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Cicero · Letters to Friends §15.5.1-15.5.3

Cato's Reply on the Honor of Thanksgiving

Passage 374 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cato replies to Cicero, arguing that the senate's praise of his peaceful virtues (integrity and self-restraint) in governing the province is far more honorable than a military triumph, and advises him to rejoice in the decreed thanksgiving while respecting his dignity.

§15.5.1quod et res p. me et nostra amicitia hortatur, libenter facio ut tuam virtutem, innocentiam, diligentiam cognitam in maximis rebus domi togati, armati foris pari industria administrare gaudeam.
As both the republic and our friendship urge me, I gladly do this, namely, rejoice that your virtue, integrity, and diligence, which were known in the greatest affairs at home as a civilian, are being exercised with equal industry abroad under arms.
itaque, quod pro meo iudicio facere potui, ut innocentia consilioque tuo defensam provinciam, servatum Ariobarzanis cum ipso rege regnum, sociorum revocatam ad studium imperi nostri voluntatem sententia mea et decreto laudarem, feci.
Therefore, what I was able to do according to my judgment—namely, to praise by my vote and decree the province defended by your integrity and counsel, the kingdom of Ariobarzanes preserved together with the king himself, and the goodwill of the allies recalled to the devotion to our empire—I have done.
§15.5.2supplicationem decretam, si tu, qua in re nihil fortuito sed summa tua ratione et continentia rei p. provisum est, dis immortalibus gratulari nos quam tibi referre acceptum mavis, gaudeo;
As for the decreeing of a thanksgiving—in which matter nothing was provided for the republic by chance, but by your own supreme reason and self-restraint—if you prefer that we give thanks to the immortal gods rather than credit it to you, I am glad.
quod si triumphi praerogativam putas supplicationem et idcirco casum potius quam te laudari mavis, neque supplicationem sequitur semper triumphus, et triumpho multo clarius est senatum iudicare potius mansuetudine et innocentia imperatoris provinciam quam vi militum aut benignitate deorum retentam atque conservatam esse; quod ego mea sententia censebam.
But if you consider a thanksgiving to be a precursor to a triumph, and therefore prefer that fortune rather than yourself be praised, then not only does a triumph not always follow a thanksgiving, but it is also far more glorious than a triumph for the senate to judge that the province was retained and preserved by the mildness and integrity of the commander, rather than by the force of the soldiers or the favor of the gods; and this is what I was decreeing in my vote.
§15.5.3atque haec ego idcirco ad te contra consuetudinem meam pluribus scripsi ut, quod maxime volo, existimes me laborare ut tibi persuadeam me et voluisse de tua maiestate quod amplissimum sim arbitratus et quod tu maluisti factum esse gaudere.
And I have written these things to you at greater length than is my custom, in order that—what I most desire—you may believe that I am taking pains to convince you that I both wished for your dignity what I thought to be most honorable, and that I rejoice that what you preferred has been done.
vale et nos dilige et instituto itinere severitatem diligentiamque sociis et rei p. praesta.
Farewell, and keep your affection for me; and on the path you have entered, continue to display your strictness and diligence to the allies and the republic.

Notes

  1. 15.5.1libenter facio ut tuam virtutem, innocentiam, diligentiam cognitam in maximis rebus domi togati, armati foris pari industria administrare gaudeam — The construction `facio ut` + subjunctive is a periphrastic way of expressing an action or its result, here emphasizing the feeling of joy (`gaudeam`). The text sets up a contrast between `togati` (dressed in the toga, referring to civic life "at home", `domi`) and `armati` (under arms, referring to military command "abroad", `foris`).
  2. 15.5.1quod pro meo iudicio facere potui, ut ... laudarem, feci — The clause `ut ... laudarem` is a noun clause acting as the object of `feci`, explaining in apposition the content of the preceding relative clause `quod ... potui`. The objects of `laudarem` are the nouns `provinciam`, `regnum`, and `voluntatem`, each modified by a perfect participle (`defensam`, `servatum`, `revocatam`) to express the action or state as a completed fact (akin to the "ab urbe condita" construction).
  3. 15.5.2supplicationem decretam, si tu ... mavis, gaudeo — The phrase `supplicationem decretam` at the beginning of the sentence can be taken as an accusative-and-infinitive clause (with the omission of `esse`) acting as the object of `gaudeo` ("I rejoice that..."). However, contextually, it functions as a topic introduction ("as for the decreed thanksgiving"), followed by the conditional clause `si tu ... mavis` and the main verb `gaudeo`.
  4. 15.5.2triumpho multo clarius est senatum iudicare — `triumpho` is an ablative of comparison modifying the comparative `clarius`. `clarius` is a neuter nominative singular functioning as the predicate of the impersonal `est`. The real subject is the accusative-and-in-finitve clause `senatum iudicare` ("that the senate should judge").

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §15.5.1-15.5.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:15.5.1-15.5.3

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