Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §10.16.1-10.16.2

Praise for Plancus's Letter and Call for Independent Action

Passage 215 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero informs Plancus of the enthusiastic reception of his letter in the Senate and encourages him to act decisively on his own authority without waiting for senatorial decrees in these critical times.

§10.16.1nihil post hominum memoriam gloriosius, nihil gratius, ne tempore quidem ipso opportunius accidere vidi quam tuas, Plance, litteras.
Plancus, I have seen nothing occur since the memory of man more glorious, nothing more pleasing, nor indeed more opportune in its very timing than your letter.
redditae sunt enim frequenti senatu Cornuto, cum is frigidas sane et inconstantis recitasset litteras Lepidi.
For it was delivered to Cornutus in a crowded Senate, just when he had read out the truly cold and inconsistent letter of Lepidus.
sub eas statim recitatae sunt tuae non sine magnis quidem clamoribus.
Immediately after that, yours was read, not indeed without great acclamations.
Cum rebus enim ipsis essent et studiis O beneficiisque in rem p. gratissimae, tum erant gravissimis verbis ac sententiis.
For while it was most welcome in its very facts, zeal, and services to the republic, it was also full of the most weighty words and sentiments.
flagitare senatus institit Cornutum ut referret statim de tuis litteris.
The Senate began to press Cornutus to refer the matter of your letter immediately.
ille se considerare velle.
He said he wished to consider it.
Cum ei magnum convicium fieret cuncto a senatu, quinque tribuni plebi rettulerunt.
When a great outcry was made against him by the entire Senate, five tribunes of the plebs brought the motion forward.
Servilius rogatus rem distulit; ego eam sententiam dixi, cui sunt adsensi ad unum.
Servilius, when asked his opinion, postponed the matter; I delivered the opinion to which they agreed to a man.
ea quae fuerit ex s. c. cognosces.
What that was, you will learn from the decree of the Senate.
§10.16.2tu quamquam consilio non eges vel abundas potius, tamen hoc animo esse debes ut nihil huc reicias neve in rebus tam subitis tamque angustis a senatu consilium petendum putes, ipse tibi sis senatus, quocumque te ratio rei p. ducet sequare, cures ut ante factum aliquid a te egregium audiamus quam futurum putarimus.
Although you do not lack counsel, or rather abound in it, yet you ought to be of such a mind that you refer nothing back here, nor think that counsel should be sought from the Senate in matters so sudden and so critical; be a Senate to yourself, follow wherever the interest of the republic shall lead you, and see to it that we hear of some outstanding deed performed by you before we could have thought it would be done.
illud tibi promitto, quicquid erit a te factum, id senatum non modo ut fideliter sed etiam ut sapienter factum comprobaturum. .
This I promise you, that whatever is done by you, the Senate will approve it as done not only faithfully but also wisely.

Notes

  1. 10.16.1accidere — The infinitive `accidere` has `tuas... litteras` as its subject accusative, forming an accusative-with-infinitive construction dependent on `vidi`. It literally means 'I have seen nothing happen more glorious... than [the arrival of] your letter.'
  2. 10.16.1frequenti senatu — An ablative of attendant circumstance or ablative absolute ('when the Senate was crowded'), describing the political context and the high level of interest in the Senate.
  3. 10.16.1velle — A historical infinitive, equivalent in sense to the third-person singular imperfect indicative (`volebat`). Alternatively, it could be interpreted as an ellipsis of a main verb like `dixit` ('he said'), but taking it as a historical infinitive is a standard stylistic device in classical prose to describe rapid action.
  4. 10.16.2hoc animo... ut — `hoc animo` is an ablative of quality acting as the predicate of the verb `debes` (with `esse`). The following `ut` clause is a consecutive (result) clause, structured as 'you ought to be of such a mind that...'
  5. 10.16.2ante... quam — The conjunction `antequam` is separated into `ante` and `quam` (tmesis). The object of `audiamus` (that we hear) is an accusative-with-infinitive construction, where `aliquid egregium` is the subject and `factum (esse)` is the infinitive. `futurum (esse) putarimus` means 'before we should think it would be done.'

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §10.16.1-10.16.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:10.16.1-10.16.2

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