Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §3.2.1-3.2.2

Request to Appius for Handover of the Province

Passage 41 of 413 · Latin

Summary

The author expresses comfort in having his close friend as his predecessor despite his reluctant departure for the province, and entreats him to hand over the province in an orderly state and look out for his interests.

§3.2.1Cum et contra voluntatem meam et praeter opinionem accidisset, ut mihi cum imperio in provinciam proficisci necesse esset, in multis et variis molestiis cogitationibusque meis haec una consolatio occurrebat, quod neque tibi amicior, quam ego sum, quisquam posset succedere neque ego ab ullo provinciam accipere, qui mallet eam quam maxime mihi aptam explicatamque tradere.
\nWhen it had happened, both against my will and contrary to my expectation, that it was necessary for me to set out for the province with military command, this single consolation occurred to me in my many and varied troubles and anxieties: that no one more friendly to you than I am could succeed you, nor could I receive the province from anyone who would prefer to hand it over to me in as suitable and well-ordered a state as possible.
quod si tu quoque eandem de mea voluntate erga te spem habes, ea te profecto numquam fallet.
And if you also have the same hope concerning my goodwill toward you, that hope will surely never fail you.
A te maximo opere pro nostra summa coniunctione tuaque singulari humanitate etiam atque etiam quaeso et peto ut, quibuscumque rebus poteris (poteris autem plurimis), prospicias et consulas rationibus meis. §3.2.2vides ex senatus consulto provinciam esse habendam.
By our greatest intimacy and your singular kindness, I ask and entreat you again and again, with all my might, that by whatever means you can (and you will be able to do so in very many ways), you look out for and consult my interests.\n\nYou see that according to the decree of the senate, the province must be held.
si eam, quod eius facere potueris, quam expeditissimam mihi tradideris, facilior erit mihi quasi decursus mei temporis.
If you hand it over to me in as unimpeded a state as possible, so far as you are able to do so, the course, so to speak, of my term will be easier for me.
quid in eo genere efficere possis, tui consili est; ego te, quod tibi veniet in mentem mea interesse, valde rogo.
What you can achieve in this regard is a matter for your own judgment; I highly request of you what occurs to your mind to be of importance to me.
pluribus verbis ad te scriberem, si aut tua humanitas longiorem orationem exspectaret aut id fieri nostra amicitia pateretur aut res verba desideraret ac non pro se ipsa loqueretur.
I should write to you in more words, if either your kindness expected a longer speech, or our friendship allowed it to be done, or the matter required words and did not speak for itself.
hoc velim tibi persuadeas, si rationibus meis provisum a te esse intellexero, magnam te ex eo et perpetuam voluptatem esse capturum.
I would like you to convince yourself of this, that if I understand that my interests have been provided for by you, you will receive great and lasting pleasure from it.
vale.
Farewell.

Notes

  1. §3.2.1quod — A conjunction introducing an appositive noun clause that explains the specific content of the preceding demonstrative pronoun haec (haec una consolatio).
  2. §3.2.1quod si — The connecting relative pronoun quod (neuter singular accusative) combined with the conditional conjunction si, meaning 'and if' or 'but if'. It indicates a close connection with the preceding sentence at the beginning of the clause.
  3. §3.2.2quod eius facere potueris — A restrictive relative clause, an idiomatic expression meaning 'so far as you are able to do of it.' eius is a partitive genitive referring to the antecedent (the scope of things regarding the province or the context) and modifying quod.
  4. §3.2.2tui consili est — The genitive of possession or quality tui consili (of your judgment/discretion) is used with the copula est to function as a predicate genitive, meaning 'is a matter for your judgment' or 'is up to your discretion.'
  5. §3.2.2mea interesse — The impersonal verb interesse means 'it concerns, is of importance to.' When the person concerned is first or second person singular, instead of the genitive, the forms mea, tua (originating from the ablative feminine singular of possessive pronouns) are used. Here mea (concerning my interest) functions within the subordinate clause.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §3.2.1-3.2.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:3.2.1-3.2.2

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