Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §12.35.1

Cost Limits and Atticus's Counsel on the Shrine

Passage 307 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero mentions he had forgotten the legal restriction requiring an equivalent payment to the public if a monument's cost exceeded the limit, and asks Atticus's advice on changing the site to ensure the building can be called a temple.

§12.35.1ante quam a te proxime discessi, numquam mihi venit in mentem, quo plus insumptum in monimentum esset quam nescio quid quod lege conceditur, tantundem populo dandum esse.
Before I recently left you, it never occurred to me that whatever sum was spent on the monument in excess of what is permitted by law, just as much had to be paid to the people.
quod non magno opere moveret, nisi nescio quo modo, ἀλόγωσ fortasse, nollem illud ullo nomine nisi fani appellari.
This would not trouble me greatly, were it not that somehow, perhaps unreasonably (ἀλόγωσ), I am unwilling for it to be called by any name other than a temple.
quod si volumus, vereor ne adsequi non possimus nisi mutato loco.
But if we want this, I fear we may not be able to achieve it unless the site is changed.
hoc quale sit, quaeso, considera.
Please consider what this means.
nam etsi minus urgeor meque ipse prope modum conlegi, tamen indigeo tui consili.
For although I am less hard pressed and have almost recovered myself, yet I still need your advice.
itaque te vehementer etiam atque etiam rogo magis quam a me vis aut pateris te rogari ut hanc cogitationem toto pectore amplectare.
Therefore, I earnestly ask you again and again, more than you wish or allow yourself to be asked by me, to embrace this project with all your heart.

Notes

  1. §12.35.1quo plus insumptum in monimentum esset... tantundem — The relative 'quo' functions as an ablative of measure of difference, correlating with the comparative 'plus' to mean 'by how much more'. This correlates with 'tantundem' ('just as much') in the main clause, establishing a proportional relationship regarding the sum spent beyond the legal allowance. 'insumptum esset' is pluperfect subjunctive, reflecting the indirect or hypothetical nature of the thought subordinated to 'numquam mihi venit in mentem'.
  2. §12.35.1quod non magno opere moveret, nisi... nollem — A present counterfactual conditional sentence using the imperfect subjunctive (moveret, nollem), with the connecting relative 'quod' (referring to the obligation to pay an equivalent sum mentioned in the previous sentence) as the subject. It translates to: 'which would not trouble me greatly, were it not that I was unwilling...'.
  3. §12.35.1amplectare — The second-person singular present subjunctive of the deponent verb 'amplector' (to embrace, take up). The ending '-re' is used instead of the standard '-ris', a variation common in archaic or epistolary style. It serves as the verb in the noun clause introduced by 'ut'.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §12.35.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:12.35.1

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