Cicero. Claudius was held responsible for the unfriendly language. Cicero was willing to allow that a return to the intellectual atmosphere and leisure of Rome had restored Claudius to his senses. Yet, Cicero never suggested the secretary as a possible excuse for his friend to use. Rather, he lamely suggested that the rigors of provincial life had affected his friend’s perception. Again, in reply to a private letter from Pompey, Cicero wrote that he felt snubbed because Pompey’s letter contained