Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Friends §7.8.1-7.8.2

Warning Trebatius Against Impatience and Seizing Opportunities

Passage 130 of 413 · Latin

Summary

Cicero shares a warm letter from Caesar regarding Trebatius, cautions Trebatius against his premature impatience and disregard for a comfortable tribuneship, and urges him to seize the rare opportunities available to him.

§7.8.1scripsit ad me Caesar perhumaniter nondum te sibi satis esse familiarem propter occupationes suas, sed certe fore.
Caesar wrote to me very kindly that because of his occupations you are not yet sufficiently intimate with him, but that you certainly will be.
cui quidem ego rescripsi, quam mihi gratum esset futurum, si quam plurimum in te studi, offici, liberalitatis suae contulisset.
To this indeed I wrote back how pleasing it would be to me if he would bestow upon you as much of his interest, attention, and generosity as possible.
sed ex tuis litteris cognovi praeproperam quandam festinationem tuam et simul sum admiratus cur tribunatus commoda, dempto praesertim labore militiae, contempseris.
But from your letter I have recognized a certain premature haste of yours, and at the same time I have wondered why you have despised the advantages of a military tribuneship, especially when the labor of military service has been removed.
§7.8.2querar cum Vacerra et Manilio; nam Cornelio nihil audeo dicere, cuius tu periculo stultus es, quoniam te ab eo sapere didicisse profiteris.
I shall complain with Vacerra and Manilius; for to Cornelius I dare say nothing, at whose risk you are foolish, since you profess that you have learned to be wise from him.
quin tu urges istam occasionem et facultatem, qua melior numquam reperietur? quod scribis de illo Preciano iure consulto, ego te ei non desino commendare; scribit enim ipse mihi te sibi gratias agere debere.
Why do you not press forward on that opportunity and advantage, than which a better will never be found? As to what you write about that famous jurisconsult Precianus, I do not cease to recommend you to him; for he himself writes to me that you ought to thank him.
de eo quid sit, cura ut sciam.
Take care that I know how that matter stands.
ego vestras Britannicas litteras exspecto.
I am waiting for your letters from Britain.

Notes

  1. §7.8.1cui — A relative connection (connecting relative) in the dative case, referring back to Caesar in the preceding sentence and serving as the indirect object of the verb `rescripsi`.
  2. §7.8.1dempto praesertim labore militiae — An ablative absolute construction formed by `dempto` (perfect passive participle of `demo`, 'to remove') and `labore` (ablative of `labor`), describing a concessive or circumstantial condition: 'especially since the labor of military service was removed.'
  3. §7.8.2cuius tu periculo stultus es — The relative pronoun `cuius` refers back to Cornelius. `periculo` (ablative of price or condition) means 'at the risk/detriment of'; Cicero humorously suggests that Trebatius's foolishness endangers the professional reputation of Cornelius, from whom Trebatius claims to have learned law.
  4. §7.8.2quin tu urges — The combination of the interrogative particle `quin` with the present indicative (second person singular) functions as an idiomatic way to express an urgent exhortation or command: 'Why don't you press on?' equivalent to 'Press on immediately!'

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Friends §7.8.1-7.8.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi056.humanitext-lat1:7.8.1-7.8.2

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.