Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §12.26.1-12.26.2

Recommendation of the Heirs of Turius and Protection of Estate

Passage 296 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero recommends the heirs of the late Quintus Turius, thanking the recipient for the generosity already shown to them, and requests that the recipient prevent a freedman from embezzling the inheritance.

§12.26.1Q. Turius, qui in Africa negotiatus est, vir bonus et honestus, heredes fecit similis sui, Cn. Saturninum, Sex. Aufidium, C. Anneum, Q. Considium Gallum, L. Servilium Postumum, C. Rubellium.
Quintus Turius, who did business in Africa, a good and honorable man, made heirs those like himself: Gnaeus Saturninus, Sextus Aufidius, Gaius Anneus, Quintus Considius Gallus, Lucius Servilius Postumus, and Gaius Rubellius.
ex eorum oratione intellexi gratiarum actione eos magis egere quam commendatione.
From their speech, I understood that they stand in need of expression of gratitude rather than recommendation.
tanta enim liberalitate se tua usos praedicabant ut iis plus a te tributum intellegerem quam ego te auderem rogare.
For they declared that they had experienced such great generosity on your part that I realized more had been bestowed upon them by you than I would have dared to ask of you.
§12.26.2audebo tamen; scio enim quantum ponderis mea commendatio sit habitura.
Yet I will dare; for I know how much weight my recommendation is going to have.
qua re a te peto ut ad eam liberalitatem qua sine meis litteris usus es quam maximus his litteris cumulus accedat.
Therefore, I ask of you that to that generosity which you showed without any letter of mine, the greatest possible addition may be made by this letter.
caput autem est meae commendationis ne patiare Erotem Turium, Q. Turi libertum, ut adhuc fecit, hereditatem Turianam avertere ceterisque omnibus rebus habeas eos a me commendatissimos.
But the chief point of my recommendation is that you do not allow Eros Turius, the freedman of Quintus Turius, to embezzle the Turian inheritance as he has done up to now, and that in all other matters you hold them as highly recommended by me.
magnam ex eorum splendore et observantia capies voluptatem.
You will receive great pleasure from their splendor and respect.
quod ut velis te vehementer etiam atque etiam rogo.
That you may be willing to do this, I earnestly ask you again and again.

Notes

  1. §12.26.1similis sui — The adjective similis ('like, similar') often governs the genitive case (here the genitive of the third-person reflexive pronoun, sui) rather than the dative when indicating likeness in character or internal qualities. Here it indicates that the heirs possess a character similar to the honorable Turius himself.
  2. §12.26.1tanta enim liberalitate se tua usos — The verb utor ('to use, experience, enjoy') governs the ablative case, hence tanta liberalitate tua is in the ablative. This phrase forms an accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction with se as the subject accusative, with esse omitted from usos [esse] to indicate a past action, serving as the object clause of praedicabant.
  3. §12.26.2ne patiare — patiare is an alternative second-person singular present subjunctive form (ending in -re instead of -ris) of the deponent verb patior. It is introduced by the preceding peto ut to form a negative indirect command/petition with ne ('that you do not allow').
  4. §12.26.2quod ut velis — The relative pronoun quod at the beginning of the sentence serves as a relative connection referring to the entire preceding sentence, functioning as the direct object of velis (second-person singular present subjunctive of volo). The entire ut velis clause acts as the object clause of the main verb rogo.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §12.26.1-12.26.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:12.26.1-12.26.2

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