(Ancient Text by Cicero, translated by ) and Here I Go Again (Contemporary Song by Whitesnake)
While reading Cicero’s letters to Terentia, I was picturing a movie or play scene in which two people are writing back and forth to each other, and the characters are speaking what they are writing for the audience to hear, but they can’t hear each other’s voices. However, there is an absence of Terentia’s voice because her letters are not available. Nevertheless, this picture made me think about two lovers who are currently separated, but really want to be together again. However, they realize that they can’t really be together and probably won’t see each other for a very long amount of time. This does not stop them from feeling love from a distance, however, through these letters. This kind of situation reminded me of some lyrics of the song, “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake, particularly the lyrics that go, “An’ I’m gonna hold on for the rest of my days”. The attitude in these lyrics is one that portrays a sense of knowing that something bad is happening or will happen, but the singer will “hold on” no matter what. Now, “hold on” is a very vague phrase, but I was thinking about this in terms of love between two people. In these letters, Cicero consistently ends the letter asking Terentia to take care of her own health, implying that he is not there to care for her, but more interestingly, he mentions “The present state of affairs…” and “how they affect [him]”. This paints the picture that there is something barring him from being able to see Terentia and he reluctantly acknowledges this, but does not abandon his love for her. He “holds on for the rest of his days”. The difference I see between these two cases is that Cicero may have the opportunity to see Terentia again. In the song, the feeling is that the loneliness will indeed last forever, but the singer will “hold on” anyway. In other words, I am interpreting “the rest of my days” to mean a finite amount of time in the case of Cicero and Terentia, but an infinite amount of time in the case of the song.
Cicero’s Letters to His Friends by Cicero, Letters to Terentia, Letter 17
“The present state of affairs you can see for yourself; how they affect me, you can learn from Lepta and Trebatius. Be sure to take care of your own health and Tullia’s health. Good-bye.”