23 June 44 BCE: To Atticus (at Rome) from Cicero (at Tusculum)
Mark Antony raises the stakes for the consequences of civil war. And e-pistulae turns 1 year old :*)
We can be glad that the younger Quintus has left; he won’t trouble us. I trust that Pansa speaks well. I know that he has always been close to with Hirtius. I think he is very friendly towards Brutus and Cassius, if it is expedient (but when will he see them?), and hostile towards Antony—when, and why? How much longer shall we be toyed with?
I also wrote that Sextus is on his way, not because he was here already, but because it was certainly his intention, and nor did it look like he would lay down his arms. If he carries on, war will surely follow. But our dear devotee of Cytheris says that no-one will survive but the victors.1 What does Pansa think of that? Which side will he take, if there is war, as it seems there will be? But more of this and other matters when we see each other, today even, as you write, or tomorrow.
Read Ad Atticum 15.22 in Latin here | Check the glossary here
‘Our dear devotee’ i.e. Mark Antony, who had been a lover of the actress Volumnia Cytheris since at least 49 BCE. The name ‘Cytheris’ is taken from ‘Cytherea,’ an epithet of Venus, the goddess of love. Cicero’s Latin is ambiguous as to whether he thinks Antony is overly devoted to Cytheris, or matters of love more generally.