Cicero on those judging his emotional state (Ad Atticum 12.40):
Quam bene, nihil ad rem, sed genus scribendi id fuit quod nemo abiecto animo facere posset.
How good it was is not the point, but the style of writing was that which no one with a depressed mind could have made.
He criticizes them, stating they couldn’t be reading what he has been writing, if they think he is abiecto animo ‘depressive’. Of course that isn’t to say that he is perky either; he goes on to say:
Hilaritatem illam qua hanc tristitiam temporum condiebam in perpetuum amisi, constantia et firmitas nec animi nec orationis requiretur.
I have lost forever that cheerfulness with which I peppered the sadness of my circumstances; [but] stability and strength, whether of speech or spirit, will not be found lacking.
[For abicio.]
Post a Comment