Humanitext Reader

Cicero · Letters to Atticus §9.16.1-9.16.3

Caesar's Letter Proclaiming His Clemency

Passage 218 of 461 · Latin

Summary

Cicero shares with Atticus a letter he received from Caesar, in which Caesar prides himself on his clemency and requests Cicero's counsel and influence near Rome.

§9.16.1cum quod scriberem ad te nihil haberem, tamen ne quem diem intermitterem has dedi litteras.
Although I had nothing to write to you, yet, that I might not let any day pass without a letter, I have dispatched this.
A. d. vi K. Caesarem Sinuessae mansurum nuntiabant.
They were announcing that Caesar would stay at Sinuessa on the 27th of March.
ab eo mihi litterae redditae sunt a. d. vii K. quibus iam "opes" meas, non ut superioribus litteris "opem" exspectat.
On the 26th of March, a letter from him was delivered to me, in which he now expects my "influence" (opes), not, as in his former letter, my "help" (opem).
cum eius clementiam Corfiniensem illam per litteras conlaudavissem rescripsit hoc exemplo: §9.16.2"CAESAR IMP. CICERONI IMP. salutem DIC. recte auguraris de me (bene enim tibi cognitus sum) nihil a me abesse longius crudelitate.
When I had praised in a letter that famous clemency of his at Corfinium, he wrote back to the following effect: "CAESAR, IMPERATOR, TO CICERO, IMPERATOR, GREETINGS. You augur rightly of me (for I am well known to you) that nothing is further from me than cruelty.
atque ego cum ex ipsa re magnam capio voluptatem tum meum factum probari abs te triumpho gaudio.
And for my part, while I derive great pleasure from the fact itself, I also exult with joy that my action is approved by you.
neque illud me movet quod ii qui a me dimissi sunt discessisse dicuntur ut mihi rursus bellum inferrent.
Nor does it move me that those who were released by me are said to have departed in order to make war on me again.
nihil enim malo quam et me mei similem esse et illos sui. "
For I wish nothing more than that I should be like myself and they like themselves.
§9.16.3"tu velim mihi ad urbem praesto sis ut tuis consiliis atque opibus, ut consuevi, in omnibus rebus utar.
I should wish you to be at hand for me near the city, so that I may use your counsel and resources in all matters, as I have been accustomed to do.
Dolabella tuo nihil scito mihi esse iucundius.
Know that nothing is more pleasant to me than your Dolabella.
hanc adeo habebo gratiam illi; neque enim aliter facere poterit. tanta eius humanitas, is sensus, ea in me est benevolentia. "
I shall indeed feel this gratitude to him; for indeed he will not be able to do otherwise, so great is his culture, such his feeling, and such his goodwill toward me."

Notes

  1. 9.16.1scriberem — Subjunctive imperfect in a relative clause after a negative antecedent (nihil), expressing characteristic or purpose ("nothing that I might write"). The tense is adjusted to the historical perfect (dedi) of the main clause.
  2. 9.16.1opes... opem — A wordplay between the singular opem ("help, assistance") and the plural opes ("influence, resources, power"), marking the shift in Caesar's expectation from simple assistance to Cicero's active political weight.
  3. 9.16.2triumpho gaudio — triumpho is the first-person singular present indicative of the verb triumphare ("to triumph, exult"), serving as the main verb of the tum-clause in the correlative cum... tum... construction, with gaudio acting as an ablative of cause ("with joy").
  4. 9.16.3velim... praesto sis — velim is the first-person singular present subjunctive of volo (subjunctive of modest assertion), followed by the subjunctive praesto sis without ut as a complement clause functioning as its object.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Atticus §9.16.1-9.16.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi057.humanitext-lat1:9.16.1-9.16.3

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

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