Letter 380
On the 24th, about four o'clock, came a messenger from Q. Fufius
bringing some sort of a note from him, begging me to make it up with
him. A very silly letter as usual, unless one thinks that everything one
does not like is very silly. I sent an answer of which I think you would
approve. The messenger delivered two of your letters, one of the 22nd,
the other of the 23rd. I answer the later and fuller one first. I
approve. Why, if even Carfulenus deserts him, it will be the end of
the world for him. Antony's plans, as you describe them, are
revolutionary. And I only hope he will try to get his way through the
people and not through the Senate, which I think is probable. But to me
his whole policy seems to point to war, since D. Brutus is being robbed
of his province. Whatever I may think of Brutus' resources, I don't
think that can happen without war. But I don't want war, since the
Buthrotians are all right as it is. You may smile: but I am sorry it was
not rather accomplished by my persistence, diligence, and influence. You
say you don't know what our friends are to do: that difficulty has been
bothering me for a long time. So now I see it was folly to be consoled
by the Ides of March: for though our courage was that of men, believe me
we had no more sense than children. We have only cut down the tree, not
rooted it up. So you see how it is shooting out.
saepe usurpas, ad Tusculanas disputationes. Saufeium de te celemus; ego
numquam indicabo. Quod te a Bruto scribis, ut certior fieret, quo die in
Tusculanum essem venturus, ut ad te ante scripsi, VI Kal., et quidem ibi
te quam primum per videre velim. Puto enim nobis Lanuvium eundum et
quidem non sine multo sermone. Sed μελήσει.
Redeo ad superiorem. Ex qua praetereo illa prima de Buthrotiis; quae
mihi sunt inclusa medullis, sit modo, ut scribis, locus agendi. De
oratione Bruti prorsus contendis, cum iterum tam multis verbis agis.
Egone ut eam causam, quam is scripsit? ego scribam non rogatus ab eo?
Nulla παρεγχείρησις fieri potest contumeliosior. "At," inquis,
"Ἡρακλείδειον aliquod." Non recuso id quidem, sed et componendum
argumentum est et scribendi exspectandum tempus maturius. Licet enim de
me, ut libet, existimes (velim quidem quam optime), si haec ita manant,
ut videntur (feres, quod dicam), me Idus Martiae non delectant. Ille
enim numquam revertisset, nos timor confirmare eius acta non coëgisset,
aut, ut in Saufei eam relinquamque Tusculanas disputationes, ad quas tu
etiam Vestorium hortaris, ita gratiosi eramus apud illum, quem di
mortuum perduint! ut nostrae aetati,
Let us return, then, to the _Tusculan Disputations_, since you often
refer to them. Let us keep your secret from Saufeius: I will never
betray it. You send a message from Brutus, asking me to let him know
when I shall reach Tusculum. On the 27th, as I told you before; and I
should very much like to see you there as soon as possible. For I think
we shall have to go to Lanuvium, and that not without a lot of
talk. However, I will see to it.
I return to your earlier letter, and I pass over the first part about
the Buthrotians. For that is engraved on my heart of hearts, if only, as
you say, there is an opening for action. You are very insistent about
Brutus' speech, since you say so much about it again. Am I really to
plead the same case as that he has written about? Am I to write without
being asked by him? One could not put one's oar in more rudely. "But,"
you say, "write something in the style of Heracleides." That I
don't refuse, but I should have to settle on a line of argument, and I
should have to wait for more time to write it. For think what you will
of me—though of course I should like you to think as well as possible,
and not be offended at what I say—if affairs drift on as they seem to be
doing, I can take no pleasure in the Ides of March. Caesar would never
have come back, and fear would not have compelled us to ratify his
acts; or, if I join Saufeius' school and desert the _Tusculan
Disputations_, which you would press even on Vestorius, I was so high in
his favour (heaven confound him, though he is dead!) that to a person of
my age he was not a
quoniam interfecto domino liberi non sumus, non fuerit dominus ille
fugiendus. Rubeo, mihi crede, sed iam scripseram; delere nolui.
De Menedemo vellem verum fuisset, de regina velim verum sit. Cetera
coram, et maxime quid nostris faciendum sit, quid etiam nobis, si
Antonius militibus obsessurus est senatum. Hanc epistulam si illius
tabellario dedissem, veritus sum, ne solveret. Itaque misi dedita. Erat
enim rescribendum tuis.
How I wish you could have rendered your service to Brutus! So I am
writing to him. I have sent Tiro to Dolabella with a message and a
letter. Summon him to you, and, if you have any pleasant news, write.
But here is a letter from L. Caesar all of a sudden, asking me to come
to him at the Grove or write where I should like to meet him:
Brutus wants me to see him. What a nuisance and what a surprise! I
suppose then I must go, and from there on to Rome, unless I change my
mind. At present I am only sending you a short note, for I have not
heard yet from Balbus. So I am looking for a letter from you to tell me
not only what has happened but what is going to happen.
Latin / Greek Original
undecimo Kal. accepi in Arpinati duas epistulas tuas, quibus duabus meis respondisti. Vna erat xv Kal., altera xii data. ad superiorem igitur prius. accurres in Tusculanum, ut scribis; quo me vi Kal. venturum arbitrabar. quod scribis parendum victoribus, non mihi quidem cui sunt multa potiora. nam illa quae recordaris Lentulo et Marcello consulibus acta in aede Apollinis, nec causa eadem est nec simile tempus, praesertim cum Marcellum scribas aliosque discedere. erit igitur nobis coram odorandum et constituendum tutone Romae esse possimus. Novi conventus habitatores sane movent; in magnis enim versamur angustiis. sed sunt ista parvi; quin et maiora contemnimus. calvae testamentum cognovi, hominis turpis ac sordidi; tabula Demonici quod tibi curae est gratum. de malo scripsi iam pridem ad Dolabellam accuratissime, modo redditae litterae sint. eius causa et cupio et debeo. [2] venio ad propiorem. cognovi de Alexione quae desiderabam. Hirtius est tuus. Antonio, quoniam est, volo peius esse. de Quinto filio, ut scribis, A. M. C. de patre coram agemus. Brutum omni re qua possum cupio iuvare. cuius de oratiuncula idem te quod me sentire video. sed parum intellego quid me velis scribere quasi a Bruto habita oratione, cum ille ediderit. qui tandem convenit? an sic ut in tyrannum iure optimo caesum? multa dicentur, multa scribentur a nobis sed alio modo et tempore. de sella Caesaris bene tribuni; praeclaros etiam xiv ordines! Brutum apud me fuisse gaudeo, modo et libenter fuerit et sat diu.