Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §7.31.1-7.31.2

Plea to Return and Preserve Roman Urbanity

Passage 153 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero confirms his deep friendship with his correspondent and rejoices that his friend's affairs are settled. He laments the decline of traditional Roman urbanity and urges him to return quickly to save it from vanishing along with the republic.

§7.31.1facile perspexi ex tuis litteris, quod semper studui, et me a te plurimi fieri et te intellegere quam mihi carus esses.
I have easily perceived from your letter what I have always desired, both that I am highly valued by you and that you understand how dear you are to me.
quod quoniam uterque nostrum consecutus est, reliquum est ut officiis certemus inter nos; quibus aequo animo vel vincam te vel vincar abs te.
Since both of us have attained this, it remains for us to vie with one another in mutual offices; in which I shall with an easy mind either conquer you or be conquered by you.
Acilio non fuisse necesse meas dari litteras facile patior; §7.31.2Sulpici tibi operam intellego ex tuis litteris non multum opus fuisse propter tuas res ita contractas ut quem ad modum scribis, 'nec caput nec pedes. ' equidem vellem uti pedes haberent, ut aliquando redires.
I easily bear the fact that it was not necessary for my letter to be given to Acilius; I understand from your letter that Sulpicius's assistance was of no great need to you, because your affairs were so contracted that, as you write, they had "neither head nor feet." Indeed, I could wish that they had feet, so that you might at some time return.
vides enim exaruisse iam veterem urbanitatem, ut Pomponius noster suo iure possit dicere: " Nisi nos pauci retineamus gloriam antiquam Atticam.
For you see that the old urbanity has now dried up, so that our Pomponius can say by his own right: "Unless we few retain the ancient Attic glory.
" ergo is tibi, nos ei succedimus.
"Therefore he succeeds you, and we succeed him.
veni igitur, quaeso, ne tamen semen urbanitatis una cum re p. intereat.
Come then, I pray, lest the seed of urbanity perish together with the republic.

Notes

  1. §7.31.1plurimi fieri — The genitive of value `plurimi` is used with `fieri` (acting as the passive of `facere`) to mean 'to be highly valued' or 'to be held in very high esteem.'
  2. §7.31.2operam ... non multum opus fuisse — The impersonal expression `opus est` (there is need of) usually takes the ablative of the thing needed (which would be `opera`), but here the accusative `operam` is used as the subject of the infinitive clause.
  3. §7.31.2vellem uti pedes haberent — The imperfect subjunctive `vellem` expresses an unrealizable wish in the present ('I could wish that...'). The conjunction `uti` is an archaic form of `ut`. This sentence plays on the word `pedes` (feet) from the preceding proverbial phrase `nec caput nec pedes` (neither head nor feet).

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §7.31.1-7.31.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:7.31.1-7.31.2

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