Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §12.25a.6-12.25a.7

Lament for the Consuls and Commitment to the Republic

Passage 295 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero promises to protect Lucceius, laments the death of the two consuls while reaffirming his commitment to the state, and asks for information regarding the harsh rumors about Gnaeus Minucius.

§12.25a.6P. Lucceium mihi meum commendas; quem quibuscumque rebus potero diligenter tuebor.
You recommend to me my dear Publius Lucceius; whom I will diligently protect by whatever means I shall be able.
Hirtium quidem et Pansam, conlegas nostros, homines in consulatu rei p. salutans, alieno sane tempore amisimus, re publica Antoniano quidem latrocinio liberata sed nondum omnino explicata.
Hirtius indeed and Pansa, our colleagues, men who in their consulship were beneficial to the republic, we have lost at a truly inopportune time, although the republic has indeed been freed from Antony's banditry, but is not yet completely settled.
quam nos, si licebit, more nostro tuebimur, quamquam admodum sumus iam defetigati.
This we shall, if it is permitted, protect in our usual manner, although we are already utterly exhausted.
sed nulla lassitudo impedire officium et fidem debet.
But no weariness ought to hinder duty and loyalty.
§12.25a.7verum haec hactenus.
But enough of these matters.
ab aliis te de me quam a me ipso malo cognoscere.
I prefer that you learn about me from others rather than from myself.
de te audiebamus ea quae maxime vellemus.
About you, we were hearing those things which we would most wish.
de Cn. Minucio, quem tu quibusdam litteris ad caelum laudibus extulisti, rumores duriores erant.
Concerning Gnaeus Minucius, whom you extolled to the skies with praise in a certain letter, the rumors were rather harsh.
id quale sit omninoque quid istic agatur facias me velim certiorem.
I would like you to inform me what kind of thing that is, and in general what is going on over there.

Notes

  1. §12.25a.6meum — The pronominal adjective meum is used here not to denote literal possession, but as a term of endearment indicating intimacy ("my dear" or "my close friend").
  2. §12.25a.6salutans — The reading salutans (present participle) found in some manuscripts is contextually awkward; it is here treated as a corruption or variant of the adjective salutares ("salutary," "beneficial," in agreement with the accusative plural homines), meaning "men beneficial to the republic."
  3. §12.25a.7facias me velim certiorem — The subjunctive of wish velim (present subjunctive of volo, expressing a polite desire) is followed directly by the subjunctive facias without the conjunction ut, forming a polite request or demand ("I would like you to inform me").

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §12.25a.6-12.25a.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:12.25a.6-12.25a.7

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