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Cicero · Letters to Brutus §1.3a.1

Death of the Consuls and the Fate of Gaius

Passage 5 of 30 · Latin

Summary

Cicero reports the deaths of the consuls Hirtius and Pansa, discusses the senate's decree declaring Antony's followers as public enemies, and explains his lenient stance regarding Gaius Antonius.

§1.3a.1consules duos bonos quidem, sed dumtaxat bonos consules amisimus.
We have lost two consuls who were indeed good, but only good consuls.
Hirtius quidem in ipsa victoria occidit, cum paucis diebus ante magno proelio vicisset.
Hirtius indeed fell in the very moment of victory, although he had won a great battle a few days before.
nam Pansa fugerat vulneribus acceptis quae ferre non potuit.
For Pansa had retreated, having received wounds which he could not bear.
reliquias hostium Brutus persequitur et Caesar.
Brutus and Caesar are pursuing the remnants of the enemy.
hostes autem omnes iudicati qui M. Antoni sectam secuti sunt, idque senatus consultum plerique interpretantur etiam ad tuos sive captivos sive dediticios pertinere.
Moreover, all those who followed the party of Marcus Antonius have been declared public enemies, and most people interpret this decree of the senate as applying also to your men, whether captives or surrenderers.
equidem nihil disserui durius cum nominatim de C. Antonio decernerem, quod ita statueram, a te cognoscere causam eius senatum oportere.
Indeed, I argued nothing too harshly when I was decreeing specifically about Gaius Antonius, because I had determined that the senate ought to learn of his case from you.
V. K. Maias.
April 27th.

Notes

  1. 1.3a.1bonos quidem, sed dumtaxat bonos — The phrase with the restrictive adverb `dumtaxat` ('only', 'merely') qualifies the praise of the deceased consuls, implying that while they were 'good consuls' in ordinary circumstances, they were merely that, lacking the extraordinary leadership required in this crisis.
  2. 1.3a.1quae ferre non potuit — The relative clause `quae ferre non potuit` takes the preceding `vulneribus` (wounds) as its antecedent, expressing that the wounds Pansa sustained were fatal, such that he could not survive ('bear') them.
  3. 1.3a.1a te cognoscere causam eius senatum oportere — The accusative with infinitive clause `senatum... cognoscere` (that the senate should learn) functions as the subject of the impersonal verb `oportere`. Within this clause, `causam eius` (his case) is the object of `cognoscere`, and `a te` (from you) denotes the source, indicating that the senate should wait for Brutus's report regarding Gaius Antonius.

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Brutus §1.3a.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi059.humanitext-lat1:1.3a.1

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