Book 5 Letter 11 - The 3rd Philippic

 

Dear Cicero,

I was reading your first Philippic (brilliant, by the way...), and I found you make reference to a Roman playwright, Accius, and his play Atreus. The quote runs thus:

Let them hate, so that they fear

or, to put it another way

Let them hate me, so long as they fear me.

So, I began searching. I found that Suetonius makes reference to this play, claiming that Emperor Caligula loved the play, and that he often quoted this line self referentially. Digging deeper, I discovered that only fragments of the play survive, fragments which thankfully are published by LOEB Classics.

So, looking to purchase the book, (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674993471) my eye was drawn to a side-bar on the website, of recent blog articles published by LOEB scholars, relating to Pride Month. Following a link, I read about the Stonewall riot in New York in 1969, and the subsequent decades long dialogue about gay identity.

So, thank you Cicero, as always. In following you, I walk a path to further study, and sometimes unexpected delights find me on the way.

Tonight, I will read to you from your third Philippic against Marc Antony.

With gratitude and respect

Morgan.