Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §16.6.1-16.6.2

Third Letter of the Day Urging Tiro Not to Rush His Voyage

Passage 396 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero writes his third letter of the day to Tiro, expressing his care for Tiro's health and upcoming voyage, and urging him not to rush but to recover fully before sailing.

§16.6.1Tertiam ad te hanc epistulam scripsi eodem die magis instituti mei tenendi causa, quia nactus eram cui darem, quam quo haberem quid scriberem.
I have written this third letter to you on the same day, more for the sake of keeping my custom, because I had found someone to give it to, than because I had anything to write.
igitur illa: quantum me diligis, tantum adhibe in te diligentiae; ad tua innumerabilia in me officia adde hoc, quod mihi erit gratissimum omnium cum valetudinis rationem, ut spero, habueris, habeto etiam navigationis; §16.6.2in Italiam euntibus omnibus ad me litteras dabis, ut ego euntem Patras neminem praetermitto;
Therefore, this is all: as much as you love me, apply that much care to yourself; to your innumerable kindnesses toward me, add this, which will be the most pleasing of all to me—when you have taken care of your health, as I hope you will, take care also of your voyage; Give letters to me to everyone who is going to Italy, just as I pass by no one who is going to Patrae.
cura, cura te, mi Tiro.
Take care, take care of yourself, my dear Tiro.
quoniam non contigit ut simul navigares, nihil est quod festines nec quicquam cures nisi ut valeas.
Since it did not happen that you sailed together with me, there is no reason why you should hurry, nor why you should care about anything except that you may be well.
etiam atque etiam vale.
Farewell again and again.
viI Idus Nov. Actio vesperi.
November 7, evening, at Actium.

Notes

  1. 16.6.1quam quo haberem — The construction of quo with the subjunctive used to express a rejected reason, akin to the non quo... sed quia construction. Here it is used as magis ... quia ... quam quo ('more because ... than because ...'). haberem is in the imperfect subjunctive.
  2. 16.6.1habeto etiam navigationis — habeto is a future imperative second-person singular, corresponding to the future perfect habueris in the preceding clause. navigationis is a genitive of object (objective genitive) depending on rationem (care/regard), which is omitted here but understood from the preceding phrase valetudinis rationem.
  3. 16.6.2nihil est quod festines — A relative clause of characteristic with nihil est quod + subjunctive, meaning 'there is no reason why/to...'. Both festines and cures are subjunctives coordinated within this construction.
  4. 16.6.2Actio — Ablative form of Actium, a town on the western coast of Greece. It indicates the place of writing at the end of the letter, alongside the date (viI Idus Nov. = November 7) and the time (vesperi = in the evening).

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §16.6.1-16.6.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:16.6.1-16.6.2

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.