Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §13.15.1-13.15.3

Recommendation of Precilius's Son with Poetic Quotes

Passage 313 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero recommends the son of his friend Precilius, using an unusual literary style adorned with Greek poetic quotations to request support.

§13.15.1Precilium tibi commendo unice, tui necessari, mei familiarissimi, viri optimi filium.
I recommend Precilius to you in a special manner, the son of an intimate friend of yours, a very close friend of mine, and a most excellent man.
quem cum adulescentem ipsum propter eius modestiam, humanitatem, animum et amorem erga me singularem mirifice diligo, tum patrem eius re doctus intellexi et didici mihi fuisse semper amicissimum.
While I wonderfully love the young man himself because of his modesty, culture, character, and singular affection toward me, I have also, taught by actual experience, understood and learned that his father has always been most friendly to me.
em hic ille est, maxime qui inridere atque obiurgare me solitus est, quod me non tecum, praesertim cum abs te honorificentissime invitarer, coniungerem; " a)ll' e)mo\n ou)/ pote qumo\n e)ni\ sth/qessin e)/peiqen.
Look, this is the very man who was most accustomed to mock and upbraid me because I did not join myself with you, especially when I was invited by you in the most honorable manner: "But he never persuaded my heart within my breast.
" audiebam enim nostros proceres clamitantis: " a)/lkimos e)/ss', i(/na ti/s se kai\ o)yigo/nwn e)u\ ei)/ph|.
"For I kept hearing our leading men crying out: "Be brave, so that even one of those born hereafter may speak well of you.
w(\s fa/to, to\n d' a)/xeos nefe/lh e)ka/luye me/laina. "
So he spoke, and a black cloud of grief covered him.
§13.15.2sed tamen idem me consolantur etiam; hominem perustum etiamnum gloria volunt incendere atque ita loquuntur: " mh\ ma\n a)spoudi/ ge kai\ a)kleiw=s a)poloi/mhn, a)lla\ me/ga r(e/cas ti kai\ e)ssome/noisi puqe/sqai.
"But yet, the same men also comfort me; they wish to inflame further a man already consumed with glory, and they speak thus: "Let me not indeed perish without an effort and ingloriously, but after doing some great deed for those also of future times to hear of.
" sed me minus iam movent, ut vides.
"But they move me less now, as you see.
itaque ab Homeri magniloquentia confero me ad vera praecepta *eu)ripi/dou: " misw= sofisth/n, o(/stis ou)x au(tw=| sofo/s, " quem versum senex Precilius laudat egregie et ait posse eundem et " a(/ma pro/ssw kai\ o)pi/ssw " videre et tamen nihilo minus " ai)e\n a)risteu/ein kai\ u(pei/roxon e)/mmenai a)/llwn.
Therefore, from the grandiloquence of Homer, I betake myself to the true precepts of Euripides: "I hate a wise man who is not wise for himself.
"
"Old Precilius praises this verse extraordinarily and says that the same man can both "look at once before and behind "and yet, none the less, "always be the best and excel above others.
§13.15.3sed ut redeam ad id unde coepi, vehementer mihi gratum feceris, si hunc adulescentem humanitate tua, quae est singularis, comprehenderis et ad id, quod ipsorum Preciliorum causa te velle arbitror, addideris cumulum commendationis meae.
"But to return to where I began, you will do me a very great favor if you welcome this young man with your singular kindness and add the crown of my recommendation to what I think you already wish for the sake of the Precilii themselves.
genere novo sum litterarum ad te usus, ut intellegeres non vulgarem esse commendationem.
I have used a new style of letter to you, so that you might understand that this is no ordinary recommendation.

Notes

  1. §13.15.1tui necessari, mei familiarissimi, viri optimi filium — The genitives tui necessari, mei familiarissimi, and viri optimi all modify filium. Specifically, viri optimi acts as the head noun with the other terms in apposition to it, collectively describing the father of the youth.
  2. §13.15.1quem cum adulescentem ipsum... tum patrem eius — A correlative construction with cum... tum... The relative pronoun quem (at the beginning of the sentence) functions as the direct object of diligo in apposition with adulescentem ipsum in the cum-clause, while in the tum-clause the focus shifts to patrem eius as the subject accusative of the infinitive clause fuisse... amicissimum.
  3. §13.15.1quod me non tecum... coniungerem — The imperfect subjunctive coniungerem in the quod clause. Rather than stating a mere objective fact, the subjunctive is used to express the alleged or subjective reason for which the elder Precilius used to upbraid Cicero.
  4. §13.15.2eundem et... videre et tamen nihilo minus... — In the phrase ait posse eundem..., the accusative eundem (the same person) is the subject of the infinitive posse. Both the Latin infinitive videre and the Greek infinitives aristeuein and emmenai depend on posse in a parallel construction.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §13.15.1-13.15.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:13.15.1-13.15.3

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