Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §13.35.1-13.35.2

Recommendation of the Guest-Friend Avianius Philoxenus

Passage 332 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero recommends his guest-friend Avianius Philoxenus, who obtained Roman citizenship through Cicero's influence with Caesar, and requests assistance for him.

§13.35.1C. Avianius Philoxenus antiquus est hospes meus et praeter hospitium valde etiam familiaris; quem Caesar meo beneficio in Novocomensis rettulit;
Gaius Avianius Philoxenus is an old guest-friend of mine, and besides our tie of hospitality, he is also a very close friend; Caesar, through my good offices, enrolled him among the citizens of Novum Comum.
nomen autem Aviani secutus est, quod homine nullo plus est usus quam Flacco Avianio, meo, quem ad modum te scire arbitror, familiarissimo.
He assumed the name of Avianius because there was no one with whom he was on more intimate terms than Flaccus Avianius, who is—as I believe you know—a very close friend of mine.
quae ego omnia conlegi, ut intellegeres non vulgarem esse commendationem hanc meam.
I have gathered all these facts so that you might understand that this recommendation of mine is of no ordinary kind.
§13.35.2peto igitur abs te ut omnibus rebus, quod sine molestia tua facere possis, ei commodes habeasque in numero tuorum perficiasque ut intellegat has litteras meas magno sibi usui fuisse.
Therefore, I ask of you to accommodate him in every way, so far as you can do so without inconvenience to yourself, and to hold him in the number of your friends, and to bring it about that he realizes that this letter of mine has been of great service to him.
erit id mihi maiorem in modum gratum.
This will be exceptionally gratifying to me.

Notes

  1. §13.35.1Novocomensis — Accusative plural of the proper noun Novocomenses (citizens of Novum Comum), using the archaic/classical ending -is instead of -es. It functions as the object of rettulit after the preposition in.
  2. §13.35.1homine nullo — Ablative case functioning as the object of the verb utor (usus est), which governs the ablative. It is used with the comparative plus and quam to mean 'he associated with no one more than...'
  3. §13.35.2quod — Relative pronoun in the neuter accusative introducing a restrictive relative clause, meaning 'so far as' or 'to the extent that.' There is no explicit antecedent, and the clause functions adverbially. The subjunctive possis expresses a mild potentiality or subjective limitation.
  4. §13.35.2magno sibi usui — The so-called 'double dative' construction. sibi is the dative of interest (for him), and magno usui is the dative of purpose or tendency (for a great use/service), forming a predicative relation with the infinitive fuisse ('had been of great service to him').

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §13.35.1-13.35.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:13.35.1-13.35.2

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.