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Cicero · Letters to Friends §12.3.1-12.3.2

Antony's Accusations and the Lack of Armed Force

Passage 269 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero describes Antony's growing madness and his labeling of Cicero as the leader of the assassination, laments the lack of physical force to counter him, and urges Cassius to reflect on their next moves.

§12.3.1auget tuus amicus furorem in dies.
Your friend increases his madness day by day.
primum in statua quam posuit in rostris inscripsit 'PARENTI OPTIME MERITO,' ut non modo sicarii sed iam etiam parricidae iudicemini, quid dico 'iudicemini'? iudicemur potius; vestri enim pulcherrimi facti ille furiosus me principem dicit fuisse.
First, on the statue which he placed on the rostra, he inscribed 'TO THE MOST DESERVING PARENT,' so that you may be judged not only as assassins but now even as parricides. Why do I say 'you may be judged'? Rather, let us be judged; for that madman says that I was the leader of your most beautiful deed.
utinam quidem fuissem! molestus nobis non esset.
If only indeed I had been! He would not be troublesome to us.
sed hoc vestrum est; quod quoniam praeteriit, utinam haberem quid vobis darem consili! sed ne mihi quidem ipsi reperio quid faciendum sit.
But this is your affair; since that is past, if only I had some counsel to give you! But I do not find even for myself what ought to be done.
quid enim est quod contra vim sine vi fieri possit?
For what is there that can be done against force without force?
§12.3.2consilium omne autem hoc est illorum, ut mortem Caesaris persequantur.
But their entire plan is this, to avenge the death of Caesar.
itaque ante diem vi Non. Oct. productus in contionem a Cannutio turpissime ille quidem discessit, sed tamen ea dixit de conservatoribus patriae quae dici deberent de proditoribus; de me quidem non dubitanter quin omnia de meo consilio et vos fecissetis et Cannutius faceret.
And so, on the sixth day before the Nones of October, having been brought forward to a public assembly by Cannutius, he indeed departed most disgracefully, but nevertheless said those things about the saviors of the fatherland which ought to be said about traitors; regarding me, indeed, he asserted without hesitation that both you had done and Cannutius was doing everything by my counsel.
cetera cuius modi sint ex hoc iudica quod legato tuo viaticum eripuerunt.
Judge what the rest of the matters are like from this, that they plundered the travel money from your lieutenant.
quid eos interpretari putas, cum hoc faciunt? ad hostem scilicet portari.
What do you think they mean when they do this? Namely, that it is being carried to an enemy.
O rem miseram! dominum ferre non potuimus, conservo servimus.
O wretched state of things! We could not endure a master, yet we slave for a fellow-slave.
et tamen me quidem favente magis quam sperante etiam nunc residet spes in virtute tua.
And yet, with me indeed favoring rather than hoping, even now hope resides in your virtue.
sed ubi sunt copiae? de reliquo malo te ipsum tecum loqui quam nostra dicta cognoscere.
But where are the troops? For the rest, I prefer that you yourself speak with yourself than to learn our words.
vale.
Farewell.

Notes

  1. 12.3.1iudicemini — Subjunctive present passive second person plural in a clause introduced by ut (expressing purpose or result). Cicero immediately corrects himself to iudicemur potius ('rather, let us be judged') to express his solidarity and shared responsibility.
  2. 12.3.1fuissem! molestus nobis non esset — fuissem (subjunctive pluperfect) introduced by utinam expresses a past unfulfilled wish. The following molestus nobis non esset (subjunctive imperfect) represents a present counterfactual result ('he would not be troublesome to us now'). The subject is ille furiosus (Antony).
  3. 12.3.2non dubitanter quin — An analogical application of the construction where dubitare accompanied by a negation takes a quin clause (with the subjunctive) to mean 'to have no doubt that...', here used with the adverb non dubitanter. Within the clause, fecissetis refers to a past action and faceret to a present one.
  4. 12.3.2ad hostem scilicet portari — An accusative with infinitive (ACI) construction serving as the object of the preceding verb interpretari ('to interpret, imply'). The omitted subject accusative (the plundered 'travel money', viaticum) must be supplied as the subject of the passive infinitive portari.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §12.3.1-12.3.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:12.3.1-12.3.2

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