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Cicero · Letters to Atticus §13.6A.1

Historical Precedents and Ancestral Rules on Legates

Passage 336 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero corrects some historical misunderstandings regarding the legations of Tuditanus and Mummius, contrasts the wise institutions of their ancestors with modern negligence, and expresses gratitude for Atticus's immense trouble.

§13.6A.1Tuditanum istum proavum Hortensi plane non noram et filium qui tum non potuerat esse legatus fuisse putaram.
I knew absolutely nothing about that Tuditanus, the great-grandfather of Hortensius, and I had thought that his son, who at that time could not have been a legate, had been one.
Mummium fuisse ad Corinthum pro certo habeo.
I hold it as certain that Mummius was at Corinth.
saepe enim hic Spurius, qui nuper †est†, epistulas mihi pronuntiabat versiculis facetis ad familiaris missas a Corintho.
For this Spurius, who recently [died], often used to read out to me letters written in witty verses sent from Corinth to his friends.
sed non dubito quin fratri fuerit legatus non in decem.
But I do not doubt that he was a legate to his brother, and not one of the ten commissioners.
atque hoc etiam accepi, non solitos maiores nostros eos legare in decem qui essent imperatorum necessarii, ut nos ignari pulcherrimorum institutorum aut neglegentes potius M. Lucullum et L. Murenam et ceteros coniunctissimos ad L. Lucullum misimus.
And I have also heard this, that our ancestors were not accustomed to appoint as commissioners among the ten those who were close relatives of the commanders, whereas we, ignorant of the finest institutions, or rather negligent, sent M. Lucullus, L. Murena, and others most closely connected to L. Lucullus.
illudque εὐλογώτατον, illum fratri in primis eius legatis fuisse.
And it is most reasonable that he was among the first of his brother's legates.
o operam tuam multam qui et haec cures et mea expedias et sis in tuis non multo minus diligens quam in meis!
O your great trouble, you who care for these things, dispatch my business, and are not much less diligent in your own affairs than in mine!

Notes

  1. §13.6A.1filium qui tum non potuerat esse legatus fuisse putaram — The noun filium is the subject accusative of the infinitive clause filium ... fuisse. The predicate noun legatus is in the nominative instead of the expected accusative legatum under the influence of the preceding relative clause qui tum non potuerat esse legatus where legatus is nominative (attraction of case).
  2. §13.6A.1non in decem — Meaning 'not among the ten [commissioners].' An ellipsis of non [fuisse legatum] in decem [legatis]. It refers to the historical practice where a commission of ten legates (decem legati) was sent to organize conquered territories.
  3. §13.6A.1o operam tuam multam qui... — A sentence introduced by the accusative of exclamation o operam tuam multam. The relative pronoun qui refers back to the second-person pronoun implied in the possessive adjective tuam. Consequently, the verbs in the relative clause are in the second person and the subjunctive mood (cures, expedias, sis), expressing the characteristic or cause ('you who...').

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §13.6A.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:13.6A.1

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