Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §13.72.1-13.72.2

Renewed Request for the Protection of Caerellia's Estate

Passage 353 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero recalls his personal request to the addressee in his gardens regarding the property and affairs of his close friend Caerellia, and asks him once more to show her favor, suggesting a decree of the senate concerning Vennonius' heirs as a means to do so.

§13.72.1Caerelliae, necessariae meae, rem, nomina, possessiones Asiaticas commendavi tibi praesens in hortis tuis quam potui diligentissime, tuque mihi pro tua consuetudine proque tuis in me perpetuis maximisque officiis omnia te facturum liberalissime recepisti.
I recommended the business, the financial claims, and the Asiatic properties of my intimate friend Caerellia to you in person in your gardens as diligently as I possibly could, and you, in accordance with your usual practice and your constant and greatest kindnesses toward me, most generously undertook that you would do everything.
meminisse te id spero; scio enim solere.
I hope you remember this; for I know it is your habit to do so.
sed tamen Caerelliae procuratores scripserunt te propter magnitudinem provinciae multitudinemque negotiorum etiam atque etiam esse commonefaciendum.
Nevertheless, Caerellia’s agents have written to me that, because of the size of the province and the multitude of affairs, you must be reminded again and again.
§13.72.2peto igitur ut memineris te omnia, quae tua fides pateretur, mihi cumulate recepisse.
I ask you, therefore, to remember that you fully promised me everything that your good faith would allow.
equidem existimo habere te magnam facultatem (sed hoc tui est consili et iudici) ex eo s. c. , quod in heredes C. Vennoni factum est, Caerelliae commodandi.
For my part, I think that you have an excellent opportunity (though this is a matter for your own counsel and judgment) to favor Caerellia on the basis of that decree of the senate which was passed regarding the heirs of Gaius Vennonius.
id senatus consultum tu interpretabere pro tua sapientia; scio enim eius ordinis auctoritatem semper apud te magni fuisse.
You will interpret that decree of the senate in accordance with your wisdom; for I know that the authority of that order has always been of great value to you.
quod reliquum est, sic velim existimes quibuscumque rebus Caerelliae benigne feceris mihi te gratissimum esse facturum.
For the rest, I would like you to believe that in whatever matters you act kindly toward Caerellia, you will be doing what is most agreeable to me.

Notes

  1. 13.72.1solere — The subject pronoun `te` and the complementary infinitive `meminisse` are omitted after `solere`, understood from the preceding clause `meminisse te id spero`. It means 'for I know that it is your habit [to remember].'
  2. 13.72.2tui est consili et iudici — A possessive/characteristic genitive construction ('it is of your counsel and judgment'), where `tui` functions as a possessive adjective in the genitive matching `consili et iudici`. It means 'but this is a matter for your own counsel and judgment.'
  3. 13.72.2mihi te gratissimum esse facturum — An accusative with infinitive (ACI) construction, where `te` is the subject accusative and `gratissimum ... facturum [esse]` is the future active infinitive. Based on the idiom `gratum (gratissimum) facere alicui` ('to do a most pleasing thing to someone, to make someone highly grateful'), it means 'you will be doing what is most pleasing to me.'

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §13.72.1-13.72.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:13.72.1-13.72.2

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

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