Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §7.12.1-7.12.2

Teasing Trebatius on Becoming an Epicurean

Passage 134 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero, having heard that Trebatius has become an Epicurean, ironically points out the contradictions between his new philosophy of self-pleasure and his professional duties as a lawyer, urging him to keep in touch.

§7.12.1mirabar quid esset, quod tu mihi litteras mittere intermisisses: indicavit mihi Pansa meus Epicureum te esse factum.
I was wondering what it was, that you had stopped sending me letters: my friend Pansa indicated to me that you have become an Epicurean.
O castra praeclara! quid tu fecisses, si te Tarentum et non Samarobrivam misissem? iam tum mihi non placebas, cum idem tuebare quod †Zeius, familiaris meus.
O illustrious camp! What would you have done, if I had sent you to Tarentum and not to Samarobriva? Already then you were not pleasing to me, when you maintained the same thing as Zeius, my intimate friend.
§7.12.2sed quonam modo ius civile defendes, cum omnia tua causa facias, non civium? Ubi porro illa erit formula fiduciae: 'VT INTER BONOS BENE AGIER OPORTET? †quis enim est, qui facit nihil nisi sua causa? quod ius statues 'COMMVNI DIVIDVNDO,' quom commune nihil possit esse apud eos, qui omnia voluptate sua metiuntur? quo modo autem tibi placebit 'IOVEM LAPIDEM IVRARE,' cum scias Iovem iratum esse nemini posse? quid fiet porro populo Ulubrano, si tu statueris politeu/esqai non oportere? qua re si plane a nobis deficis, moleste fero, sin Pansae adsentari commodumst, ignosco; modo scribe aliquando ad nos quid agas et a nobis quid fieri aut curari velis.
But in what way indeed will you defend the civil law, since you do everything for your own sake, not for the citizens'? Where furthermore will that formula of trust be: 'AS IT BEHOVES TO ACT HONESTLY AMONG HONEST MEN'? For who is there, who does nothing except for his own sake? What law will you establish 'FOR DIVIDING COMMON PROPERTY,' when nothing can be common among those who measure all things by their own pleasure? And how will it please you 'TO SWEAR BY JUPITER LAPIS,' when you know that Jupiter cannot be angry with anyone? What will become furthermore of the people of Ulubrae, if you decide that politeu/esqai is not fitting? Therefore, if you are completely defecting from us, I take it hard; but if it is convenient to agree with Pansa, I forgive you; only write to us sometime what you are doing and what you wish to be done or cared for by us.

Notes

  1. §7.12.1mirabar — Epistolary imperfect. The writer expresses his present state of mind ('I wonder') from the perspective of the recipient at the time of reading, shifting it into the past tense.
  2. §7.12.2AGIER — Archaic form of the passive infinitive (normally *agi*). This archaic feature is commonly found in legal formulas and ancient documents, here reproducing the traditional phrasing of the *formula fiduciae*.
  3. §7.12.2populo Ulubrano — Dative (or ablative) of reference used with the impersonal construction *quid fiet* ('what will become of...'). This is an idiomatic construction with the verb *fio* (or the passive of *facio*) to inquire about the fate or outcome of someone or something.
  4. §7.12.2politeu/esqai — The Greek present middle/passive infinitive πολιτεύεσθαι. It forms the subject clause of the impersonal verb *oportere*, with its implied subject being people in general (or Trebatius himself). The Greek term is used directly to reference the Epicurean doctrine of political non-involvement (*lathe biosas*).

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §7.12.1-7.12.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:7.12.1-7.12.2

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.