Salvete, patres subscripti.
Today is Cicero’s 2129th birthday!
It is also close enough to New Year for the world’s smallest update about e-pistulae:
We have now reached the letters (and orations) written in 43 BCE, the year Cicero turned 63. 43 BCE was a big year for Cicero—he delivered ten Philippics, was instrumental to Octavian gaining legitimacy with the Senate, and severely pissed off Mark Antony. 43 BCE was also the last year of Cicero’s life. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
43 BCE is unlike 44 BCE in that there are no more letters from Cicero to his closest friend Atticus. This is probably because they were both together in Rome for much of the year, and so didn’t need to send letters, but it does mean we miss out on more of Cicero’s chatty, funnier side. I doubt that the Philippics or the collection of letters to Brutus from 43 BCE can make up for this Atticus-shaped void.
A reminder that I am still translating the letters (but not the Philippics!) myself, but am in no way an expert, so if you have any interesting commentary to add, or notice anything that I’ve gotten horrendously wrong, please tell me or leave a comment!
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Valete!