Cicero XXIVThe private correspondence of Rome's most prolific public figure. To his dear friend Atticus, Cicero reveals himself as to no other of his correspondents except perhaps his brother. In Cicero's Letters to Atticus we get an intimate look at his motivations and convictions and his reactions to what is happening in Rome. These letters also provide a vivid picture of a momentous period in Roman history, years marked by the rise of Julius Caesar and the downfall of the Republic. When the correspondence begins in November 68 BC, the 38-year-old Cicero is a notable figure in Rome: a brilliant lawyer and orator, he has achieved primacy at the Roman bar and a political career that would culminate in the consulship in 63. Over the next twenty-four years--until November 44, a year before he was put to death by the forces of Octavian and Mark Antony--Cicero wrote frequently to his friend and confidant, sharing news and views and discussing affairs of business and state. It is to this corpus of over 400 letters that we owe most of our information about Cicero's literary activity. Here too is a revealing picture of the staunch republican's changing attitude toward Caesar. And taken as a whole the letters provide a first-hand account of social and political life in Rome. D. R. Shackleton Bailey's authoritative edition and translation of the Letters to Atticus is a revised version of his Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries edition, with full explanatory notes. |
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... Brundisium , and today is the 9th , that or yesterday being the day on which accord- ing to my idea Caesar should have reached Brundisium , since he spent the night of the Kalends at Arpi . But if one cared to believe Postumus , Caesar ...
... Brundisium on 6 March and left Pompey there — as was also reported by persons who started from Brundisium on the 8th . All , including Cras- sipes so far as his sagacity enabled him to pay attention ( ? ) , report threatening talk ...
... Brundisium . Whatever the truth , we shall know it in a cou- ple of days . Not a word from you , not even by Quintus ' boy Anteros . And no wonder . What is there for us to write ? However I don't let a day pass . P.S. A letter from ...