Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §11.13.1-11.13.4

Defense of Delayed Pursuit and Securing of Pollentia

Passage 249 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Decimus Brutus explains to Cicero his inability to pursue Antony immediately due to shortages and military uncertainties, and reports on his subsequent movements and the successful securing of Pollentia.

§11.13.1iam non ago tibi gratias; cui enim re vix referre possum, huic verbis non patitur res satis fieri.
I no longer thank you; for to him whom I can scarcely requite in deed, the situation does not allow satisfaction to be made in words.
attendere te volo quae in manibus sunt; qua enim prudentia es, nihil te fugiet, si meas litteras diligenter legeris.
I want you to attend to what is at hand; for with your wisdom, nothing will escape you if you read my letter carefully.
sequi confestim Antonium his de causis, Cicero, non potui: eram sine equitibus, sine iumentis; Hirtium perisse nesciebam, Aquilam perisse nesciebam; Caesari non credebam prius quam convenissem et conlocutus essem.
I could not, Cicero, immediately pursue Antony for these reasons: I was without cavalry, without baggage animals; I did not know that Hirtius had perished, I did not know that Aquila had perished; I did not trust Caesar until I had met him and spoken with him.
hic dies hoc modo abiit.
This day passed in this manner.
§11.13.2postero die mane a Pansa sum accersitus Bononiam.
On the next morning, I was summoned by Pansa to Bononia.
Cum in itinere essem, nuntiatum mihi est eum mortuum esse.
While I was on the journey, it was announced to me that he was dead.
recurri ad meas copiolas; sic enim vere eas appellare possum; sunt extenuatissimae et inopia omnium rerum pessime acceptae.
I returned to my little forces—for so indeed I can truly call them; they are extremely reduced and in a very bad plight from the lack of all things.
biduo me Antonius antecessit, itinera fecit multo maiora fugiens quam ego sequens; ille enim iit passim, ego ordinatim.
Antony was two days ahead of me; fleeing, he made much longer marches than I did in pursuit; for he went haphazardly, I in order.
quacumque iit, ergastula solvit, homines abripuit, constitit nusquam prius quam ad Vada venit; quem locum volo tibi esse notum.
Wherever he went, he opened the slave-prisons, carried off men, and stopped nowhere before he came to Vada; a place I want to be known to you.
iacet inter Appenninum et Alpis impeditissimus ad iter faciendum.
It lies between the Apennines and the Alps, extremely difficult for making a march.
§11.13.3Cum abessem ab eo milia passuum xxx et se iam Ventidius coniunxisset contio eius ad me est adlata, in qua petere coepit a militibus ut se trans Alpis sequerentur;
When I was thirty miles away from him and Ventidius had already joined him, a report of his speech to the soldiers was brought to me, in which he began to ask the soldiers to follow him across the Alps, saying that he had an understanding with M.
sibi cum M. Lepido convenire.
Lepidus.
succlamatum est ei frequenter a militibus Ventidianis (nam suos valde quam paucos habet) sibi aut in Italia pereundum esse aut vincendum, et orare coeperunt ut Pollentiam iter facerent.
Shouts were frequently raised against him by the soldiers of Ventidius (for he has very few of his own) that they must either perish in Italy or conquer, and they began to entreat him to march to Pollentia.
Cum sustinere eos non posset, in posterum diem iter suum contulit.
When he could not hold them back, he put off his march to the next day.
§11.13.4hac re mihi nuntiata statim quinque cohortis Pollentiam praemisi meumque iter eo contuli.
This matter having been reported to me, I immediately sent five cohorts ahead to Pollentia and directed my march thither.
Hora ante praesidium meum Pollentiam venit quam Trebellius cum equitibus.
My garrison arrived at Pollentia an hour before Trebellius came with the cavalry.
sane quam sum gavisus; in hoc enim victoriam puto consistere
I was truly glad; for in this indeed I think victory consists.

Notes

  1. 11.13.1cui enim re vix referre possum, huic verbis non patitur res satis fieri — An expression utilizing a correlative construction (cui... huic...). The relative pronoun 'cui' is a dative within the relative clause (referring to the person to whom one requites), while 'huic' is the dative in the main clause, governed by the infinitive 'satis fieri' (to be satisfied/requited, used impersonally) which depends on 'res non patitur' (the situation does not allow). There is a sharp contrast between 're' (in deed) and 'verbis' (in words).
  2. 11.13.1qua enim prudentia es — The phrase 'prudentia es' with the relative 'qua' functions predicatively as an ablative of quality. The verb 'es' is the second person singular of 'esse'. It indicates a characteristic or premise: 'such being your wisdom' or 'with that extraordinary wisdom of yours'.
  3. 11.13.3sibi cum M. Lepido convenire — An accusative and infinitive construction in indirect discourse. The infinitive 'convenire' is used impersonally (from 'convenit cum aliquo', 'to come to an agreement with someone'). The governing verb of speaking is omitted but easily supplied from the preceding 'petere' or 'contio'. 'sibi' is the dative of the reflexive pronoun referring to the speaker (Antony).
  4. 11.13.4Hora ante praesidium meum Pollentiam venit quam Trebellius cum equitibus — The temporal conjunction 'antequam' is separated (tmesis) into 'ante' and 'quam', with the main clause elements inserted between them. The noun 'hora' at the beginning is in the ablative case, functioning as an ablative of measure of difference with 'ante' to mean 'an hour earlier/before'.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §11.13.1-11.13.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:11.13.1-11.13.4

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