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Cicero · Letters to Friends §13.38.1

Recommendation of L. Bruttius and His Estate

Passage 334 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero recommends L. Bruttius, an accomplished Roman knight. Having a long-standing friendship with Bruttius's father since his own Sicilian quaestorship, Cicero commends his property and agents to the recipient, despite Bruttius himself currently being in Rome.

§13.38.1L. Bruttius, eques R., adulescens omnibus rebus ornatus, in meis familiarissimis est meque observat diligentissime; cuius cum patre magna mihi fuit amicitia iam inde a quaestura mea Siciliensi.
L. Bruttius, a Roman knight, a young man adorned with every quality, is among my closest friends and shows me the greatest respect; with whose father I have had a great friendship ever since my Sicilian quaestorship.
omnino nunc ipse Bruttius Romae mecum est; sed tamen domum eius et rem familiarem et procuratores tibi sic commendo, ut maiore studio commendare non possim.
To be sure, at present Bruttius himself is with me in Rome; but nevertheless, I so recommend his house, his private property, and his agents to you, that I could not recommend them with greater zeal.
gratissimum mihi feceris, si curaris ut intellegat Bruttius, id quod ei recepi, hanc meam commendationem sibi magno adiumento fuisse.
You will do me a most agreeable favor, if you take care that Bruttius understands—what I promised him—that this recommendation of mine has been of great assistance to him.

Notes

  1. §13.38.1in meis familiarissimis — 'familiarissimus' is the superlative of the adjective used substantively ('most intimate friends'). With the preposition 'in', it means 'is among my closest friends.'
  2. §13.38.1iam inde a — An emphatic expression meaning 'ever since' or 'right from that time.' It emphasizes that the friendship has continued since Cicero's Sicilian quaestorship (75 BC).
  3. §13.38.1id quod ei recepi — 'id quod' is a relative pronoun without an explicit antecedent ('that which'), forming a parenthetical clause referring to the following infinitive construction. 'recepi' is the perfect of 'recipere' in the sense of 'to promise' or 'to guarantee.'
  4. §13.38.1magno adiumento — Dative of purpose or result ('for a great assistance'), which combined with 'sibi' (indirect reflexive pronoun in the dative referring to the logical subject of the infinitive clause, Bruttius, 'to him') forms a double dative construction.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §13.38.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:13.38.1

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