Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §2.3.1-2.3.2

Advising Curio Against Costly Games in Favor of Virtue

Passage 23 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero explains why he opposed holding games in Curio's name during his absence, arguing that in the current political climate, Curio is expected to achieve the highest honors through his own virtue and talent rather than through costly spectacles.

§2.3.1rupae studium non defuit declarandorum munerum tuo nomine, sed nec mihi placuit nec cuiquam tuorum quicquam te absente fieri, quod tibi, cum venisses, non esset integrum.
Rupa's zeal in declaring the games in your name was not lacking, but it did not please me, nor any of your friends, that anything should be done in your absence which would not leave you a free hand when you returned.
meam quidem sententiam aut scribam ad te postea pluribus aut, ne ad eam meditere, imparatum te offendam coramque contra istam rationem meam dicam, ut aut te ad meam sententiam adducam aut certe testatum apud animum tuum relinquam, quid senserim, ut, si quando, quod nolim, displicere tibi tuum consilium coeperit, possis meum recordari.
As for my opinion, I will either write to you later at greater length, or, lest you should study your defense against it, I will surprise you unprepared and speak my mind face to face against that plan of yours, so that I may either bring you over to my opinion, or at least leave it attested in your mind what I thought, so that if ever—which I hope will not happen—your own plan begins to displease you, you may be able to remember mine.
brevi tamen sic habeto, in eum statum temporum tuum reditum incidere, ut iis bonis, quae tibi natura, studio, fortuna data sunt, facilius omnia, quae sunt amplissima in re publica, consequi possis quam muneribus.
However, in brief, understand this: that your return falls upon such a state of the times that, by those advantages which have been given to you by nature, study, and fortune, you can more easily attain all the highest honors in the republic than by games.
quorum neque facultatem quisquam admiratur (est enim copiarum, non virtutis), neque quisquam est quin satietate iam defessus sit.
No one admires the means for these (for they belong to wealth, not to virtue), nor is there anyone who is not already tired out by satiety.
§2.3.2sed aliter atque ostenderam facio, qui ingrediar ad explicandam rationem sententiae meae; qua re omnem hanc disputationem in adventum tuum differo.
But I am doing otherwise than I had indicated, in that I am beginning to explain the reason for my opinion; therefore, I defer all this discussion until your arrival.
summa scito te in exspectatione esse eaque a te exspectari, quae a summa virtute summoque ingenio exspectanda sunt.
In short, know that you are in high expectation, and that those things are expected of you which are to be expected from the highest virtue and the highest talent.
ad quae si es, ut debes, paratus, quod ita esse confido, plurimis maximisque muneribus et nos amicos et civis tuos universos et rem publicam adficies.
If you are prepared for these, as you ought to be—which I trust is the case—you will gratify both us your friends, and all your fellow citizens, and the republic with the most numerous and greatest services.
illud cognosces profecto, mihi te neque cariorem neque iucundiorem esse quemquam.
You will certainly find that no one is dearer or more pleasant to me than you are.

Notes

  1. 2.3.1non esset integrum — Based on the expression "res integra" (an undecided or fresh matter), this refers to a state where there is still room for free decision. Combined with the subjunctive here, it means "it would not be open to free choice/decision" for the recipient upon his return.
  2. 2.3.1ne ad eam meditere — A negative purpose clause using "meditere" (an alternative form of "mediteris"), the 2nd person singular present subjunctive of the deponent verb meditor ("to plan, prepare, or meditate"). It means "lest you should prepare a defense against it in advance."
  3. 2.3.1sic habeto — An idiomatic expression using the future imperative (2nd person singular) of the verb habeo, meaning "hold/understand thus." It introduces an accusative with infinitive clause (tuum reditum incidere).
  4. 2.3.1copiarum, non virtutis — A predicative genitive of possession or characteristic. It means "it (the holding of games) is a matter of resources/wealth (copiarum), not of virtue (virtutis)."
  5. 2.3.2qui ingrediar — A relative clause of cause or characteristic introduced by the relative pronoun qui with the subjunctive verb ingrediar ("since I am entering/beginning"). It explains the reason for the author's statement that he is doing otherwise than he indicated.
  6. 2.3.2muneribus — Ablative plural of munus. In §2.3.1, it was used in the sense of "public games/spectacles," whereas in §2.3.2 (plurimis maximisque muneribus), it is used in its broader, original sense of "services, duties, or benefits." The author employs wordplay (double meaning) by contrasting different senses of the same word.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §2.3.1-2.3.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:2.3.1-2.3.2

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.