Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §2.14.1

Commending Fadius to Caelius and Requesting News

Passage 34 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero commends M. Fadius Gallus to Caelius, asking him to help Fadius with his business, and expresses his eagerness for news from Rome.

§2.14.1M. Fadio, viro optimo et homine doctissimo, familiarissime utor mirificeque eum diligo cum propter summum ingenium eius summamque doctrinam tum propter singularem modestiam.
I am on terms of the closest intimacy with Marcus Fadius, a most excellent man and a highly learned person, and I value him wonderfully, both on account of his supreme talent and supreme learning, and on account of his singular modesty.
eius negotium sic velim suscipias, ut si esset res mea Novi ego vos magnos patronos;
I would like you to take up his business just as if it were my own.
hominem occidat oportet, qui vestra opera uti velit.
I know you great advocates; a man must commit murder if he wishes to employ your services.
sed in hoc homine nullam accipio excusationem.
But in the case of this man, I accept no excuse.
omnia relinques, si me amabis, cum tua opera Fadius uti volet.
You will leave everything, if you love me, when Fadius wishes to employ your services.
ego res Romanas vehementer exspecto et desidero in primisque quid agas scire cupio; nam iam diu propter hiemis magnitudinem nihil novi ad nos adferebatur.
I eagerly look forward to and long for news of Rome, and especially desire to know how you are doing; for, because of the severity of the winter, nothing new has been brought to us for a long time now.

Notes

  1. §2.14.1M. Fadio — Ablative of the object with the verb utor.
  2. §2.14.1velim suscipias — The present subjunctive velim (expressing a polite wish) is followed by suscipias (present subjunctive in a substantive clause with ut omitted).
  3. §2.14.1ut si esset — The conditional conjunction ut si (as if) is followed by the imperfect subjunctive esset, representing a present contrary-to-fact condition.
  4. §2.14.1hominem occidat oportet — The impersonal verb oportet (it is necessary) is followed by the subjunctive occidat (with ut omitted). hominem is the object of occidat, meaning 'a man must kill [someone].' A humorous reference to the idea that prominent advocates (patroni) only take on serious cases like murder trials (causa capitis).
  5. §2.14.1nihil novi — novi is the genitive neuter singular of the adjective novus, functioning as a partitive genitive dependent on the pronoun nihil ('nothing of new' i.e., 'no news').

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §2.14.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:2.14.1

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