Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §10.29.1

Cicero's Assurance of Support and Call for Courage

Passage 229 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero assures the recipient of his devotion to their safety, claiming he has satisfied their family's expectations and can assist them more than anyone else. He encourages them to remain of good courage and trust in his support.

§10.29.1de meo studio erga salutem et incolumitatem tuam credo te cognosse ex litteris tuorum; quibus me cumulatissime satis fecisse certo scio, nec iis concedo, quamquam sunt singulari in te benevolentia, ut te salvum malint quam ego.
Concerning my zeal for your safety and security, I believe you have learned from the letters of your family; I know for certain that I have satisfied them most abundantly, nor do I concede to them, although they are of singular goodwill toward you, that they wish you safe more than I do.
illi mihi necesse est concedant ut tibi plus quam ipsi hoc tempore prodesse possim; quod quidem nec destiti facere nec desistam et iam in maxima re feci et fundamenta ieci salutis tuae.
They must concede to me that I can be of more service to you at this time than they themselves can; which indeed I have neither ceased to do nor shall cease, and have already done in a most important matter and have laid the foundations of your safety.
tu fac bono animo magnoque sis meque tibi nulla re defuturum esse confidas.
Do make sure that you are of good and great courage, and trust that I will fail you in no respect.
pridie non. Quintilis.
July 6th.

Notes

  1. §10.29.1cognosse — A syncopated form of cognōvisse, the perfect active infinitive of the verb cognōscō ('to learn, know').
  2. §10.29.1tuorum — The masculine genitive plural of the possessive pronoun tuus, used substantively to mean 'your people' (family, relatives, or supporters).
  3. §10.29.1quibus — A relative pronoun in the dative plural, referring back to tuorum as its antecedent, serving as the indirect object of satis fecisse (from satis facere, 'to satisfy').
  4. §10.29.1singulari in te benevolentia — Ablative of quality (description) with sunt, describing the subject (tuorum / illi). The phrase in te means 'toward you'.
  5. §10.29.1ut tibi plus quam ipsi hoc tempore prodesse possim — A noun clause introduced by ut, serving as the object of concedant. The pronoun ipsi is nominative plural ('than they themselves [can]').
  6. §10.29.1fac... sis — The imperative fac (from faciō) governs the subjunctive sis (from sum) without the conjunction ut, forming an emphatic command ('make sure that you are...').

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §10.29.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:10.29.1

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