Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §10.13.1-10.13.2

Passage of Honors and Urging the Defeat of Antony

Passage 212 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero reports that the senatorial decree honoring the recipient was passed as he proposed, and encourages him to bring a complete end to the war by defeating Antony.

§10.13.1ut primum potestas data est augendae dignitatis tuae, nihil praetermisi in te ornando, quod positum esset aut in praemio virtutis aut in honore verborum.
As soon as the opportunity was given of increasing your dignity, I omitted nothing in honoring you which was placed either in the reward of virtue or in the honor of words.
id ex ipso s. c. poteris cognoscere ita enim est perscriptum, ut a me de scripto dicta sententia est; quam senatus frequens secutus est summo studio magnoque consensu.
This you will be able to learn from the decree of the senate itself; for it was recorded in such a way as the opinion was delivered by me from a written draft; which a crowded senate followed with the greatest zeal and great consensus.
§10.13.2ego quamquam ex tuis litteris, quas mihi misisti perspexeram te magis iudicio bonorum quam insignibus gloriae delectari, tamen considerandum nobis existimavi, etiam si tu nihil postulares, quantum tibi a re p. deberetur.
Although I had perceived from your letter which you sent to me that you were delighted more by the judgment of good men than by the badges of glory, yet I thought we had to consider, even if you demanded nothing, how much was owed to you by the republic.
tu contexes extrema cum primis.
You will weave the end together with the beginning.
qui enim M. Antonium oppresserit, is bellum confecerit; itaque Homerus non Aiacem nec Achillem sed Ulixem appellavit ptolipo/rqion.
For he who crushes Marcus Antonius will be the one who finishes the war; therefore Homer called not Ajax nor Achilles, but Ulysses `ptolipo/rqion`.

Notes

  1. §10.13.1augendae dignitatis tuae — A genitive gerundive construction modifying the noun `potestas` (opportunity, power).
  2. §10.13.1quod positum esset — The imperfect subjunctive `esset` is used in a relative clause of characteristic or limitation, modifying the antecedent `nihil`.
  3. §10.13.1de scripto — Meaning 'from a written text' or 'according to a draft,' indicating that the proposal was read from a prepared script rather than delivered extemporaneously.
  4. §10.13.2considerandum nobis existimavi, etiam si tu nihil postulares, quantum tibi a re p. deberetur — The indirect question `quantum... deberetur` serves as the logical subject of the gerundive of obligation `considerandum [esse]` (which must be considered). `nobis` is the dative of agent.
  5. §10.13.2qui enim M. Antonium oppresserit, is bellum confecerit — Both the relative clause verb `oppresserit` and the main verb `confecerit` are in the future perfect indicative. They express a conditional relationship, asserting a definitive future outcome: 'he who crushes Antony will have finished the war.'

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §10.13.1-10.13.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:10.13.1-10.13.2

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