Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §10.3.1-10.3.4

Praise of Plancus and Urging the Pursuit of True Glory

Passage 202 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero expresses his delight to Plancus upon hearing of his virtues and generosity from the messenger Furnius. Recalling their long-standing familial bond, he urges Plancus, as consul elect, to rise above mere political opportunism and devote himself to the restoration of the republic to win true glory.

§10.3.1cum ipsum Furnium per se vidi libentissime, tum hoc libentius quod illum audiens te videbar audire; nam et in re militari virtutem et in administranda provincia iustitiam et in omni genere prudentiam mihi tuam exposuit et praeterea mihi non ignaram in consuetudine et familiaritate suavitatem tuam; adiunxit praeterea summam erga se liberalitatem.
While I was very glad to see Furnius himself for his own sake, I was all the gladder because in hearing him I seemed to hear you; for he explained to me your courage in military affairs, your justice in administering the province, and your wisdom in every kind of matter, and moreover your charm, with which I am not unacquainted through our social intercourse and intimacy; he added, besides, your utmost generosity toward him.
quae omnia mihi iucunda, hoc extremum etiam gratum fuit.
All of these things were pleasing to me, but this last was also gratifying.
§10.3.2ego, Plance, necessitudinem constitutam habui cum domo vestra ante aliquanto quam tu natus es, amorem autem erga te ab ineunte pueritia tua, confirmata iam aetate familiaritatem cum studio meo tum iudicio tuo constitutam.
I, Plancus, had an established connection with your house some time before you were born, and have had love for you from your early childhood, and, now that your age is mature, an intimacy established both by my devotion and by your judgment.
his de causis mirabiliter faveo dignitati tuae, quam mihi tecum statuo debere esse communem.
For these reasons I wonderfully favor your dignity, which I decide ought to be common to me and you.
omnia summa consecutus es vii%ute duce, comite fortuna eaque es adeptus adulescens multis invidentibus, quos ingenio industriaque fregisti; nunc me amantissimum tui, nemini concedentem qui tibi vetustate necessitudinis potior possit esse, si audies, omnem tibi reliquae vitae dignitatem ex optimo rei p. statu adquires.
You have attained all the highest things with virtue as your leader and fortune as your companion, and you acquired them as a young man while many envied you, whom you broke by your talent and industry; now, if you listen to me, who am most loving of you and yield to no one who could be more important to you by the length of our relationship, you will acquire all the dignity of the rest of your life from the best state of the republic.
§10.3.3scis profecto (nihil enim te fugere potuit) fuisse quoddam tempus, cum homines existimarent te nimis servire temporibus, quod ego quoque existimarem, te si ea quae patiebare probare etiam arbitrarer; sed cum intellegerem quid sentires, prudenter te arbitrabar videre quid posses.
You surely know (for nothing could escape you) that there was a certain time when people thought you were serving the times too much, which I also would have thought, if I had believed that you actually approved of those things which you were enduring; but since I understood what you felt, I thought you were prudently seeing what was possible for you.
nunc alia ratio est.
Now the case is different.
omnium rerum tuum iudicium est, idque liberum.
The judgment on all matters is yours, and that a free one.
consul es designatus, optima aetate, summa eloquentia, maxima orbitate rei p. virorum talium.
You are consul elect, in the prime of life, with the highest eloquence, at a time of the greatest bereavement of the republic of such men.
incumbe, per deos immortalis! in eam curam et cogitationem, quae tibi summam dignitatem et gloriam adferat; unus autem est, hoc praesertim tempore, per tot annos re p. divexata, rei p. bene gerendae cursus ad gloriam.
Devote yourself, by the immortal gods! to that care and reflection which may bring you the highest dignity and glory; moreover, especially at this time, when the republic has been torn apart for so many years, the only path to glory is that of governing the republic well.
§10.3.4haec amore magis impulsus scribenda ad te putavi quam quo te arbitrarer monitis et praeceptis egere; sciebam enim ex iisdem te haec haurire fontibus, ex quibus ipse hauseram.
I thought these things ought to be written to you, prompted more by love than because I thought you needed warnings and precepts; for I knew that you drew these things from the very same fountains from which I myself had drawn.
qua re modum faciam.
Therefore I shall set a limit.
nunc tantum significandum putavi, ut potius amorem tibi ostenderem meum quam ostentarem prudentiam.
For now, I thought I should only signify this much, so that I might show you my love rather than show off my wisdom.
interea quae ad dignitatem tuam pertinere arbitrabor studiose diligenterque curabo.
Meanwhile, I shall zealously and diligently care for those things which I shall judge to pertain to your dignity.

Notes

  1. 10.3.1mihi non ignaram in consuetudine et familiaritate suavitatem tuam — `non ignaram` is a feminine accusative singular adjective modifying `suavitatem` (a feminine noun), and the dative `mihi` is governed by `ignaram` ('not unknown to me'). The entire phrase serves as another object of the preceding verb `exposuit`.
  2. 10.3.2constitutam habui ... amorem autem ... familiaritatem ... constitutam — `constitutam habui` is a construction of `habeo` with a perfect participle, emphasizing the continuation of an established state ('I have kept established') rather than a simple perfect tense. The subsequent nouns `amorem` and `familiaritatem` are also governed as objects of this `habui`.
  3. 10.3.2virtute duce, comite fortuna — This is an ablative absolute construction of the 'noun + noun' type, which lacks a present participle in Latin. It means 'with virtue as leader, and fortune as companion.'
  4. 10.3.2nunc me amantissimum tui ... si audies — The main verb of the entire sentence is `adquires` at the end, and the conditional clause is `si audies`. The long phrase beginning with `me`, placed before it, is the object of `audies`, accompanied by the appositional adjective `amantissimum` and participle `concedentem`.
  5. 10.3.3quod ego quoque existimarem, te si ea quae patiebare probare etiam arbitrarer — `quod` is a neuter pronoun referring to the content of the preceding sentence (that people thought you were serving the times too much). The imperfect subjunctives `existimarem` and `arbitrarer` in the conditional clause express a past contrary-to-fact condition, with `te ... probare` being an accusative-and-infinitive construction governed by `arbitrarer`.
  6. 10.3.3maxima orbitate rei p. virorum talium — An ablative absolute or an ablative of circumstance. The genitives `rei p.` (of the republic) and `virorum talium` (of such men) depend on `orbitas` (bereavement, lack), meaning 'in the greatest bereavement of the republic of such men' (i.e., at a time when the state severely lacks such individuals).
  7. 10.3.4quam quo te arbitrarer monitis et praeceptis egere — `quam quo` with the subjunctive is used after the comparative `magis` to introduce a rejected reason ('not because...'), which is more commonly expressed by `non quo` in other contexts.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §10.3.1-10.3.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:10.3.1-10.3.4

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.