Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. -60 AD|Cicero|AI-assisted
In the letter I gave to Numestius, I summoned you with such urgency that nothing sharper or more pressing could be managed. To that speed add still more, if you can. And do not be alarmed—for I know you and am well aware how anxious and troubled all love is—but the matter, I hope, is not so troublesome in its outcome as in its approach.
That Vettius, that famous informer of ours, promised Caesar, as we can see, that he would arrange for young Curio to be brought under some suspicion of criminal activity. Accordingly he wormed his way into the young man's intimacy and, having met with him frequently as events show, brought matters to the point where he declared that he was resolved to make an attack on Pompey with his own slaves and kill him. Curio reported this to his father, who reported it to Pompey. The matter was brought before the Senate. When brought in, Vettius at first denied that he had ever had any meeting with Curio—though he did not maintain that very long, for he immediately demanded a public guarantee of immunity. There were shouts of protest. Then he laid out that there had been a band of young men under Curio's leadership, in which Paulus had originally taken part, along with Quintus Caepio—that is, our Brutus here—and Lentulus, the flamen's son, with his father's knowledge; and that afterward Gaius Septimius, Bibulus's secretary, had brought him a dagger from Bibulus. The whole thing was laughed at—that Vettius should have lacked a dagger unless the consul gave him one—and the charge was dismissed all the more because on the third day before the Ides of May, Bibulus had warned Pompey to guard against plots, for which Pompey had thanked him.
Young Curio was brought in and spoke against what Vettius had said. Vettius was especially criticized on this point: that he had said it was the young men's plan to attack Pompey in the forum during the gladiatorial games of Gabinius, and that Paulus had been the ringleader in this—when it was well established that Paulus was in Macedonia at the time. A decree of the Senate was passed that Vettius, since he had confessed to carrying a weapon, should be thrown into chains, and that anyone who released him would be acting against the state. The prevailing opinion was that the scheme had been for Vettius to be caught in the forum with a dagger, and likewise his slaves with weapons, and then for him to say he would turn informer—and this would have happened had the Curios not reported the matter to Pompey beforehand. Then the Senate's decree was read out at a public assembly. But the next day Caesar—the same man who once, when he was praetor, had ordered Quintus Catulus to speak from the lower place—brought Vettius out onto the Rostra and stationed him in a spot where the consul Bibulus could not get near. There Vettius said everything he wished about public affairs, like a man who had come coached and trained. First he removed Caepio from his statement—the very man he had named most vehemently in the Senate—so that it was obvious a night and nocturnal intercession had intervened. Then he named persons whom he had not touched with even the slightest suspicion in the Senate: Lucius Lucullus, from whom, he said, Gaius Fannius—the one who had supported the prosecution against Publius Clodius—used to be sent to him; and Lucius Domitius, whose house, he said, had been designated as the base from which the attack would be launched. He did not name me, but said that a consular orator, a neighbor of the consul, had told him that some Servilius Ahala or some Brutus needed to be found. He added at the end, after the assembly had already been dismissed and he had been called back by Vatinius, that he had heard from Curio that Piso my son-in-law and Marcus Laterensis were privy to these matters.
Now Vettius was a defendant before the wealthy Crassus on a charge of violence, and if convicted, he intended to demand the right to turn informer. Had he obtained it, there would apparently have been trials. These things I—being one who is accustomed to take nothing lightly—did not treat with contempt, but neither did I greatly fear them. The greatest goodwill of people toward me was being shown on all sides. But I am truly weary of life—everything is so utterly full of every kind of misery. Just now we had feared massacre—which the courageous speech of old Quintus Considius had dispelled—and dangers that we could dread daily suddenly sprang up again. What can I say? No one is more unfortunate than Catulus was fortunate, both in the splendor of his life and in the timing of his death. Yet amid these miseries I maintain a resolute and quite untroubled spirit, and I guard my dignity with the greatest care.
Pompey tells me not to worry about Clodius and expresses the utmost goodwill toward me in every conversation. I want to have you as an adviser in my plans, a companion in my anxieties, a partner in my every thought. Therefore, as I instructed Numestius to discuss with you, likewise and even more urgently—
In the letter I gave to Numestius I made a most urgent and pressing
appeal to you to come. To the speed I then enjoined add something, if
you possibly can. And don’t be alarmed (for I know you and don’t forget
that to love “It is to be all made of sighs and tears”): the matter
I hope is one that will
spero, non tam exitu molesta quam aditu. Vettius ille, ille noster
index, Caesari, ut perspicimus, pollicitus est sese curaturum, ut in
aliquam suspicionem facinoris Curio filius adduceretur. Itaque
insinuavit in familiaritatem adulescentis et cum eo, ut res indicat,
saepe congressus rem in eum locum deduxit, ut diceret sibi certum esse
cum suis servis in Pompeium impetum facere eumque occidere. Hoc Curio ad
patrem detulit, ille ad Pompeium. Res delata ad senatum est. Introductus
Vettius primo negabat se umquam cum Curione constitisse, neque id sane
diu; nam statim fidem publicam postulavit. Reclamatum est. Tum exposuit
manum fuisse iuventutis duce Curione, in qua Paulus initio fuisset et Q.
Caepio hic Brutus et Lentulus, flaminis filius, conscio patre; postea C.
Septimium, scribam Bibuli, pugionem sibi a Bibulo attulisse. Quod totum
irrisum est, Vettio pugionem defuisse, nisi ei consul dedisset, eoque
magis id eiectum est, quod a. d. III Idus Mai. Bibulus Pompeium fecerat
certiorem, ut caveret insidias; in quo ei Pompeius gratias egerat.
Introductus Curio filius dixit ad ea, quae Vettius dixerat, maximeque in
eo tum quidem Vettius est reprehensus, quod dixerat id fuisse
adulescentium consilium, ut in foro gladiatoribus Gabini Pompeium
adorirentur; in eo principem Paulum fuisse, quem constabat eo tempore in
Macedonia fuisse. Fit senatus
not be so troublesome at the end as at the beginning. That fellow
Vettius, my famous informer, promised Caesar, so far as we can see, that
he would get some criminal suspicion thrown on young Curio. So he wormed
his way into intimacy with the young man and after meeting him often, as
events prove, he went so far as to declare that he was determined to
make an attack on Pompey with the assistance of his slaves, and to slay
him. Curio told his father of this, and he told Pompey. The affair was
reported to the Senate. Vettius was summoned before them and at first
denied that he had ever had an appointment with Curio. However he did
not stick to that tale long; but at once claimed the privilege of king’s
evidence. Amid cries of “no,” he began to explain that there had been a
confederacy of the younger men under the leadership of Curio, to which
Paulus at first belonged and Q. Caepio, Brutus I mean, and Lentulus, the
flamen’s son, with his father’s consent; and then that C. Septimius,
Bibulus’ secretary, had brought him a dagger from Bibulus. The idea of
Vettius not having a dagger, unless the consul gave him one, and the
rest of it, was too much for anybody’s gravity: and the charge was
scouted the more because Bibulus had warned Pompey on the 13th of May to
be on his guard against plots; and Pompey had thanked him for the
advice.
Young Curio was brought in and repelled Vettius’ assertions: and the
point for which Vettius was especially jumped on was saying that the
young men’s intention was to attack Pompey in the forum at the
gladiatorial show which Gabinius gave, and that Paulus was to be the
leader, when it was well known that he was in Macedonia at the time. The
House decreed
consultum, ut Vettius, quod confessus esset se cum telo fuisse, in
vincula coniceretur; qui emisisset, eum contra rem publicam esse
facturum. Res erat in ea opinione, ut putarent id esse actum, ut Vettius
in foro cum pugione et item servi eius comprehenderentur cum telis,
deinde ille se diceret indicaturum. Idque ita factum esset, nisi
Curiones rem ante ad Pompeium detulissent. Tum senatus consultum in
contione recitatum est. Postero autem die Caesar, is qui olim, praetor
cum esset, Q. Catulum ex inferiore loco iusserat dicere, Vettium in
rostra produxit eumque in eo loco constituit, quo Bibulo consuli
adspirare non liceret. Hic ille omnia, quae voluit de re publica, dixit,
et qui illuc factus institutusque venisset, primum Caepionem de oratione
sua sustulit, quem in senatu acerrime nominarat, ut appareret noctem et
nocturnam deprecationem intercessisse. Deinde, quos in senatu ne
tenuissima quidem suspicione attigerat, eos nominavit, L. Lucullum, a
quo solitum esse ad se mitti C. Fannium, illum qui in P. Clodium
subscripserat, L. Domitium, cuius domum constitutam fuisse, unde eruptio
fieret. Me non nominavit, sed dixit consularem disertum vicinum consulis
sibi dixisse Ahalam Servilium aliquem aut Brutum opus esse reperiri.
Addidit ad extremum, cum iam dimissa contione revocatus a Vatinio
fuisset, se audisse a Curione his de rebus conscium esse Pisonem,
generum meum, et M. Laterensem.
Nunc reus erat apud Crassum Divitem Vettius de vi et, cum esset
damnatus, erat indicium postulaturus.
that Vettius should be committed on his own confession of having carried
a weapon; and that it should be high treason to release him. The view
most generally held is that it was a put up job: Vettius was to be
discovered in the forum with a dagger and his slaves round him with
weapons, and then he was to turn king’s evidence: and it would have come
off, if the Curios had not reported the matter to Pompey. Then the
senatorial decree was read aloud to an assembly. On the next day,
however, Caesar, the man who as praetor some years ago had bidden Q.
Catulus speak from the floor, brought Vettius out on the rostra, and set
him in a place which was beyond Bibulus’ aspiration, though a consul.
Here he said anything he liked about public affairs; and, as he had come
ready primed and tutored, he omitted all mention of Caepio, though he
had named him most emphatically in the House: so it was obvious that a
night and a nocturnal appeal had intervened. Then he mentioned people on
whom he had not cast the slightest suspicion in the House,—L. Lucullus,
who, he said, generally used to send to him C. Fannius, the man who once
supported a prosecution of P. Clodius, and L. Domitius, whose house was
to be the basis of operations. My name he did not mention, but he said
that an eloquent ex-consul, a neighbour of the consul, had remarked to
him that we stood in need of a Servilius Ahala or a Brutus. He added at
the end, when he had been called back by Vatinius after the assembly was
dismissed, that he had heard from Curio that Piso, my son-in-law, was in
the plot, and M. Laterensis too.
Now Vettius is on trial for violence before Crassus Dives, and, when he
is condemned, he will claim to turn
Quod si impetrasset, iudicia fore videbantur. Ea nos, utpote qui nihil
contemnere soleremus, non pertimescebamus. Hominum quidem summa erga nos
studia significabantur; sed prorsus vitae taedet; ita sunt omnia omnium
miseriarum plenissima. Modo caedem timueramus quam oratio fortissimi
senis, Q. Considi, discusserat: ea, ea, inquam, quam cotidie timere
potueramus, subito exorta est. Quid quaeris? nihil me infortunatius,
nihil fortunatius est Catulo cum splendore vitae tum mortis tempore. Nos
tamen in his miseriis erecto animo et minime perturbato sumus
honestissimeque et dignitatem et auctoritatem nostram magna cura tuemur.
Pompeius de Clodio iubet nos esse sine cura et summam in nos
benevolentiam omni oratione significat. Te habere consiliorum auctorem,
sollicitudinum socium, omni in cogitatione coniunctum cupio. Quare, ut
Numestio mandavi, tecum ut ageret, item atque eo, si potest, acrius, te
rogo, ut plane ad nos advoles. Respiraro, si te videro.
quas Numestio litteras dedi, sic te iis evocabam ut nihil acrius neque incitatius fieri posset. ad illam celeritatem adde etiam si quid potes. ac ne sis perturbatus (novi enim te et non ignoro quam sit amor omnis sollicitus atque anxius)—sed res est, ut spero, non tam exitu molesta quam aditu. [2] Vettius ille, ille noster index, Caesari, ut perspicimus, pollicitus est sese curaturum ut in aliquam suspicionem facinoris Curio filius adduceretur. itaque insinuavit in familiaritatem adulescentis et cum eo ut res indicat, saepe congressus rem in eum locum deduxit ut diceret sibi certum esse cum suis servis in Pompeium impetum facere eumque occidere. hoc Curio ad patrem detulit, ille ad Pompeium. res delata ad senatum est. introductus Vettius primo negabat se umquam cum Curione constitisse, neque id sane diu; nam statim fidem publicam postulavit. reclamatum est. tum exposuit manum fuisse iuventutis duce Curione, in qua Paulus initio fuisset et Q. Caepio hic Brutus et Lentulus, flaminis filius, conscio patre; postea C. Septimium scribam Bibuli pugionem sibi a Bibulo attulisse. quod totum inrisum est, Vettio pugionem defuisse nisi ei consul dedisset, eoque magis id eiectum est quod a. d. iii Idus Maias Bibulus Pompeium fecerat certiorem ut caveret insidias; in quo ei Pompeius gratias egerat. [3] introductus Curio filius dixit ad ea quae Vettius dixerat, maximeque in eo tum quidem Vettius est reprehensus quod dixerat adulescentium consilium ut in foro [cum] gladiatoribus Gabini Pompeium adorirentur; in eo principem Paulum fuisse, quem constabat eo tempore in Macedonia fuisse. fit senatus consultum ut Vettius, quod confessus esset se cum telo fuisse, in vincula coniceretur; qui emisisset, eum contra rem publicam esse facturum. res erat in ea opinione ut putarent id esse actum ut Vettius in foro cum pugione et item servi eius comprehenderentur cum telis, deinde ille se diceret indicaturum. idque ita factum esset nisi Curiones rem ante ad Pompeium detulissent. tum senatus consultum in contione recitatum est. postero autem die Caesar, is qui olim praetor cum esset Q. Catulum ex inferiore loco iusserat dicere, Vettium in rostra produxit eumque in eo loco constituit quo Bibulo consuli adspirare non liceret. hic ille omnia quae voluit de re publica dixit, ut qui illuc factus institutusque venisset primum Caepionem de oratione sua sustulit, quem in senatu acerrime nominarat, ut appareret noctem et nocturnam deprecationem intercessisse. deinde quos in senatu ne tenuissima quidem suspicione attigerat, eos nominavit, L. Lucullum, a quo solitum esse ad se mitti C. Fannium, illum qui in P. Clodium subscripserat, L. Domitium, cuius domum constitutam fuisse unde eruptio fieret. me non nominavit sed dixit consularem disertum vicinum consulis sibi dixisse Ahalam Servilium aliquem aut Brutum opus esse reperiri. addidit ad extremum, cum iam dimissa contione revocatus a Vatinio fuisset, se audisse a Curione his de rebus consciunt esse Pisonem generum meum et M. Laterensem. [4] nunc reus erat apud Crassum divitem Vettius de vi et, cum esset damnatus, erat indicium postulaturus. quod si impetrasset, iudicia fore videbantur. ea nos, utpote qui nihil contemnere soleremus, <non contemnabamus sed> non pertimescebamus. hominum quidem summa erga nos studia significabantur; sed prorsus vitae taedet; ita sunt omnia omnium miseriarum plenissima. modo caedem timueramus +que oratio fortissimi senis, Q. Considi, discusserat ea inquam cotidie timere potueramus+, subito exorta est. quid quaeris? nihil me <infortunatus, nihil> fortunatius est Catulo cum splendore vitae tum +hoc+ tempore. nos tamen in his miseriis erecto animo et minime perturbato sumus honestissimeque et dignitatem nostram magna cura tuemur. . [5] Pompeius de Clodio iubet nos esse sine cura et summam in nos benevolentiam omni oratione significat. te habere consiliorum auctorem, sollicitudinum socium, omni in cogitatione coniunctum cupio. qua re ut Numestio mandavi tecum ut ageret, item atque eo, si potest, acrius te rogo ut plane ad nos advoles. Respiraro si te videro.
◆
In the letter I gave to Numestius, I summoned you with such urgency that nothing sharper or more pressing could be managed. To that speed add still more, if you can. And do not be alarmed—for I know you and am well aware how anxious and troubled all love is—but the matter, I hope, is not so troublesome in its outcome as in its approach.
That Vettius, that famous informer of ours, promised Caesar, as we can see, that he would arrange for young Curio to be brought under some suspicion of criminal activity. Accordingly he wormed his way into the young man's intimacy and, having met with him frequently as events show, brought matters to the point where he declared that he was resolved to make an attack on Pompey with his own slaves and kill him. Curio reported this to his father, who reported it to Pompey. The matter was brought before the Senate. When brought in, Vettius at first denied that he had ever had any meeting with Curio—though he did not maintain that very long, for he immediately demanded a public guarantee of immunity. There were shouts of protest. Then he laid out that there had been a band of young men under Curio's leadership, in which Paulus had originally taken part, along with Quintus Caepio—that is, our Brutus here—and Lentulus, the flamen's son, with his father's knowledge; and that afterward Gaius Septimius, Bibulus's secretary, had brought him a dagger from Bibulus. The whole thing was laughed at—that Vettius should have lacked a dagger unless the consul gave him one—and the charge was dismissed all the more because on the third day before the Ides of May, Bibulus had warned Pompey to guard against plots, for which Pompey had thanked him.
Young Curio was brought in and spoke against what Vettius had said. Vettius was especially criticized on this point: that he had said it was the young men's plan to attack Pompey in the forum during the gladiatorial games of Gabinius, and that Paulus had been the ringleader in this—when it was well established that Paulus was in Macedonia at the time. A decree of the Senate was passed that Vettius, since he had confessed to carrying a weapon, should be thrown into chains, and that anyone who released him would be acting against the state. The prevailing opinion was that the scheme had been for Vettius to be caught in the forum with a dagger, and likewise his slaves with weapons, and then for him to say he would turn informer—and this would have happened had the Curios not reported the matter to Pompey beforehand. Then the Senate's decree was read out at a public assembly. But the next day Caesar—the same man who once, when he was praetor, had ordered Quintus Catulus to speak from the lower place—brought Vettius out onto the Rostra and stationed him in a spot where the consul Bibulus could not get near. There Vettius said everything he wished about public affairs, like a man who had come coached and trained. First he removed Caepio from his statement—the very man he had named most vehemently in the Senate—so that it was obvious a night and nocturnal intercession had intervened. Then he named persons whom he had not touched with even the slightest suspicion in the Senate: Lucius Lucullus, from whom, he said, Gaius Fannius—the one who had supported the prosecution against Publius Clodius—used to be sent to him; and Lucius Domitius, whose house, he said, had been designated as the base from which the attack would be launched. He did not name me, but said that a consular orator, a neighbor of the consul, had told him that some Servilius Ahala or some Brutus needed to be found. He added at the end, after the assembly had already been dismissed and he had been called back by Vatinius, that he had heard from Curio that Piso my son-in-law and Marcus Laterensis were privy to these matters.
Now Vettius was a defendant before the wealthy Crassus on a charge of violence, and if convicted, he intended to demand the right to turn informer. Had he obtained it, there would apparently have been trials. These things I—being one who is accustomed to take nothing lightly—did not treat with contempt, but neither did I greatly fear them. The greatest goodwill of people toward me was being shown on all sides. But I am truly weary of life—everything is so utterly full of every kind of misery. Just now we had feared massacre—which the courageous speech of old Quintus Considius had dispelled—and dangers that we could dread daily suddenly sprang up again. What can I say? No one is more unfortunate than Catulus was fortunate, both in the splendor of his life and in the timing of his death. Yet amid these miseries I maintain a resolute and quite untroubled spirit, and I guard my dignity with the greatest care.
Pompey tells me not to worry about Clodius and expresses the utmost goodwill toward me in every conversation. I want to have you as an adviser in my plans, a companion in my anxieties, a partner in my every thought. Therefore, as I instructed Numestius to discuss with you, likewise and even more urgently—
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
quas Numestio litteras dedi, sic te iis evocabam ut nihil acrius neque incitatius fieri posset. ad illam celeritatem adde etiam si quid potes. ac ne sis perturbatus (novi enim te et non ignoro quam sit amor omnis sollicitus atque anxius)—sed res est, ut spero, non tam exitu molesta quam aditu. [2] Vettius ille, ille noster index, Caesari, ut perspicimus, pollicitus est sese curaturum ut in aliquam suspicionem facinoris Curio filius adduceretur. itaque insinuavit in familiaritatem adulescentis et cum eo ut res indicat, saepe congressus rem in eum locum deduxit ut diceret sibi certum esse cum suis servis in Pompeium impetum facere eumque occidere. hoc Curio ad patrem detulit, ille ad Pompeium. res delata ad senatum est. introductus Vettius primo negabat se umquam cum Curione constitisse, neque id sane diu; nam statim fidem publicam postulavit. reclamatum est. tum exposuit manum fuisse iuventutis duce Curione, in qua Paulus initio fuisset et Q. Caepio hic Brutus et Lentulus, flaminis filius, conscio patre; postea C. Septimium scribam Bibuli pugionem sibi a Bibulo attulisse. quod totum inrisum est, Vettio pugionem defuisse nisi ei consul dedisset, eoque magis id eiectum est quod a. d. iii Idus Maias Bibulus Pompeium fecerat certiorem ut caveret insidias; in quo ei Pompeius gratias egerat. [3] introductus Curio filius dixit ad ea quae Vettius dixerat, maximeque in eo tum quidem Vettius est reprehensus quod dixerat adulescentium consilium ut in foro [cum] gladiatoribus Gabini Pompeium adorirentur; in eo principem Paulum fuisse, quem constabat eo tempore in Macedonia fuisse. fit senatus consultum ut Vettius, quod confessus esset se cum telo fuisse, in vincula coniceretur; qui emisisset, eum contra rem publicam esse facturum. res erat in ea opinione ut putarent id esse actum ut Vettius in foro cum pugione et item servi eius comprehenderentur cum telis, deinde ille se diceret indicaturum. idque ita factum esset nisi Curiones rem ante ad Pompeium detulissent. tum senatus consultum in contione recitatum est. postero autem die Caesar, is qui olim praetor cum esset Q. Catulum ex inferiore loco iusserat dicere, Vettium in rostra produxit eumque in eo loco constituit quo Bibulo consuli adspirare non liceret. hic ille omnia quae voluit de re publica dixit, ut qui illuc factus institutusque venisset primum Caepionem de oratione sua sustulit, quem in senatu acerrime nominarat, ut appareret noctem et nocturnam deprecationem intercessisse. deinde quos in senatu ne tenuissima quidem suspicione attigerat, eos nominavit, L. Lucullum, a quo solitum esse ad se mitti C. Fannium, illum qui in P. Clodium subscripserat, L. Domitium, cuius domum constitutam fuisse unde eruptio fieret. me non nominavit sed dixit consularem disertum vicinum consulis sibi dixisse Ahalam Servilium aliquem aut Brutum opus esse reperiri. addidit ad extremum, cum iam dimissa contione revocatus a Vatinio fuisset, se audisse a Curione his de rebus consciunt esse Pisonem generum meum et M. Laterensem. [4] nunc reus erat apud Crassum divitem Vettius de vi et, cum esset damnatus, erat indicium postulaturus. quod si impetrasset, iudicia fore videbantur. ea nos, utpote qui nihil contemnere soleremus, <non contemnabamus sed> non pertimescebamus. hominum quidem summa erga nos studia significabantur; sed prorsus vitae taedet; ita sunt omnia omnium miseriarum plenissima. modo caedem timueramus +que oratio fortissimi senis, Q. Considi, discusserat ea inquam cotidie timere potueramus+, subito exorta est. quid quaeris? nihil me <infortunatus, nihil> fortunatius est Catulo cum splendore vitae tum +hoc+ tempore. nos tamen in his miseriis erecto animo et minime perturbato sumus honestissimeque et dignitatem nostram magna cura tuemur. . [5] Pompeius de Clodio iubet nos esse sine cura et summam in nos benevolentiam omni oratione significat. te habere consiliorum auctorem, sollicitudinum socium, omni in cogitatione coniunctum cupio. qua re ut Numestio mandavi tecum ut ageret, item atque eo, si potest, acrius te rogo ut plane ad nos advoles. Respiraro si te videro.