Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §5.1.1-5.1.2

Metellus Celer's Protest against Cicero

Passage 74 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Metellus Celer protests against Cicero for insulting him in his absence and attacking his brother Metellus Nepos for a speech, expressing his disappointment at Cicero's change of mind while reaffirming his own devotion to the state.

§5.1.1si vales, benest.
If you are well, it is good.
existimaram pro mutuo inter nos animo et pro reconciliata gratia nec absentem me a te ludibrio laesum in nec Metellum fratrem ob dictum capite ac fortunis per te oppugnatum iri.
I had expected, in view of our mutual affection and our restored friendship, that I, though absent, would not be harmed by you as an object of ridicule, nor that my brother Metellus would be attacked by you in his status and fortune because of a speech.
quem si parum pudor ipsius defendebat, debebat vel familiae nostrae dignitas vel meum studium erga vos remque publicam satis sublevare.
Even if his own self-restraint defended him too little, either the dignity of our family or my devotion to you and to the public interest ought to have supported him sufficiently.
nunc video illum circumventum, me desertum, a quibus minime conveniebat.
Now I see that he has been beset, and I have been abandoned, and that too by those from whom it was least fitting.
§5.1.2itaque in luctu et squalore sum, qui provinciae, qui exercitui praesum, qui bellum gero.
Therefore, I, who govern a province, who command an army, and who conduct a war, am in mourning and squalor.
quae quoniam nec ratione nec maiorum nostrorum clementia administrastis, non erit mirandum, si vos paenitebit.
Since you have administered these matters neither with reason nor with the clemency of our ancestors, it will be no wonder if you come to regret it.
te tam mobili in me meosque esse animo non sperabam.
I did not expect that you would be of so changeable a mind towards me and mine.
me interea nec domesticus dolor nec cuiusquam iniuria ab re p. abducet.
Meanwhile, neither domestic grief nor the injustice of anyone shall lead me away from the public interest.

Notes

  1. 5.1.1laesum in — The reading "laesum in" in the provided text is considered a typographical error or manuscript corruption for the future passive infinitive "laesum iri," in parallel with "oppugnatum iri." This translation treats it as "laesum iri" with a passive meaning.
  2. 5.1.1pro reconciliata gratia — The perfect passive participle "reconciliata" is used attributively with the noun "gratia" under the preposition "pro." It means "in accordance with our restored friendship," emphasizing the fact of the reconciliation itself.
  3. 5.1.1capite ac fortunis — These are ablatives indicating the specification or target of the attack with respect to "oppugnatum iri." "caput" here refers not merely to physical life but to "civil status/citizenship," while "fortunae" refers to "property/fortunes."
  4. 5.1.1a quibus minime conveniebat — The antecedent of the relative pronoun "quibus" is omitted, referring in context to Cicero and his associates. Coupled with the impersonal verb "conveniebat" (it was fitting), it means "by those from whom it was least fitting [to act in such a way]."
  5. 5.1.2non erit mirandum, si vos paenitebit — "paenitebit" is the future tense of the impersonal verb "paenitet" (to cause regret), which takes the person who regrets in the accusative (vos). The "si" clause functions as the object of regret, meaning "it will be no wonder if you come to regret it."

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §5.1.1-5.1.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:5.1.1-5.1.2

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

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