Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §11.22.1-11.22.2

Plea to Brutus for the Safety of Appius Claudius

Passage 259 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero explains the background of Appius Claudius's alignment with Antony for his father's restoration and earnestly requests Brutus to guarantee his safety.

§11.22.1Cum Appio Claudio C. f. summa mihi necessitudo est multis eius officiis et meis mutuis constituta.
With Appius Claudius, son of Gaius, I have the closest connection, established by many services of his and mutual ones of mine.
peto a te maiorem in modum vel humanitatis tuae vel mea causa ut eum auctoritate tua, quae plurimum valet, conservatum velis.
I beg of you in an unusual degree, either for the sake of your own humanity or for my sake, that you wish him to be preserved by your authority, which is most powerful.
volo te, cum fortissimus vir cognitus sis, etiam clementissimum existimari.
I wish you, since you have been recognized as a most brave man, to be considered also most merciful.
Magno tibi erit ornamento nobilissimum adulescentem beneficio tuo esse salvum; cuius quidem causa hoc melior debet esse, quod pietate adductus propter patris restitutionem se cum Antonio coniunxit.
It will be a great honor to you that a most noble young man is safe through your benefit; and indeed his case ought to be better on this account, because, led by filial piety for the sake of his father's restoration, he joined himself with Antony.
§11.22.2qua re etsi minus veram causam habebis, tamen vel probabilem aliquam poteris inducere.
Therefore, even if you will have a less true excuse, yet you will be able to bring forward at least some plausible one.
nutus tuus potest hominem summo loco natum, summo ingenio, summa virtute, officiosissimum praeterea et gratissimum, incolumem in civitate retinere.
Your mere nod can keep safe in the state a man born in the highest station, of the highest talent, of the highest virtue, and moreover most dutiful and grateful.
quod ut facias ita a te peto, ut maiore studio magisve ex animo petere non possim.
And that you do this, I beg of you in such a way that I could not beg with greater zeal or more from my heart.

Notes

  1. 11.22.1conservatum velis — A construction combining the subjunctive present of volo with the perfect passive participle conservatum. This idiom expresses a strong desire or a formal request for someone to be kept safe or preserved.
  2. 11.22.1Magno tibi erit ornamento — A double dative construction. tibi is the dative of reference, and magno... ornamento is the dative of purpose/result, meaning 'it will be a great honor to you.'
  3. 11.22.1hoc melior debet esse, quod — A correlative construction where the ablative of measure of difference/cause hoc anticipates the following substantive quod clause ('the fact that...'). It means 'ought to be better on this account, namely, that...'

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §11.22.1-11.22.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:11.22.1-11.22.2

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.