Cicero - A family matter

This was sent by Cicero to his friend Atticus whose sister, Pomponia, is married to his brother, Quintus.

nihil vidi tam mite,

I saw nothing so gentle,

nihil tam placidum quam meus frater illo die erat in sororem tuam.

nothing so calm as my brother was that day towards your sister.

si offensio fuerat ex ratione sumptus,

If the offence has been because of counting your expenditure,

non apparet.

It would not have happened.

postridie Arpino profecti sumus et prandimus in Arcano.

On the next day we set out for Arpinum and ate lunch at Arcanum .

humanissime Quintus 'Pomponia' inquit 'tu invita mulieres,

Very politely, Quintus said “Pomponia - you invite the women,

ego viros arcessam.' nihil potuit dulcius, non modo verbis

I will call the men.” Nothing could be more charming, not only in his words,

sed etiam animo ac vultu.

But also in his spirit and expression.

at illa, audientibus nobis, 'ego ipsa sum' inquit

But she, with all of us listening, “I am a guest here myself” she said

“hic hospita' – id ex hac causa, ut opinor, quod antecesserat Statius

It is for this reason, as I suppose, that Statius

ut prandium nobis videret!

Had gone ahead to see lunch for us.

tum Quintus 'en' inquit mihi ‘haec ego patior cotidie.'

Then Quintus said to me, “Look - I suffer these things every day.”

id me valde commovit:

This annoyed me very much:

sic illa absurde et aspere verbis vultuque responderat.

so she had responded unreasonably and harshly in her words and expression.

itaque discubuimus omnes praeter illam.

And so we all reclined to eat apart from her.

Quintus ei aliquid de mensa misit, quod tamen illa reiecit.

Quintus sent her something from the table, however she refused it.

quid multa?

What more [can I say]?

nihil meo fratre lenius,

Nothing seemed to me more gentle than my brother,

nihil asperius tua sorore mihi visum est;

nothing seemed harsher than your sister;

et multa similia praetereo.

and I’m leaving out many similar examples.