Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §14.13A.1-14.13A.3

Antony's Letter Requesting the Recall of Clodius

Passage 397 of 461 · Latin

Summary

A letter from Antony to Cicero. Antony seeks Cicero's consent for the restoration of Sextus Clodius, attempting to persuade him that this will benefit Cicero's peaceful old age and his future relationship with young Clodius.

§14.13A.1occupationibus est factum meis et subita tua profectione ne tecum coram de hac re agerem.
It was because of my occupations and your sudden departure that I did not discuss this matter with you in person.
quam ob causam vereor ne absentia mea levior sit apud te.
For which reason I fear that my absence may make my words carry less weight with you.
quod si bonitas tua responderit iudicio meo quod semper habui de te, gaudebo.
But if your goodness responds to the opinion which I have always held of you, I shall rejoice.
§14.13A.2a Caesare petii ut Sex. Clodium restitueret; impetravi.
I requested of Caesar that he restore Sextus Clodius; I obtained it.
erat mihi in animo etiam tum sic uti beneficio eius si tu concessisses.
Even then it was my intention to make use of his favor only if you should consent.
quo magis laboro ut tua voluntate id per me facere nunc liceat.
For which reason I strive all the more that I may now be permitted to do this by myself with your goodwill.
quod si duriorem te eius miserae et adflictae fortunae praebes, non contendam ego adversus te, quamquam videor debere tueri commentarium Caesaris.
But if you show yourself rather harsh toward his wretched and afflicted fortune, I shall not contend against you, although I seem to be bound to uphold the memorandum of Caesar.
sed me hercule, si humaniter et sapienter et amabiliter in me cogitare vis, facilem profecto te praebebis et voles P. Clodium, in optima spe puerum repositum, existimare non te insectatum esse, cum potueris, amicos paternos.
But by Hercules, if you wish to think of me humanely, wisely, and amiably, you will surely show yourself easy-going and will want Publius Clodius, a boy placed in the highest expectation, to judge that you did not persecute his father's friends when you had the power to do so.
§14.13A.3patere, obsecro, te pro re publica videri gessisse simultatem cum patre eius, non contempsisse hanc familiam.
Allow, I beseech you, that you should seem to have carried on a feud with his father for the sake of the republic, and not to have despised this family.
honestius enim et libentius deponimus inimicitias rei publicae nomine susceptas quam contumaciae.
For we lay aside enmities undertaken in the name of the republic more honorably and more willingly than those of stubbornness.
me deinde sine ad hanc opinionem iam nunc dirigere puerum et tenero animo eius persuadere non esse tradendas posteris inimicitias.
Allow me then even now to direct the boy toward this opinion, and to persuade his tender mind that enmities ought not to be handed down to posterity.
quamquam tuam fortunam, Cicero, ab omni periculo abesse certum habeo, tamen arbitror malle te quietam senectutem et honorificam potius agere quam sollicitam.
Although, Cicero, I hold it certain that your fortune is far from all danger, yet I think you prefer to spend a quiet and honorable old age rather than an anxious one.
postremo meo iure te hoc beneficium rogo; nihil enim non tua causa feci.
Lastly, by my own right I ask you for this favor; for there is nothing I have not done for your sake.
quod si non impetro, per me Clodio daturus non sum, ut intellegas quanti apud me auctoritas tua sit atque eo te placabiliorem praebeas.
But if I do not obtain it, I am not going to grant it to Clodius on my own account, so that you may understand how much your authority is worth to me, and thereby show yourself the more placable.

Notes

  1. §14.13A.1ne tecum coram de hac re agerem — A noun clause introduced by the impersonal verb est factum ("it so happened that..."). While ut (or ut non) is more common in result clauses, ne is used here to imply a negative outcome (that the in-person discussion was prevented) or a preventive nuance.
  2. §14.13A.2duriorem te — te is the direct object (accusative) of praebes, and duriorem is its predicative accusative complement ("show yourself [to be] harsher"). eius miserae et adflictae fortunae is a dative depending on the comparative adjective duriorem or as an indirect object of te praebes.
  3. §14.13A.3patere — The second-person singular present imperative of the deponent verb patior ("to allow, suffer"). It should not be confused with forms of the intransitive verb pateo ("to lie open"). Here it takes an accusative with infinitive construction (te ... videri) to express a strong request ("allow yourself to seem...").
  4. §14.13A.3nihil enim non — A double negation (nihil + non) equivalent to a strong affirmation ("everything"). Literally, "for there is nothing I have not done for your sake," emphasizing complete devotion to Cicero.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §14.13A.1-14.13A.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:14.13A.1-14.13A.3

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