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Cicero · Letters to Friends §5.3.1-5.3.2

Friendship with Celer and Provincial Business

Passage 77 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero states that Nepos's insults are alleviated by Celer's kindness and that he regards Celer as a brother. He adds that he has written to Lollius about provincial matters and asks Celer to maintain his former goodwill.

§5.3.1hominis importunissimi contumeliae, quibus crebris contionibus me onerat, tuis erga me officiis leniuntur et, ut sunt leves ab eius modi homine, a me despiciuntur, libenterque commutata persona te mihi fratris loco esse duco.
The insults of that most importunate man, with which he loads me in frequent public assemblies, are softened by your kind offices towards me and, light as they are coming from a man of that sort, are despised by me; and gladly changing the persona, I hold you to be in the place of a brother to me.
§5.3.2de illo ne meminisse quidem volo, tametsi bis eum invitum servavi.
About him I do not even wish to remember, although I saved him twice against his will.
de meis rebus, ne vobis multitudine litterarum molestior essem, ad Lollium perscripsi, de rationibus provinciae quid vellem fieri, ut is vos doceret et commonefaceret.
Concerning my affairs, lest I should be too troublesome to you all with a multitude of letters, I have written in detail to Lollius, as to what I wished to be done concerning the accounts of the province, so that he might inform you and remind you.
si poteris, velim pristinam tuam erga me voluntatem conserves.
If you can, I would wish that you preserve your former goodwill towards me.

Notes

  1. 5.3.1ut sunt leves — The conjunction ut with the indicative here expresses a reason or natural characteristic ('since they are light' or 'as they are light, coming from such a man'). It explains why Cicero can easily despise the insults.
  2. 5.3.1commutata persona — An ablative absolute meaning 'having changed the persona (or mask),' a metaphor from the theater. It refers to replacing the hostile brother (Metellus Nepos) with the addressee (Metellus Celer) in the role of a brother.
  3. 5.3.2velim... conserves — The present subjunctive velim (expressing a polite or cautious wish, 'I would like') is followed directly by the present subjunctive conserves in a noun clause with ut omitted.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §5.3.1-5.3.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:5.3.1-5.3.2

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