Cicero · Letters to Friends §10.34a.3-10.34a.4

Lepidus's Gratitude to Cicero and Request for Protection

Passage 235 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Lepidus thanks Cicero for not rashly believing the false rumors about him, and requests that Cicero expect continued devotion to the state and protect him with his authority.

§10.34a.3etsi omni tempore summa studia offici mutuo inter nos certatim constiterunt pro nostra inter nos familiaritate et proinde diligenter ab utroque conservata sunt, tamen non dubito in tanto et tam repentino motu rei p. quin non nulla de me falsis rumoribus a meis obtrectatoribus me indigna ad te delata sint, quae tuum animum magno opere moverent pro tuo amore in rem p.

\nAlthough at all times the greatest zeal for duty has existed between us, vying with each other in accordance with our mutual familiarity, and has likewise been carefully preserved by both of us, yet I do not doubt, in so great and so sudden a disturbance of the republic, that some things unworthy of me have been reported to you through false rumors by my detractors, which would greatly move your mind on account of your love for the republic.

ea te moderate accepisse neque temere credendum iudicasse a meis procuratoribus certior sum factus.

I have been informed by my agents that you received these things temperately and judged that they should not be rashly believed.

quae mihi, ut debent, gratissima sunt; memini enim et illa superiora, quae abs tua voluntate profecta sunt ad meam dignitatem augendam et ornandam, quae perpetuo animo meo fixa manebunt. §10.34a.4abs te, mi Cicero, magno opere peto, si meam vitam, studium diligentissime superioribus temporibus in re p. administranda, quae Lepido digna sunt, perspecta habes, ut paria aut eo ampliora reliquo tempore exspectes et proinde tua auctoritate me tuendum existimes, quo tibi plura tuo merito debeo.

These things are, as they ought to be, most pleasing to me; for I remember also those former things which proceeded from your goodwill to increase and adorn my dignity, which will remain fixed in my mind forever.\n\nI earnestly beg of you, my Cicero, if you have thoroughly perceived my life and zeal in administering the republic during former times—which are worthy of Lepidus—that you expect equal or even greater things in the remaining time, and likewise think that I should be protected by your authority, by which I owe you the more on account of your merit.

vale.

Farewell.

D. xi K. Iun. ex castris ex Ponte Argenteo.

Given on the eleventh day before the Kalends of June, from the camp at the Argenteus Bridge.

Notes

10.34a.3me indigna — The adjective `indigna` (neuter plural nominative) modifies `non nulla` (the subject of the quin-clause) and governs the ablative `me`. It means "things unworthy of me."
10.34a.4perspecta habes — The construction of `habeo` with a perfect passive participle indicates the continuation of a completed state. The participle `perspecta` (neuter plural accusative) modifies two nouns of different genders, `vitam` (feminine singular) and `studium` (neuter singular), taking the neuter plural form according to the rule for inanimate multiple antecedents.
10.34a.4quo tibi plura — `quo` is the ablative of the relative pronoun, expressing degree or cause ("by which, so much the more"). It reinforces the claim that Lepidus should be protected in proportion to the degree of obligation he owes to Cicero.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §10.34a.3-10.34a.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:10.34a.3-10.34a.4

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