Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §13.14.1-13.14.2

Request for Assistance with Debt Collection for Titius Strabo

Passage 312 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero writes to the provincial governor on behalf of his close friend L. Titius Strabo, earnestly requesting assistance for Strabo's freedman who has been sent to collect a debt.

§13.14.1L. Titio Strabone, equite R. in primis honesto et ornato, familiarissime utor; omnia mihi cum eo intercedunt iura summae necessitudinis.
I am on terms of the closest intimacy with L. Titius Strabo, a Roman knight of the highest honor and distinction; all the bonds of the closest friendship exist between me and him.
huic in tua provincia pecuniam debet P. Cornelius.
P. Cornelius owes him money in your province.
ea res a Volcacio, qui Romae ius dicit, reiecta in Galliam est.
That matter has been referred to Gaul by Volcatius, who administers justice in Rome.
§13.14.2peto a te hoc diligentius quam si mea res esset, quo est honestius de amicorum pecunia laborare quam de sua, ut negotium conficiendum cures, ipse suscipias, transigas operamque des, quoad tibi aequum et rectum videbitur, ut quam commodissima condicione libertus Strabonis, qui eius rei causa missus est, negotium conficiat ad nummosque perveniat.
I ask this of you all the more earnestly than if it were my own concern—by how much it is more honorable to busy oneself about the money of one's friends than about one's own—that you take care to have the business settled, undertake it yourself, transact it, and give your attention, so far as shall seem fair and right to you, so that the freedman of Strabo, who has been sent for the sake of this matter, may settle the business on the most favorable terms possible and obtain the cash.
id et mihi gratissimum erit et tu ipse L. Titium cognosces amicitia tua dignissimum.
This will be most pleasing to me, and you yourself will find L. Titius most worthy of your friendship.
quod ut tibi curae sit, ut omnia solent esse quae me velle scis, te vehementer etiam atque etiam rogo.
That this may be a matter of care to you, as all things are wont to be which you know I wish, I earnestly ask you again and again.

Notes

  1. §13.14.1L. Titio Strabone ... utor — The verb utor takes an ablative object (L. Titio Strabone) instead of an accusative.
  2. §13.14.2hoc diligentius ... quo est honestius — Both hoc and quo are ablatives of degree of difference, used correlatively to mean 'by so much the more... by how much...'. Here they form the logical relation: 'all the more earnestly... because it is more honorable...'.
  3. §13.14.2negotium conficiendum cures — The verb curo combined with a gerundive (conficiendum) expresses a causative meaning, 'to care for / see to it that the business is settled.'
  4. §13.14.2quod ut tibi curae sit — The relative pronoun quod at the beginning of the clause is a connective relative, referring back to the entire matter mentioned in the previous sentence. curae is a dative of purpose ('be a matter of care'), used with tibi (dative of reference/possession) to form a double dative construction.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §13.14.1-13.14.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:13.14.1-13.14.2

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