Letter 13: Cicero writes to Quintus in the country from Rome in February 54 BC.
Marcus Tullius Cicero→Quintus Tullius Cicero|c. 54 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Quintus' country estate|AI-assisted
familypoliticsadministration
Imported from the public-domain Shuckburgh translation with Latin text paired from The Latin Library.
MARCUS TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS, GREETINGS.
1. Your note has, by its scolding, extorted this letter out of me; for the actual state of affairs, and the very day on which you set out, gave me really no subject worth writing about. But just as, when we are together face to face, we are never at a loss for conversation, so our letters ought now and then to ramble on at random.
2. Well then: the liberty of the people of Tenedos has been cut off with a Tenedian axe [a proverbial expression for a sharp, summary verdict; Tenedos, an island off the Troad], since no one defended them except myself and Bibulus and Calidius and Favonius. Honorable mention was made of you by the envoys of the Magnesians from Sipylus [Magnesia ad Sipylum, in Asia], when they said that you alone had withstood the demand of Lucius Sestius Pansa. On the remaining days, if there is anything you need to know, or even if there is nothing, I shall nonetheless write you something every day: on the day before the Ides I shall not fail either you or Pomponius.
3. The poems of Lucretius are, as you write, just so: full of many flashes of genius, and of much art as well. But when you come back, I shall count you a man indeed if you have read the Empedoclea of Sallustius; I shall not count you a human being.
Your note by its strong language has drawn out this letter. For as to what actually occurred on the day of your start, it supplied me with absolutely no subject for writing. But as when we are together we are never at a loss for something to say, so ought our letters at times to digress into loose chat. Well then, to begin, the liberty of the Tenedians has received short shrift, no one speaking for them except myself, Bibulus, Calidius, and Favonius. A complimentary reference to you was made by the legates from Magnesia ad Sipylum, they saying that you were the man who alone had resisted the demand of L. Sestius Pansa. On the remaining days of this business in the senate, if anything occurs which you ought to know, or even if there is nothing, I will write you something every day. On the 12th I will not fail you or Pomponius. The poems of Lucretius are as you say—with many flashes of genius, yet very technical. But when you return, ... if you succeed in reading the Empedoclea of Sallustius, I shall regard you as a hero, yet scarcely human.
IX. Scr. ineunte mense Februario (a. d. III. Id.?) a.u.c. 700.
MARCUS QUINTO FRATRI SALUTEM.
1. Epistulam hanc convicio efflagitarunt codicilli tui; nam res quidem ipsa et is dies, quo tu es profectus, nihil mihi ad scribendum argumenti sane dabat; sed, quemadmodum, coram cum sumus, sermo nobis deesse non solet, sic epistulae nostrae debent interdum alucinari. 2. Tenediorum igitur libertas securi Tenedia praecisa est, cum eos praeter me et Bibulum et Calidium et Favonium nemo defenderet; de te a Magnetibus ab Sipylo mentio est honorifica facta, cum te unum dicerent postulationi L. Sestii Pansae restitisse. Reliquis diebus si quid erit, quod te scire opus sit, aut etiam si nihil erit, tamen scribam quotidie aliquid: pridie Idus neque tibi neque Pomponio deero. 3. Lucretii poemata, ut scribis, ita sunt: multis luminibus ingenii, multae etiam artis; sed, cum veneris, virum te putabo, si Sallustii Empedoclea legeris, hominem non putabo.
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MARCUS TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS, GREETINGS.
1. Your note has, by its scolding, extorted this letter out of me; for the actual state of affairs, and the very day on which you set out, gave me really no subject worth writing about. But just as, when we are together face to face, we are never at a loss for conversation, so our letters ought now and then to ramble on at random.
2. Well then: the liberty of the people of Tenedos has been cut off with a Tenedian axe [a proverbial expression for a sharp, summary verdict; Tenedos, an island off the Troad], since no one defended them except myself and Bibulus and Calidius and Favonius. Honorable mention was made of you by the envoys of the Magnesians from Sipylus [Magnesia ad Sipylum, in Asia], when they said that you alone had withstood the demand of Lucius Sestius Pansa. On the remaining days, if there is anything you need to know, or even if there is nothing, I shall nonetheless write you something every day: on the day before the Ides I shall not fail either you or Pomponius.
3. The poems of Lucretius are, as you write, just so: full of many flashes of genius, and of much art as well. But when you come back, I shall count you a man indeed if you have read the Empedoclea of Sallustius; I shall not count you a human being.
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
IX. Scr. ineunte mense Februario (a. d. III. Id.?) a.u.c. 700. MARCUS QUINTO FRATRI SALUTEM.
1. Epistulam hanc convicio efflagitarunt codicilli tui; nam res quidem ipsa et is dies, quo tu es profectus, nihil mihi ad scribendum argumenti sane dabat; sed, quemadmodum, coram cum sumus, sermo nobis deesse non solet, sic epistulae nostrae debent interdum alucinari. 2. Tenediorum igitur libertas securi Tenedia praecisa est, cum eos praeter me et Bibulum et Calidium et Favonium nemo defenderet; de te a Magnetibus ab Sipylo mentio est honorifica facta, cum te unum dicerent postulationi L. Sestii Pansae restitisse. Reliquis diebus si quid erit, quod te scire opus sit, aut etiam si nihil erit, tamen scribam quotidie aliquid: pridie Idus neque tibi neque Pomponio deero. 3. Lucretii poemata, ut scribis, ita sunt: multis luminibus ingenii, multae etiam artis; sed, cum veneris, virum te putabo, si Sallustii Empedoclea legeris, hominem non putabo.