermined through Grief. But I will write
you farther when I am farther informed.
At pre-
fent, I had very little to write to you, and the leſs,
becauſe I am in fome Doubt whether this Letter will
come to your Hand, it being uncertain whether
this Expreſs will fee you or not. I am extremely
impatient for a Letter from you.
EPIST. X.
OW affectionate is the Letter from Brutus,
HOW
and how wayward is your Situation, that you
cannot go to him! Now, what Advice can I fend
them in writing? To accept of the Kindneffes of
that Party? What can be more fcandalous? Shall
I counſel them to attempt fomewhat? That is
what they dare not, and at this Time, what they
cannot do. Suppofing I adviſe them to be unactive.
But who will answer for their being fafe? But
fhould the Party proceed to Extremities againſt
Decimus, how then could our Friends endure to
live, even fuppofing, that none fhould attack them?
Can any Thing be more mortifying than that.
(1) Orig. Ad confiliandem legatione. I agree in general with
Monfieur Mongault's Senfe of this Paffage. Only, I think, that
the Expreffion does not imply a fimple Confultation, but a Con-
fultation for acting with Unanimity. This Office faited very
well with the Character of Atticus, and the next Letter juftifies
the Senſe I have given to this Paſſage.
Gg 4
Brutus
456
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Brutus dares not prefide at his own Plays? To.
beſtow upon him the Commiffion for buying up
Corn, is no other than a plaufible Pretext for re-
moving him out of the Way (1), not to mention
that it is one of the meaneft Employments in all
our Government. In fhort, it is fo delicate an
Affair to give Counſel in fuch a Situation, that
the Counſellors themſelves are not in Safety. But I
ſhould deſpiſe Danger, could I be of Service. For
of what Service can I be by thrufting myfelf be-
tween Brutus and his Mother (2), who fways him
either by her Counſels, or her Intreaties. I will,
however, beſtow fome thought upon the Matter.
I ſhall write to him, for anſwer him I muſt ; I
fhall, therefore, fend my Letter directly either to
Antium or Circai.
EPIST. XI.
N the 26th I arrived at Antium, where I met
with a hearty Welcome from Brutus, Then,
in the Hearing of a great many People, particu-
larly of Servilia, Tertulla, Porcia (3), and like-
wife of Favonius, he aſked my Opinion as to the
Part he ought to act. I had been thinking of
this very Thing on the Road, and I accordingly
adviſed him to accept of the Commiffion for buy-
ing up Corn in Afia, for that now we had nothing
(1) Orig. Quæ eft alia Dionis legatio. Becauſe the Tyrants
Dionyfius the Elder and the Younger, ufed to employ their
Kintman, Dion, in Embaffies to keep him from Practices againſt
their Government.
(2) She had been beloved by Cafar, and ftill lived in great
Friendſhip with his Friends
(3) Thefe were the Mother, Sifter, and Wife of Brutus.
to
to ATTICUS.
457
!
to think upon, but how they fhould live in Safety,
which was the only Expedient by which we could
fave our Country. I had but just begun to deliver
this Opinion when Caffius came in (1), and I then re-
peated what I had faid. Upon this Caffius, whoſe
Eyes ſparkled forth Fire and Fury, with the very
Spirit of a Mars, told us flatly, he would not go to
Sicily. What, faid he, am I to receive an Affront
as a Favour? What then, faid I, will you do? He
then told me, he would retire to Achaia. And
what will you do Brutus refumed I. If you think
proper, replies he, I will go to Rome. I think it
by no Means proper, anfwered I, for you cannot
be there with Safety. But, fuppofing I could,
would you then adviſe me to go?-I could, by all
Means, wifh, replied I, could you be in Safety,
that you ſhould live at Rome, and that you fhould
not leave Italy either now, or when your Prætor-
fhip is expired, even for a Government. But ftill,
as Matters are circumftanced, my Opinion is againſt
your going to Rome. I then ftrengthened what I
had faid with fuch Reaſons as muft readily occur to
yourſelf why he could not live at Rome with Safety.
There paffed then a great many Complaints, and
eſpecially from Caffius, who inveighed bitterly a-
gainst Decimus Brutus (2), for the Opportunities
that
(1) Doctor Middleton, Vol. iii, p. 61. of his Life of Cicero,
tranflates the Original here, which is Caffius intervenit, Caffius
interrupted him. But it is plain he was miſtaken.
(2) I cannot be of Monfieur Mongault's Opinion, that this
was, becaufe Decimus, Brutus oppofed the killing of Antony.
Becauſe, had Cofius inveighed againſt him for that, there could
have been no Manner of doubt of the Thing, though it was a
Queftion at that Time, and is not clear to this Day whether it
was Marcus or Decimus, Brutus, who diffuaded the Confpirators
from killing Antony. I rather think that, by this Paffage, he
alludes to fome other Neglect of Decimus Brutus in not oppofing
Antony
458
CICERO's EPISTLES
that had been loft. I did not contradict him, but
told him it was impoſſible to recall what was paft.
I then began to talk of the Meaſures they ought to
purſue, though without faying any thing particular
that is not publickly and daily talked of. I did
not even mention that we ought to have rid our-
flves of any other Perſon than Cæfar. I only faid,
that the Senate ought inftantly to have been fum-
moned together, that we ought to have avail'd our-
felves of the People's Ardour, and that they ought
to have been worked up by fome animated Speeches,
to take into their Hands the whole Syſtem of the
Government. Upon this, the Lady you are ſo well
acquainted with call'd out, "Well, never did I
hear any Body talk at this rate before." But I foon
fhut her Mouth. Caffius however, in all Probabi-
lity will be gone, becaufe Servilia has undertaken,
that the Refolution of the Senate, about his Corn-
Commiffion,' fhall be repealed, and our Friend
foon alter'd the idle Strain in which he talked be-
fore; for he faid he would comply. It was
therefore agreed upon, that, though he was abfent,
the Plays fhould be celebrated in his Name. Now
in my Opinion, he intends to fet out from Antium
for Afia.
Not to detain you, this Vifit gave me no other
Comfort than the Conſciouſneſs of having done my
Duty, for it would have been highly improper for
me not to have ſeen him before he left Italy. Hav-
ing thus diſcharged what I owe to the Love and
Kindneſs I bear him, I may fay with myſelf, what
Antony, though he was then at the Head of three Legions in the
Cifalpine Gaul. This
This is confirmed by Appian de Bel. Civ. lib. I
iii. who fays that Brutus and Caffius trufted chiefly to Decimus
Brutus, for repreffing the Power of Antony, in which however
they were diſappointed.
have
to ATTICUS.
459
1
have I gained by thus rambling after the Oracle (1)?
I abfolutely find the whole Veffel of the Confpiracy
not only leaky, but fallen into Pieces. They have
among them neither Concert, Reaſon, nor Regu-
larity. Therefore, had I not been determined be-
fore, this muſt have fixed me in the Refolution of
flying to a Land where the Report of fuch Doings
would never reach my Ears.
Mean while, in cafe you do not know it already,
I was informed laſt Night that Dolabella has given
me a Deputation under himſelf, dated the 2d of
April (2), for I think you was againſt my accepting
a votive Legation. It was indeed abfurd for me,
after my Country was ruined, to pretend to per-
form the Vows which I made for her Freſervation.
Befides, if I miſtake not, thofe Kind of Legations
are limitted to a certain Time by the Julian Law ;
nor is it an eafy Matter for the Perfon, who enjoys
them, to be at Liberty to enter and leave Rome
when he pleaſes, which I can do in my prefent
Situation. It is a fine Thing to enjoy this Li-
berty for five Years. But what do I talk of five
Years, I probably ſhall be free from the Cares of
Life long ere then. Let us however ftill bode the
beſt (3).
t
(1) Orig. Ἡ δεῦρ᾽ ὁδός σοι τί δύναται νῦν θεοπρόπε. Iter huc Jufe
ceptum quid tibi prodeft, qui oraculum confulis ?
(2) There muft either be a Miftake in this Date, or the
Commiffion muſt have been anti-dated.
(3) Orig. Badoqnua. Quæ funt mali ominis.
་
}
EPIST.
460
CICERO's EPISTLES
❤
EPIST. XII.
Am pleaſed with what you tell me of your Bu-
throtian Affair, Mean while I have fent Tyre
to Dolabella with a Letter, becauſe you requeſted
it. That can do no Harm. As to our Friends at
Antium, I ſuppoſe you are convinced from what I
already wrote to you, that they are determined to
lie bye, and to accept of Antony's affrontive Kind-
nefs. Caffus fpurned at the Corn Commiffion, and
Servilia told him, that ſhe would get it cancelled by
a Refolution of the Senate. As to our Friend Bru-
tus, he is reſolved, as if he were going in ſtate (1),
to go to Afia, after being of my Opininon that he
could not live ſafely at Rome (2), for he chufes that
his
(1) Orig. nj páða oeuvòs. Et valde gravis.
(2) The Greek Expreffion, in the Original, here makes Mon-
fieur Mongault think it to be a Compliment to the Steadineſs
and Unconcern of Brutus, eſpecially, fays he, as Brutus was of
Cicero's Opinion as to the Danger of his living at Rome. But I
cannot agree with that Gentleman. The Expreffion xai pána
suvos (Et valde gravis) was certainly made ufe of to denote a
Perfon marching along in great State and Gravity with a Con-
fcioufness of his own Merit and Importance. Plutarch, in his
Life of Cicero, makes ufe of the fame Expreffion when he. de-
fcribes him, attended by almoſt all the People of Rome, return-
ing to his own Houſe from punishing the Accomplices in Cati-
line's Confpiracy. Befides, notwithſtanding all the Compliments
which our Author is in a Manner forced to pay to Brutus, I
never can be brought to believe that he either fincerely loved or
efteemed him, nor did he ever miſs an Opportunity of Sneering
at him when he could. As to their agreeing together in their
Opinion on this Head; if the Reader attends to our Author's
Senfe of the Confpirators Conduct, he may easily perceive
that the Advice, he gives them here, was no other than the
Refult of his hearty Contempt of their Management. He more
than once tells Atticus, that all their Meaſures were childish, nor
does he thinks he can put Brutus in a more ridiculous Light,
than by making him refolve to accept of this affrontive Com-
miflion, and to ſet out upon it, as if in reality it had been doing
him
to ATTICUS.
461
his Plays ſhould be celebrated in his Abfcence. He
is getting together Ships to carry him over. Mean
while they are not to leave thefe Parts. Brutus
at leaſt told me, he was going to Aftura. Lucius
Antonius has written a very handſome Letter to me,
defiring me to be afraid of nothing. This is one
Favour he does me, and perhaps he will do me ano-
ther if he does not come to Tufculanum. Thefe Things
are not to be born with, and yet bear with them we
muft. Which of the Bruti are we to blame? So
far as I can perceive, Octavianus has abundance of
Spirit, and his Difpofitions towards our Heroes,
appear to be fuch as we could wish them to be.
But it requires great Deliberation before we truſt
one of his Years, his Name, his Family, and his
Education. His Step - Father, at leaſt, whom
I faw at Aftura, thinks that he ought not to be
truſted at all. We muft however cherish him, were
it only to ſeparate him from Antony. I will
fay, that Marcellus has done nobly, if he has
prepoffeffed him in favour of our Friends, and I
can affure you he feemed to be entirely influenced
*
him an Honour; but, in fact, our Author was not in the Secret
of Brutus, as appeared by the Sequel of his Conduct. He had
great Refentments against Antony, who had rendered it unfafe
for him to remain at Rome; and he was very fenfible that the
leave which he and Caffius had obtained, from the Senate, to be
abfent from thence, and which Antony agreed to, was artfully
obtained by Antony himself, that he might remain Maſter of
Rome. In fact therefore, it was very wife in Brutus to diffem-
ble his Reſentments, and even to accept of this Corn Commif-
fion, which gave him an Opportunity of getting together fome
Ships. Antony, according to Appian de Bel. Civ. lib. iii. feemed
to be fenfible of this; for, in the Speech he there makes to
the military Tribunes, we find him complaining against the Se-
nate, for beſtowing this Commiffion upon Brutus and Caffius,
as being no other than a Pretext for their getting together their
Friends and Soldiers.
•
by
1
}
462
CICERO's EPISTLES
by him, and not over much by Panfa and Hir-
tius. He has good Difpofitions if they continue.
O
EPIST.
XIII.
1
N the 24th I received two Letters from you,
and ſhall begin with that of the oldeſt Date.
I agree with you that I ought neither to lead the
Van, nor bring up the Rear. Let me, however,
affift in the March. I have fent to you my
Speech (1), and I leave you at Liberty either to
keep it back or publifh it. But when do you
think it will be proper to do the latter? I think
the Truce, which you mention, to be impractica-
ble. My beſt Way will be to be filent, I therefore
think of making no Reply (2). You write me that
two Legions (3) are arrived at Brundufium. You al-
ways hear the News before we do, therefore write
whatever you hear. I expect to fee Varro's Dialogue
(4). I am now fond of the Manner of Heraclides (5),
eſpecially as you are ſo much pleaſed with it. But I
ſhould be glad to know how you think I ought to
manage the Subject. I am the more inclined to it
from what I wrote you formerly, eſpecially as you
(1) I entirely agree with Monfieur Mongault, that this was a
Speech our Author had compofed by way of Invective againſt
Antony and his Party, but which was not to be publiſhed before
a favourable Turn ſhould happen to the republican Intereſt.
(2) Orig. avarts@wrnola. Taciturnitas in refpondendo.
(3) They were brought over from Macedon by Antony's Or-
der to affift them in difpoffeffing Decimus Brutus of the Cifalpine
Gaul, Vide Appian de Bel. Civ. lib. iii. and to oppoſe the elect
Confuls, Hirtius and Panfa, who feemed, by no Means, well
difpofed io his Intereſt.
(4) Orig. diánoyov. Dialogum.
(5) Orig. Hpannéidior. Heraclideum.
have
to ATTICUS.
463
have ſtrengthened your Opinion, to which I was no
Stranger, with that of Peduceus, which always fhall
have a decifive Weight with me. I fhall therefore
take care to beſtow upon it my whole Application
and Diligence.
I make much of Vetenus and Faberius as you ad-
vife me. I believe Clalius had no bad Intentions,
but one cannot be too much upon their Guard. But
let me know how he has proceeded. I entirely a-
gree with you in your Sentiments about preferving
our Liberty,, which certainly is the deareſt of all
human Enjoyments.-And has Gallus Caninius (1)
been treated in that Manner?-What a profligate
Villain the other Fellow is, for what other Appel
lation can I give him? Marcellus (2) has fheltered
himſelf finely. I do my beſt likewiſe, but I am not
fo much upon my Guard.
I have now anſwered your firſt and longeſt Letter.
To your fecond and fhorteft, what can I fay, but
that it gave me infinite Pleaſure. The Affairs of
Spain are in a fair Way, provided I can but fee
Balbilius (3) in Health and Profperity, for I confi-
der him as the Staff of my old Age. I am forry
for what has happened to Antonianus, becauſe Vifellia
is greatly attached to me. But we are born to Ac-
cidents of that Kind. You tell me you know no-
thing of Brutus.
But I underſtand from Silicia,
that Marcus Scaptius is arrived, but keeps incognito;
(1) He was a Friend to our Author, and probably had re-
ceived fome Injury from Antong.
(2) This was Marcellas the Conſular, who had retired from
Rome, and took no Concern in Party Matters.
(3) He very probably was the Son of Balbus, and one of Ci-
cero's Friends. There are feveral other Strokes of private
Hiſtory in this Epiftle which we know nothing of.
7
1
that
464 CICERO's EPISTLES
that he is to fee her privately, and that I fhaff
know every Thing. When I do I fhall inftantly
acquaint you. Mean while, the fame Lady informs
me (1), that a Slave of Baffus is arrived, who tells
her that the Alexandrian Légions are in Arms; that
they have invited Baffus (2) to their Affiftance, and
that Caffius is expected. In fhort, our Country
feems now to be in the Way of recovering her
Freedom. But let us fee a little farther (3), for
you know how well the other Party is experienced
in all the 'Arts of Treafon and Violence.
. I am greatly pleaſed with Dolabella (4), and yet,
while I am writing this, now that the fecond Courſe
is put upon the Table, I underſtand that he is ar-
rived at Baia, though I received a Letter from him
as I was coming out of the Bath, which he writ
to me from Formia, informing me, that he had done
every Thing I required for fecuring to me the Pay-
ment of the Money he owed me. He lays the Blame
that it was not done fooner upon Vectenus; I fup-
pofe he is fhuffling with me, as fuch People ufe to
(1) Monfieur Mongault very properly agrees with Grævius,
that the Original here ought to be read, Inter ea narrat eadem.
But he will have eadem to the Ablative, and via to be under-
derſtood, and he tranflates it accordingly. This furely cannot
be Cicero's Meaning; for why ſhould a Slave of Baffus come a-
long with Scaptius, who wanted to remain incognito? Befides
the Conſtruction is forced, and I have therefore underſtood it
to be the Nominative, by which all Difficulties of the Senfe
are removed.
(2) He is mentioned before in the 9th Letter of the 14th
Book.
(3) Orig. Sed ne quid ante. Which Monfieur Mongault tran-
flates, Pourvu que les partizans d'Antoine ne vous prevennent pas.
But I think both the Words, and the Connection, more natu-
rally points to my Senſe.
(4) Who had promiſed to ſerve Atticus in his Buthrotian
Affair.
4
do
to ATTICUS.
465
1
do in Money Matters (1). But he tells me, that that
excellent Perfon, and my very good Friend Seftius,
has undertaken the whole Affair. But give me
leave to aſk you what Seftius could do in this Matter
that might not have been done by any one of us?
However, if Things fhould fall out beyond my Ex-
pectation let me know. If the whole Affair is de-
fperate, as I fuppofe it is, inform me by a Letter,
for it will give me no great Concern.
I am now purſuing the Study of Philoſophy (2),
and I am engag'd in a fpecious Work upon the moral
Duties (3), which I addrefs (4) to my Son, as the
moſt proper Preſent a Father can give to a Child.
I will afterwards purfue other Studies. In fhort, I
ſhall have ſomething to fhow for my thus retiring
from Rome. Varro is expected hère to-day or to-
morrow. For my Part I am running, as faſt as I
can, to Pompeii, not that it is a more agreeable
Place, but that there I am lefs plagued with Inter-
ruptions. Let me know, I beg you, what Mar-
tillas was accuſed of, for I underſtand he is exe-
cuted, and if it is certainly known who put hin
upon the Attempt (5). While I write this, I am
(1) Orig: Tricatur fcilicet, ut homo talis. Which Monfieur
Mongault underſtands of Vectenus; but I can, by no means, ba
of his Opinion. The Word Tricari is properly applied to thoſe
who fhuffle off the Payment of Money without refufing it; nor
is the Expreffion homo talis, as Monfieur Mongault fuppofes, al-
ways made ufe of to denote Contempt; and, from what follows
in this Paragraph, I think it very plain, that Dolabella is here-
mentioned.
(2) Orig. QıλoooQuμeva. Philofophica argumenta.
(3) Orig. ra wepi to zabńxolos. Quæ de officiis funt.
(4) Orig. poopwiêμev. Infcribimus. -
(5) This is a very dark Piece of Hiftory, and probably al-
luded to fome Perſon that Antony had put to death under pro
text of being employed to affaffinate him. Vide Appion de "Bel,
Giv. lib. iii.
VOL. II.
Hh
think-
466 CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
thinking that you have received my Oration. How
apprehenſive am I left you ſhould diſlike it, and
yet why should I be apprehenfive fince it is not to
be publiſhed, unleſs our Country fhall recover her
Liberty, a Subject upon which I dare not truft my
Sentiments to writing.
EPIS T. XIV.
N the 27th I received a Letter from Dela
bella, (of which I have ſent you a Copy,) ac-
quainting me, that he has done every Thing you de-,
fired of him. I immediately wrote him an Anſwer,
in which I returned him a thoufand Thanks. But
left he ſhould be furprized at my Writing twice to
him on the fame Subject, I made a Pretext, as if
I had had no Opportunities of knowing from your
own Mouth, the Services he had done you. But,
to make ſhort, my Letter was as follows.
Cicero to his Dolabella Conful.
Formerly learned, by a Letter from my
Friend Atticus, how very generous and kind
you had been to him; and you yourſelf acquainted,
me by another Letter, that you had done every
Thing we deſired of you. In Anfwer to which I
wrote you a Letter, to let you know that you could
not have done me a more agreeable Piece of Ser-
vice. But when Atticus came in Perfon to my
Houſe at Tufculum, on Purpoſe to teftify to me the
Obligations he was under to, you, for your extra-
ordinary and wonderful Kindness to him in the
Affair
}
to ATTICUS.
467
.
Affair of Butbrotum, and the matchlefs Affection
you bore him, I could not contain myſelf from
making, this fecond open Declaration of my grate-
ful Senfe of your Favours. For, my Dolabella,
, you
muft know, that of all your diſtinguiſhed Proofs of
Zeal and Kindneſs to me, there is none I think
does me fo much Honour, or gives me fuch Plea-
fure as your giving Atticus to underſtand how much
I love you, or you me. I have nothing more to
fay than that, as Men generally ſupport by their
Power, what is beſtowed by their Kindneſs, you will
protect by your Authority and Affiftance, the In
tereſt and the Inhabitants of Buthrotum; and though
it already owes its Being to you, let me beg of
you once more, as I have often already done; to
recommend it to your Friendship. This will be
for ever a fufficient Protection to the Butbrotians,
and you will deliver both Atticus and me from great
Pain and Anxiety, if you will do me the Honour
to undertake this, and to preferve them under your
perpetual Tuition, which, in the moſt earneſt Man-
ner, I conjure you to do.”
Having finished this Letter, I applied myſelf a-
gain to compofing (1) the Work I am about, but I
am afraid that it will require to be marked in a
great many Places, by your red Pencil, fo unde-
termined and embarraffed (2) am I by thinking up;
on my important Concerns.
(1) Orig. övvtațiiç. Compofitiones librorumį
(z) Orig. μeréwgos. Animi pendens.
Hh 2
EPIST
468
CICERO's EPISTLES
i
A
EPIST. XV.
Curfe upon Lucius Antonius for plaguing
the Butbrotians fo much. I have drawn up
my Certificate (1) which you may-feal when you
pleaſe. If the Edile, Lucius Fadius, afks from you
the Money for my Houfe at Arpinum, you may
pay him, though it were the whole Sum. I wrote
you, in the other Letter, about the eight hundred
Pounds which must be paid to Statius.
fore Fadius fhould call for the Money, I defire it
fhould be paid to him, and to him only. If I mif-
take not there is fome Money in my Hands, which
I have written to Eros to deliver up (2).
If there-
I hate the Queen of Egypt. Ammonius (3), who
anſwered for her performing her Promiſes to me,
knows with how much Reaſon. The Favours fhe
promiſed me, I affure you, were fuch as that I need
not be ashamed of, though they were proclaimed
from the Roftrum. They were only fuch as befitted
a Man of Learning (4), and became my Dignity.
As to Sara, befides my knowing him to be a worth-
lefs Fellow, he behaved very difrefpectfully to me in
♪
(1) That Cæfar, before his Death, intended to grant to the
Butbrotians, the Favour which Atticus was folliciting, and this
Certificate muſt be fealed by Atticus, as well as our Author.
This was no very Patriot Conduct in thoſe two Friends, who,
when the Affair was to bring no Profit to themſelves, were ex-
treamly disgusted that any Regard fhould be, paid to Cæfar's
Acts or Intentions.
(2) All this is private Affairs, nor am I quite certain as to
the Senfe of the Originial.
(3) He was an old Servant of her Family.
(4) Orig. Piñonéya. Eruditi propria.
1
par-
to ATTICUS,
469
"particular; I never faw him but once which was at
my own Houſe. When I aſked him very civilly (1)
in what I could ferve him, he told me, he came to
look for Atticus (2). As to the Haughtiness the
Queen herſelf expreffed when he was at the Gar-.
dens (3) beyond the Tyber, I never can reflect up-
on it without ſtrong Refentment. I will therefore
have nothing to do with that Gang, who fuppofed
me to be void of Spirit and even of Feeling.
I perceive that the ill Management of Eros, in
my Affairs, will hinder my Departure from hence.
For, according to the Accounts given into me, on
the 5th of April, I ought to have Money in Hand,
and yet I am obliged to borrow. I fuppofe, that the
Money, arifing from my Rents, has been fet a-
Part for the Building the Temple I have fo often
mentioned (4). I have however recommended theſe
Matters to Tyro, whom I have fent to Rome for
that very Purpoſe, for you have now too much
Buſineſs upon your Hands for me to give you
more. The more modeft my Son is in afking for
>
(1) Orig. pλopeóvws. Humaniter.
(2) Monfieur Mongault thinks that the Offence of Sara, men-
tioned here, is not quite fatisfactory for accounting why our
Author ſhould abuſe Sara as he does. But we have had many
Opportunities, in the Courſe of theſe Letters, to obferve how.
very fufceptible our Author was of the ſmalleſt Piece of Difre-
ſpect to his Perfon.
(3) This Hint agrees extremely well with the haughty impe-
rious Character of Cleopatra, who lived with Cafar at the Time
of his Death.
(4) We fee that our Author had not yet given over the
Thoughts of deifying his Daughter, nor is it quite certain that
he did not actually build fomewhat of that Kind At leaſt fome
of the Italian Antiquaries have pretended to make Diſcoveries
as if Tullie had been deify'd by her Father.
Hh 2
#
Money
1
•
+
↑
470
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Money, I am the more concerned, left he fhould
want it. He has wrote me nothing upon this Head,
though it is natural to think, that I fhould be the
firſt Perſon he would apply to. He has, however
written to Tyro, that he has received no Money
fince the first of April, for his Year was then out.
I have always underſtood, that your own Difpofi-
tion, as well as a Regard for my Character, led
you to think, that I ought to fupply him with
what may fufficiently enable him to make not only
a decent, but a diftinguifhed, Appearance. I there-
fore beg, (and indeed, I would not give you this
Trouble, could I employ any Body elfe in this
Matter) that you will take Care he fhall receive a
whole Year's Supply at Athens, and you ſhall be
reimburſed by Eros. I have fent Tyro to Rome for
this very Purpoſe. You will therefore, charge
yourſelf with this, and write to me what you think
proper on this Head.
EPIST.
XVI.
I
HAVE at Length received a Letter from my
Son, and take my Word for it, fo handfomely
(1) wrote, as fufficiently denotes his Improvement
in Learning (2). All my other Friends there,
write me mighty Things of him. Leonidas, how-
ever, ftill qualifies his Commendations with his old
At prefent." But Herodes commends him won-
(1) Orig. meπwwμévus. Eleganter.
TW
(2) Orig, fonon, Progreffum in litteris.
derfully,
to ATTICUS.
471
derfully, and without Referve. To tell you the
Truth, this is a Subject in which I may be eaſily,im-
poſed on, and on which I'am, with Pleaſure, credu-
lous. I beg that you would let me know, if Statius
has written any Thing to you of my Concerns. I tell
you again, that this Part of the Country where I am,
is very pleafant, and very retired, and free from
Company, in cafe one has a Mind to compoſe any
Work of Learning. And yet, how can I help it,
I am charmed with my Tufculanum (1). How Ilong
to be there! Mean while, I believe, I fhall foon
be tired of this lovely Landfkip (2), for, indeed,
if our Prognoftics do not fail (3), we ſhall have
rainy Weather, becaufe the Frogs are croaking (4).
I beg
you will let me know where, and on what
Day I can fee our Friend Brutus.
EPIST.
XVII.
N the 14th I received two Letters, the one
ON
dated the fame Day, and the other on the
13th. Now, as to the firft, let me know, when
you have any News of Brutus, I had heard of the
pretended Fears of our Confuls (5). For Sica, from
the Abundance of his Affection (6), but a little too
haftily indeed, gave me Notice of it. But what
(1) Orig. oixos Píaos.
t
Domns cara.
・(2) Orig. ¿wrolgapia. Defcriptio, pictura cum virgultorum &
plantarum ibi virentium repræfentatio,
(3) Our Author tranflated the Prognoſtics of Aratus upon the
Weather, of which the Croaking of the Frogs was one.
(4) Orig. ¿ntofaýa Rhetorissant.
(5) Viz. That the Confpirators intended to affaffinate them.
(6) Orig. Pinosóglws.
Peramanter.
H h 4
do
1
472
CICERO's ERISTLES
do you ſay of it?-Well, we muft, be contented
with what we get (1). For, I perceive, you have
not had a Scrap from Siregius (2). This is vexing.
I take it amifs, that any body fhould hear of what
has happened to your Neighbour Platorius fooner
than myſelf. You have managed, the Affair of
Syrus with great Addrefs. I believe, it will be no
hard Matter for you to intimidate Lucius Antonius,
by Means of his Brother Marcus, from harraffing
the Butbrotians. I forbad you to pay that Money
to Antro (but you had not received my Letter) or
to any Body but Lucius Fadius the Edile, for I
Gould not otherwife, either lawfully or fafely do it.
You write me, that you want the eight Hundred
Pounds, which you advanced for my Son. If
you pleaſe, you may call for it from Eros, who
has the Rents of my Houfes in his Hands. I am
not a bit offended at Arabio in the Affair of Sitius:
I do not think-of- fetting out until my Accounts
are fettled (3); and, if I miſtake not, you are of the
1
(1) Orig. và mèv didópeva. Que dantur, fub. neceffe eft ac-
cipere.
(2) There is a very quick Tranfition 'here, from public to
private Affairs. We know nothing about the Perfons here
mentioned.
(3) Orig. Nifi explicato A. This Mark has given the Com-
mentators infinite Trouble, though nothing can be more clear,
than that the Meaning of Cicero is as I have expreffed it. Mon-
fieur Mongault, after informing us of the ridiculous Conjectures
of the Commentators, gives us no Opinion of his own. Mine
is, that the Mark here exhibited is a Dipla or a Caret, and it
'certainly was made Uſe of by the Romans, as it is by us to 'point
at an Interlineation, or at fome remarkable Paffage in a Let-
ter. Very poffibly Atticus had interlined in his Letter fomewhat
about Cicero's Debts, and nothing can agree better with our
Author's Manner, than to hint at this Caret, to exprefs the
State of his Accounts. Or, perhaps, the Romans made Ufe of
that Mark, to denote a Deficiency, as the Senfe is very clear,
the Interpretation is only a Matter of mere Curioſity.
❤
fame
to ATTICUS.
473
fame Opinion. So much for your firft Letter.
Now for your fecond.;
!
I beg you would act like yourſelf, in ſerving
Servilia, that is, Brutus. I am glad, that you are
fo far from having any Concern about the Queen
of Egypt, that you approve of what I have writ-
ten with Regard to her. I have received Tyro's
Report of the Accounts of Eros, whom I have or-
dered to attend me. You do me a very fenfible
Pleaſure, in promifing to fupply. my Son with
every Thing. Meffala talked Wonders of him,
when he paid me a Vifit in his Return from La-
nuvium, where he had been to ſee our Friends, and,
by Heavens, he writes fo affectionately (1), and at the
fame Time, fo elegantly (2), that I fhould not be
afraid of reading his Letters before an Affembly of
Critics, therefore, I think, he merits the more In-
dulgence. I fuppofe Seftius will not be greatly
afflicted at what is happened to Bucilianus (3).
When Tiro comes to me, I think of going to my
Houſe at Tufculum, and I recommend it to you,
to write me inſtantly, whatever you think is
think is proper
་
for me to know.
+
1
TH
E PIS T. XVIII.
HOUGH upon the 15th, I informed you
fufficiently of what I wanted, and of what I
fhould be glad you would do, yet after I was fet
(1) Orig. Qıλosópyws. Peramanter.
Φιλοσόργως.
(2) Orig. EUπws. Eleganter.
(3) Seftius and Bufilianus were two of the Confpirators againft
Cafar.
out
474 CICERO'S EPISTLES
out, and while I was failing on the Lake (t), I res
folved to ſend Tyro to you, that he might be pre-
fent at whatever was tranfacted. I likewife, have
written to Dolabella, that I wanted to be gone
if
he thought proper, and I aſked him to furniſh me
with Mules (2) for carrying my Baggage on my
Journey. I know, that you have your Hands
very full of the Affairs of the Buthrotians, as well
as of Brutus, the chief Care, and likewife the
Management of whofe Plays I apprehend, is par-
ticularly truſted to you. But, I beg you will be-
ftow but a little, and a very little, Attention will
do, it upon the following Affair. The Situation of
public Affairs, feems to me, to point towards a
general, and that too an inftant, Maffacre. You
fee the Agents, you fee the Armaments. I muft
tell you, I do not think myſelf in Safety. Should
you think otherwife, I beg you would let mẹ
know by a Letter. For could I do it confiftently
with Prudence, I would much rather chufe to live
at Home.
1
You
EPIST. XIX,
OU write me, that you have danced all
your Attendances upon the Great for the
Butbrotians, to no Purpoſe. What then can you
attempt farther to ferve them? Let me know,
how Brutus intends to proceed. I am forry, by
Heavens, that you are fo much embarraffed, which
. (1) Viz. Lucrinum.
(2) This was done at the public Expence to the Lieutenants,
and the Governors of Provinces,
I attris
t
to ATTICUS.
475
<
1
I attribute to thofe ten Fellows (1). What you
have done for me, has been a troublefome Piece of
Work, (but you muſt put up with it) and has laid
me under the greateft Obligations, I think a de-
clared War is inevitable. Let us therefore, fly
hence, but as you write to me, not before we talk
together. I know not what Theophanes means, for
he has written me a Letter, to which I fent the
beſt Anſwer I could. He tells me, in it, that he
wants to pay me a Vifit, to inform me of his own
Affairs, and fome Things that concern myſelf. I
look for a Letter from you,
Take care, I beg of you, that we do nothing
rafhly (2), Statius has written to me, that our
Nephew has told him very peremptorily, that hé
could not put up with what was doing, and that
he was determined to go over to Brutus and Caffius.
I fhould be glad to learn, for I cannot poffibly ap-
prehend, what he means. He may, perhaps, be in
a Paffion with Antony; he may be ambitious to res
trieve his Reputation, by changing his Party, and
ten to one, but the whole is a Flaſh. Mean while,
I am apprehenfive, and my Brother is confounded,
for he is no Stranger to what Antony faid of his Son,
and indeed, formerly he told me very dreadful
Things of him. In fhort, I know not what he
would be at. Dolabella is to charge me with fuch a
Commiffion as I wanted, that is, for form Sake
only. Let me know, whether Caius Antonius
(1) Viz. The Commiffioners which Antony had made, for the
Divifion of the public Lands to his Veterans. Our Author,
by Way of Contempt, calls them decem homines, inſtead of
decem viri.
(2) Viz. In the Affair of the younger Quintus, which the
Reader will be acquainted with in the Sequel.
wants
476
CICERO'S EPISTLES
wants to be made one of the feven Commif-
fioners (1). He certainly has a Title to that Poſt." It
is with Regard to Menedemus as you write. Pray
inform me of every Thing.
EPIST. XX.
HAVE returned Vectenus my Thanks, for
no body, could have acted with greater Honour
than he has done. I don't care what Dolabella fhall
charge me with. Let it be any Thing; were it
only to talk with his Friend Niccias (2), for every
Body knows, that that is a Matter of meer Form;
nor is there a Man of Senfe, who does not per
ceive, that I fet cut, not upon public Bufinefs, but
becauſe I think Matters are defperate. You tell
me, the People, and even Patriots, talk as if our
Country was undone. For my own Part, I began
to have my own Apprehenfions ever fince the Day
when I heard the Appellation "of a moſt illuſtrious
Hero," given to that Tyrant in an Affembly of the
People. But afterwards, when I found, while I was
at Lanuvium with you, that all the Hopes our
Friends had of living, depended upon the Will of
Antony, I then entirely deſpaired. Therefore,
my dearest Friend, I beg you will receive this In-
formation as intrepidly as I write it. Lay your
Account with dying the worft of Deaths (3),
f
(1) Viz. For dividing public Lands that lay within Italy.
(2) He was a particular Friend of Dolabella, and then at
Athens.
(3) The Original here is very obfcure, but I believe, I have
hit upon Cicero's Meaning.
"
for
to ATTICUS.
477
•
for Antony has already, as it were, pronounced our
Doom. I am determined to leave the Bottom on
which we are now embarked, not in Hopes to fave
my Life, but to meet with a more honourable
Death. All this Misfortune is owing to Brutus.
You write to me, that Pompey has been admit-
ted into Cartheia (1). An Army is ordered to
march againſt him, and which Camp fhall I join?
for Antony has declared againſt all Neutrality. One
Party is weak, the other wicked. Let us, there-
fore, make Haſte. But affift me with your Coun-
fel where I ought to embark, at Brundufium, or at
Puteoli? As to Brutus, he fets out inſtantly, and
in this he does wifely. His Departure gives me
Concern. Alas! when fhall I fee him again. But
we are born to theſe Afflictions. You yourſelf will
not be able to fee him. May Heavens confound
him who is dead (2), and who put you to this
Trouble about Butbrotum. But what is paffed
cannot be recalled. Let us, therefore, look for-
ward.
Though I have not as yet feen Eros himſelf, yet
from his Letters, and from the Information of Tyro,
who has examined his Accounts, I can form a pretty
exact Judgment of them. You tell me, that I
muſt borrow one Thouſand fix Hundred Pounds,
for five Months, that is, to the firſt of November,
when my Brother's Money becomes due to me.
I therefore beg, becauſe I am informed by Tyro,
that you think it is improper for me to come to
Rome on that Account, that you will, if it is not
1) This was a Sea-Town in the farther Spain.
(2) Viz. Cæfar, who it ſeems, had affigned to his Soldiers
fome Part of Buthrotum, and perhaps, Atticus's Eftate there.
incon-
478
CICERO'S EPISTLES
inconvenient to you, to look out for the Money, and
borrow it in my Name. I perceive, I have imme-
diate Occaſion for it. I will inform myfelf more
particularly of every Thing from Eros in Perfon,
and eſpecially concerning. thé. Rents of my Wife's
Eftate (1), which, if they are punctually paid to
my Son, will go very near towards fupplying him
with every Thing as plentifully as I could wish for,
let me be ever fo liberal. Mean while, I perceives
that I fhall have Occafion for travelling Expencess
but let thoſe Rents be paid to my Son, as they fall
due, for I muſt have the Money, I fhall have Oc-
cafion for, altogether. Though I think, the Perfon
who is afraid of his own Shadow, points (2) towards
a Maffacre, yet I will not fet out until I have fettled
all my Payments. When I meet with you, I
fhall know whether my Funds will anfwer or not.
I have written this with my own Hand, becauſe,
I thought it proper I fhould. You are to pay
Fabius, as you ſay you will, but no body elfe. I
with you would anſwer this Letter to-day.
M
༣
È PIST. XXI.
Y Brother, let me tell you, is quite over-
joyed. For his Son has written to him,
that he intended to fly over to Brutus, becauſe,
that when Antony put it upon him to name` him
Dictator, and feizing ſome ſtrong Poft, he refuſed
(1) This probably was fome Part of Terentia's Eftate, which
fhe had either fold to Cicero, or given to him for the Main-
tenance of her Son.
(2) Meaning Antony,
3
to
to ATTICUS.
470
*
-
to do either, for fear, as he fays, of offending his Fa-
ther. He adds, that Antony is on that Account, be-
come his Enemy. But then, reſumes he, I ftopt fhore
from an Apprehenfion, left out of Spite to me, he
might do a Miſchief to you. I have therefore,
appeaſed him, and he is to pay me three Thou-
fand Pounds down, and the reſt afterwards (1).
Now, Statius writes, and to my great Surpriſe (2),
he feems glad at it, that he is defirous of living
with his Father. Did you ever hear of fo great a
Villain?
I very much approve of your Hefitation in the
Affairs of Canus (3). I had not the leaft Notion
of that Debt, and I imagined that every Farthing
of her Fortune had been paid her back. I wait to
fee you in Perfon, to be informed fully of what
you hint at.
You may keep this Exprefs as long
as you pleaſe, becauſe I know you are bufied. You
have done right with Regard to Xeno. When I have
finiſhed what I am now compofing, you fhall
have it. You tell my Brother, that you have fent
him a Letter, but no-body has yet delivered it.
Tyro fays, that you are now againſt my embark-
ing at Brundufium, and that you are under fome
(1) This I take to be the Words of the Letter which young
Quintus wrote to his Father.
(2) Becauſe Statius, who was his Freedman, had great
Sway over the elder Quintus. Our Author, is therefore fur-
prized, that he ſhould be fond of the younger Quintus coming
to live with his Father.
(3) His Daughter was to be married to Cicero's Nephew,
and it ſeems, fhe was accounted to have a large Fortune. But
when her Circumftances were enquired into, it appeared, that
being a Widow, great Part of her Fortune was mortgaged for
the Payment of her Husband's Debts, for which the food
engaged.
Appre-
480
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
Apprehenfions of the Troops thereabouts. But I
had already refolved to embark at Hydruntum (1).
I was pleaſed with what you faid, that I fhould be
only five Hours in my Paffage. But I fhall be a
great. deal more, if I go from this Place.: We
fhall, however, talk about that. I have nothing
from you upon the 21ft; and indeed, what could
you write? Let me therefore, feg you as foon: as
you can. I make the more Hafte left Sextus
Pompeius, who I hear is on his March, fhould ar
rive in Italy before I leave it.
I
EPIST. XXII.
Congratulate you upon our Nephew's leaving
Rome, for he will give us no more Trouble
I have no Doubt, that Panfa makes fair Profeffions.
I know him to have been all along cloſely connect-
ed with Hirtius, and could he find his Account in
it, I fuppofe, he would be fo with Brutus and
Caffius likewife. But when is he to ſee them?
You fay he hates Antony. When did that appear, or
how ſhall we believe it? Is there no End of our be-
ing duped? You must know, that when I wrote
to you, that Sextus Pompeius was upon his March,
I did not mean, that he was actually at Hand, but
becauſe I knew it to be an agreed-upon Meafure,
and that no-body now thinks of quitting his Arms.
If he advances, there can be no Doubt of a War
commencing. This Gallant of Cytheris (2) fays,
(1) This was a City in Apulia, now called Otranto.
(2) Orig. Cytherius hic. Meaning Antony, who kept a fa-
mous Courtezan, called Cytheris.
that
to ATTICUS.
481
that every Man muſt purchaſe his Life by Conqueft.
What does Panfa fay to all this? Should War,
which feems to be unavoidable, be declared, what
Party will he joyn? But we will talk over thofe,
and other Matters at meeting, which will, accord-
ing to your Letter be to-day or to-morrow.
I
EPIST.
XXIII.
A M wonderfully perplexed, though not pained,
with a thouſand Reaſons that occur from both
Sides, about this Journey of mine. And how long ſay
you, will your Perplexities laft? Why, I tell you,
as long as I am undetermined, that is, till I get on
Ship-board. If I fhould receive an Anfwer from
Panſa, I will fend it to you, with a Copy of mine
to him. I will give the Memorial (1) I am com-
pofing to Silius, whom I look for. Let me know,
if there is any Thing new. I have written to Bru-
tus; and I beg likewife, if you know any Thing
of his fetting out, that you will inform me.
TH
EPIST. XXIV.
HE Meffenger whom I fent to Brutus, re-
turned on the 26th. Servilia told him, that
he had fet out that Day about Ten in the Forenoon.
It gives me real Pain, that he did not receive my
Letter. Silius has not been with me. I have writ-
ten out the Memorial, and fent it to you. I fhould
beglad to know on what Day I am to expect you.
(1) Orig. iñóµvnua. Commentarium.
VOL. II.
Ij
EPIST
482
CICERO's EPISTLES
**
ግ
A
EPIST. XXV.
Great many People, who vifit me, are di-
vided in their Sentiments as to my Journey.
But as it is a Thing of fo great Confequence to me,
I beg that you would take it into your Confidera-
tion. Do you approve of it, provided I can be in
Rome by the firſt of January? I am quite indif-
ferent in the Matter, if I can but keep free of pub-
lic Cenfure, and you too give me a very pretty
Hint of our "old Anniverſary of the Expia-
tion (1)," meaning "the Prophanation of the My-
fteries." Well-Come what will, I fhall be regu-
lated according to Events, as to the Time of iny
Journey: Let us therefore fufpend our Judgment a
little; for a Winter Voyage is extreamly diſagree-
able, and, for that Reaſon, I was glad to know
your Opinion about returning by the Day of the
Mysteries. I ſuppoſe, as you intimate in your Let-
ter, that I fhall fee Brutus. I have fixed my De-
parture from hence to the laft of this Month.
I
EPIST.
XXVI.
Perceive you have done all that lay in your
Power in my Brother's Affair. Mean while, he
is in great Pain whether he fhall humour Lepta, or
(1) The Original here is extremely perplexed. All we can
guefs at is, that Cicero hints at the Celebration of the facred
Myſteries in which Clodius was detected, and, which happening
to fall in December, our Author was fond of being at Rome the
Day of their Celebration, as he was of every Opportunity to
put the Romans in mind of his former Glory. But the Truth is
this, all that the Commentators have faid on this Head is
mere Conjecture.
diftruft
to ATTICUS.
483
diftruft Silius. I understand, and I beg you will
inform me what is in it, that L. Pifo wants to abfent
himſelf under the Sanction of a forged Refolution (1)
of the Senate (2). The Exprefs which I told you
I had fent to Brutus at Anagnia, came to me on the
laft Day of the laft Month; in the Night Time,
With a Letter from him; in which he makes one
Requeft, which is; by no Means confiftent with
his great good Senfe; that I fhould be a Spectator
at his Shews. My Anſwer was in the firft Place,
that I was now gone too far to retract my Journey;
and, în 'the next Place, that it would appear ex-
'ceffively abfurd (3), if I, who had kept entirely
from Rome ever fince it had been filled with Sol-
diers; not fo much from the Fear of Danger, as
from a Regard to my Dignity, fhould all of a fud-
den come to it that I might fee Plays. I agreed
that it fuited his Dignity to exhibit Shews, becauſe
it was 'Part of his Duty but as it was no Part of
mine; neither could it be for my Credit to fee
them. Believe me, when I tell you, I am ex-
treamly defirous that he fhould exhibit them, and
that they ſhould be well received; as I hope they
will be; and I recommend it to you that, from the
Time of their Commencement, you will let mè
know how they are received, and the Succefs they
meet with every Day during their being exhibited.
But enough of Shews.
Brutus feems to be pretty much indetermined
in the remaining Part of his Letter; though herè
(1) Orig. Veudelypápy. Falſe perfcripto.
(2) We have already obferved, that it was no unufal Thing
for a Faction, or a leading Man in the Senate, to obtain tho
forged Refolutions.
(3) Orig. Atomóral», Abſurdiſſmun.
Ii 2
and
484
CICERO's EPISTLES
•
and there it fparkles with manly Refolution; but
I fend you a Copy of it that you may be able to
judge for yourſelf; though my Meffenger told me,
that he had brought a Letter to you from Brutus,
and that he had fent it to you from Tufculanum.
I have calculated my Journey fo as to be at Puteoli
the 7th of July. For though I am in great Hafte,
yet I will take all Precautions that Man can take
before I go on board.
You may rid M. Ælius of all his Fears of my
carrying a few Water Pipes under ground, through
the Extremity of his Field (1), fo as to imply a Ser-
vitude, by telling him that I have long ago laid
afide all Thoughts of that Project, nor was I ever
very much in earnest about it. But, as you fay to.
me, this muſt be very gently handled, and in a
Manner that may feem calculated rather to make
him eafy than to give him any Sufpicion that I am
diſobliged with him. I likewife beg that you will
talk roundly with Cafcelius about that Debt due
from Tullius; the Thing is of no great Impor-
tance, but you watched him narrowly (2); and he
did not act quite openly. For my Part, if he had
got any Advantage over me, as he was very near
doing, (but you was too fharp for him (3)), I
fhould have patiently put up with it. Therefore, let
(1) The Original is ſo depraved here, that I tranflate it upon
little more than Conjecture.
(2) Orig. Sed tu bene attendifti. Which Monfieur Mongault
tranflates, Comme vous l'avez fort bien remarquè. But I think
upon confidering the Context, that he is mistaken, and that the
Meaning must be as I have tranflated it.
(3) Orig. Nifi tua Malitia affuiffet. The Word Malitia is a
civil law Term to denote Quicknefs and Sagacity. Nifi malitia
fupplet ætatem, that is, unleſs, the Want of Years is made up by
the Forwardneſs of natural Parts,
the
*
to L
485
ATTICUS.
the Warft come to the Worft, I chufe to put a
Stop to the Affair.
You may remember, that I ordered one Eighth of
the Lights in the Houſe next to Strena's Temple (1)
to be ſhut up. You will order thoſe Effects to be
delivered over to the Perfon for whom Carellia foli-
cites, at the higheft Price that was offered in the Sale.
It was, I think, two thouſand Pounds. I beg you
would let me know your News as frequently as you
can, nay, your Conjectures, and your Thoughts as
to what may happen. I entreat, as I have already
recommended to you, that you will make my Apo-
logy to Varro, for my Delay in Writing to him. I
hope Mundus will get the better of that Fellow (2).
I beg you will gratify my Curiofity, by letting me
know in what Manner M. Ennius has conceived his
Will. Dated from Arpinum the 10th.
EPIST.
XXVII,
Rejoice that you adviſe me to the very Meaſure
which, of myſelf, I had executed the Day before.
For Yeſterday, on the 12th of this Month, I
charged the Exprefs, by whom I fent a Letter to
you, with another Letter in the moſt affectionate
Terms (3) to Seftius. With Regard to him, his
Viſit to me at Puteoli was civil, but his Complaint
unjuft. It was not fo much to be expected, that I
was to be upon the Watch for him, as he returned
(1) The Original here is unintelligible.
(2) Orig. Mundus iftum. This Mundus is taken notice of as
being a Friend of our Author.
(3) Orig, már Qinosóglws. Valde amanter,
I i 3
from
}
486
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
{
་་
from his Houſe at Cofa (1), as it was that he fhould
have either feen me before he went, or have been
more quick in his Return; becauſe he knew that I
intended to fet out foon, and he had written to me
that he was to pay me a Vifit at Tufculum.
It gave me great Concern to underftand, that you
fhed Tears when you parted with me, had you
done it before, you might have perhaps altered the
whole Scheme of my Journey. But you did well
in conforting yourself with the Hopes of our fpeedy
Meeting together again (2), and the fame Hopes.
likewife fupport' me. I fhall often write to
you, I will let you know every Thing concerning.
Brutus, foon fend you my Treatife concerning
Glory (3), and write fomewhat in the Manner of
Heraclides (4), which must be concealed in your
Repoſitory. I have not forgot Plancus. Attica
has a Right to complain. It is with great Pleaſure
I received your Accounts of Bacchides, and the
1
(1) This was a Sea Town of Tuſcany.
--
(2) Atticus was at this Time thinking of going to Greece.
3) It was divided into two Books, and a Copy of it was in
being after the Art of Printing was diſcovered. Petrarch re-
ceived it as a Prefent from Reymundus Superiantius, and unfor-
tunately lent it to his School-mafter, who put it into Pawn to
relieve his Neceffities, but died before he could take it out, and
thus Petrarch never could hear of it. About two hundred Years,
after it was in the Poffeffion of Bernardus' Juftinianus, who, be-
queathed it to a Monaftery of Nuns, from whence it could ne-
ver be recovered. The Conjecture of learned Men is, thát Petrus
lcyonius, the Phyfician to that Nunnery had purloined it, and
tranfcribed what he thought proper into his own Writings,
which the Critics obferve to be of a very unequal Compofition
especially his Book de Exfulio. If this Conjecture be true, it is
natural to fuppofe that Alcyonius deftroyed the Original to pre-
vent the Diſcovery.
`(4) Orig. ngazλídicy. Heraclidium opus.
f
Garlands
to ATTICUS.
487
Garlands put upon the Statues (1). I beg that hence-
forward you will not neglect to ſend me Accounts
of all fuch, and even the moft minute, Occurrences.
I fhall keep in my Mind the Affairs of Herodes and
Mettius, and of every Man whom I can fo much
as fuppofe you wifh well to. While I write, this
fcandalous Fellow, this Sifter's Son of yours, is
arrived in the Evening (2), while we are at Sup-
per.
EPIST.
XXVIII:
I
Still intend, as I wrote you Yefterday, to be at
Tufculanum on the 7th, and there I fhall, every
Day, expect your News, eſpecially concerning the
Shews, of which you are likewife to write to Brutus.
I fent you, the Day before, a Copy of his Letter, tho'
I myself am at a Lofs for its Meaning. I beg you
will make my Apology to Attica, in a Manner
that ſhall lay the whole Blame upon yourſelf, and,
in the mean Time affure her that Greece has not en-
groffed the whole of my Affections; for I have
left Part of them behind.
I
EPIST.
XXIX.
Have fent you Brutus's Letter.
What Irrefo-
lution (3)--But read it and judge for yourſelf.
I am quite of your Opinion, that his Shews will be
greatly crowded. There is no Occafion for your
(1) Theſe probably were fome republican Statues, which had
been crowned by the People
(2) Orig Banúơn Solutione ab aratro, veſpèra.
(3) Orig. aunxaría. Confilii inopia.
li 4
going
488
CICERO's EPISTLES
Ex
going on Purpoſe to the Houſe of Marcus Alius for
you may do that Buſineſs any Time you meet him,
As to the Debt of Tullius, you will apply to Mar-
çus Axianus, as you propofe. You have made an
admirable End of that Affair with Cofianus. It
gives me Pleaſure that you expedite not only my
Buſineſs, but your own. I am very glad that you
approve of my Legation. May Heavens grant you
to perform what you promife. For what can give
me Pleaſure equal to the Company of my Friends,
though I am a little apprehenſive of facing the La-
dy you except (1)? As ſoon as I have ſpoke with
Brutus, I will write you an Account of it. I hear-
tily with a Confirmation of the News concerning
Plancus and Decimus (2). I fhould be forry if Sex-
tus Pompeius fhould leave the Field (3). Inform
me if you know any Thing of Mundus. Having
thus fully answered yours, you are now to read my
Epiftle.
The younger Quintus gave me the Convoy as
far as Puteoli. He is at prefent as wonderful a Pa-
triot as you would have me to believe Favonius and
Afinius are. He had two Motives for his Com-
plaifance to me, firft, that it might be known that
he was in my Company; and fecondly, becauſe he
wants to make his Terms (4) with Brutus and Caf
fius. But what is your Opinion? For as you are
(1) This probably was a private Joke between Cicero and At-
ticus, whofe Wife perhaps affected to take it amifs, as we fee
in the Clofe of the laſt Epiſtle, that our Author had ſhown fo
much Indifference at parting with her.
(2) Viz. That they had joined their Army in Favour of the
Confpirators.
(3) Lepidus, about this Time, had offered him very great
Terms if he would difband his Army, and return to Rome.
(4) Orig. oniouodas, Pacifci.
a Friend
to ATTICUS489
崖
​.
A
a Friend to the Othos, you muſt know our Nephew
tells me, that Julta intends to marry him, a Di-
vorce being already refolved upon. My Brother
queſtioned me about the Character fhe bore. As
I was entirely ignorant of the Motives of his En-
quiry, I told him, that I had heard nothing about
her, but concerning her Perfon and Family. But
refumed I, why do you enquire? Why, fays he,
ſhe intends to marry my Son. Though this fhocked
me (1), yet I told him, that I did not think every
Thing the World faid of her was true. Now,
my Brother's View (2) is to be excufed from part-
ing with any Thing to his Son, for he thinks, that
this will not prevent the Match on her Fart (3).
But I fhall not be difappointed if our Nephew is
duped as ufual. I beg you will enquire into this
Affair, as you may eafily do, and let me know
farther.
But what in the Name of Heaven have we got
here. After this Letter was fealed, the Formians
who fupped with me, told me, that they had ſeen our
Butbrotian Friend Plancus (4) yeſterday (being the
5th) in a very ſcurvy Condition; and that his Slaves
gave out, that the Buthrotians had forced both-him
and his Land-Hunters to move out of the Country
So much the better. But as you love
But as you love me, let me
know the whole of this
W
Affair.
(1)'Orig. ¿deλvslóµnv. Abominabar,
(2) Orig. oxonòs. Scopus, finis.
(3) Orig. & wapa TOUTO. Non ab hoc.
ན
(4) This Plancus was employed to divide fome Lands in
Buthrotum to the Veterans, and our Author had applied to him
in Favour of the Buthrotians.
*
*
CICERO's
(490)
பாடு
CICERO's
EPISTLES
T Q
ATTICUS
BOOK XVI,
EPIST. L
ESTERDAY being the 7th, I ar-
rived at my House at Puteoli, and I write
this as I am fetting out to viſit Brutus at
Nefis (1). But while I was at Supper
on the Day I arrived at Puteoli, I received your
Confufion!-What!-The
-Damnation feize thofe Fel-
Letter from Eros.
9th of JULY! (2).
(1) This was a ſmall Iſland near Puteoli, where the younger
Lucullus had a Country-houſe.
(2) The anti-republican Party had: prevailed fo far, that they
got the Name of the Month Quintilis turned into that of July,
which it retains to this Day, and the Advertiſement of Brutus's.
Plays which were celebrated in his Abſence, intimated that they
were to be performed the 7th of July inftead of the 7th of
Quintilis.
lows
to ATTICUS.
491
lows-But if every Mortification fhould trouble
us, we muſt have Trouble every Moment. And
yet-What can be more fcandalous than for the
Word-July to be authorized by Brutus ? Well, I
can't help faying again, never did I know any
Thing fo fhameful (1). But I beg you would let
me know what Truth there is in what I hear of the
Rout of thofe Land-Jobbers. at Butbrotum. Nay,
I am told, that Plancus never ftopt Night nor Day
in his Flight. If it is fo, I beg earnestly you would
inform me.
I rejoice that may Journey meets with Approba
tion. It can be no Surprife, that the Dymeans (2)
infeft the Seas, now that they are driven from their
Poffeffions, Perhaps, it would be right in me not
to embark (3). If I do, it will be moft fafe for
me to fail along with Brutus. But if I miſtake
not, his Ships are very ſmall. I will, however, in-
form myſelf, and let you know to-morrow. I take
that Report about Ventidius to be idle (4). It is
confidently, affirmed, that Sextus Pompeius has made
his Terms,. If this holds true, I perceive that we
muſt be Slaves, without having fo much as a
Struggle for our Liberty. How is that, fay you?
Do you hope for nothing from Panfa by the ift
of January next? Yes, they are fine Talkers (5)
over a Bottle half aſleep and half awake (6). That
(1.) Orig. "Ers, wev, Adhuc finemus.
(2) They formerly were Pyrates, and they had been fettled
by Pompey at Dyma, a Town in Achia, but were now turned
out of their Poffeffions by Cafar.
(3) Orig. ¿v iµoπλola. In focietate navigandi.
(4) Orig. nannoy. Inan.m terrorem.
(5) Orig. añpos #oλus. Nuga multæ.
(6) Our Author, as we have already feen had no very good.
Opinion, and his Brother a far worſe of Hirtius and Panſa, who
were Confuls elect for the next Year.
}
two
492
CICERO'S EPISTLES
}
+
two thouſand Pounds will come very conveniently
for anſwering the Occafions of my Son. For Ovius
is lately come from him, and amongſt a great
many other agreeable Accounts, he gives me the
Pleafure to let me know, that my Son has charged
him to tell me, that fix hundred Pounds a Year
will do more than defray his Expence. But that
Xeno furnishes him very fparingly (1), and with
very little Money at a Time. The Money you lent
him above the Rent of that Eftate, muft be put to
the firſt Year's Account, which comprehends the
Charges of his Journey; and after the 1ft of April,
his Allowance muſt be ſeven hundred Pounds a
Year, which is the prefent Rent of my Eftate in
the City. I muſt ſee what feparate Maintenance I
can allow him when he comes to Rome, for I don't
fuppofe that I fhall be able to bear with his pro-
poſed Mother-in law (2). I have given a flat De-
nial to Pindarus the Farmer of the Revenue.
Now you muſt underſtand, the Reaſon why I
fent this Exprefs. Our Nephew promiſes to be-
have like another Cato, and both he and his Fa-
ther have been earneft with me to anſwer that you
will give him your Countenance, but upon Condi-
tion, that you are not to truft him till you try him,
I fhall give him a Letter to you according to his
own liking, but you are not to mind it, and I have
fent you this left you fhould think that he has been
able to make any Impreffion upon me. May Hea-
vens grant him to perform what he promiſes,
(1) Orig. yλíoxpws. Tenuiter.
(2) All this is private Hiftory, and the Particulars are not
now to be recovered. Only it is probable, that our Author had
a Wife in his Eye for his Son.
which
to ATTICUS.
493
+
which will give Joy to us all. But I will fay no-
thing farther to you. He leaves this Place on the
9th, that he may, as he ſays, on the 15th pay away
fome Money, for which he is greatly dunned. By
what I now write, you will be able to judge how
you ought to anſwer my Letter. I will write you
farther by Eros when I fee Brutus. I am fatisfied
with the Apology of Attica, who is very dear to
me, and I offer my Compliments to her and your
Wife.
O
EPIST. II.
N the 10th I received two Letters from
you,
one by my own Letter-Carrier, and another
by that of Brutus. You give us an Account of
the Butbrotians, very different from what we had
in this Country. But we muft put up with that as
well as with many other Things. I have fent back
Eros fooner than I intended, both that I might
have ſomebody to deal with Hortenfus, and be-
cauſe he ſays, that he appointed to pay the Money
to the Commiffioners of the Treafury on the 15th
(1). As to Hortenfius, his Demands are very im-
pudent. For there is nothing due to him but from
the third Payment, which is to be made on the
1st of Auguſt, and moſt of that Payment has been
made before it fell due. With Regard to Publilius,
I think, the Draught I am to give him will, I
(1) Orig. Equitibus. We are in the dark, as to this Paffage.
Thefe Equites were the monied Men of Rome, and poffibly
Publilius, or fome of Cicero's Creditors, had given them a
Draught upon him.
believe,
494
CICERO'S EPISTLES
believe, be anfwered upon Sight, as foon as they
become due (1). But when you fee how much I
have given up of my own Right, when of three
thouſand Pounds which was due to him, I paid
one thoufand five hundred Pounds of ready Money;
and am to give him Draughts for the reft, you may
endeavour, if you
you think
proper; to prevail with him
to accept of fuch a Time for the Payment of thoſe
Draughts, as may fuit my 'Conveniency, efpecially
as I have given up fo much of what I might have
infifted upon by Law. But my dear dear Atticuš
(you fee how I can coax when I have a Turn to
ferve) I beg, while you are at Rome, that you will
manage, direct and govern all my Affairs with-
out my being concerned in 'them in the leaft. For
though in the Main, my other Funds anſwer pretty
exactly (2), yet it often happens, that ones Debtors
are not fo punctual. Should any Thing of this
Kind happen, let my Credit be your first and only
Confideration. You are not only to borrow Money,
but to fell my Effects to fupport it, fhould there
be Occafion.
Brutus took great Delight in your Letter. For
foon after I received it, I ſpent ſeveral Hours with
(1) I have tranſlated this very differently from Monfieur Mon-
gault. It appears to me, as if one half of the Money here'
mentioned, had been paid in Caſh, which Cicero was not o
bliged ftrictly to have done, and that he was to have given
Draughts or Affignments for the Remainder. And all the Fa-
vour he aſked of Publilius was, that he might not be obliged to
give them for too fhort a Time.
(2) I have likewife differed from Monfieur Mongault in the
Meaning of this Paffage. The Original is, Quamquam enim
reliqua fatis apta funt ad folvendum; tamen fit fæpe, ut ii qui
debent non refpondeant ad tempus. Which he tranflates, Je laille
affez de fonds; mais comme mes debiteurs pourroient ne pas payer
exa&ement.
him
1
to ATTICUS.
495
him at Nefs. He feemed quite pleafed with Te-
reus (1), and expreft himſelf to be more obliged
to Accius, the Author of the Piece, than to Antony,
the Prefident at the Play. Now, my Way of
thinking is, that the more public Joy that is ex-
preffed, the greater ought to be our Indignation
and Grief, that the Roman People fhould employ
their Hands in clapping Plays, and not in defend-
ing their Country. In my Opinion, their Ap-
plaufes will have the Effect of provoking our Ene-
mies to haften the Execution of their villanous
Meaſures. But let them have Pain, let them wince,
no Matter by what Means.
I am pleaſed with your telling me, that my Re-
folution is approved of every Day more and more,
and I am impatient to hear farther from you on that
Head, for I have heard various Opinions upon
it. This was the Reaſon why I was fo long in
coming to any final Refolution. But as I am now
in a Manner goaded out of Italy, I think of em-
barking at Brundufium; for it would be both more
eafy and more practicable for me to avoid the
Enemy's Troops, than the Pyrates which are ſaid
to infeft thoſe Coafts. This Day I look for Seftius,
but I do not yet hear of his Arrival. Caffius
is here with his little Squadron. After I have feen
him to-morrow I intend to go to Pompeii, and then
to Aculanum. You know the rest of my Rout.
I am not diſappointed in what you tell me of
Tutia. I am as eaſy as you are about that Affair
of Æbutius, to which I give no Credit. I have
1
(4) This was a Play compoſed by Accius Nævius, exhibited at
Brutus's Shews, in which many Strokes againſt Tyranny were
greatly applauded by the People.
(only
496
CICERO'S EPISTLES
(only becauſe you defired me) written to Plancuš
and Oppius. Perhaps, when you have read my
Letter to them, you will not think it neceffary to
deliver it. For as all they have done has been
upon your Account (1), I am afraid, left they
fhould think my Letter fuperfluous; at leaft, it
may appear fo to Oppius, whom I know to be
your intimate Friend. But you are to do in that
as you think proper. You do me great Pleaſure,
in informing me, that you are to pass the Winter
in Epirus, provided you are there before the Time
which you yourſelf have preſcribed for my return-
ing to Italy. Write to me as often as you can; when
you have nothing of Importance to write, you may
truſt your Letter to any accidental Conveyance;
but fend me every Thing that is of Importance
expreſs by one of my Domeftics. If I arrive fafe
at Brundufium, I will fet about the Work I
pro-
pofe in the Manner of Heraclides (3). I have ſent
you my Treatife concerning Glory.
You will
therefore, keep it by you as ufual. But let the
(1) I again differ with Monfieur Mongault in his Tranflation
of this Pafiage. The Original 1s, Cum enim tua caufa fic.rint
omnia, which he tranflates, Comme ils ont fait pour vous tout ce
que vous Jouhaitez.
(2) I read the Original with Monfieur Mongault, Sed notentur
eclogarii quos (viz. eclogarios;) but I differ with him in tranf-
lating, Eclogorii; les plus beaux endroits. Neither he, nor any
of the numerous Commentators upon this Paffage have reflected,
that it appears by End of the 14th Epiftie of the preceding
Book, that it was customary to Atticus to mark the exception-
able Paſſages of our Author's Compofitions with a red Pencil,
and I can ſee no Manner of Abfurdity in applying that Palinge
to this one, fince the Works mentioned in both are the fame,
nor in fuppofing our Author to defire his Friend to take the
Senfe of any favourable Company, who might be at his Houfe,
upon thole Paflages.
(3) Orig. 'Hpaxλeídor.
Heraclidium opus.
exceptionable
to ATTICUS.
497
exceptionable Paffages be marked, and when you
have got a well difpofed Company, Servius may
read them, but only while you are at Table. I am
greatly delighted with them myſelf, but I rather
wifh you were fo. A thouſand Times adieu.
I
EPIS T. III.
COME at laft to answer your Letter; and
you muſt know, that I think you have
acted wifely in meeting with Antony at Tibur,
in feeming to agree with all his Meaſures, and
even returning him your Thanks; for your Ob-
fervation is juft, that we muft forfeit our Li-
berty ſooner than our Property. Your telling me
that you are more and more in Love with my
Treatife (1) upon old Age, gives me new Spirits
for writing. You fay, that you hope Eros will not
come without ſome ſmall Prefent, and I am glad
that you have not been difappointed in that Re-
ſpect. Mean while, the (2) Work I have ſent you
is the fame you faw before, but more correct, and
I ſend you the original Copy (3) amended and
touched up in a great many Paffages. When you
have got it handfomely tranſcribed, you may read
it in Secret to your Guefts; but as you love me, let
them be in good Humour, and have good Cheer;
left they diſcharge all their Spleen at you in ill Na-
ture againſt me.
(1) Orig. Q Tite fi quid ego. Theſe are the first Words of that
Treatiſe,
(2) σύνταγμα. Οράς.
(3) Apoxéτómov. Archetypum exemplar.
VOL. II.
Kk
I hope
}
498
CICERO'S EPISTLES
}
I hope the Accounts I have of my Son are true
I will know all about that Affair of Xeno, when I
am upon the Spot, mean while, I cannot think he
has acted either indolently or unhandfomely. I
will take your Advice concerning Herodes; and I
fhall inform myſelf of what you mention, by Sau-
feius and Xeno. I am glad that you received the
Letter about our Nephew, which I fent you by the
Expreſs, fooner than that which I fent you by him-
felf. You would not, however, have been im-
pofed upon-but it is as well as it is. I long to
know what he faid to you, and you to him.-Both
of you, I ſuppoſe, went on in your old Way. But
I am in hopes to receive an Account of that in the.
Letter I am to get by Curius, who though he ig
in himſelf amiable and dear to me, is become
doubly fo, through your Recommendation.-So
much in anſwer to your Letter.
I am now to acquaint you with what I am fen-
fible is unneceffary for me to write, yet write it I
muft. I am ſhocked with a great many Circum-
ſtances in my leaving Italy; and by Heaven, the
-chief is, my being ſeparated from you. I am like-
wife under Apprehenfions from the Fatigues of the
Voyage, which are fo unfuitable not only to my
Age, but my Dignity, and from the unfavourable
Juncture, in which I am to fet out. I leave my
Country in Peace, to return to it in War; and I
ſpend, in rambling Abroad, the Time I might ſpend
in my Country Retirements, which are fo elegant-
ly built, and fo delightfully fituated.-But on the
other Hand, I comfort myſelf with the Thoughts
that I fhall either be of Service to my Son, or I
fhall be able to judge how far he is capable of Im-
prove-
to ATTICUS.
499
provement; and, in the next Place, with the Hopes
of feeing you according to your Promife. Should
that happen, I fhall think that every Thing goes
well with me.
But above all Things I am vexed with the thoughts
of the Debt I leave behind me; for though I have
fettled the Funds for difcharging it, yet the Money
owing to me by Dolabella, makes Part of it, and I
am fo uneafy at my being a Stranger to the Circum-
ftances of thoſe upon whom he has given me Affign-
ments, that this Matter, of all my other Concerns,
gives me the greateſt Pain. It was I think not a-
miſs in me to write in plain 'Terms to Balbus, de-
firing him to affift me in Cafe it fhould happen that
thofe Affignments fhould not anſwer; and I have
likewife begged the Favour of you to ſpeak to him,
if any fuch Thing fhould happen ; you will there-
fore, if you pleafe; talk to him, and the rather be-
cauſe you are to let out for Epirus.
I write this as I am preparing to embark at Pom-
peii, in three ten-oared Gallies. Brutus is fill
at Nefis and Caffius at Naples. If you are in Love
with Dejotarus, are you not ſo with Hieras (1) like-
wife, who, ever fince Blafamius waited upon me,
has neither ſpoken to our Friend Sextus, nor to any
of us, though he had expreſs Orders to do nothing
but by his Advice.-I think, even at this Diſtance,
that I fondle (2) my Attica, ſo dearly do I value the
Kk 2
Com-
(1) This is ironical, and alludes to a Contract which this
Hieras and Blafamius, who were Agents for Dejotarus, had made
in the Name of their Maſter for a large Sum of Money he was
to pay to Antony upon his reftoring to him the leffer Armenia,
which had been taken from him by Cæfar.
(z) Orig. Suaviere, which being a childish Word, I have
tranflated
500
CICERO'S EPISTLES
Compliments fhe fent me in your Letter.
You
will therefore make her a thouſand Acknowledge-
ments on my Part, and the fame to Pilia.
A
EPIST. IV.
S I told you yeſterday, or perhaps not till to-
day, (for our Nephew faid he would be two,
Days upon the Road) I was at Nefis on the 8th,
where I faw Brutus. What Pain did the Nones of
July give him, it was amazing to fee how much
he was ſhock'd. He therefore told me he would
write an Order to Rome, that the Advertiſement of
the Hunting Diverfions which were to be exhibited
the Day after the Appolinarian Games fhould run-
for the 12th of Quintilis. While I was there Libo
arrived, and told us that Philos Pompey, and Hilarius,
his own Freedman, were arrived with a Letter from
Sextus Pompeius to the Confuls, if you pleaſe to
give them that Appellation (1);) and he read to us
a Copy of it, upon which I gave my Opinion.
There was fome Impropriety (2) in the Stile, but in
other Refpects, it was written with Abundance of
Dignity and Moderation: Only it was thought pro-
per, as it was addreffed "To the Confuls" only, that
the Addreſs fhould run. "To the Prætors, Tri-
bunes of the Commons and the Senate," for fear
tranflated it accordingly; nor is there any Abfurdity in thoſe
two great Men, Atticus and our Author adopting the Language
of Fondneſs upon fuch an Occafion.
(1) Becauſe they were not duly chofen but nominated by
Gafur.
(2) Orig. naga nížw. Non proprie dilta,
the
$
to ATTICUS.
501
the Confuls fhould not publiſh a Letter which
was directed to them only.
Now, they told us that Sextus Pompeius had been
at Carthage with a fingle Legion, and that he re-
ceived the News of Cafar's Death the very Day on
which he took Borea; that when the City was taken
the News occafioned wonderful Rejoicings, a vaſt
Alteration of Sentiments, and a Refort to him from
all Quarters, but that he himself was returned to
join the fix Legions which he had left in the far-
ther Spain. He had however acquainted Libo by a
Letter that he would hear of no Terms unless the
Pompeian Palace (1) was reſtored to him to live in.
The whole of his Propofals confifted in his demand-
ing, that all the prefent Generals of Armies, be
where they will, fhould refign their Commands.
This is all I think that I have learned of Sextus.
1
I laid myſelf out all I could, but without Effect,
to get fome News of the Buthrotians. Some fay
that the Land-hunters are routed. Others that
Plancus has run away from them, after receiving
a Sum of Money. Therefore I don't fee that I can
learn how that Matter ftands, unless I very foon
get a Letter.
My Journey to Brundufium, of
which I had fome Doubts, feems now to be quite
ſtopt, for I am told that Antony's Troops are up-
on their March that Way. As to the Voyage from
hence it is not without great Rifks, and therefore I
refolve to fail in Company (2). I perceive Brutus
is in more Forwardnefs for his Departure than I
heard of. For Domitius has with him a good Squa-
(1) Orig. Nifi ad Larem fuum liceret.
(2) Orig. Quém. Navigandi focictate,
K k 3
dron
502
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
dron, and the Veffels of Seftius Lucilianus, and o-
thers are in very good Condition. As to Caffius's
Fleet, which is indeed a fine one, it can be of no
Service to me beyond the Streights of Sicily. I am
vexed that Brutus feems not at all diſpoſed to make
any Diſpatch in his Voyage. In the firft Place he
waits for the News of his Shews being finiſhed. In
the next Place, fò far as I underſtand, he will fail
very flowly, and ſtop at a great many Places. But
I think it is better to fail flowly, than not to fail at
all. And
And yet, after I have fet out, I fhall be more
able to determine how I am to act.
}
the Etefian Winds.
We fhall have
L
{
EPIST. V
BRUTUS is now looking out for a Letter
from you, and I gave him the firſt News of
the Succeſs of Attius's Tereus. He thought that
the (1) Brutus had been play'd. But a Kind of
a Rumour had got abroad, that there would be but
a thin Audience at any Thing reprefented in the
Greek Taſte. This was no more than I'apprehend-
ed, for you know what an Opinion I have of Greek
Plays.
Now I muſt tell you a Piece of News more in-
perefting to us than any Thing elſe can be. Our
Nephew has been with me for feveral Days, and
had I defired it, he would have been longer; but,
fo long as he faid, you cannot imagine how much
I was charmed with him in every Refpect, efpe-
(1) This was a Play fo called.
1
cially
1
503
to ATTICUS.
cially upon the Head of which we were moft
doubtful. The whole Man was fo much changed
by fome of my Works, which I was then compo-
fing; he was fo touched by my conftant Converfa-
tion, and the Rules I laid down to him, that for the
future, his Sentiments in public Matters will be ac-
cording to our own Heart. He did not merely
affure, but he convinced me, of this, and he was
extreamly earneft with me to undertake for him
to you, that he would yet do Credit to us all.
Mean while, he does not defire to be trufted at firſt
Sight, but that, upon proving him, you will give
him your Affection.
Had I not been thoroughly convinced, had I
not been entirely fatisfied, that he will perfevere, I
would not have taken the Step I am now to ac-
quaint you of. You must know, I carried the
young Fellow to Brutus, who was fo convinced of
his Sincerity, and was fo perfuaded, that what I
write you is real, that he refuſed to take me as a
Security for his Performance. Brutus amidft the
Careffes he beſtowed upon him mentioned you moſt
affectionately, and he embraced and kiffed him at
parting. Therefore, though it would be more
proper for me to tompliment, than to entreat, you,
yet entreat you I do, that if heretofore, through the
Giddinefs of Youth, he has been guilty of any
Slips or Inconfiftences, you will now look upon
him as thoroughly reformed, and take my Word
for it, that your Authority will do a great deal,
nay, it will do every Thing towards fixing him in
thofe Sentiments.
When I took many Opportunities to mention to
Brutus my failing along with him, he did not feem
Kk A
fo
·594
CICERO'S EPISTLES
ſo fond of it as I imagined he would be. I believe
he was ſomewhat indetermined, and fo, by Heavens,
he was, chiefly on Account of his Plays. But upon
returning to my houfe, Cneus Lucceius, who is
very intimate with Brutus, told me, he was very
dilatory, not that he had changed his Reſolution,
but that he was ftill waiting to fee what might hap-
pen. Therefore, I am in fome Doubt, whether I
fhall go to Venufia, and there wait the Motion of
Antony's Troops, and if, as fome People think,
they are not to march that Way, I will go to
Hydruntum. But if I am fafe neither Way, I will
return hither. You, perhaps, think I am not fe-
rious, but may I perish, if any Thing detains me
but yourſelf. Well may you turn away your
Head, for indeed, I bluſh at what I fay. How patly.
has Lepidus marked the Days for the augural
Meetings, and how well do they tally with the
Time when I propoſe to return. I am greatly en-
couraged by your Letter to be gone. I wish I could
fee you there. But let that be as is moſt convenienț
for
you.
I look for a Letter from Nepos (1). What! iş
he, who thinks that Manner of Writing which does
me the moſt Honour (2) not fit to be read, fo very
fond of my Compofitions? You fay, that he is
next to the faultlefs (3);" I fay, you are "the
faultlefs (4),” and that Nepos is divine (5). There is
no Collection (6) of my Letters. But Tyro has about
(1) This was Cornelius Nepes the Hiftorian.
(2) davw. Glorior.
{2}
λαυριο.
43) pros àµvuwv Poft carentem nævo.
(4) apipar. Nævo carens.
αμέμων.
م
(5) aμspores.
Immertalis.
(6) czaɣwyn. Celletic.
14
feventy
to ATTICUS.
505
feventy of them, and you can furniſh fome more,
I muſt look over, and correct them, and then they
may be publiſhed.
EPIST.
VI.
1
I
A M now come to Sica's Houfe at Vibo
; after
a Voyage that has been lefs quick than it has
been pleaſant, for the Seafon-Winds not blowing,
we were obliged, for the moft Part, to ply our Oars.
It happened luckily enough that, of the two Bays,
that of Paftum, and that of Vibo, which we were
to pafs, we had the Wind full in our Back in both.
I therefore came, upon the eighth Day of my
Voyage, from Pompeii to Sica's Houſe, after ftop-
ping one Day at Velia, where I have been often fo
agreeably entertained by our Friend Thalna; and
indeed, confidering that he was from Home, I
could not have been treated more politely. Upon
the 24th, I came to Sica's Houfe, where I live as
if I were at my own; I have, therefore, ſpent ano-
ther Day here. But when I fhall arrive at Rhegium,
before I venture upon the long Seas, I must con-
fider, whether I ought to go to Patres in a Tranf-
port Veffel, or in my light Gallies directly to Leu-
copetra of Tarentum, and from thence to Corcyra;
and if I make Ufe of a Tranſport Veffel, whether
I fhall not fail directly to Greece, or call at Syracufe.
When I arrive at Rhegium, I will write to you how
I proceed.
But, my deareſt Atticus, I often queftion myſelf,
by Heavens I do, how can this Voyage avail
thee? Why am I not with my Atticus? Why
lofe the Sight of my lovely Villas, thofe Beauties
of
· 506
CICERO's EPIST LES
of all Italy!"—but enough and too much of this-
Why my Atticus am I not with thee? What do I
fly? Danger. If I miſtake not, the Danger is at
prefent over. But I muft encounter it, when I re
turn by your Advice; becauſe you write me, that
the Public applauds my Voyage, provided I return
by the first of January, as I most certainly ſhall
endeavour to do; for I would prefer Danger at
Rome, to Safety at your beloved Athens. Mean
while, be you upon the Watch till we fee what
Turn Affairs will take; and either write to me, or
let me fee you in Perfon, which would give me
a thouſand Times more Joy. But enough upon
this Subject.
}
I hope you will not take it amifs, that I re-
commend once more to you what I know you
have more at Heart than I have myfelf. I conjure
you by the Gods, to fettle and pay off my Debts.
I have left you ample Funds; but they muſt be
carefully looked after, fo as that the Coheirs of
Cluvius may be paid for that Houſe by the firſt of
Sextilis. You will take Care to fettle with Publi-
Jius. As I have taken no Advantage of the Law,
he ought not to prefs me too much, but I am very
defirous that he ſhould be made quite eafy. What
ſhall I fay to you as to Terentia? Let her, if poffi-
ble, be paid, even before what I owe her becomes
due. If, as I hope you are, you are foon to be
in Epirus, I beg that you will make Proviſion for
the Debt for which I ftand engaged, nay, that you
will fettle and pay it off before you leave Italy.
But enough, and I am afraid you will think, too
much, of thefe Matters.
I am now to give you an Inſtance of my
Heed-
to ATTICUS.
507
•
Heedleffneſs. I have fent you my Treatiſe up-
on Glory, but I have prefixt to it the Introduc-
tion to my third Academic; which happened
through my having by me a Collection of Intro-
ductions, from which I make Choice of one when
I fet about any Work. Therefore, while I was at
Tufculum, forgetting that I had already made Uſe
of that Introduction, I prefixt it to the Book I fent
to you, but as I was perufing my Academics,
while I was on Ship-board, I perceived my Mi-
ftake. I therefore inftantly fcribbled out a new In-
troduction, which I have fent to you, and which
you may glue on in the room of the other. My
Compliments to Pilia, and to my dear, dear, charm-
ing Attica.
A
EPIST.
}
VII.
FTER fetting fail from Leucopetra, for I
embarked there for Greece the 16th of Sex-
tilis, I failed about thirty-fix Miles, and I was then
forced back to Leucopetra by a ſtrong South Wind.
While I remained there (in the Houſe of our Friend
Valerius, where I enjoyed myſelf quite at my Eaſe,)
waiting for a Wind, fome of the moſt diſtinguiſhed
Inhabitants of Rhegium came thither directly from
Rome, and amongſt them the Landlord of our
Brutus, whom he left at Naples, with the important
News of the Edict of Brutus and Caffius, and that
there would be a very full Meeting of the Senate
the ift of September: That Brutus and Caffius had
iffued Letters to all the Members who had paffed
the Confular or Prætorian Chairs, requiring their
Attendance
508
CICERO's EPISTLES
Attendance that Day; That there was great Room
to hope Antony would fubmit; that Matters would
be compromiſed, and our Friends return to Rome;
that I was wanted; that I was blamed..
Upon this News, I entirely dropt all Thoughts
of my Voyage, the Thoughts of which, by Hea
vens, never had given me any Pleaſure. But up-
on reading your Letter, I own I was aftoniſhed at
your fudden Change of Sentiments; though I
fuppofed, that you had your Reafons for what
you wrote. For granting that you did not per-
fuade, that you did not compel, nie to undertake
this Voyage, you certainly approved of it, upon
Condition that I fhould return to Rome by the firſt
of January; and thus I was to be abfent from
Rome while every Thing appeared peaceful, and
drop into the very Crifis of Danger. But that
Meaſure, though not quite prudent, is not, how-
ever, to be charged entirely upon you. In the firft
Place, becauſe it was the Refult of my own Opi-
nion; and in the next, becaufe, granting you had
been my fole Adviſer, a Friend is anſwerable only
for his good Meaning in the Advice he gives.
I cannot, however, fufficiently wonder at the
following Paffage of your Letter, "Return then,
fay you, you who are fo fond of a glorious Death,
return, for why fhould you abandon your Coun-
try?" What! did I abandon her? Was you of that
Opinion when we parted? You who not only con-
fented to, but approved of, my Departure. You
go on in a ſtill more reproachful Strain, "I wifh,
ſay you, that you would draw me up an Apology,
fetting forth the Neceffity of your Conduct."
How! my Atticus, can my Conduct ftand in Need
of
to ATTICUS.
509
of an Apology, eſpecially to you who fo wonder-
fully commended it? For my own Part I am not
againſt compofing fuch an Apology to thofe who
oppoſed and diffuaded my leaving Italy.-Yet af-
ter all, have I not dropt that Defign, then what
Occafion have I to apologize? Perhaps you will
tell me that my dropping it implies Levity. But
let me tell you, that of all the numerous Authors
who have treated that Subject, no Man of Senſe
has affirmed a Change of Reſolution to be Levity.
You then proceed, "Had the Cafe been that
of our Friend Phædrus (1), it had been eaſy to have
made an Apology for him, but what can we ſay as
the Cafe is yours?" A Meafure therefore that does
not come up to all the Rigour of Stoicifm, muſt
be flagitious and fcandalous becauſe it is mine. I
wiſh that had always been your way of Thinking:
In this Cafe, as in all others, I would have appealed
to you as to another Cato for the Rectitude of my
Conduct. But your Expreffion, in the Clofe of
your Letter is the most ftinging of all:
"For,
fay you, our Friend Brutus is filent." Meaning,
(for I can find no other Meaning in your Words)
that "he does not prefume to give Advice to
one of my Age ;" and I will fairly give you my
Reaſons for my thinking fo.
Brutus, who with his Squadron lay at the Mouth
of the River Heletes, came immediately on foot to
Velia, which is about three Miles, as foon as he
underſtood of my Landing there. Good Heavens!
how overjoyed he was at my Return, or rather
my being put back. He then gave a full looſe to
(1) He was an Epicurean.
1
all
510
CICERO'S EPISTLES
all he had concealed before, which puts me in Mind
of your Expreffion; "For our Friend Brutus is
filent." Above all Things, he regretted my being
abſent from the Senate the rft of Sextilis.
He ex-
tolled Pifo to the Skies; and expreffed great Plea-
fure in my having efcaped two Subjects of ſtrong
Reproach. The chief was that by my undertaking
that Journey, I ſeemed to abandon the Public, be-
cauſe I thought its State to be defperate; and indeed
I every Day met with the like Reproach from Peo-
ple with Tears in their Eyes, whom I could not
convince of my Returning by the ift of January.
Brutus, and all his Company, which was very nu-
merous, expreffed themſelves to be highly pleafed
that I had eſcaped the fecond Subject of Reproach,
which was a general Belief that I was gone to ſee
the Olympian Games. Had this Belief been well
grounded, no Step could, at any Juncture, have
been more fcandalous, but at this, it would have
been quite indefenfible. For my Part I cannot
fufficiently exprefs my Obligations to the Wind,
which faved me from fuch a Load of Infamy.
Such are my Patriot Reaſons for my Return, and
they muſt be owned to be ſtrong and weighty. But
no Reaſon was more ſtrong than what you hint at
in another of your Letters. "If you owe any
Money, fay you, take Care to have fufficient Funds
for paying it, for the Apprehenfions of public
Commotions are ſo ſtrong, that you cannot believe
how hard it is to borrow Money." I read this Let-
ter when I was in the Middle of the Sea, nor could
I poffibly conceive any other Way of taking the
are you recommend, but by managing my own
1
Affairs
to ATTICUS.
511
Affairs in Perfon. But enough of this; the reft at
Meeting.
•
Brutus fhowed me Antony's Edict, and their An-
fwer to it, which I think is very finely drawn up.
But I own myſelf at a Lofs to conceive what Pur-
poſe thoſe Edicts can ferve, or what is their Mean-
ing; nor do I intend, as Brutus fuppofed, by thus
returning, to take any Lead in public Matters. For
what can, I, or any Man, do? Shew me the Senator
who fupported Pifo? Did he return to the Senate
next Day? But I am told that, at my Years, a
Man is not at Liberty to go far out of the Road to
his Grave.
But what, I pray you, is in the News I had from
Brutus, who told me that you Wife was afflict-
ed with a paralytic Diſorder, and he gave your
Letter to him for his Authority? This gave me
fenfible Concern, though Brutus, at the fame Time,
told me, you have wrote to him, that you hoped
ſhe was Recovering. I fincerely wish it may be fo.
Pray make my Compliments a thouſand Times to
her and your dear Attica. I write this on the 19th
on Ship board, as I approach near to Pompeii.
EPIS T.
VII (1)
Will let you know the Day of my propofed
I'
,
Arrival in Rome, when I know it myſelf. I
muſt wait for my heavy Baggage which is coming
from Anagnia, and my Domeſtics are fickly. The
(1) The laſt Letter was wrote in Auguſt, this in the Beginning
of November, and in the intermediate Time our Author, on
the ift of September, pronounced his firſt Philippic in the Se-
mate at Romes
firſt
512
CICERO'S EPISTLES
}
first of this Month in the Evening, 1 had a Letter
from Octavianus, who forms mighty Projects.
It
is not at all furprizing that he has gained over to
his Deſigns, the Veteráns of (1) Cafilinum and Ca-
látià, for he gives them five Pounds a Man; and
he intends to make a Tour through all the other
Colonies. There can be no Doubt that his Views
are to act as Commander in Chief in a War againft
Antony; and therefore I forefee that Hoftilities will
commence in a few Days. But what Party am I
to follow ? Confider what a Name Octavianus has
afſumed; and think of his Youth; mean while he
requires to have a fécret Conference with me at, or
near to, Capua. It is really childiſh if he imagines
that ſuch a Conference can be kept a Secret, and I
wrote to him that it neither was neceffary nor prac-
ticable. His Meffenger to me was one Cecina of
Volaterra, who is intimate with him and told me;
that Antony was advancing with the Legion of the
Alauda (2) towards Rome, that he had laid the Cor-
poration Towns under Contribution, and that his
Troops were marching in military Order: Octa-
vianus wanted to know my Opinion, whether he
ought to advance to Rome, with his three thoufand
Veterans, or maintain Capua against Antony, or
march towards the three Macedonian Legions who
are advancing along the 'Shore of the Adriatic, and
who he has good Reaſon to believe, are in his In-
tereft. For, according to Cæcina, they refufed the
Money offered them by Antony, and after upbraid-
(1) It lies near to Capua upon the River Vulturnus, and Ca-
latia lies about feven Miles to the Northward of it.
(2) This celebrated Legion was fo called from a Kind of a
Creft which they wore refembling a Lark.
ing
'
to ATTICUS.
513
t
ing him ſtrongly, left him while he was haranguing
them.
To make fhort, Octavianus offers to be our
Leader, and he depends upon my not abandoning
him. I have taken upon me to adviſe him to ad-
vance to Rome; for, in my Opinion, he will there
find the inferior Sort, and, if he ftands to what he
promiſes, even the Men of Property and Princi-
ple in his Intereft. My Brutus, where are you?
What an Opportunity are you lofing? This is an
Event, which, if I did not precifely forefee, I part-
ly conjectured. And now I apply for your Coun-
fel. Shall I come to Rome, or remain here, or, for
Security, fhall I fly to Arpinum. I prefer Rome,
left, upon any Emergency, I fhould be wanted.
Refolve me therefore in this; for, never was I in
greater Perplexity.
སྐ
}
EPIST. IX.
Have, in one Day, received two Letters from
Octavianus,, who now importunes me to repair
inftantly to Rome, where he fays he will treat under
the Sanction of the Senate. My Anſwer to him was,
that the Senate cannot (and I believe fo really) be
affembled before the ift of January. He adds,
I will be directed by you." In fhort, he infifts,
and I evade. I cannot truft his Youth; I am ig-
norant of his Intentions, nor will I take a Step
without your Friend Panfa. I am afraid of Anto-
ny's prevailing. I am unwilling to leave the Sea-
Coaſt, and I dread left any glorious Meaſure ſhould
be executed in my Abſence. Varro diſlikes the Boy's
`Conduct; but I don't. He has a well appointed
VOL. IL
LI
Army,
1
514
CICERO's EPISTLES
Army, and he may join with Decimus Brutus. He
proceeds openly, mufters his Troops at Capua, and
pays them regularly. Now I fee a War is inevit-
able, and at Hand. Write me your Opinion of
all this. I am furprized, that my Letter Carrier
who left Rome the first of this Month, fhould re-
turn without any Letter from you.
EPIST.
X.
O
N the 7th, I came to my Houfe at Sinueffa
There was that Day, a current Report, that
Antony was to lye at Cafalinum. I therefore have
altered my Refolution into that of going directly to
Rome by the Appian Road. He might eafily have
come up with me; for he is faid to be a fecond
Cæfar for Activity. Therefore, at Minturne I
trike off towards Arpinum, intending to-morrow
the 9th, to lye at Aquinum or Arcanum. Now, my
Atticus, give your whole Attention to this Affair;
for it is of great Importance to me. I have the
Choice of three Things before me; to remain at
Arpinum, to advance farther, or to go quite to
Rome. I will do as you direct, but you muſt do it ·
inftantly. I am impatient for a Letter from you.
Dated the 8th, from my Houfe at Sinueffa in the
Morning.
que
Ο
EPIST. XI.
N the 5th, I received from you two Letters,
the one dated the firſt of this Month, and the
other the Day before. To begin therefore, with
1
the
1
to ATTICUS.
515
4
the oldeft. I am glad you like my Oration, and
perceive you have tranſplanted its Flowers, which,
in my Eye, flouriſh more fair, through your Ap-
probation; for I dread thofe little red Dafhes of
yours. You are in the Right as to Sica; but it
was with Difficulty that I have contained myſelf. I
fhall therefore manage fo, as to give no Affront
either to Sica, or Septimia, only that the Sons of
our Sons may know, in a Stile no Way farcaftic (1),
that he had Children by the Daughter of Caius
Fadius, and I wish I could fee the Day, when that
*Oration ſhould become fo public as to find its Way
even into the Houfe of Sica (2). But before we
can ſee that, we met fee the Times of the laft
Triumvirate reftored (3); let me die, if your Joke
upon that is not an excellent one.
{
Be fure to read my Work to Sextus, and let
me know his Opinion of it; for with me it out-
weighs that of a thouſand other Judges. Take
care, that neither Calenus nor our bald Friend (4)
be preſent. You fay, you are- afraid I may think
you too loquacious. What! to me? How, what
(1) Orig. Vale Lucilliano Lucilius was a famous Satyrift,
but there feems to be a Corruption in the Reading, which, per-
haps, ought to be, Sine filo Luciliano; the Matter alluded to here,
relates to a Paffage in our Author's fecond Philippic, in which
he reproaches Antony, for marrying and having Children by
the Daughter of this Fadius, who had been a Slave; fo there
appears, to have been a Connection between him, and Sica,
and Septimia, who were our Author's Friends.
(2) The fecond Philippic was never actually pronounced,
and was at this Time privately handed about, few People daring
to difoblige Antony.
(3) Meaning no Doubt the Triumvirate, of Pompey, Cafar, and
Craffus, during which, great Liberties were taken both in fpeak-
ing and writing.
14) Orig. Calvena, meaning Matius.
L12
do
516
CICERO's EPISTLES
}
do
you mean? fo far from it, that as Ariftopbanes
(1) faid of the Verfes of Archilochus, I always think
your longeſt Letter the beſt. As to your giving
me your Advice, I am ſo far from taking it amifs,
that I fhould be glad, even if you cenfured me
becauſe the Cenfure of a Friend is'attended both
with Prudence and Affection. I therefore chear-
fully agree to your Corrections in the Paffage
you mention. I admit the Name of Scipio inſtead
of that of Rubrius (2), and I will retrench the
Overflow of Dolabella's Praiſes. Yet, if I miſtake
not, there is a fine Irony in the Paffage, in which he
is mentioned to have fought in three Battles againſt
his Countrymen. I likewife Prefer your Alteration
of, Quid indignius, into Indigniffimum et hunc vi-
vere. I am glad that you are pleaſed with the Pe-
plography of Varro (3), from whom I have not been
able to draw that Work of his in the Manner of He-
raclides. You exhort me to write, and in this you
act as a Friend; but, let me tell you, I do nothing
elfe. Your Indifpofition gives me Pain; I beg,
that you will obferve your uſual regular Regimen.
It rejoyces me, that my Treatife on old Age has
been of any Service to you. The Anagnians I men-
tioned to you in my fecond Philippic (4), are Mu-
ftella, who is a fencing Mafter, and Laco, who is
an eminent Drunkard. I will retouch and fend you
the Book you want of me.
(1) He was a Grammarian.
(2) Thefe Corrections refer to our Author's ſecond Philippic,
which the Reader may confult.
(3) We are at a Lofs to know the real Meaning of this
Word; in all Probability it was a Work, in which fome very
eminent Men were either the Subjects, or the Interlocutors.
(4) Viz. In the fecond Philippic, which at its firft Appear.
ance contain'd only the Names of thofe Perfons.
www.
}
i now
to ATTICUS.
517
I now come to anſwer your ſecond Letter. My
Treatife concerning Duties, of which Panetius has
likewife written, confifts of two Books; his, of
three. But his first Divifion, relates to the Man-
ners of examining a Duty which, he fays, are three.
Our firſt Deliberation, according to him is, whether
the Thing is virtuous, or fcandalous; the next,
whether it is advantageous, or- prejudicial; and
laftly, when Virtue cannot be reconciled to Utility,
how we are to refolve. For Inftance, the Cafe of
Regulus. His Honour commanded his Return to
Carthage, his Safety bad him ftay at Rome. Pa-
natius has given us a noble Treatife on the two
firft Heads, and promifed to treat of the laft; but
he never did it. Poffidonius continued his Work,
and I have both fent for his Treatife, and have
written to Athenodorus Calvus (1), to fend me its
Contents, which I am now looking for; and I beg,
that you
will earneſtly exhort him to fend it by the
firft Opportunity. It treats of Duties, which vary
according to Circumftances. You aſk me about
the Title. At prefent I am quite fatisfied that our
Word Officium anfwers to the Greek nabynov, unleſs
you can fuggeft fomewhat elfe; but the Title will
run more full if made de officiis. My addreffing
it to my Son, is, I think, by no Means, amifs.
You have quite cleared up to me that Affair of
Myrtelus.-How you always paint out thoſe Fel-
lows!—A Curſe upon them! and do they lay fuch
Traps for Decimus Brutus? I have not, as I men-
tioned in mine, as yet ſhut myſelf up in Pompeii;
in the firſt Place, as nothing can be more un-
comfortable than the Weather has been, and in
(1) He as well as Panatius was a ftoic Philofopher.
L13
the
518
CICERO's EPISTLES
1
the next Place, becauſe every Day I have Letters
from Octavianus inviting me to take upon me the
Direction of his Affairs, to come to Capua, and
again to fave the State. He propofes himſelf to
march directly to Rome.---I
Blush to refufe, and to accept it fear (1).
Mean while, his Inftances have been, and ſtill are,
very ftrenuous. He is to march into Rome with a
ftrong Body of Troops; but he is no better than a
Boy; he imagines that the Senate will inftantly af
femble. But who will attend? And fhould any at-
tend, who, in this unfettled State of Affairs, will
venture to attack Antony? By the 1st of January,
Octavianus may perhaps fecure the Freedom of the
Senate; or, perhaps there may be a Battle in the
intermediate Time. Our Corporation Towns are
wonderfully in the Boy's Intereft; for in going to
Samnium he ftopt at Cales, and lay at Theanum (2).
You cannot believe, what a Refort there was to him,
and what Encouragement he met with. Could you
have imagined this? This will bring me to Rome
fooner than I purpofed. I will write to you when
my Reſolution is fixed: Eros is not yet arrived,
and therefore I have not feen the Agreement you
mention; yet I beg that you would finish that Af-
fair by the 12th. I could, to better Purpoſe, fend
Letters to Catina, Taurominium, and Syracufe (3), if
Valerius, the Linguift, would fend me the Names
of the moſt popular Men in thofe Parts; for In-
tereft is a very fluctuating Matter, and most of my
(1) This Line is from Flomer, Vide Vol. 1. p. 414.
(2) Thefe were two Towns of Campama.
(3) Theſe were the chief Cities of Sicily.
Intimates
to ATTICUS.
519
Intimates there are dead. I havé, however, writ-
ten fome general Letters, which Valerius may de-
liver, or he muſt fend me the Names I want. Bal-
bus has informed me of the Holy-Days marked
by Lepidus, and I have leave of Abſence to the 29th.
I look for a Letter from you, and I fuppofe, by
the Time that this reaches you, that you will be no
Stranger to that trifling Affair of Torquatus.
I have fent you my Brother's Letter, that you
may be fenfible how very fond he is of his Son,
and what Pain it gives him that you are not fond
of him likewiſe. Give your Daughter a Kifs for
me as ſhe is fo merry, which in young Folks is an
excellent Sign. Adieu.
EPIST.
XII.
I
Have fent you a Copy of Oppius's Letter, be-
cauſe it is ſo very genteel. As you demur con-
cerning the Affair of Ocella, without writing me
any Thing about it, I have even come to a Refo-
lution within myſelf. Therefore I think of being
at Rome on the 12th. It is more proper for me to
be there, though there fhould be no Occafion for
my Prefence, than to be abfent if there fhould; not
to mention, that, I am under fome Apprehenfions
of the Roads being befet. There is nothing now
to hinder Antony's Approach; though various are
the Reports that run, and fome of them fuch as I
wiſh to be true; but we know nothing certain. Be
that, however, as it will, it is better for me to be
with you, than to be in this undetermined State of
Mind, while we are feparated, and that too upon
your Account as well as mine. But what fhall I
L14
fay?
1
520
CICERO'S EPISTLES
ſay? Let us have good Courage. How very
witty you are upon that Heraclidian Work of Var
ro. Never did any Thing give me fo great Plea-
fure; but we will talk of that, and other more
weighty Matters, when we meet.
EPIST. XIII
1
2
WH
L
*1
HAT a wonderful Chance it was? On the
8th, having, before it was light, left my
Houſe at Sinueſſa, and come, by break of Day, to'
the Bridge of Minturne, where the Road ftrikes off
to Arpinum, your Exprefs met me at the very.
Time when I was thinking of fetting out on a
grand Tour of Travels (1).-Have you got any`
Letters from Atticus ?--Let me have them,--quick!
faid I, without reflecting that I could not yet fee
to read, having ordered the Flambeaux to be
put out (2), nor was there yet enough of Day-light.
But when it grew light, your Letter, which was
firft dated of the two, was first read to me. May
I perish if I write not as I think, when I tell you,
(1) Orig. dorixón mλóov opp.æívovтa. De longa navigatione delibe-
rante. This alludes to a Paffage of Homer's Odyſſe, where
Neftor tells Telemachus, that Menelaus had joined him, and fome
other Frinces at Lesbos, jult at the Time when they were con-
fulting whither they fhould fteer their Courſe, above, or below,
the liland of Chios Cicero adopts this Paffage of Homer to ex-
prefs his being in fome Doubt, whether he ſhould go to Rome,
directly by the Appian Road, or go round by Arpinum. The Ap-
plication of Homer's Lines, was fo very familiar to the learned
Men of Antiquity, that Atticus could be at no Lofs for the Ap-
plication here. But it is probable, that he himſelf had firſt
thrown out the Hint to our Author.
•
(2) This is a very natural Picture of the Abfence of Mind
that is incident to the greateſt of Men through Affection or ´An-
xiety.
?
that
to ATTICUS.
521
that nothing can come up to its Elegance, nor did
I ever read any Thing more genteely turned. I
will therefore come whither you call me, provided
you aid me with your Counfels. But, at firſt
Sight, I thought nothing could be more abfurd,
than for you to write to me in fuch a Strain, in An-
fwer to the Letter I fent, you, begging your Ad-
vice; when behold another Letter, in a poetic
Strain, giving me the Hint to go to Arpinum, by
Mount Appenin (1).-That Night therefore I lay at
Arpinum, after a dreary Journey through bad
Roads. Next Morning as I was fetting out I
wrote thus far.
1.
P. S. It is very inconvenient for me (2), that
Eros's Letters oblige me to fend Tiro to Rome, He
will himſelf inform you of the Affair; do you con-
fider how he is to proceed. Befides, I hope you
will frequently write to me whether I ought to go
further from Rome, or come nearer to it; for I
hould wiſh rather to be at Tufculum, or fome where
in the Out-ſkirts of the City. You will have daily
Conveyances to me. Now while I am abfent from
you, it is difficult for me to fend you any Opi-
nion as to what you want to know, or how I
think you ought to proceed. All I can fay is,
that if the two Parties are pretty equally matched, we
ought to lye by; if they are not, public Deftruction
will ſpread, firft over our Order, and then over
1) Orig. παρ' ηνεμόεντα Μίμαντα, Νήσε ἐπὶ Ψυρίης. Αppiam.
ἐπ' αρίτερ᾽ ἔχοντα. Prater ventofan Mimanta Infulam ad Pyriam,
finiftra habentem. This Verfe is from Homer likewiſe, in a
Continuation of the former Allufion.
(2) I have thrown what follows this into the Form of a
Poſtſcript, but it is uncertain, whether it is not a quite different
Letter.
all.
1
1
522
CICERO's EPISTLES
+
all. I am impatient to know your Refolution. I
dread being abfent from Rome, if it would do me
more Credit to be there; yet I dare not venture.
I now hear Accounts of Antony's Marches, very
different from what I have written above. I beg
therefore you will clear up all thofe Matters, and
let me have fome Certainty.
What can I fay as to other Matters?-I am
quite on fire to begin this Hiftory; for you cannot
imagine how ſtrongly I am affected by the Encou-
ragement you have given me. But I can neither
beging nor compleat it, without your Affiftance
we muſt therefore referve this Subject till we meet.
Mean while I beg you will let me know in a Let-
ter, under what Cenfors, Caius Fannius, the Son of
Marcus, was Tribune of the Commons. I think I
have heard he was under Publius Africanus and
Lucius Mummius. Pray fet me right, if I am mi-
ftaken. I beg you will write me certain and true
Accounts of all public Occurrences. Dated the
11th from my Houfe near Arpinum.
I
EPIST. XIV.
Really have nothing to write to you; for when
I was at Puteoli, I daily heard fome News con-
cerning Octavianus, and many Lies concerning An-
tony. In Anſwer to your Letters, three of which
I received on the 11th, I entirely agree with you,
that should Octavianus come into Power, the Acts
of Cæfar will receive a firmer Sanction than they
did in the Temple of Tellus; and this will turn out
to the Diſadvantage of Brutus. But fhould Qata-
vianus
to ATTICUS.
523
vianus be worſted, you will find Antony an intole-
rable Tyrant; thus, one does not know which to
wish for.
What a Rafcal was that Meffenger of Seftius,
for promiſing to be at Rome the Day after he left
Puteoli! You adviſe me to proceed foft and fair,
and I agree with you, though I had fome Thoughts
of doing otherwife.
The Examples of Philippus
and Marcellus (1) make no Impreffion upon me.
Their Motives either are, or feem to be, different
from mine. Young Cafar has abundance of Spi-
rit; yet he has no great Weight. Mean while, you
will confider whether it will not be convenient for
me to be at Tufculum, where I can live with more
Freedom, and be well informed of every Thing
that paffes, or whether I ought not to remain here
till Antony's Arrival at Rome.
But to pass from one Thing to another, I have
no Manner of Doubt that our Word officium an-
fwers to the Greek Word Keynov.
As to your
Doubt whether that 'Word can be properly applied
to public Matters, do we not fay Confulum officium,
Senatus officium? I think it a very proper Word,
unleſs you can furniſh me with one that is more fo.
Your ill News of the Death of Nepos's Son, by
Heavens, gives me great Cancern and Affliction.
I was quite ignorant that he had a Son. I have
- loft Caninius, who, I fpeak for myfelf, was by no
Means an ungrateful Perfon. You have no need
to prefs Athenodorus; for he hath fent me a Memo-
(1) Both thofe Noblemen were nearly related to young
Cafar, the first being his Father-in-Law, and the latter his
Brother-in-Law, notwithstanding which, they had not broken
off all Meafures with Antony.
rial
524
CICERO's EPISTLES
F
}
rial which is politely enough drawn up. I beg
you would employ all Kinds of Remedies for your
Indifpofition. Our (1) Nephew has written to my
Son, that, upon the 5th of December, (the Ani-
verſary Day, which was fo glorious for (2) me)
he will lay open, before the People, the whole
Affair of the Temple of Ops. You will learn what
he means, and let me know by a Letter. I expect
to have the Opinion of Sextus upon my Oration.
YOU
EPIST.
XV.
OU are not to imagine that, becauſe I am lazy,
I make uſe of another Perfon's Hand in writ-
ting to you; and yet, upon my Oath, I have no
other Excuſe to offer but Lazinefs. Mean while,
I think I can, in your Letters, trace out the Hand
Writing of Alexis; but to come to Bufinefs. Had
not Dolabella behaved to me like an arrant Scoun-
drel, I might have been in fome Hefitation, whether
I ſhould deal gently or rigorously with him. But now
I am overjoyed, that I have an Opportunity of
making him, and all the World, fenfible, that I
have no Affection for him, and I will publicly avow
that I hate him, both on my own Account, and
my Country's; becauſe, after I had perſuaded him
to eſpouſe her Cauſe, he not only abandoned it for
a Bribe, but did all he could to ruin it.
(1) Orig. Quintus ævi tui pronepos, fcribit ad patris me Nepo-
tem. We have already feen Inftances of this whimsical Way of
Writing, which, more than probable, was owing to fome pri-
vate Piece of Humour in Atticus, which is not now to be ac-
counted for.
(2) By his putting to death the Accomplices in Catiline's
Confpiracy,
You
1
1
to ATTICUS.
525
You aſk me, what I would have done, when
the Day of Payment comes (1). In the firſt Place,
I wish that Matters were ordered fo, as that I could,
without any Inconveniency, be at Rome in Perfon,
but in this, as in all other Matters, I will be guided
by your Judgment. However, in the Main, I
would have him brought to a ftrict and rigo-
rous Account. I think, we cannot without bluſh-
ing call upon his Sureties, but I wish you would
confider this Matter; for we can call upon his
Sureties by his Managers, who will not ftand a
Trial. I am fenfible, by this Means, that the
Sureties cannot be affected by this Action; bur
I think, it will be ſcandalous in him, if his Mana-
gers ſhould not pay a Debt, for which he him-
ſelf has engaged Sureties; and it is inconfiftent
with my Reputation to fhow any vindictive Acri-
mony against him, in reclaiming my Property.
I beg you will let me know your Sentiments on
this Matter in writing; and I make no Doubt, that
it will be managed with great Moderation. I now
return to public Matters.
I have, it is true, feen many Proofs of your
profound Skill in Politics, but none beyond your
laft Letter, where you fay, Though at preſent,
the Boy makes a gallant Oppofition to Antony; yet
we ought to wait the Event;" but what a Ha-
rangue has he made (2) to the People! for it was
fent to me. He there fwears, "fo, fays he, may I
attain the Honours of my Parent," ſtretching forth
(1) All this relates to a Debt due to our Author by Dolabella,
as the Arrears of Tullia's Portion, which the Latter ought to
have refunded when he divorced her.
(2) Viz. In the Temple of Caftor and Pollux,
2
his
Š26
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
his right Hand at the fame Time, to the Statue of
Cæfar. No, no fuch Saviours for me (1). But,
as you write, the trueft Touch-ftone of his Inten-
tions will be, when Cafca (2) comes to take upon
him the Tribuneſhip. I delivered the fame Opi-
nion to Oppius; for when he preffed me to declare
without any Reſerve for the young Man and his
Interefts, and for his Body of Veterans, I told
him, I could by no Means do that, till I was quite
fatisfied that ſo far from oppofing, he would be-
friend, the Tyrannicides. When Oppius told me,
that Octavius would do fo, "then, Where, faid I,
is the Hurry of my declaring myfelf, fince he can
have no Occafion for my Affiftance before the firft
of January? Now, we can be quite convinced of
his Intentions, by the 13th of December, from his
Behaviour in the Affair of Cafca. Oppius agreed
to all I faid. I have therefore little more to write
to you on this Head; only, that you will every
Day have Opportunity of writing to me, and I
believe, every Bay will prefent you with fomething
freſh to write. I have fent you a Copy of Lepta's
Letter, by which it appears to me, that the Bully
(3) is quite beat out of his Guard. But you fhall
read it, and judge for yourſelf.
After this Letter was fealed up, I received one
from you, and another from Sextus, and nothing
can be more agreeable or affectionate than his is.
As to yours, it was fhort, though the former a
very full one. You adviſe me like a Man of Senf,
L
(1) Orig. undè owdeíny Toys Toιúre. Ne fa'vus quidam fim a tali.
(2) He gave the first Blow, in the Murder of Cafar. Not-
withſtanding which Octavius did not oppofe his being Tribune.
(31 Orig. spasúnnaž, de gradu dejectus. Meaning Antony.
+
and
to ATTICUS.
527
\
and a Friend, to remain where I am, 'till I hear
of the Event of our prefent public Commotions-
But, my Atticus, it is not, indeed it is not, any
public Confideration that determines me at preſent.
For though the public is, and ought to be to me,
the dearest Object of my Love; yet Hippocrates
forbids us to apply Medicine when the Diſeaſe is
deſperate. Adieu therefore to public Matters.
What affects me, is the State of my private Af-
fairs, nay, a Regard to my Honour; for though
my Funds are fo large, I have not yet been able to
pay to Terentia what I owe her. But why do I talk
of that? You know, it is fome Time fince I
miſed to pay for Montanus two hundred Pounds (1)
My Son, in the moſt genteel Manner, begg'd that
Favour of me, and faid, he would look upon it as
done to himſelf. Knowing, that it would be a-
greeable to you, I promiſed it most readily, and
ordered Eros to lay by the Money; but he was fo
far from doing it, that Aurelius was obliged to raiſe
it at a moft exorbitant Intereſt.
pro-
As to Terentia's Debt, I underſtand by a Letter
from Tyro, that you fay, the Money owing me from
Dolabella will anfwer that. He has a miſtaken
Underſtanding, if I may be allowed the Expreffion
of your Words, or rather, he does not underſtand
them at all; for you wrote me the Anfwer of Cec-
ceius, on that Head, and I had a Letter from Eros,
to the fame Purpoſe. I must therefore, come to
Rome, if I fhould drop even in the midst of the
Conflagration. For it is more glorious to die with
my Country, than by myſelf. Therefore, under this
(1) Vide, Vol. II. Page 97, and 98.
Confufion
528
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
}
Confufion of Mind, it is impoffible for me to an
ſwer with my uſual Serenity, the other Matters
mentioned in your moſt affectionate Letter to me.
I beg you will take Care that I may be extri-
cated from my preſent Situation. Several Expe-
dients for that Purpoſe occur to myſelf. But be
lieve me, I can fix pofitively upon none till I
fee you:
I
EPIST. XVI.
xvi.
·
HAVE read your moſt agreeable Letter, and
ſend you a Copy of what I have written to
Plancus, I fhall know from Tyro himſelf, what
paffed between you and him. You will deal more
earneſtly with your Sifter, once you have gained
fome Refpite from your own Buſineſs:
Cicero to Plancus Prætor, wifheth Health.
A M entirely fenfible, how gladly you would
I
embrace an Opportunity of obliging Atticus:
Not to mention, that I believe you to be fo much
my Friend, that, very few excel you in your Re-
gard and Affection for me. A ſtrong, an old;
and a virtuous Friendſhip, fubfifted between your
Father and me; and it is continued, with great
Improvements, in the great Regard you exprefs for
me; to which mine for you is in all Refpects an-
fwerable. You are no Stranger to the Affair of
Butbrotum, it being a Subject which I have often
treated of, and fully explained to you. Its prefent
Situation is as follows.
As
to ATTICUS.
52
As foon as it was understood, that the Lands of
Butbrotum were to be planted with Soldiers, At-
ticus was ſo much alarmed by it, that he drew up a
Remonftrance which he put into my Hands. to
give to Cafar, with whom I was to fup that Even-
ing. I accordingly prefented it to Cafar; who ap-
proved of its Contents, and fignified in a Letter to
Atticus, that he fought no more than what was juſt,
cautioning him at the fame Time, that the Butbrotians
ſhould pay their Arrears the Moment that they be-
came due. Atticus, from the Zeal he had to pre-
ferve their State, laid down the Money for them.
out of his own Pocket. This being done, we went
to Cæfar, whom we addreffed in the Name of
the Butbrations, and he gave us a full Decree in
their Favour, which was attefted by feveral Per-
fons of the higheſt Rank. As Matters ſtood up-
on this Footing, I own, that I was a good deal
furpriſed, that Cæfar fhould fuffer thofe who hunt-
ed after the Butbrotian Lands, to hold their Meet-
ings; nay, that he ſhould, appoint you to have
the chief Direction in that Affair. I therefore talked
to him upon it ſo often, and in fuch a Manner,
that he uſed to reproach me, for having fo mean
an Opinion of his Refolution. At the fame Time,
he affured Marcus Meffala, and Atticus himſelf,
that they might be quite eafy on that Head; and
he gave the ſtrongeſt Intimation's, (for you know
how delicate he was in Point of Popularity) that
he was unwilling to do any Thing to ruffle the
Temper of the Soldiery, while they were in Italy;
but that as ſoon as they got beyond Seas, he would
take care that they ſhould be fettled in other Lands.
The Affair ftood thus at his Death. When that hap-
VOL. 11.
M'm
pened,
530
CICERO's EPISTLES
pened, as foon as the Confuls by a Refolution of
the Senate, affumed a judicial Capacity upon the
Validity of Cafar's Acts, the State of this Affair,
as. I have repreſented it to you, was laid before
them. They, without the leaft Hefitation, ap-
proved of all that had been done, and they ſaid,
that they would write to you upon that Subject.
Now, my dear Plancus, though I am convinced,
that you will pay great Regard to the Refolution
of the Senate, to the Law, to the Decree, and to the
Letter of the Confuls; and though I am convinced
of your Willingneſs to oblige Atticus himſelf in
this Affair, yet I prefume fo far upon the Inti-
macy and Friendſhip that fubfifts between us, as
to beg, as a Favour, the Thing which your match-
lefs good Nature, and Politeneſs of Manners, would
not fuffer you to deny. The Favour is this, that
you would chearfully, unrefervedly, and imme-
diately do, what I know you would do, were no
Perſon to folicit you..
No Man ſtands with me upon better Terms of
Friendſhip, Company, and Affection, than Atticus
does. His private Intereft was deeply engaged in
this Affair before, but now it concerns his Reputa-
tion likewiſe, that he may make good by your
Affiftance, what he had before with great Pains
and Intereſt obtained, both in Cafar's Time, and
after his Death. Should he fucceed in this by your
Means, you may depend upon it, my Senfe of your
Generoſity ſhall be fuch, that I fhall think myſelf
indifpenfibly bound to acknowledge the Great-
neſs of the Favour. I fhall be ready always with
the greateſt Zeal and Readineſs, to ferve you in all
your Concerns. Adieu.
Cicero
to ATTICUS.
531
Cicero to Plancus Prætor, wisheth Health.
T is fome time fince I requeſted you by a Letter,
to give your Affiftance in the Affair of the Bu-
throtians, which was confirmed by the Confuls,
who had Authority both by the Law, and a Refo-
lution of the Senate, to examine, refolve, and judge,
upon the Acts of Cæfar; and that you would
deliver from Uneafinefs, our Friend Atticus, for
whom I know, you have a Kindnefs, and my-
ſelf, who am, as anxious, as he is, about this Affair.
Now that all Points of it have been fettled here
with great Care, Application, and Difficulty, it
depends upon you to put a ſpeedy Period to all
our Anxiety. Mean while, we are convinced, that
a Man of your good Senfe, muft fee the great and
general Confufion, that muſt enfue, if no Regard fhall·
be paid to the Decrees of the Confuls, which paffed
upon the Acts of Cæfar. It is true, a great many
of them were not confirmed, as many of them muſt
have been done in a great Hurry of Bufinefs, yet I
always was a keen Advocate for them, for the Sake
of Peace and Tranquility. Now, though this Let-
ter is not meant to perfwade, but to petition, you, yet
I am of Opinion, that you ought to be in the fame
Way of thinking. Therefore, my dear Plancus,
I beg, nay, let me perish, if I do not even en-
treat, you, with as much Zeal, with as much
Fervour of Mind, as I am capable of feeling, that
through this whole Affair, you will fo manage, fo
behave, and fo conclude, as not only to exprefs
your Aquiefcence, but even your Joy, at our
having gained what we have gained from the
Confuls, without the leaft Hefitation, through the
meer Juftice and Equity of our Caufe. This will
M m 2
be
532
CICERO's EPISTLES
!
be a freſh Proof of thofe Affurances of Friend-
ſhip for Atticus, which you often expreffed to him
in Perfon, and likewife to me; and it will be a
farther Inducement for me, who have been always
your Friend, through my own Inclination, and the
Regard I had for your Father, to own that you
laid me under the ftrongeſt Obligations. I there-
fore, again and again, in the most earnest Manner,
beg your Compliance.
Cicero to his Friend Capito, wifheth Health.
NEV
You
EVER did I think the Time would come,
that I fhould apply to you as a Suppliant.
But I proteft, I am glad to have this Opportunity
of making Proof of your Affection for me.
know, how great my Regard is for Atticus. As
you love me, do me the Favour for my Sake to
forget, that when one of his Friends, but an Ene-
my to you, was engaged in an Affair, upon which
his Reputation depended, Atticus embraced his In-
tereft. Your good Nature in the firſt Place, is en-
gaged to forgive this, for every Man ought to de-
fend his own Friends; in the next Place, I conjure
you, fetting all Confideration of Atticus afide,
to grant this Favour without any Referve, to your
old Cicero, for whom you ufed to avow your
Friendship, that I may have a full Proof of that
great Affection which I always believed you enter-.
tained for me.
2
After Cafar, by his Decree, which was attefted
by me, and many other Noblemen of the firſt Rank
had entirely pardoned the Butbrotians, and intimat-
ed to us, that as foon as the Soldiers, to whom
the Lands had been affigned, were gone beyond Sea,
}
he
1
to ATTICUS.
533
he would fend a Letter, marking out the Settle-
ments which they were to poffefs, it happened
unexpectedly, that he was diſpatched out of the
World. You was prefent when the Confuls were
obliged by a Reſolution of the Senate to fit in Judg-
ment on the Acts of Cæfar. Therefore, you can be
no Stranger to what afterwards happened, and that
their Confideration of this Affair, was adjourned
to the firſt of June. The Refolution of the Senate
was ftrengthned, by a Law paft the 12th of the
fame Month, giving to the Confuls the Cognizance
of all Matters, that Cafar had intended, decreed,
or executed. The Cauſe of the Butbrotians was
brought before them; and many of Cæfar's Ex-
hibits were produced; at the fame Time, the Confuls,
according to the Meaning of Cafar's Intention,
made a Rule in Favour of the Butbrotians, and
Plancus was entrusted with the Execution of it.
་
Now, dear Capito, as I am fenfible of your ufual
Influence over all with whom you are concerned,
and far more, with a Man fo very obliging and
good natured as Plancus is, exert all your En-
deavours, all your Efforts, or rather all your win-
ing Arts, to effectuate that Plancus, whom I be-
lieve to be the beſt of Men, may be rendered ſtill
better by your Interpofition.
The plain State of the Affair, feems to be, that
without obliging, any Man, Plancus has Diſcern-
ment and good Senfe enough, without Hefi-
tation, to ſupport the Decree of the Confuls, who
had the Authority both of the Law and Senate's
Refolution, to examine, and determine in this Af-
fair; eſpecially, as the Authority of Cafar's Acts,
will become doubtful, fhould their Power of Cog-
nizance
534
CICERO's EPISTLES
nizance thus eftabliſhed, be weakened, and as not
only they who are intereſted, but as they who con-
demn them, are willing to confirm them, for the
Sake of public Tranquility. Though the Matter
ftands in this ftrong Light, yet ftill, it will do Ser-
vice to Plancus, to defend our Suit chearfully, and
readily. This he certainly will do, if you apply
thofe Powers of yours, which I have often expe-
rienced, and thoſe engaging Arts, in which I
know you are matchlefs; that you will do this,
is my moſt earneſt Requeſt.
Cicero to Caius Cupiennius, wisbeth Health.
I
HAD the greateſt Efteem for your Father,
and he had the greateſt Regard and Affection
for me; nor I affure you, did I ever doubt that
you love me, for I have always loved you. I
therefore, infift upon it in the ftrongeft Manner,
that you will relieve the Buthrotians, and en-
deavour that our Friend Plancus, may immediately
confirm and execute the Decree which the Confuls
made in Favour of the Butbrotians, when they
had a Power of regulating that Affair, both by
a Law, and a Refolution of the Senate. My dear
Cupiennius, I again, and again, entreat you to do
me this Favour.
I
Cicero to Plancus Prætor, wisheth Health.
ASK your Pardon, for writing to you ſo often
upon the Affair of the Butbrotians, after ex-
plaining it fo fully to you in my former Letters.
This, my dear Friend, does not procecd from any
Diftruft I have either of your Generofity, or our
Friendship.
to ATTICUS.
$35
Friendship. But an Affair, of very great Con-
ſequence to our Friend Atticus is in Agitation;
nay, it concerns his Reputation, that the World
fhould know he is able to obtain, that which
Cæfar granted in my hearing, and was witneffed by
my Hand, when I was prefent both when Cæfar
made his Decrees and fignified his Intentions; efpe-
cially, as it is now abfolutely in your Power, I
will not fay barely to execute, but to execute zea-
louſly and chearfully, the Decrees which the Con-
fuls made in Confirmation of Cafar's Decrees and
Orders. Nothing can poffibly do me greater Plea-
fure, than your Compliance with this Requeſt.
I am, it is true, in Hopes, that before you re-
ceive this Letter, you have complied with the Con-
tents of my former ones, but I will never forbear
foliciting you, until I am informed, that you have
actually done it; which I wait with the greateſt
Impatience to hear, and then, I hope my Letters
to you, fhall run in a different Strain, I mean,
that of returning you Thanks, for your very great
Favour. Should that happen, I affure you, that
the Obligation will not lie fo much upon Atticus,
whoſe Intereſt is greatly concerned in this Affair,
as upon me, who now take an equal Concern
in its Succefs. Adieu.
I
Cicero to Capito, wifheth Health.
MAKE no Doubt, that you are furpriſed,
and even piqued, at my foliciting you ſo often
upon the fame Subject; but the Intereft of Atticus,
the deareſt, and in every Reſpect, the moſt inti-
mate of my Friends, is deeply concerned in it.
I am fenfible of your Zeal to ferve your Friends,
and
536
CICERO'S EPISTLES
1
and of their Zeal to ferve you. You can affift us
greatly with Plancus. I know your good Nature, and
I know how well pleafed your Friends are to oblige
you, and no-body can ferve us in this Affair more
than you can. Our Caufe is perfectly well ground-
ed, and refts upon a Decree of the Confuls, confirm-
ing Cajar's Meaſure, when both by a Law and a
Refolution of the Senate, they took his Acts un-
der their Cognizance. But we are convinced, that
the whole Matter now depends upon the Gene-
rofity of your Friend Plancus. And we hope, that
in Confideration of your kind Interpofition, and of
the public Good, he will confirm the Decree of the
Confuls, as well as from a Willingness to oblige
me. Lend us therefore, my dear Capito, your
helping Hand. I beg it again, and again, in the
moft earnest Manner. Farewel.
FINI S
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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