Sed ego tuas litteras exspecto. Nihil est enim iam ut antea "Videamus, hoc quorsum evadat." Extremum fuit de congressu nostro; quo quidem non dubito quin istum offfenderim. Eo maturius agendum est. Amabo te, epistulam et πολιτικήν! Valde tuas litteras nunc exspecto.
XIX
CICERO ATTICO SAL.
Scr. Arpini prid. K. Apr. a. 705
Ego meo Ciceroni, quoniam Roma earemus, Arpini potissimum togam puram dedi, idque municipibus nostris fuit gratum. Etsi omnes et illos, et qua iter feci, maestos adflictosque vidi. Tam tristis et
bold. I see no end to our evil days. Now assuredly you must produce your advice. This was the limit we contemplated.
Caesar's finale, which I had almost forgotten, was hateful:—"If I may not use your advice, I shall use the advice I can and go to any length." You will say: "You have seen him to be as you have described him: and did you heave a sigh?" Indeed I did. You ask for the rest of our talk. What more is there to tell? He went straight to Pedum, I to Arpinum. From thence I await the "twittering swallow"[118] you talk of. You will say you prefer me not to dwell on past mistakes. Even Pompey, our leader, has made many.
[118] A reference to Anthology x, i, ὁ πλόος ὡραῖος καὶ γὰρ λαλαγεῦσα χελιδὼν Ἤδη μέμβλωκεν χὠ χαριεὶς Ζέφυρος.
"Fair is the season for sailing: already the twittering swallow Flitteth around, and soft bloweth the wind from the west." Cf. Att. ix, 7.