Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §13.28a.1-13.28a.2

Request to the Governor to Favor the Lacedaemonians

Passage 325 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero asks the governor of Achaea to show spontaneous favor to the Lacedaemonians and requests him to let them know that his actions are also pleasing to Cicero.

§13.28a.1nec Lacedaemonios dubitare arbitror quin ipsi sua maiorumque suorum auctoritate satis commendati sint fidei et iustitiae tuae, et ego, qui te optime novissem, non dubitavi quin tibi notissima et iura et merita populorum essent.
And I do not think that the Lacedaemonians themselves doubt that, by their own authority and that of their ancestors, they are sufficiently recommended to your good faith and justice; and I, who knew you very well, did not doubt that both the rights and the merits of these peoples were very well known to you.
itaque cum a me peteret Philippus Lacedaemonius ut tibi civitatem commendarem etsi memineram me ei civitati omnia debere, tamen respondi commendatione Lacedaemonios apud te non egere. §13.28a.2itaque sic velim existimes, me omnis Achaiae civitates arbitrari pro horum temporum perturbatione felicis, quod iis tu praesis, eundemque me ita iudicasse, te, quod unus optime nosses non nostra solum sed etiam Graeciae monumenta omnia, tua ponte amicum Lacedaemoniis et esse et fore.
Therefore, when Philippus the Lacedaemonian asked of me that I recommend his state to you, although I remembered that I owed everything to that state, nevertheless I replied that the Lacedaemonians did not need any recommendation with you. Therefore, I would wish you to think thus: that I consider all the states of Achaea, in proportion to the disturbance of these times, fortunate because you rule over them; and that I, the very same person, have judged that you, because you alone knew best not only our own historical records but also all those of Greece, of your own accord both are and will be a friend to the Lacedaemonians.
qua re tantum a te peto ut, quom ea facies Lacedaemoniorum causa quae tua fides, amplitudo, iustitia postulabit, iis, si tibi videbitur, significes te non moleste ferre, quod intellegas ea quae facias mihi quoque grata esse.
Therefore, I ask only this of you: that when you do those things for the sake of the Lacedaemonians which your good faith, greatness, and justice shall demand, you should indicate to them, if it seems good to you, that you do not do so reluctantly, because you understand that what you do is pleasing to me as well.
pertinet enim ad officium meum eos existimare curae mihi suas res esse.
For it belongs to my duty that they should think that their affairs are a care to me.
hoc te vehementer etiam atque etiam rogo.
This I ask of you vehemently again and again.

Notes

  1. §13.28a.1non dubitavi quin — A clause introduced by quin with the subjunctive (essent), triggered by the negated verb of doubting non dubitavi ('I did not doubt').
  2. §13.28a.2tua ponte — The reading tua ponte in the text is a corruption or typographical error for tua sponte ('of your own accord', 'spontaneously'). The translation is based on this emendation.
  3. §13.28a.2pertinet enim ad officium meum eos existimare — The accusative with infinitive clause eos existimare... ('that they think...') functions as the subject of the impersonal verb pertinet ('it pertains to...', 'it belongs to...').
  4. §13.28a.2curae mihi suas res esse — A double dative construction consisting of the dative of purpose/effect (curae) and the dative of reference (mihi), meaning 'that their affairs (suas res) are a care (curae) to me (mihi)'.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §13.28a.1-13.28a.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:13.28a.1-13.28a.2

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

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.