Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §16.8.1-16.8.2

Urging Tiro Not to Travel in Winter and Beware the Cold

Passage 398 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero begs Tiro, who is recovering from illness, not to undertake a hasty and difficult journey during the winter, urging him to take precautions against the severe cold.

§16.8.1magnae nobis est sollicitudini valetudo tua.
Your health is a source of great anxiety to us.
nam tametsi qui veniunt a)ki/nduna me\n xroniw/tera de\ nuntiant, tamen in magna consolatione ingens inest sollicitudo, si diutius a nobis afuturus es is, cuius usum et suavitatem desiderando sentimus.
For although those who arrive bring news that is "¦a)ki/nduna me xroniw/tera de ¦," yet in the midst of great consolation there is huge anxiety, if you, whose companionship and sweetness we feel by missing them, are to be absent from us any longer.
at tamen quamquam videre te tota cogitatione cupio, tamen te penitus rogo ne te tam longae navigationi et viae per hiemem nisi bene firmum committas neve naviges nisi explorate.
And yet, although I desire with all my thoughts to see you, still I earnestly beg you not to commit yourself to so long a voyage and journey through the winter unless you are fully recovered, nor to sail unless you have made sure.
§16.8.2vix in ipsis tectis et oppidis frigus infirma valetudine vitatur, nedum in mari et via sit facile abesse ab iniuria temporis.
Even in actual houses and towns, cold is scarcely avoided when one is in delicate health, much less is it easy on the sea and on a journey to keep oneself free from the inclemency of the weather.
" yu=xos de\ leptw=| xrwti\ polemiw/taton, " inquit Euripides; cui tu quantum credas nescio; ego certe singulos eius versus singula testimonia puto.
"¦yu=xos de\ leptw=| xrwti\ polemiw/taton¦ "says Euripides; how much you believe him I do not know; I certainly consider his single lines as so many individual testimonies.
effice, si me diligis, ut valeas et ut ad nos firmus ac valens quam primum venias.
Take care, if you love me, to get well and to come to us strong and healthy as soon as possible.
ama nos et vale.
Love us, and farewell.
Quintus f. tibi salutem dicit.
Quintus the son sends you his greetings.

Notes

  1. §16.8.1magnae nobis est sollicitudini — A typical double dative construction consisting of sollicitudini (dative of purpose/effect) and nobis (dative of reference/benefit). Combined with the subject valetudo tua, it means 'your health is a source of great anxiety to us.'
  2. §16.8.1desiderando — Ablative of the gerund expressing means. Literally, 'by longing for / missing [you],' implying that they realize the value of his presence precisely because they feel his absence.
  3. §16.8.2infirma valetudine — Ablative of description or attendant circumstance. It means 'under the circumstance of delicate/weak health' or 'when one is in weak health,' functioning here with a conditional nuance.
  4. §16.8.2nedum ... sit facile — The conjunction nedum ('much less / still less') introduces a strong negative contrast and is followed by the subjunctive (here sit). It highlights an even greater difficulty following the vix... vitatur in the main clause.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §16.8.1-16.8.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:16.8.1-16.8.2

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.