Marcus Tullius Cicero→Unknown|c. -49 AD|Cicero|Human translated
I had only just arrived from Arpinum when your letter was delivered to me; and from the same bearer I received a letter from Arrianus,[553] in which there was this most liberal offer, that when he came to Rome he would enter my debt to him on whatever day I chose. Pray put yourself in my place: is it consistent with your modesty or mine, first to prefer a request as to the day, and then to ask more than a year's credit? But, my dear Gallus, everything would have been easy, if you had bought the things I wanted, and only up to the price that I wished. However, the purchases which, according to your letter, you have made shall not only be ratified by me, but with gratitude besides: for I fully understand that you have displayed zeal and affection in purchasing (because you thought them worthy of me) things which pleased yourself--a man, as I have ever thought, of the most fastidious judgment in all matters of taste. Still, I should like Damasippus[554] to abide by his decision: for there is absolutely none of those purchases that I care to have. But you, being unacquainted with my habits, have bought four or five of your selection at a price at which I do not value any statues in the world. You compare your Bacchæ with Metellus's Muses. Where is the likeness? To begin with, I should never have considered the Muses worth all that money, and I think all the Muses would have approved my judgment: still, it would have been appropriate to a library, and in harmony with my pursuits. But Bacchæ! What place is there in my house for them? But, you will say, they are pretty. I know them very well and have often seen them. I would have commissioned you definitely in the case of statues known to me, if I had decided on them. The sort of statues that I am accustomed to buy are such as may adorn a place in a _palæstra_ after the fashion of gymnasia.[555] What, again, have I, the promoter of peace, to do with a statue of Mars? I am glad there was not a statue of Saturn also: for I should have thought these two statues had brought me debt! I should have preferred some representation of Mercury: I might then, I suppose, have made a more favourable bargain with Arrianus. You say you meant the table-stand[556] for yourself; well, if you like it, keep it. But if you have changed your mind I will, of course, have it. For the money you have laid out, indeed, I would rather have purchased a place of call at Tarracina,[557] to prevent my being always a burden on my host. Altogether I perceive that the fault is with my freedman, whom I had distinctly commissioned to purchase certain definite things, and also with Iunius, whom I think you know, an intimate friend of Arrianus. I have constructed some new sitting-rooms in a miniature colonnade on my Tusculan property. I want to ornament them with pictures: for if I take pleasure in anything of that sort it is in painting. However, if I am to have what you have bought, I should like you to inform me where they are, when they are to be fetched, and by what kind of conveyance. For if Damasippus doesn't abide by his decision, I shall look for some would-be Damasippus,[558] even at a loss. As to what you say about the house, as I was going out of town I intrusted the matter to my daughter Tullia:[559] for it was at the very hour of my departure that I got your letter. I also discussed the matter with your friend Nicias, because he is, as you know, intimate with Cassius. On my return, however, before I got your last letter, I asked Tullia what she had done. She said that she had approached Licinia[560] (though I think Cassius is not very intimate with his sister), and that she at once said that she could not venture, in the absence of her husband (Dexius is gone to Spain), to change houses without his being there and knowing about it. I am much gratified that you should value association with me and my domestic life so highly, as, in the first place, to take a house which would enable you to live not only near me, but absolutely with me, and, in the second place, to be in such a hurry to make this change of residence. But, upon my life, I do not yield to you in eagerness for that arrangement. So I will try every means in my power. For I see the advantage to myself, and, indeed, the advantages to us both. If I succeed in doing anything, I will let you know. Mind you also write me word back on everything, and let me know, if you please, when I am to expect you.
XXIII. Scr. Romae (ante Tulliae obitum et post initium belli civilis, fortasse a.u.c. 708). M. CICERO S. D. M. FADIO GALLO.
Tantum quod ex Arpinati veneram, cum mihi a te litterae redditae sunt, ab eodemque accepi Avianii litteras, in quibus hoc inerat liberalissimum, nomina se facturum, cum venisset, qua ego vellem die. Fac, quaeso, qui ego sum, esse te: estne aut tui pudoris aut nostri primum rogare de die. deinde plus annua postulare? sed essent, mi Galle, omnia facilia, si et ea mercatus esses, quae ego desiderabam, et ad eam summam, quam volueram; ac tamen ista ipsa, quae te emisse scribis, non solum rata mihi erunt, sed etiam grata; plane enim intelligo te non modo studio, sed etiam amore usum, quae te delectarint, hominem, ut ego semper iudicavi, in omni iudicio elegantissimum, quae me digna putaris, coÎmisse. Sed velim maneat Damasippus in sententia; prorsus enim ex istis emptionibus nullam desidero; tu autem ignarus instituti mei, quanti ego genus omnino signorum omnium non aestimo, tanti ista quattuor aut quinque sumpsisti. Bacchas istas cum Musis Metelli comparas: quid simile? primum ipsas ego Musas numquam tanti putassem, atque id fecissem Musis omnibus approbantibus, sed tamen erant aptum bibliothecae studiisque nostris congruens; Bacchis vero ubi est apud me locus? "At pulchellae sunt." Novi optime et saepe vidi: nominatim tibi signa mihi nota mandasem, si probassem; ea enim signa ego emere soleo, quae ad similitudinem gymnasiorum exornent mihi in palaestra locum. Martis vero signum quo mihi pacis auctori? gaudeo nullum Saturni signum fuisse; haec enim duo signa putarem mihi aes alienum attulisse. Mercurii mallem aliquod fuisset: felicius, puto, cum Avianio transigere possemus. Quod tibi destinaras trapezophorum, si te delectat, habebis; sin autem sententiam mutasti, ego habebo scilicet. Ista quidem summa ne ego multo libentius emerim deversorium Tarracinae, ne semper hospiti molestus sim. Omnino liberti mei video esse culpam, cui plane res certas mandaram, itemque Iunii, quem puto tibi notum esse Avianii familiarem. Exedria quaedam mihi nova sunt instituta in porticula Tusculani: ea volebam tabellis ornare; etenim, si quid generis istiusmodi me delectat, pictura delectat. Sed tamen, si ista mihi sunt habenda, certiorem velim me facias, ubi sint, quando arcessantur, quo genere vecturae; si enim Damasippus in sententia non manebit, aliquem Pseudodamasippum vel cum iactura reperiemus. Quod ad me de domo scribis iterum, iam id ego proficiscens mandaram meae Tulliae; ea enim ipsa hora acceperam tuas litteras; egeram etiam cum tuo Nicia, quod is utitur, ut scis, familiariter Cassio. Ut redii autem, priusquam tuas legi has proximas litteras, quaesivi de mea Tullia, quid egisset: per Liciniam se egisse dicebat—sed opinor Cassium uti non ita multum sorore—; eam porro negare se audere, cum vir abesset—est enim profectus in Hispaniam Dexius—, illo et absente et insciente migrare. Est mihi gratissimum tanti a te aestimatam consuetudinem vitae victusque nostri, primum ut eam domum sumeres, ut non modo prope me, sed plane mecum habitare posses, deinde ut migrare tanto opere festines. Sed ne vivam, si tibi concedo, ut eius rei tu cupidior sis, quam ego sum: itaque omnia experiar; video enim, quid mea intersit, quid utriusque nostrum. Si quid egero, faciam, ut scias: tu et ad omnia rescribes et, quando te exspectem, facies me, si tibi videtur, certiorem.
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I had only just arrived from Arpinum when your letter was delivered to me; and from the same bearer I received a letter from Arrianus,[553] in which there was this most liberal offer, that when he came to Rome he would enter my debt to him on whatever day I chose. Pray put yourself in my place: is it consistent with your modesty or mine, first to prefer a request as to the day, and then to ask more than a year's credit? But, my dear Gallus, everything would have been easy, if you had bought the things I wanted, and only up to the price that I wished. However, the purchases which, according to your letter, you have made shall not only be ratified by me, but with gratitude besides: for I fully understand that you have displayed zeal and affection in purchasing (because you thought them worthy of me) things which pleased yourself--a man, as I have ever thought, of the most fastidious judgment in all matters of taste. Still, I should like Damasippus[554] to abide by his decision: for there is absolutely none of those purchases that I care to have. But you, being unacquainted with my habits, have bought four or five of your selection at a price at which I do not value any statues in the world. You compare your Bacchæ with Metellus's Muses. Where is the likeness? To begin with, I should never have considered the Muses worth all that money, and I think all the Muses would have approved my judgment: still, it would have been appropriate to a library, and in harmony with my pursuits. But Bacchæ! What place is there in my house for them? But, you will say, they are pretty. I know them very well and have often seen them. I would have commissioned you definitely in the case of statues known to me, if I had decided on them. The sort of statues that I am accustomed to buy are such as may adorn a place in a _palæstra_ after the fashion of gymnasia.[555] What, again, have I, the promoter of peace, to do with a statue of Mars? I am glad there was not a statue of Saturn also: for I should have thought these two statues had brought me debt! I should have preferred some representation of Mercury: I might then, I suppose, have made a more favourable bargain with Arrianus. You say you meant the table-stand[556] for yourself; well, if you like it, keep it. But if you have changed your mind I will, of course, have it. For the money you have laid out, indeed, I would rather have purchased a place of call at Tarracina,[557] to prevent my being always a burden on my host. Altogether I perceive that the fault is with my freedman, whom I had distinctly commissioned to purchase certain definite things, and also with Iunius, whom I think you know, an intimate friend of Arrianus. I have constructed some new sitting-rooms in a miniature colonnade on my Tusculan property. I want to ornament them with pictures: for if I take pleasure in anything of that sort it is in painting. However, if I am to have what you have bought, I should like you to inform me where they are, when they are to be fetched, and by what kind of conveyance. For if Damasippus doesn't abide by his decision, I shall look for some would-be Damasippus,[558] even at a loss. As to what you say about the house, as I was going out of town I intrusted the matter to my daughter Tullia:[559] for it was at the very hour of my departure that I got your letter. I also discussed the matter with your friend Nicias, because he is, as you know, intimate with Cassius. On my return, however, before I got your last letter, I asked Tullia what she had done. She said that she had approached Licinia[560] (though I think Cassius is not very intimate with his sister), and that she at once said that she could not venture, in the absence of her husband (Dexius is gone to Spain), to change houses without his being there and knowing about it. I am much gratified that you should value association with me and my domestic life so highly, as, in the first place, to take a house which would enable you to live not only near me, but absolutely with me, and, in the second place, to be in such a hurry to make this change of residence. But, upon my life, I do not yield to you in eagerness for that arrangement. So I will try every means in my power. For I see the advantage to myself, and, indeed, the advantages to us both. If I succeed in doing anything, I will let you know. Mind you also write me word back on everything, and let me know, if you please, when I am to expect you.
Latin / Greek Original
XXIII. Scr. Romae (ante Tulliae obitum et post initium belli civilis, fortasse a.u.c. 708). M. CICERO S. D. M. FADIO GALLO.
Tantum quod ex Arpinati veneram, cum mihi a te litterae redditae sunt, ab eodemque accepi Avianii litteras, in quibus hoc inerat liberalissimum, nomina se facturum, cum venisset, qua ego vellem die. Fac, quaeso, qui ego sum, esse te: estne aut tui pudoris aut nostri primum rogare de die. deinde plus annua postulare? sed essent, mi Galle, omnia facilia, si et ea mercatus esses, quae ego desiderabam, et ad eam summam, quam volueram; ac tamen ista ipsa, quae te emisse scribis, non solum rata mihi erunt, sed etiam grata; plane enim intelligo te non modo studio, sed etiam amore usum, quae te delectarint, hominem, ut ego semper iudicavi, in omni iudicio elegantissimum, quae me digna putaris, coÎmisse. Sed velim maneat Damasippus in sententia; prorsus enim ex istis emptionibus nullam desidero; tu autem ignarus instituti mei, quanti ego genus omnino signorum omnium non aestimo, tanti ista quattuor aut quinque sumpsisti. Bacchas istas cum Musis Metelli comparas: quid simile? primum ipsas ego Musas numquam tanti putassem, atque id fecissem Musis omnibus approbantibus, sed tamen erant aptum bibliothecae studiisque nostris congruens; Bacchis vero ubi est apud me locus? "At pulchellae sunt." Novi optime et saepe vidi: nominatim tibi signa mihi nota mandasem, si probassem; ea enim signa ego emere soleo, quae ad similitudinem gymnasiorum exornent mihi in palaestra locum. Martis vero signum quo mihi pacis auctori? gaudeo nullum Saturni signum fuisse; haec enim duo signa putarem mihi aes alienum attulisse. Mercurii mallem aliquod fuisset: felicius, puto, cum Avianio transigere possemus. Quod tibi destinaras trapezophorum, si te delectat, habebis; sin autem sententiam mutasti, ego habebo scilicet. Ista quidem summa ne ego multo libentius emerim deversorium Tarracinae, ne semper hospiti molestus sim. Omnino liberti mei video esse culpam, cui plane res certas mandaram, itemque Iunii, quem puto tibi notum esse Avianii familiarem. Exedria quaedam mihi nova sunt instituta in porticula Tusculani: ea volebam tabellis ornare; etenim, si quid generis istiusmodi me delectat, pictura delectat. Sed tamen, si ista mihi sunt habenda, certiorem velim me facias, ubi sint, quando arcessantur, quo genere vecturae; si enim Damasippus in sententia non manebit, aliquem Pseudodamasippum vel cum iactura reperiemus. Quod ad me de domo scribis iterum, iam id ego proficiscens mandaram meae Tulliae; ea enim ipsa hora acceperam tuas litteras; egeram etiam cum tuo Nicia, quod is utitur, ut scis, familiariter Cassio. Ut redii autem, priusquam tuas legi has proximas litteras, quaesivi de mea Tullia, quid egisset: per Liciniam se egisse dicebat—sed opinor Cassium uti non ita multum sorore—; eam porro negare se audere, cum vir abesset—est enim profectus in Hispaniam Dexius—, illo et absente et insciente migrare. Est mihi gratissimum tanti a te aestimatam consuetudinem vitae victusque nostri, primum ut eam domum sumeres, ut non modo prope me, sed plane mecum habitare posses, deinde ut migrare tanto opere festines. Sed ne vivam, si tibi concedo, ut eius rei tu cupidior sis, quam ego sum: itaque omnia experiar; video enim, quid mea intersit, quid utriusque nostrum. Si quid egero, faciam, ut scias: tu et ad omnia rescribes et, quando te exspectem, facies me, si tibi videtur, certiorem.