Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §5.11.1-5.11.3

Promise of Aid to Pompeia and Wishes for Victory

Passage 86 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero promises to repay the recipient's gratitude, pledges his full support to his wife Pompeia, requests a resolution regarding Dionysius, and wishes for victory in the war against the Dalmatians.

§5.11.1grata tibi mea esse officia non miror; cognovi enim te gratissimum omnium, idque numquam destiti praedicare.
I do not wonder that my services are pleasing to you; for I have known you to be the most grateful of all men, and I have never ceased to declare it.
nec enim tu mihi habuisti modo gratiam, verum etiam cumulatissime rettulisti.
For you have not only felt gratitude to me, but have also returned it most abundantly.
quam ob rem in reliquis tuis rebus omnibus pari me studio erga te et eadem voluntate cognosces.
Therefore, in all your remaining affairs, you will find me possessing an equal zeal and the same goodwill toward you.
§5.11.2quod mihi feminam primariam, Pompeiam, uxorem tuam, commendas, cum Sura nostro statim tuis litteris lectis locutus sum, ut ei meis verbis diceret, ut, quicquid opus esset, mihi denuntiaret; me omnia quae ea vellet, summo studio curaque facturum.
As to your commending to me that most excellent lady, Pompeia, your wife, immediately upon reading your letter I spoke with our friend Sura, that he might tell her in my words to let me know whatever was needed, and that I would do everything she wished with the greatest zeal and care.
itaque faciam eamque, si opus esse videbitur, ipse conveniam.
Therefore I will do so, and if it seems necessary, I will meet her in person.
tu tamen ei velim scribas, ut nullam rem neque tam magnam neque tam parvam putet quae mihi aut difficilis aut parum me digna videatur.
I should like you, however, to write to her, so that she may not think anything is either so great or so small as to seem to me either difficult or unworthy of me.
omnia, quae in tuis rebus agam, et non laboriosa mihi et honesta videbuntur.
Everything that I do in your affairs will seem to me not laborious, but honorable.
§5.11.3de Dionysio, si me amas, confice.
Concerning Dionysius, if you love me, settle the matter.
quamcumque ei fidem dederis, praestabo; si vero improbus fuerit, ut est, duces eum captivum in triumpho.
Whatever pledge you have given him, I will make it good; but if he proves to be dishonest, as he indeed is, you will lead him as a captive in your triumph.
Dalmatis di male faciant, qui tibi molesti sunt! sed, ut scribis, brevi capientur et inlustrabunt res tuas gestas; semper enim habiti sunt bellicosi.
May the gods bring evil upon the Dalmatians, who are troublesome to you! But, as you write, they will soon be captured and will shed luster upon your achievements; for they have always been regarded as warlike.

Notes

  1. 5.11.2quod mihi ... commendas — The quod clause preceding the main clause functions as 'as for the fact that you commend...', introducing the topic under discussion.
  2. 5.11.2velim scribas — velim is the present subjunctive of volo (softened wish, 'I should like you to'), which takes the subjunctive scribas without ut as its complement.
  3. 5.11.3si me amas — Although literally 'if you love me,' this serves as a colloquial and epistolary idiom to reinforce an imperative or entreaty, equivalent to 'please' or 'do.'

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §5.11.1-5.11.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:5.11.1-5.11.3

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.