Cicero, Ad Familiares 9.24.2-3
translation and commentary by William Tune (’24)
Introduction
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE) was a Roman politician, orator, and philosopher. Cicero was born in Arpinum, in Latium. Upon his entry into Roman politics, he was considered a novus homo: a chip on his shoulder for the rest of his career. He is most famous for the defeat of the Catilinarian Conspiracy in 63 BCE, where he gave a series of speeches against the head conspirator, Lucius Sergius Catilina. Cicero was an experienced jurist and was famed for his eloquence in court. Throughout his career, Cicero was an adamant supporter of the Republic, which found him opposed to Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius in the 40s BCE. In 43 BCE, after the publishing of his derisive anti-dictatorial speeches, the Philippics (directed against Marcus Antionius), Cicero was assassinated. Cicero’s reputation has survived throughout the centuries and he is considered one of the foundational political thinkers and philosophers of modern civilization (Grant 1971).
Among a plethora of works, Cicero often wrote letters to his close friends and family. Many of these letters have been preserved and published as Epistulae Ad Familiares. Cicero wrote many letters about many different subjects, but some of his most interesting works are those concerning the mundane and conventional elements of Roman life. Two of these letters are IX.24 and IX.26. These two letters were written in 43 and 46 BCE, shortly after the conclusion of the catastrophic Civil War between Gaius Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. They are addressed to Paetus, who was evidently a friend of Cicero’s, but not much is known about the man outside of the Epistulae Ad Familiares. In these letters Cicero calls Paetus out of a self-imposed isolation and consults him regarding how he should spend his days now that Rome is under the thumb of Caesar’s dictatorship.
Translation
[ix.24.2]
I’m annoyed that you stopped going to dinners, I mean, you rob yourself of lots of joy and fun. Also, I’m afraid that (I know I can speak the truth to you) if you keep this up, you’re going lose your old habits that you used to know and forget how to host those fun little dinner parties. Because, if you made so little progress in the practice, even when you had people to imitate, what should I think you’ll do now? Even Spurinna, when I told him about this and explained your life before, said that, if you don’t go back to your old ways, when spring comes, the highest Republic will be in great danger. At this time of year he said he can put up with this, if you can’t stand the cold.
[ix.24.3]
And by Hercules, my Paetus, jokes aside, I advise you what I consider necessary to a living happily, that you live with men who are good, pleasing, and loving yourself. Nothing is better in life, nothing is more fitting to a life lived beautifully. I’m not talking about just about fun, but about fellowship of life and nourishment, and setting your mind at ease, which is done best by conversation with close friends most especially and which at banquets is most charming. So, in this practice we’re smarter than the Greeks; they “drink together” or “eat together,” but we “live together,” because at that time especially life is really lived. You’ve noticed that I’m trying to bring you back to dinners by taking philosophy! You ought to take care of yourself; which will be easiest to do by dining outside your home.
Commentary
going to dinners – Dining in Ancient Rome was the city’s most beloved pastime for the aristocratic class. These would be long affairs that often began at the baths, then moved to the host’s house for the meal, and concluded with drinking and conversation. These were clearly seen by Cicero as the best opportunity for conversation and friendship. Click here to see a 19th-century painting of a Roman feast.
even when you had people to imitate – Aristocratic Romans would often compete to throw the best convivium and when the standards of the guests were not met, criticism would be leveled at the host for not supplying the convivia with property foodstuffs. See Petronius’s Satyricon for an example of the heights of extravagance.
Spurinna – This is Vestricius Spurinna, an augur (priest in ancient Rome who specialized in telling the future based on the flight of birds). It would be this same Spurinna, who, prior to the ides of March in 44 BCE, would warn Caesar of his impending doom that awaited him at the Theater of Pompey, where the senate was convening on the Ides. Caesar would famously respond on the day that Spurinna had foretold his death, “the Ides of March have come!” Caesar, boasting that Spurinna’s prophecy had rung hollow, would receive this reply from the augur: “but they have not yet gone.” Caesar would be assassinated by a group of conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus at the Theater of Pompey. As this letter was written after the death of Caesar, Cicero’s use of Spurinna heightens his request by using Spurinna’s clearly correct foresight to call Paetus back to the practice of dining (Clough 2001; Shackleton Bailey 1977).
the highest Republic will be in great danger – Here, Spurinna, through Cicero, is jokingly comparing Paetus’s neglect to attend dinner parties as akin to the contemporary fall of the Republic. It is a hyperbolic joke that likens Paetus’s actions to the worst possible thing Cicero can think of: the end of his beloved Res Publica. Cicero often describes the Republic with the epithet summae, meaning highest. This convey’s Cicero’s belief that the Republic is the most important element of Roman civilization and the lives of its citizens (Carter 1996; Grant 1971). Click here to see an 1806 painting of the death of Julius Caesar.
when spring comes – Cum Favonius flaret. Favonius was the deification of the spring wind, which clearly had not come yet due to the use of the imperfect form of flo, flare. Therefore this letter can be dated to the winter of 43. More specifically to January as the spring wind began on February 8th (Shackleton Bailey 1977).
By Hercules – Et mehercule is a common exclamatory phrase used in Roman letters and drama.
Paetus – This is Lucius Paprius Paetus, a student of Epicurean philosophy and denizen of the bay of Naples. Paetus is not discussed outside of Cicero’s letter, so it is likely that his involvement in Roman political life was simply as Cicero’s friend. This is to be expected as Epicureanism was characterized by a disdain for political life and a withdrawal from the squabbling of the forum. Atticus, Cicero’s closest friend, was also an Epicurean (Shackleton Bailey 1977).
The Greeks – Here Cicero is placing Roman dining practice higher than the Greek’s co-drinking and co-eating (“συμποσια” and “συνδειπνα”). Apparently, the co-living of the convivium was unique to the Romans. It should also be noted that the later lines explaining the meaning of these words is likely a “gloss” – a margin note from a medieval manuscript author, which found its way into the text when reproduced (Shackleton Bailey 1977). Click here to see a symposium scene on a fresco in the Tomb of the Diver (from the Greek colony of Paestum, Italy, 480-470 B.C.).
Sources
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Clough, Arthur H. 2001. Plutarch: Parallel Lives. Translated by John Dryden. New York: Modern Library.
Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum), and Peter Lebrecht Schmidt.2006. “Verrius”. In Brill’s New Pauly Online. Leiden: Brill. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e12201660
Grant, Michael 1971. Cicero: Selected Political Speeches. Translated with an Introduction by Michael Grant. London: Penguin Books.
Grant, Michael 1971. Cicero: On the Good Life. Translated with an Introduction by Michael Grant. London: Penguin Books.
Grant, Michael 1971. Cicero: Selected Works. Translated with an Introduction by Michael Grant. London and New York: Penguin Books.
McConnell, Sean. “Philosophical Role-Playing in Cicero’s Letters to Paetus, 46 Bc.” Antichthon 56 (2022): 121–39.
Shackleton Bailey, D.R. 1977. Cicero: Epistulae Ad Familiares. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Watson, J.S. 1853. Cornelius Nepos: Life of Atticus. Translated by J.S.Watson.