1Titus Pomponius Atticus, descended from the most ancient origins of the Roman race, kept the equestrian rank which he had received in unbroken succession from his ancestors. 2He had a father who was diligent and, as times then were, rich, and above all devoted to literature. 2This man, as he himself loved literature, educated his son in all the branches of learning in which boyhood ought to be instructed. 3But besides a quick and teachable mind, the boy had the greatest charm of speech and voice, so that he not only grasped rapidly what was taught him but also delivered it excellently. 3For this reason in his boyhood he was spoken of as distinguished among his contemporaries, and he shone out more brightly than his high-born schoolfellows could bear with equanimity.
4And so he spurred them all on by his own zeal; among their number were Lucius Torquatus, Gaius Marius the son, and Marcus Cicero: these he so bound to himself by his companionship that no one was dearer to them as long as they lived.