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Cicero · Letters to Brutus §1.7.1-1.7.2

Plea for the Nomination of Bibulus and Allies

Passage 10 of 30 · Latin

Summary

Brutus earnestly requests Cicero's nomination of Lucius Bibulus for the vacancy left by Pansa, while also urging him to support Domitius and Apuleius.

§1.7.1L. Bibulus quam carus mihi esse debeat, nemo melius iudicare potest quam tu cuius tantae pro re publica contentiones sollicitudinesque fuerunt.
No one can judge better than you, whose struggles and anxieties on behalf of the republic have been so great, how dear Lucius Bibulus ought to be to me.
itaque vel ipsius virtus vel nostra necessitudo debet conciliare te illi.
Therefore, either his own merit or our close relationship ought to win you over to him.
quo minus multa mihi scribenda esse arbitror.
On which account I think I need not write many things.
voluntas enim te movere debet nostra, si modo iusta est aut pro officio necessario suscipitur.
For our wish ought to move you, if only it is just or is undertaken in accordance with a necessary duty.
is Pansae locum petere constituit.
He has resolved to seek Pansa's place.
eam nominationem a te petimus.
We ask that nomination from you.
neque coniunctiori dare beneficium quam nos tibi sumus neque digniorem nominare potes quam Bibulum.
You can neither bestow a favor on anyone more closely connected to you than we are, nor nominate anyone more worthy than Bibulus.
§1.7.2de Domitio et Apuleio quid attinet me scribere, cum ipsi per se tibi commendatissimi sint? Apuleium vero tu tua auctoritate sustinere debes.
As for Domitius and Apuleius, what need is there for me to write, since they are already by themselves most highly recommended to you? But Apuleius indeed you ought to support by your authority.
sed Apuleius in sua epistula celebrabitur.
However, Apuleius will be celebrated in his own letter.
Bibulum noli dimittere e sinu tuo, tantum iam virum ex quanto, crede mihi, potest evadere qui vestris paucorum respondeat laudibus.
Do not let Bibulus go from your bosom; believe me, he is already so great a man, considering what he can turn out to be—one who would answer to the praises of you few.

Notes

  1. 1.7.1cuius — The antecedent of the relative pronoun cuius is the personal pronoun tu in the main clause. The adjective tantae within the relative clause emphasizes the immense magnitude of Cicero's struggles on behalf of the state, strengthening the persuasive force of the request.
  2. 1.7.1quo minus — A combination of the adverbial quo ('wherefore, on which account') and the adverb minus. Combining with multa, it means 'fewer things, not many things,' translating to 'wherefore I think I need not write many things.' This is distinct from the subordinating conjunction quominus ('so that... not') used after verbs of hindering.
  3. 1.7.2tantum iam virum ex quanto, crede mihi, potest evadere qui vestris paucorum respondeat laudibus — The relative clause qui... respondeat (subjunctive of characteristic or result) modifies the antecedent tantum virum. The phrase ex quanto refers to the potential from which he started ('from how great a promise'), depending on evadere ('to turn out, emerge'). The possessive adjective vestris is plural and is in apposition with the genitive plural paucorum ('of you few, of the elite').

Cite this passage

Cicero, Letters to Brutus §1.7.1-1.7.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi059.humanitext-lat1:1.7.1-1.7.2

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