Cicero to L. Papirius Paetus, written from his villa at Cumae in the later (second) intercalary month of 46 BC — Perseus dateline Scr. in Cumano m. interc. post a. 708 (46). In Caesar’s calendar-reform year, 46 BC had two intercalary months inserted between November and December to bring the civil year back into line with the seasons; intercalaris posterior is the later of the two, so this note falls in roughly mid-to-late December of 46 BC by the Julian reckoning. Metadata note: the meta/works.yaml entry carries the year-precision placeholder -0046-12-28, which is consistent with the Perseus dating; the precision is in fact month, not year.

One paragraph. Cicero has arrived at his place at Cumae, plans to come on to Paetus tomorrow, and has heard from M. Caeparius (met in the Gallinarian Wood) that Paetus is laid up with gout. The closing line is the joke and the whole letter’s hinge — non enim arbitror cocum etiam te arthriticum habere, “I don’t suppose your cook is gouty too” — with the self-mocking sign-off, “expect a guest at once least greedy and no friend to extravagant dinners.” The opening word Here in the Perseus transcript is a known transcription glitch for Heri, “yesterday”; rendered accordingly. The Paetus register is in evidence: dietary self-deprecation, the gout- joke, the chiastic close (minime edacem / inimicum cenis sumptuosis).