Letters to Atticus, with an English translation by E.O. Winstedt, Vol. 1

by Marcus Tullius Cicero, E.O. Winstedt (translator)

INTRODUCTION

The letters contained in this volume cover a large and important period in Cicero's life and in the history of Rome. They begin when he was 38 years of age ; and at first they are not very nimierous. There are only two of that year (68 B.C.), six of the following year, one of the year 66, when he held the praetor-ship, and two of 65. Then there is a gap in his correspondence. No letters at all survive from the period of his consulship and the Catilinarian conspiracy; and the letters to Atticus do not begin again until two years after that event. Thereafter they are sufficiently frequent to justify Cornelius Nepos' criticism, that reading them, one has little need of an elaborate history of the period. There are full— almost too full—details, considering the frequent complaints and repetitions, during the year of his banishment (.58-57 b.c), and the correspondence continues unbroken to the j^ear 54. Then after a lapse of two years or more, which Atticus presumably spent in Rome, it begins again in 51, when Cicero was sent to Cilicia as pro-consul, much against his will; and the volume ends with a hint of the trouble that was brewing between Caesar and Pompey, as Cicero was returning to Rome towards the end of the next year.

The letters have been translated in the traditionary order in which they are usually printed. That order, however, is not strictly chronological; and, for the convenience of those who would read them in their historical order, a table arranging them so far as possible in order of date has been drawn up at the end of the volume.

For the basis of the text the Teubner edition has



been used; but it has been revised by comparison with more recent works and papers on the subject. Textual notes have only been given in a few cases where the reading is especially corrupt or uncertain; and other notes too have been confined to cases where they seemed absolutely indispensable. For such notes and in the translation itself, I must acknowledge my indebtedness to predecessors, especiallj^ to Tyrrell's indispensable edition and Shuckburgh's excellent translation.

There remain two small points to which I may perhaps call attention here in case they should puzzle the general reader. The first is that, when he finds the dates in this volume disagreeing with the rules and tables generally given in Latin grammars and taught in schools, he must please to remember that those rules apply only to the Julian Calendar, which was introduced in 45 b.c, and that these lettei's were written before that date. Before the alterations introduced by Caesar, March, May, Jul.v and October had 31 days each, February 28, and the other months 29- Compared with the Julian Calendar this shows a difference of two days in all dates which fal 1 between the Ides and the end of the months January, August and December, and of one day in similar dates in April, June, September and November.

The second point, which requires explanation, is the presence of some numerals in the inargin of the text of letters 16 to 19 of Book IV. As Mommsen pointed out, the archetype from which the existent MSS. were copied must have had some of the leaves containing these letters transposed. These were copied in our MSS. in the wrong order, and were so printed in earlier editions. In the text Mommsen's order, with some recent modifications introduced by





Holzapf'el, has been adopted; and the figures in the margin denote the place of the transposed passages in the older editions, the Roman figures denoting the letter from which each particular passage has been shifted and the Arabic numerals the section of that letter.

522 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 10, 2012

About the author

Born 3 January 106 BC, Arpinum, Italy
Died 7 December 43 BC (aged 63), Formia, Italy

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.

Alternate profiles:
Cicéron
Marco Tullio Cicerone
Cicerone

Note: All editions should have Marcus Tullius Cicero as primary author. Editions with another name on the cover should have that name added as secondary author.

Reviews

[Lukerik · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing read, though I wouldn’t recommend it for a first dip into the Romans. You need to have read something about the period. Appian’s Civil Wars did the job for me, but whatever you chose, chose something or you’ll be all at sea.

There’s lot’s of interesting and amusing stuff, from insights into the Roman publishing industry to Julius Caesar having his sacrifice interrupted by a transvestite.

There’s something very calming about the book. The early letters in particular. Just a man writing personal letters to his friend while at leisure. Then he gets exiled. Apparently it’s the worst thing that has happened to a man ever and he’s going to kill himself. Well, he did kill people without trial and I can think of a few worse things that could be done to a man. Being made to go on holiday to Greece would not be on that list.

Things like being exiled, or governing a province: these are things that you hear reported if you read Greek or Roman history. This book has eyewitness accounts of doing them, as also eyewitness accounts of the doings inside the Senate house.

The way this volume has been split is particularly well done as it reads something like an epistolary novel. Quiet beginning – disaster – success. There’s even a cliffhanger at the end.

Obviously this is a five star read. E. O. Winstedt’s translation is smooth and readable but there are a number of old fashioned features to it. Also, the notes are too sparse to be of much help. I realise these editions are more for people who also need the Latin text, but I note that Loeb has replaced these ones with a new translation. I’ve not seen the new one – I just took what my library had – but if you have a choice...

[Ibis3]

Bilingual edition preferred.