tūnissimam, commendatiōnem certe singularem habēs, ut tibi ūnum timendum sit, nē ipse tibi defuisse videare. (Ad Fam. VII. 7.)

8. To Tiro, at Patrae.1

Tullius et Cicero S. D. Tirōnī Suō.

4

Septimum iam diem Corcyrae tenēbāmur; Quintus autem pater et filius2 Būthrōti. Solliciti erāmus dē tuā valētūdine mirum in modum, nec mīrābāmur nihil ā tē litterārum; eis enim ventīs istim nāvigātur, qui sī 5 essent, nōs Corcyrae non sedērēmus. Cūrā igitur tē et confirmă et, cum commodē et per valetudinem et per anni tempus navigāre poteris, ad nos amantissimōs tui veni. Nēmō nōs amat, qui të nōn diligat; cārus omnibus exspectatusque veniēs. Cūrā ut valeās. Etiam atque 10 etiam, Tirō noster, valē.

6

(Ad Fam. XVI. 7.)

9. To L. Papirius Paetus.1

Cicero Paetō.

Heri 2 vēnī in Cūmānum,3 cras ad te fortasse. Sed cum certum sciam, faciam tē paulo ante certiōrem. Etsi M. Caepārius, cum mihi in silva Gallīnāriā5 obviam vēnisset quaesīssemque, quid agerēs, dixit tē in lectō esse, 5 quod ex pedibus labōrārēs. Tuli scilicet molestē, ut dēbui, sed tamen cōnstituï ad tē venire, ut et vidērem tē et vīserem et cēnārem etiam; nōn enim arbitror coquum 7

8. 1 From Cicero and his son Tullius to Tiro, his secretary; written at Corcyra, Nov. 17, 50 B.C. 2 The younger Quintus, son of Cicero's brother. 3 at Buthrotum. 4 thence, from Patrae.

3

9. 1 Written at Cumae, Nov. 19, 46 B.C. Paetus was a friend living near Naples. 2 yesterday. my Cumaean estate. 4 and I shall come although. 5a wood in Campania, near Cumae. 6 obviam venisset: had

8

etiam tē arthriticum habere. Expecta igitur hospitem cum minimē edacem, tum inimicum cēnīs sumptuōsīs. (Ad Fam. IX. 23.)

10. To C. Cassius Longinus, in Syria.1

3

Cicero Cassio Sal.

Vellem Idibus Martiis me ad cēnam invītāssēs; reliquiārum2 nihil fuisset. Nunc mē reliquiae vestrae exercent, et quidem praeter cēterōs mē. Quamquam ēgregiōs consulēs habemus, sed turpissimōs cōnsulārēs; senātum fortem, sed infimō 3 quemque honōre fortissimum. Populō 5 vērō nihil fortius, nihil melius, Italiaque universā; nihil autem foedius Philippo et Pisōne lēgātīs, nihil flagitiōsius; qui cum essent missī, ut Antoniō ex senātūs sententiā1 certās rēs nūntiārent, cum ille eārum rērum nūllī pāruisset, ultrō ab illō ad nōs intolerābilia postulāta rettulērunt. 10 Itaque ad nos concurritur, factique iam in rē salūtārī’ populārēs sumus.

5

8

9

Sed tu quid agerēs, quid actūrus, ubi dēnique essēs, nesciēbam. Fāma nuntiābat te esse in Syria; auctor erat nēmō. Dē Brūtō, quo propius est, eo firmiōra videntur 15 esse quae nuntiantur. Dolabella 10 valdē vituperābātur 11 ab hominibus non insulsis, 12 quod tibi tam cito succederet, cum tu vixdum xxx. dies in Syria fuissēs; itaque cōn

attacked with gout. greedy. In joking with Paetus, Cicero always pretended to be a great eater.

10. Written at Rome, Feb. 2, 43 B.C. Cassius, the leading conspirator against Caesar, was governor of Syria, 44-42 B.C. 2 fragments, leavings, i.e., Anthony would also have been killed. The cena was the assassination of Caesar, which Cicero applauded. 3 infimo. honore: the lowest in rank. 4 in accordance with the vote. 5 on his part. i.e., my house is thronged. in re salutari: though supporting a sound constitutional measure. 8 trans. the impf., ageres, essēs. . . erat by the pres. (180). 9 as. 10 Dolabella, who was to succeed Cassius, scarcely allowed him the legal month's grace to leave the province. 11 was criticised. insulsis: of wit.

12 non

stābat eum recipi in Syriam nōn oportere. Summa laus et 20 tua et Brūtī est, quod exercitum praeter spem existimāmini comparasse. Scriberem plūra, si rem causamque nōssem; nunc quae scribo, scrībō ex opiniōne hominum atque fāmā. Tuas litteras avidē exspectō. Valē. (Ad Fam. XII. 4.)

AD T. POMPONIUM ATTICUM

Cicero's essay "De Senectute

is a treatise in praise of old age, so charmingly written that Montaigne said of it, that "it made one long to grow old." It is cast in the form of a dialogue, in which Marcus Cato the Elder, in his eighty-fourth year, converses with two young companions, Scipio Africanus and Gaius Laelius. Cicero says, I introduced Cato, the old man, speaking, because no personage seemed better fitted to talk concerning old age, than he who had been an old man a very long time, and in old age itself had flourished beyond others."

66

Old age not burdensome to Cato.

2. Scipio. Saepe numero1 admirarī soleō cum hoc C. Laelio cum cēterārum rerum tuam excellentem, M. Cato, perfectamque sapientiam, tum vel maxime, quod

2. 1 very often.

2

numquam tibi senectutem gravem esse sēnserim, quae 5 plerisque senibus sīc odiōsa est, ut onus sẽ Aetnā gravius dicant sustinere.

5

3

4

Catō. Rem haud sānē difficilem, Scipio et Laeli, admīrārī vidēminī. Quibus enim nihil est in ipsis opis ad bene beātēque vivendum, eis omnis aetās gravis est; qui 10 autem omnia bona a sẽ ipsi petunt, eis nihil malum potest vidērī, quod nātūrae necessitās adferat. Quo in genere est in prīmīs senectūs; quam ut adipiscantur omnes optant, eandem accusant adepti ; tanta est stultitiae 3 incōnstantia atque perversitās. Obrēpere aiunt eam citius quam 15 putāssent. Primum quis coëgit eōs falsum putare? Qui enim citius adulescentiae senectus quam pueritiae adulēscentia obrēpit? Deinde qui minus gravis esset eis senectūs, sī octingentēsimum annum agerent quam si octōgēsimum? Praeterita enim aetās quamvis longa, cum 20 effluxisset, nulla cōnsōlātiōne permulcere posset stultam senectutem. Quocirca sĩ sapientiam meam admīrārī solētis (quae utinam digna esset opiniōne vestrā nostrōque cognomine!"), in hoc sumus sapientes, quod nātūram optimam ducem tamquam deum sequimur eïque pārēmus ; 25 ā quā nōn vērī simile est, cum cēterae partēs aetātis bene discriptae 10 sint, extrēmum actum tamquam ab inertī poētā esse neglectum. Sed tamen necesse fuit esse aliquid extrēmum,11 et tamquam in arborum bācīs 12 terraeque fructibus, mātūritāte tempestīvā quasi viētum 13 et 30 caducum, 14 quod ferendum est molliter 15 sapienti. Quid est enim aliud Gigantum 16 modō bellare cum dis nisi nātūrae repūgnāre?

7

Laelius. Atqui,17 Catō, gratissimum nōbīs, ut etiam

5 4 inconsistency.

2 burdensome. 3 of folly. streamed by. 8 soothe. 9 my surname "Sapiens."

comes on. 6 how? 7 has 10 composed. actum: act.

Cf. Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man. 11 end. 12 in the case of the fruits.

13

a time of bending. 14 a time of falling. 15 patiently. 16 of giants. 17 and yet.