Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §7.29.1-7.29.2

From Manius Curius: Request for Protection and Support

Passage 151 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Manius Curius writes to Cicero, playfully explaining his legal status while asking for protection and recommendation, and requests Cicero not to show the letter to Atticus to preserve his reputation.

§7.29.1S. V. B.;
If you are well, it is well.
sum enim xrh/sei me\n tuus, kth/sei de\ Attici nostri.
For I am yours in use, but our Atticus's in ownership.
ergo fructus est tuus, mancipium illius; quod quidem si inter senes comptionalis venale proscripserit, egerit non multum.
Therefore, the fruit is yours, the slave is his; if indeed he offers this slave for sale among the cheap old slaves, he will not accomplish much.
at illa nostra praedicatio quanti est, nos, quod simus, quod habeamus, quod homines existimemur, id omne abs te habere! qua re, Cicero mi, persevera constanter nos conservare et Sulpici successori nos de meliore nota commenda, quo facilius tuis praeceptis obtemperare possimus teque ad ver libentes videre et nostra refigere deportareque tuto possimus.
But of how great value is that boast of ours, that whatever we are, whatever we have, and however we are esteemed as human beings, we owe all of that to you! Therefore, my Cicero, persevere constantly in preserving us, and recommend us in a superior manner to the successor of Sulpicius, so that we may more easily obey your precepts, and gladly see you towards spring, and safely take down and carry away our belongings.
§7.29.2sed, amice magne, noli hanc epistulam Attico ostendere.
But, great friend, do not show this letter to Atticus.
Sine eum errare et putare me virum bonum esse nec solere duo parietes de eadem fidelia dealbare.
Allow him to err and to think that I am an honest man and not accustomed to whitewash two walls from the same bucket.
ergo, patrone mi, bene vale Tironemque meum saluta nostris verbis.
Therefore, my patron, farewell, and greet my Tiro on our behalf.
data a. d. iiii K. Nov.
Dispatched on the twenty-ninth of October.

Notes

  1. §7.29.1S. V. B. — Abbreviation for 'Si vales, bene [est]' or 'Si vales, bene [habeo]' ('If you are well, it is well'). A formulaic greeting used at the beginning of letters.
  2. §7.29.1xrh/sei me\n tuus, kth/sei de" — Transliteration of Greek χρήσει μέν..., κτήσει δέ... ('in use indeed..., but in ownership...'). It humorously applies the Roman legal distinction between usufruct (usufructus) and ownership (mancipium/proprietas), casting the writer as a slave who is used by Cicero but owned by Atticus.
  3. §7.29.1senes comptionalis — Refers to cheap old slaves bought in a lot, or those used in mock-purchases for legal formalities, having very little value. A joke playing on the fact that Cicero's friend Atticus was a wealthy man who dealt in slaves.
  4. §7.29.2duo parietes de eadem fidelia dealbare — A proverbial expression meaning 'to whitewash two walls from the same bucket,' corresponding to 'killing two birds with one stone' or 'serving two masters (flattering two people at once).' Here used in the context of wanting Atticus to believe the writer is straightforward and loyal only to him.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §7.29.1-7.29.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:7.29.1-7.29.2

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.