“Better go anywhere than have Curtius before his eyes, a sight too much for me, let alone for him.” [1]

Cicero’s surviving words regarding Marcus Curtius Postumus's prospective augurship are biting, sarcastic, and deeply resentful. Writing to his close friend Atticus during the chaos of the civil war in 49 BCE, Cicero repeatedly uses Postumus as a symbol of the arrogant, upstart opportunism that characterized Julius Caesar’s inner circle. [1, 2, 3, 4]

His explicit remarks center on two main themes:

1. Disgust at Postumus’s Arrogance and the Augurship

When Julius Caesar promised Postumus a prestigious seat in the College of Augurs (one of Rome's most sacred religious and political institutions), Cicero found the appointment fundamentally insulting. [1, 2, 3]

In Letters to Atticus 9.6, Cicero discusses how Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus is preparing to flee Italy rather than submit to Caesar's new regime: [1]

“Better go anywhere than have Curtius before his eyes, a sight too much for me, let alone for him. Yet he, forsooth, is to be an augur!” [1]

2. Mocking Postumus’s Grandiose War Talk

Cicero’s irritation was compounded by an awkward, real-life encounter where Postumus openly bragged about Caesar’s impending military conquests. [1, 2]

In Letters to Atticus 9.2a, Cicero vents to Atticus about how unbearable it is to listen to his former friend's hubris: [1, 2]

“I had scarcely read your letter, when Curtius Postumus called on me as he was hurrying to join Caesar, talking of nothing but fleets and armies... I must start, therefore, with the view of sharing not so much in a war as in a stampede.” [1, 2]

The Post-Caesar Postscript

Following Caesar's assassination, Cicero continued to express disdain for the political system that brought men like Postumus to power. In a letter to Atticus (Atticus 14.9), he notes that despite the dictator's death, allies of Caesar such as "Curtius" continued to hold influence, leaving Cicero feeling deeply disillusioned. [1, 2, 3]

Would you like to explore how Cicero viewed the other religious offices and augurships of Rome, or examine his interactions with Julius Caesar himself during this tense period?