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Cicero · Letters to Friends §12.24.1-12.24.3

Exhortation for the Republic and Recommendation of Pinarius

Passage 293 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero encourages the recipient to devote himself to the republic and explains that everything in Rome is currently in suspense. He also warmly recommends his close friend, Titus Pinarius, who manages the affairs of Dionysius.

§12.24.1ego nullum locum praetermitto (nec enim debeo) non modo laudandi tui sed ne ornandi quidem; sed mea studia erga te et officia malo tibi ex tuorum litteris quam ex meis esse nota.
I let no opportunity pass (for indeed I ought not to), not only of praising you, but even of honoring you; but I prefer that my devotion and services toward you be known to you from the letters of your own people rather than from mine.
te tamen hortor ut omni cura in rem p. incumbas.
Nevertheless, I exhort you to devote yourself with all care to the republic.
hoc est animi, hoc est ingeni tui, hoc eius spei quam habere debes amplificandae dignitatis tuae.
This is worthy of your spirit, this is worthy of your talent, this is worthy of that hope of amplifying your dignity which you ought to cherish.
§12.24.2sed hac de re alias ad te pluribus.
But concerning this matter, I will write to you more fully at another time.
Cum enim haec scribebam, in exspectatione erant omnia; nondum legati redierant, quos senatus non ad pacem deprecandam sed ad denuntiandum bellum miserat nisi legatorum nuntio paruisset.
For when I was writing this, everything was in suspense; the envoys had not yet returned, whom the senate had sent, not to beg for peace, but to declare war unless he should obey the message of the envoys.
ego tamen, ut primum occasio data est, meo pristino more rem p. defendi, me principem senatui populoque R. professus sum nec, postea quam suscepi causam libertatis, minimum tempus amisi tuendae salutis libertatisque communis.
I, however, as soon as an opportunity was given, defended the republic in my old manner, declaring myself a leader to the senate and the Roman people; and after I undertook the cause of liberty, I did not lose the least moment for defending the common safety and liberty.
sed haec quoque te ex aliis malo.
But these things too I prefer you to learn from others.
§12.24.3T. Pinarium, familiarissimum meum, tanto tibi studio commendo ut maiore non possim; cui cum propter omnis virtutes tum etiam propter studia communia sum amicissimus.
I recommend to you Titus Pinarius, my very close friend, with such great zeal that I could not recommend him with greater; to whom I am most friendly, both on account of all his virtues and also on account of our common pursuits.
is procurat rationes negotiaque Dionysi nostri, quem et tu multum amas et ego omnium plurimum.
He manages the accounts and business of our friend Dionysius, whom both you love much and I most of all.
ea tibi ego non debeo commendare, sed commendo tamen.
I ought not to have to recommend these matters to you, but I recommend them nevertheless.
facies igitur ut ex Pinari, gratissimi hominis, litteris tuum et erga illum et erga Dionysium studium perspiciamus.
You will see to it, therefore, that from the letters of Pinarius, a most grateful man, we may perceive your zeal both toward him and toward Dionysius.

Notes

  1. 12.24.1non modo laudandi tui sed ne ornandi quidem — Since the main verb is negated (nullum locum praetermitto), the formula "non modo... sed ne... quidem" functions as "not only [not]... but not even...", which under the double negation yields a strong affirmative: "I let no opportunity pass, not only to praise you, but even to honor you." "laudandi tui" and "[ornandi] tui" are gerundive constructions in the genitive.
  2. 12.24.1est animi, hoc est ingeni tui, hoc eius spei — The genitives (animi, ingeni, spei) with the copula "est" are possessive genitives of characteristic, meaning "it is characteristic of..." or "it is worthy of...". The demonstrative "eius" qualifies "spei", which is further modified by the relative clause "quam habere debes".
  3. 12.24.2nisi legatorum nuntio paruisset — The pluperfect subjunctive "paruisset" is used in an indirect conditional clause depending on a past main verb (miserat). In direct speech, this would be a future perfect indicative ("nisi paruerit", unless he obeys/has obeyed), shifted here according to the rules of sequence of tenses.
  4. 12.24.2sed haec quoque te ex aliis malo — There is an ellipsis of an infinitive of knowing or hearing (such as "cognoscere" or "audire") with the accusative subject "te" after "malo" (literally, "I prefer you [to learn] these things too from others").

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §12.24.1-12.24.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:12.24.1-12.24.3

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