Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §12.8.1-12.8.2

Lepidus's Treachery and Hopes Placed in Cassius

Passage 274 of 413 · Latin

Summary

The author reports that they are back in a state of war due to Lepidus's treachery, and expresses the immense hope and expectations that both he and the Roman people place in Cassius and Brutus.

§12.8.1scelus adfinis tui Lepidi summamque levitatem et inconstantiam ex actis, quae ad te mitti certo scio, cognosse te arbitror.
I think you know of the crime of your kinsman Lepidus and his utmost levity and inconstancy from the public gazettes, which I know for certain are being sent to you.
itaque nos confecto bello, ut arbitrabamur, renovatum bellum gerimus spemque omnem in D. Bruto et Planco habemus, si verum quaeris, in te et in M. Bruto non solum ad praesens perfugium, si, quod nolim, adversi quid acciderit, sed etiam ad confirmationem perpetuae libertatis.
Therefore, although the war was finished, as we were thinking, we are now waging a renewed war, and we place all our hope in Decimus Brutus and Plancus, or, if you want the truth, in you and Marcus Brutus, not only as a present refuge, if any adversity should happen—which I would not wish—but also for the establishment of lasting liberty.
§12.8.2nos hic de Dolabella audiebamus quae vellemus, sed certos auctores non habebamus.
We here were hearing such news about Dolabella as we wished, but we had no reliable sources.
te quidem magnum hominem et praesenti iudicio et reliqui temporis exspectatione scito esse.
Know indeed that you are a great man, both in the present judgment of people and in the expectation of the future.
hoc tibi proposito fac ut ad summa contendas.
With this goal set before you, see to it that you strive for the highest things.
nihil est tantum quod non p. R. a te perfici atque obtineri posse iudicet.
There is nothing so great that the Roman people do not judge it can be accomplished and obtained by you.
vale.
Farewell.

Notes

  1. 12.8.1cognosse — A syncopated form of the perfect infinitive cognovisse. It functions as the predicate in the accusative and infinitive construction (A.C.I.) governed by arbitror, with te as its subject accusative.
  2. 12.8.1quae — Relative pronoun (neuter plural accusative). Its antecedent is the ablative noun actis. Within the relative clause, it functions as the subject accusative of the passive infinitive mitti in the A.C.I. construction governed by scio.
  3. 12.8.1confecto bello — Ablative absolute consisting of the noun bello and the perfect participle confecto. Accompanied by the parenthetical ut arbitrabamur ('as we were thinking'), it sets up a concessive or temporal background: 'although the war had been finished (as we thought)' or 'when the war was finished'.
  4. 12.8.1adversi quid — A partitive genitive construction consisting of the pronoun quid (with the prefix ali- dropped after si) and the neuter singular genitive adjective adversi, meaning 'something of adversity' or 'any trouble'.
  5. 12.8.2scito — The second person singular future imperative of scire (to know). Since scire lacks a standard present imperative singular, this future imperative is used with the force of a present instruction ('know that...'), governing the A.C.I. construction te... esse.
  6. 12.8.2hoc tibi proposito — An ablative absolute consisting of the demonstrative hoc and the perfect participle/noun proposito. tibi is either a dative of agent or a dative of reference. It translates to 'with this having been proposed to you' or 'having set this as your goal'.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §12.8.1-12.8.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:12.8.1-12.8.2

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

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