Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §7.6.1-7.6.2

Urging Trebatius to Forsake Rome and Guard Himself

Passage 128 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero urges Trebatius to abandon his longing for Rome to focus on his goals, humorously advising him, as a lawyer accustomed to safeguarding others, to be on his guard against British charioteers.

§7.6.1in omnibus meis epistulis, quas ad Caesarem aut ad Balbum mitto, legitima quaedam est accessio commendationis tuae, nec ea vulgaris sed cum aliquo insigni indicio meae erga te benevolentiae.
In all my letters, which I send to Caesar or to Balbus, there is a kind of regular addition of your recommendation, and that not a common one, but accompanied by some remarkable proof of my goodwill toward you.
tu modo ineptias istas et desideria urbis et urbanitatis depone et, quo consilio profectus es, id adsiduitate et virtute consequere.
You only lay aside those silly complaints, and your longing for the city and city life, and achieve by industry and virtue that purpose for which you set out.
hoc tibi tam ignoscemus nos amici, quam ignoverunt Medeae, " quaé Corinthum arcem áltam habebant mátronae opulentae, óptimates, " quibus illa manibus gypsatissimis persuasit ne sibi vitio illae verterent, quod abesset a patria; nam " Múlti suam rem béne gessere et públicam patriá procul; Múlti, qui domi aétatem agerent, própterea sunt ímprobati.
This we, your friends, will excuse in you as readily as they excused Medea, "the wealthy matrons, the noble ladies, who inhabited the high citadel of Corinth, "whom she, with her hands most heavily whitened, persuaded not to turn it into a fault for her that she was absent from her homeland; for "Many have managed their own affairs and those of the public well, far from their homeland; Many, who spent their lifetime at home, were therefore disreputable.
" quo in numero tu certe fuisses, nisi te extrusissemus.
"In which number you would certainly have been, if we had not thrust you out.
§7.6.2sed plura scribemus alias.
But we will write more at another time.
tu, qui ceteris cavere didicisti, in Britannia ne ab essedariis decipiaris caveto et (quoniam Medeam coepi agere) illud semper memento: " qui ípse sibi sapiéns prodesse nón quit, nequiquám sapit.
You, who have learned to be on your guard for others, take care in Britain that you are not deceived by the chariot-warriors, and (since I have begun to play Medea) always remember this: "He who, being wise, cannot benefit himself, is wise in vain.
" cura ut valeas.
"Take care of your health.

Notes

  1. 7.6.1quibus — The relative pronoun `quibus` refers back to the antecedent `matronae` in the quoted verse and serves as the dative object of the verb `persuasit`.
  2. 7.6.1vitio — In `sibi vitio verterent`, `sibi` is a dative of reference and `vitio` is a dative of purpose or result (forming a double dative construction), meaning "to turn it into a fault for her" (i.e., to regard it as her fault).
  3. 7.6.2cavere — A wordplay on the verb `cavere`. The first instance, `ceteris cavere`, refers to Trebatius's professional role as a lawyer "taking precautions (providing legal safeguards) for others," while the second, `caveto`, is used in the general sense of "taking care/being on one's guard" against the charioteers.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §7.6.1-7.6.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:7.6.1-7.6.2

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.