Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. -60 AD|Cicero|AI-assisted
I don't think you have ever before read a letter of mine not written in my own hand. From that you can gather how overwhelmed I am with business. For since I had no free time at all, and since it was necessary for me to walk about to restore my poor voice, I dictated this while walking.
First, then, I want you to know that our friend Sampsiceramus bitterly regrets his present position and longs to be restored to the place from which he fell. He pours out his grief to me and from time to time openly seeks a remedy, though I can find none. Next, all the leaders and allies of that party are growing old without any opponent; never has there been a greater unanimity of all men, whether in feeling or in talk.
As for me — for I know for certain that you want to know this — I take no part in any public deliberations and have devoted myself entirely to forensic work and labor. As a result of which, as can easily be understood, I find myself dwelling much on the memory and the longing for those things I accomplished.
But the kinsman of our ox-eyed lady is throwing out no small terrors and threats — he denies them to Sampsiceramus, but to everyone else he displays and parades them openly. Therefore, if you love me as much as you surely do, if you are sleeping wake up, if you are standing start walking, if you are walking run, if you are running fly to me. You cannot believe how much I place in your counsel and wisdom, and — what matters most — how much I place in your love and loyalty. The magnitude of the affair perhaps demands a long speech, but the bond between our souls is content with brevity. It matters enormously to me that you be in Rome, if not in time for the elections, at least by the time the results are declared. Take care of your health.
I don’t think you ever before read a letter of mine which I had not
written myself. That will show you how I am plagued to death by
business. As I haven’t a moment to spare, and must take some exercise to
refresh my poor voice, I am dictating this as I walk.
Well, the first thing I have to tell you, is that our friend the Pasha
is heartily sick of his position and wants to be restored to the place
from which he fell. He confides his sorrows to me, and at times openly
looks for a remedy; but for the life of me I cannot find any. Secondly,
the whole of that party, both the principals and their followers, are
losing their strength, though no one opposes them; and there
nec voluntatis nec sermonis maiorem umquam fuisse.
Nos autem (nam id te scire cupere certo scio) publicis consiliis nullis
intersumus totosque nos ad forensem operam laboremque contulimus. Ex
quo, quod facile intellegi possit, in multa commemoratione earum rerum,
quas gessimus, desiderioque versamur. Sed βοώπιδος nostrae consanguineus
non mediocres terrores iacit atque denuntiat et Sampsiceramo negat,
ceteris prae se fert et ostentat. Quam ob rem, si me amas tantum,
quantum profecto amas, si dormis, expergiscere, si stas, ingredere, si
ingrederis, curre, si curris, advola. Credibile non est, quantum ego in
consiliis et prudentia tua, quodque maximum est, quantum in amore et
fide ponam. Magnitudo rei longam orationem fortasse desiderat,
coniunctio vero nostrorum animorum brevitate contenta est. Permagni
nostra interest te, si comitiis non potueris, at declarato illo esse
Romae. Cura, ut valeas.
numquam ante arbitror te epistulam meam legisse nisi mea manu scriptam. ex eo colligere poteris quanta occupatione distinear. nam cum vacui temporis nihil haberem, et cum recreandae voculae causa necesse esset mihi ambulare, haec dictavi ambulans. [2] primum igitur illud te scire volo, Sampsiceramum nostrum amicum vehementer sui status paenitere restituique in eum locum cupere ex quo decidit, doloremque suum impertire nobis et medicinam interdum aperte quaerere, quam ego possum invenire nullam; deinde omnis illius partis auctores ac socios nullo adversario consenescere, consensionem universorum nec voluntatis nec sermonis maiorem umquam fuisse. nos autem (nam id te scire cupere certo scio) publicis a consiliis nullis intersumus totosque nos ad forensem operam laboremque contulimus. ex quo, quod facile intellegi possit, in multa commemoratione earum rerum quas gessimus desiderioque versamur. sed boopidos nostrae consanguineus non mediocris terrores iacit atque denuntiat et Sampsiceramo negat, ceteris prae se fert et ostentat. quam ob rem si me amas tantum quantum profecto amas, si dormis expergiscere, si stas ingredere, si ingrederis curre, si curris advola. credibile non est quantum ego in consiliis prudentia tua, quodque maximum est, quantum in amore et fide ponam. magnitudo rei longam orationem fortasse desiderat, coniunctio vero nostrorum animorum brevitate contenta est. permagni nostra interest te, si comitiis non potueris, at declarato illo esse Romae. cura ut valeas.
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I don't think you have ever before read a letter of mine not written in my own hand. From that you can gather how overwhelmed I am with business. For since I had no free time at all, and since it was necessary for me to walk about to restore my poor voice, I dictated this while walking.
First, then, I want you to know that our friend Sampsiceramus bitterly regrets his present position and longs to be restored to the place from which he fell. He pours out his grief to me and from time to time openly seeks a remedy, though I can find none. Next, all the leaders and allies of that party are growing old without any opponent; never has there been a greater unanimity of all men, whether in feeling or in talk.
As for me — for I know for certain that you want to know this — I take no part in any public deliberations and have devoted myself entirely to forensic work and labor. As a result of which, as can easily be understood, I find myself dwelling much on the memory and the longing for those things I accomplished.
But the kinsman of our ox-eyed lady is throwing out no small terrors and threats — he denies them to Sampsiceramus, but to everyone else he displays and parades them openly. Therefore, if you love me as much as you surely do, if you are sleeping wake up, if you are standing start walking, if you are walking run, if you are running fly to me. You cannot believe how much I place in your counsel and wisdom, and — what matters most — how much I place in your love and loyalty. The magnitude of the affair perhaps demands a long speech, but the bond between our souls is content with brevity. It matters enormously to me that you be in Rome, if not in time for the elections, at least by the time the results are declared. Take care of your health.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
numquam ante arbitror te epistulam meam legisse nisi mea manu scriptam. ex eo colligere poteris quanta occupatione distinear. nam cum vacui temporis nihil haberem, et cum recreandae voculae causa necesse esset mihi ambulare, haec dictavi ambulans. [2] primum igitur illud te scire volo, Sampsiceramum nostrum amicum vehementer sui status paenitere restituique in eum locum cupere ex quo decidit, doloremque suum impertire nobis et medicinam interdum aperte quaerere, quam ego possum invenire nullam; deinde omnis illius partis auctores ac socios nullo adversario consenescere, consensionem universorum nec voluntatis nec sermonis maiorem umquam fuisse. nos autem (nam id te scire cupere certo scio) publicis a consiliis nullis intersumus totosque nos ad forensem operam laboremque contulimus. ex quo, quod facile intellegi possit, in multa commemoratione earum rerum quas gessimus desiderioque versamur. sed boopidos nostrae consanguineus non mediocris terrores iacit atque denuntiat et Sampsiceramo negat, ceteris prae se fert et ostentat. quam ob rem si me amas tantum quantum profecto amas, si dormis expergiscere, si stas ingredere, si ingrederis curre, si curris advola. credibile non est quantum ego in consiliis prudentia tua, quodque maximum est, quantum in amore et fide ponam. magnitudo rei longam orationem fortasse desiderat, coniunctio vero nostrorum animorum brevitate contenta est. permagni nostra interest te, si comitiis non potueris, at declarato illo esse Romae. cura ut valeas.