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Cicero · Letters to Brutus §1.3.1-1.3.3

Improving Affairs and Concerns over Octavian

Passage 4 of 30 · Latin

Summary

Cicero reports the improvement of political affairs and praises Octavian's disposition while expressing caution about managing him, and urges Brutus to take a strict stance against the public enemies.

§1.3.1nostrae res meliore loco videbantur; scripta enim ad te certo scio quae gesta sunt.
Our affairs seem to be in a better position; for I know for certain that what has been done has been written to you.
qualis tibi saepe scripsi consules, tales exstiterunt.
The consuls have turned out to be just such as I often wrote to you.
Caesaris vero pueri mirifica indoles virtutis est.
Indeed, the natural disposition of the young Caesar toward virtue is wonderful.
Vtinam tam facile eum florentem et honoribus et gratia regere ac tenere possimus quam facile adhuc tenuimus! est omnino illud difficilius sed tamen non diffidimus.
Would that we could guide and hold him in his prosperity, both in honors and in favor, as easily as we have held him up to this point! That is altogether more difficult, but yet we do not despair.
persuasum est enim adulescenti et maxime per me eius opera nos esse salvos.
For the young man has been persuaded, and especially through me, that we are safe by his efforts.
et certe, nisi is Antonium ab urbe avertisset, perissent omnia.
And certainly, if he had not turned Antonius away from the city, all would have perished.
§1.3.2triduo vero aut quadriduo ante hanc rem pulcherrimam timore quodam perculsa civitas tota ad te se cum coniugibus et liberis effundebat eadem recreata a. d. xii Kal. Maias te huc venire quam se ad te ire malebat.
But three or four days before this most beautiful event, the entire city, struck by a certain fear, was pouring itself out to you with their wives and children; the very same, reassured on April 20th, preferred that you should come here rather than that they should go to you.
quo quidem die magnorum meorum laborum multarumque vigiliarum fructum cepi maximum, si modo est aliquis fructus ex solida veraque gloria.
On which day indeed, I received the greatest fruit of my great labors and many vigils, if only there is any fruit from solid and true glory.
nam tantae multitudinis quantam capit urbs nostra concursus est ad me factus; a qua usque in Capitolium deductus maximo clamore atque plausu in rostris conlocatus sum.
For a rush of as great a multitude as our city can hold was made toward me; by whom having been escorted all the way to the Capitol, I was placed on the rostra with the greatest shouting and applause.
nihil est in me inane; neque enim debet; sed tamen omnium ordinum consensus, gratiarum actio gratulatioque me commovet propterea quod popularem me esse in populi salute praeclarum est.
There is nothing vain in me, nor indeed ought there to be; but yet the consensus of all classes, the thanksgiving and congratulation move me, because it is glorious to be a man of the people in the salvation of the people.
§1.3.3sed haec te malo ab aliis.
But I prefer that you hear these things from others.
me velim de tuis rebus consiliisque facias diligentissime certiorem illudque consideres ne tua liberalitas dissolutior videatur.
I would wish that you keep me most diligently informed about your affairs and plans, and that you consider this, lest your liberality should seem too lax.
sic sentit senatus, sic populus Romanus, nullos umquam hostis digniores omni supplicio fuisse quam eos civis qui hoc bello contra patriam arma ceperunt; quos quidem ego omnibus sententiis ulciscor et persequor: omnibus bonis approbantibus.
Thus thinks the senate, thus the Roman people, that no enemies were ever more worthy of all punishment than those citizens who took up arms against their country in this war; whom indeed I punish and pursue with every vote, with all good men approving.
tu quid de hac re sentias, tui iudici est; ego sic sentio trium fratrum unam et eandem esse causam.
What you think about this matter is for your own judgment; I think thus, that the cause of the three brothers is one and the same.

Notes

  1. 1.3.1persuasum est enim adulescenti — The impersonal passive `persuasum est` takes the dative `adulescenti` and an accusative with infinitive clause `nos esse salvos` as its subject. It means 'the young man has been persuaded that we are safe.'
  2. 1.3.2eadem recreata — The feminine singular adjective `eadem` and perfect participle `recreata` both agree with the subject of the previous clause, `civitas tota`. This emphasizes the dramatic change in the very same citizens who were previously terrified and are now reassured.
  3. 1.3.2popularem me esse in populi salute — A wordplay on the noun `populus` and the adjective `popularis`. Structurally, it is an accusative with infinitive clause acting as the subject of `praeclarum est`. Cicero, traditionally an Optimas, here prides himself on being truly 'popularis' (a man of the people) in securing their safety.
  4. 1.3.3tui iudici est — A genitive of property or responsibility used with the copula `est` to mean 'it is a matter for your judgment' or 'it depends on your judgment.' The indirect question clause `quid... sentias` acts as the subject.
  5. 1.3.3trium fratrum unam et eandem esse causam — Here `causa` refers to a 'legal case' or 'political standing/destiny.' Cicero expresses his political stance that the three Antonius brothers (Marcus, Lucius, and Gaius) must not be separated and should all be treated equally as enemies of the state.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Brutus §1.3.1-1.3.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi059.humanitext-lat1:1.3.1-1.3.3

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.