Cicero Letters to Atticus, Vol. 2 of 3 47

Cicero Letters to Atticus, Vol. 2 of 3 47

For the rest, ye gods what a following! What _âmes damnées_ in your

phrase! Celer is an hero to the rest. What an abandoned cause, and what

desperate gangs! What can one think of a son of Servius and a son of

Titinius being in an army which beset Pompey? Six legions! He is very

wide-awake and

 

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audet. Nullum video finem mali. Nunc certe promenda tibi sunt consilia.

Hoc fuerat extremum.

 

Illa tamen κατακλεὶς illius est odiosa, quam paene praeterii, si sibi

consiliis nostris uti non liceret, usurum, quorum posset, ad omniaqae

esse descensurum. "Vidisti igitur virum, ut scripseras? ingemuisti?"

Certe. "Cedo reliqua." Quid? Continuo ipse in Pedanum, ego Arpinum.

Inde exspecto equidem λαλαγεῦσαν[117] illam tuam. "Tu malim," inquies,

"actum ne agas." Etiam illum ipsum, quem sequimur, multa fefellerunt.

 

[117] λαλαγεῦσαν _Bosius_: ΑΛΑΤΕΛΓΑΝ _M._

 

Sed ego tuas litteras exspecto. Nihil est enim iam ut antea "Videamus,

hoc quorsum evadat." Extremum fuit de congressu nostro; quo quidem

non dubito quin istum offfenderim. Eo maturius agendum est. Amabo te,

epistulam et πολιτικήν! Valde tuas litteras nunc exspecto.

 

 

 

 

XIX

 

CICERO ATTICO SAL.

 

 

[Sidenote: _Scr. Arpini prid. K. Apr. a. 705_]

 

Ego meo Ciceroni, quoniam Roma earemus, Arpini potissimum togam puram

dedi, idque municipibus nostris fuit gratum. Etsi omnes et illos, et

qua iter feci, maestos adflictosque vidi. Tam tristis et

 

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bold. I see no end to our evil days. Now assuredly you must produce

your advice. This was the limit we contemplated.

 

Caesar's _finale_, which I had almost forgotten, was hateful:--"If I

may not use your advice, I shall use the advice I can and go to any

length." You will say: "You have seen him to be as you have described

him: and did you heave a sigh?" Indeed I did. You ask for the rest of

our talk. What more is there to tell? He went straight to Pedum, I to

Arpinum. From thence I await the "twittering swallow"[118] you talk of.

You will say you prefer me not to dwell on past mistakes. Even Pompey,

our leader, has made many.

 

[118] A reference to _Anthology_ x, i, ὁ πλόος ὡραῖος καὶ γὰρ λαλαγεῦσα

χελιδὼν Ἤδη μέμβλωκεν χὠ χαριεὶς Ζέφυρος.

 

"Fair is the season for sailing: already the twittering swallow

Flitteth around, and soft bloweth the wind from the west." Cf. _Att._

ix, 7.

 

But I await a letter from you. There is no room now, as before, for

your "await the event." The limit we fixed was that interview; and I

have no doubt I annoyed Caesar; so I must act the more quickly. Please

send me a letter and deal with _la haute politique_. I await a letter

from you now very anxiously.

 

 

 

 

XIX

 

CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.

 

 

[Sidenote: _Arpinum, March 31_, B.C. _49_]

 

Since Rome was out of bounds, I celebrated my son's coming of age at

Arpinum in preference to any other place, and so doing delighted my

fellow-townsmen. Though they were pleased, yet I must tell you they and

all others I have met are sad and sorry.

 

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tam atrox est ἀναθεώρησις huius ingentis mali. Dilectus habentur, in

hiberna deducuntur. Ea, quae, etiam cum a bonis viris, cum iusto in

bello, cum modeste fiunt, tamen ipsa per se molesta sunt, quam censes

acerba nunc esse, cum a perditis in civili nefario bello petulantissime

fiant! Cave autem putes quemquam hominem in Italia turpem esse, qui

hinc absit. Vidi ipse Formiis universos neque mehercule umquam homines

putavi, et noram omnes, sed numquam uno loco videram.

 

Pergamus igitur, quo placet, et nostra omnia relinquamus, proficiscamur

ad eum, cui gratior noster adventus erit, quam si una fuissemus. Tum

enim eramus in maxima spe, nunc ego quidem in nulla; nec praeter me

quisquam Italia cessit, nisi qui hunc inimicum sibi putaret. Nec

mehercule hoc facio rei publicae causa, quam funditus deletam puto, sed

ne quis me putet ingratum in eum, qui me levavit iis incommodis, quibus

idem adfecerat, et simul quod ea, quae fiunt, aut quae certe futura

sunt, videre non possum. Etiam equidem senatus consulta facta quaedam

iam puto, utinam in Volcaci sententiam! Sed quid refert? est enim una

sententia omnium. Sed erit immitissimus Servius, qui filium misit ad

effligendum Cn. Pompeium aut certe capiendum cum Pontio Titiniano. Etsi

hic quidem timoris causa, ille vero?

 

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So dark and direful is the _coup d'oeil_ of this vast calamity. Levies

are being made; troops are being drafted into winter quarters. These

measures are hardships in themselves even when taken by loyalists, when

the war is just, when there is some consideration. You can imagine how

bitter they are when taken quite tyrannically by desperadoes in wicked

civil war. But you must remember that every scoundrel in Italy is of

the party. I saw them all together at Formiae. I could hardly believe

them to be human. I knew every one of them, but I had never seen the

whole collection together.

 

Let us go then whither we please, and leave our all behind. Let us set

out to Pompey, who will be more gratified at our arrival than if we

had been with him all along. For then we had great hopes; but now I

at least have none: nor has anyone except myself departed from Italy,

unless he imagines Caesar to be his enemy. Heaven be my witness I do

not take this step for the sake of the Republic, which to my mind is

utterly destroyed, but for fear I may be charged with ingratitude

to one who relieved me from the inconveniences which he himself had

inflicted: and, at the same time, because I cannot endure the sight

of the horrors that are happening and are bound to happen. Moreover

I fancy that now decrees of the Senate have been passed, and my only

hope is that they will agree with Volcacius' proposal. But what does

it matter? There is only one proposal for everybody. But the most

implacable enemy will be Servius, who has sent his son with Pontius

Titinianus to destroy or at least to capture Gnaeus Pompey. Though

Titinianus has the excuse of fear, what excuse has Servius? But let us

cease

 

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Sed stomachari desinamus et aliquando sentiamus nihil nobis nisi, id

quod minime vellem, spiritum reliquum esse.

 

Nos, quoniam superum mare obsidetur, infero navigabimus, et, si

Puteolis erit difficile, Crotonem petemus aut Thurios et boni cives

amantes patriae mare infestum habebimus. Aliam rationem huius belli

gerendi nullam video. In Aegyptum nos abdemus. Exercitu pares esse non

possumus; pacis fides nulla est. Sed haec satis deplorata sunt.

 

Tu velim litteras Cephalioni des de omnibus rebus actis, denique etiam

de sermonibus hominum, nisi plane obmutuerunt. Ego tuis consiliis usus

sum maximeque, quod et gravitatem in congressu nostro tenui, quam

debui, et, ad urbem ut non accederem, perseveravi. Quod superest,

scribe, quaeso, quam accuratissime (iam enim extrema sunt), quid

placeat, quid censeas; etsi iam nulla dubitatio est. Tamen, si quid vel

potius quicquid veniet in mentem, scribas velim.

 

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from anger and let us reflect that there is nothing left us now except

what to me is least desirable--life.

 

As for me, since the Adriatic is beset, I shall sail by the lower sea,

and, if it be difficult to start from Puteoli, I shall seek Croton or

Thurii, and like a loyal and patriotic citizen play the pirate. Other

means of conducting this war I see none. We will go and bury ourselves

in Egypt. We cannot match Caesar on land, and we cannot rely on peace.

But enough of this outcry.

 

Please entrust a letter to Cephalio about all that has been done, and

even about people's talk, unless men have become quite dumb. I followed

your advice, especially when I maintained in our conversation a proper

dignity and persisted in my refusal to go to Rome. For the rest please

write to me in as much detail as possible (for the worst has come to

the worst) what you approve and what you think, though now there can be

no doubt. But yet, if anything comes into your mind, or rather whatever comes into your mind, please write to me.