nety addressed to him by friends. The
collection was made by friends like Tiro and Atticus: cf. _ad Att._
xvi. 5, 5 (B.C. 44), 'Mearum epistularum nulla est +synagoge+, sed
habet Tiro instar septuaginta, et quidem sunt a te quaedam sumendae:
eas ego oportet perspiciam, corrigam; tum denique edentur.'

The letters now extant fall into four groups.

1. _Epistulae ad Atticum_, in sixteen Books, belonging to the years
B.C. 68-43, and valuable for their thorough frankness (_ad Att._ viii.
14, 2, 'ego tecum tamquam mecum loquor'). Nepos appreciates their
supreme importance for the history of Cicero's time, although he dates
the commencement of the correspondence wrongly: _Att._ 16, 'xvi.
volumina epistularum ab consulatu eius usque ad extremum tempus ad
Atticum missarum; quae qui legat, non multum desideret historiam
contextam eorum temporum.' Atticus' own letters were not published,
though Cicero preserved them: _ad Att._ ix. 10, 4, 'Evolvi volumen
epistularum, quod ego sub signo habeo servoque diligentissime.'

2. _Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem_, in three Books, of the years B.C.
60-54.

3. _Epistulae ad Brutum_, originally in nine Books, of which only two
remain. The present Book i. was really Book ix., and Book ii., which
contains letters earlier than those in Book i., may have formed part
of the original Book viii.

4. _Epistulae ad Familiares_, in sixteen Books, letters to and from
friends, written B.C. 62-43. This title is not found in any MS. Late
MSS. and old editions have 'Epistulae Familiares': for the title 'Ad
Diversos' there is no authority. In the best MSS. the Books are titled
separately by the name of the person to whom the first letter in each
is written, _e.g._ 'M. Tulli Ciceronis epistularum ad P. Lentulum
liber i.'

For the colloquial style of the letters cf. _ad Fam._ ix. 21, 1 (to
Paetus), 'Quid tibi ego in epistulis videor? nonne plebeio sermone
agere tecum? nec enim semper eodem modo: quid enim simile habet
epistula aut iudicio aut contioni? ... epistulas vero cottidianis
verbis texere solemus.'

The following works are now lost: (_a_) _Miscellaneous prose
writings._--1. Panegyrics on Porcia (_ad Att._ xiii. 37, 3) and Cato,
B.C. 45; and funeral orations written for other people to deliver (_ad
Q.F._ iii. 8, 5, 'laudavit pater scripto meo').

2. Memoirs of Cicero's consulship, written B.C. 60, in both Greek and
Latin (_ad. Att._ i. 19, 10). He took great pains with this book, and
was anxious