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Cornelius Nepos · Atticus §11.1-11.6

Selfless Aid to the Defeated and Shaping One's Fortune

Passage 11 of 22 · Latin

Summary

Atticus provided generous aid and protection from Epirus to the victims and losers of the civil wars, proving that his liberality was sincere and not calculating. It is shown that he shaped his fortune through his own character.

§11.1Quibus ex malis ut se emersit, nihil aliud egit quam ut quam plurimis, quibus rebus posset, esset auxilio.
Having emerged from these evils, he did nothing else than assist as many people as possible, by whatever means he could.
cum proscriptos praemiis imperatorum vulgus conquireret, nemo in Epirum venit, cui res ulla defuerit: nemini non ibi perpetuo manendi potestas facta est;
When the common people were searching for the proscribed for the rewards of the generals, no one came to Epirus who lacked anything; to no one was the power of remaining there permanently not granted.
§11.2quin etiam post proelium Philippense interitumque C. Cassii et M. Bruti L. Iulium Mocillam praetorium et filium eius Aulumque Torquatum ceterosque pari fortuna perculsos instituit tueri atque ex Epiro iis omnia Samothraciam supportari iussit.
Nay, even after the battle of Philippi and the death of C. Cassius and M. Brutus, he resolved to protect L. Julius Mocilla, a man of praetorian rank, and his son, and Aulus Torquatus, and others struck down by a similar fortune, and ordered all things to be conveyed to them from Epirus to Samothrace.
difficile est omnia persequi et non necessarium.
It is difficult to recount everything, and not necessary.
§11.3illud unum intellegi volumus, illius liberalitatem neque temporariam neque callidam fuisse.
We wish this one thing to be understood: that his liberality was neither temporary nor calculating.
§11.4id ex ipsis rebus ac temporibus iudicari potest, quod non florentibus se venditavit, sed afflictis semper succurrit: qui quidem Serviliam, Bruti matrem, non minus post mortem eius quam florentem coluerit.
This can be judged from the very circumstances and times, because he did not curry favor with the prosperous, but always succored the afflicted; indeed, he respected Servilia, the mother of Brutus, no less after his death than when she was prosperous.
§11.5sic liberalitate utens nullas inimicitias gessit, quod neque laedebat quemquam neque, si quam iniuriam acceperat, non malebat oblivisci quam ulcisci.
Thus practicing liberality, he engaged in no enmities, because he neither harmed anyone, nor, if he received any injury, did he not prefer to forget rather than to avenge it.
idem immortali memoria percepta retinebat beneficia; quae autem ipse tribuerat, tam diu meminerat, quoad ille gratus erat, qui acceperat.
Likewise, he retained in immortal memory the benefits he received; but those which he himself had bestowed, he remembered only so long as the recipient was grateful.
§11.6itaque hic fecit ut vere dictum videatur: " Sui cuique mores fingunt fortunam hominibus. " neque tamen ille prius fortunam quam se ipse finxit, qui cavit ne qua in re iure plecteretur.
Therefore, this man made it appear that it was truly said: "Sui cuique mores fingunt fortunam hominibus." Yet he did not shape his fortune before he shaped himself, taking care lest he should be justly punished in any matter.

Notes

  1. 11.1Quibus ex malis ut se emersit — The conjunction ut is used with the indicative perfect emersit to express a temporal relation meaning 'when' or 'as soon as'. Additionally, the preposition ex is placed between the relative adjective Quibus and the noun malis, forming a hyperbaton.
  2. 11.1esset auxilio — The noun auxilio is a dative of purpose, which, combined with the dative of person plurimis (dative of advantage), forms a 'double dative' construction meaning 'to be of assistance to someone'. The subjunctive esset is due to the ut clause.
  3. 11.5neque... non malebat — The double negation of neque and non functions as a litotes, expressing a strong affirmation ('he always preferred'). The word quam in si quam is an indefinite pronoun, where the prefix ali- is dropped from aliquam after the conditional particle si.
  4. 11.6Sui cuique mores — The possessive sui (one's own) is associated with cuique (to each), and since the subject of the sentence is the plural noun mores, the verb is the plural fingunt. The noun hominibus is a dative of advantage/relation with the verb.

Cite this passage

Cornelius Nepos, Atticus §11.1-11.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0588.abo025.humanitext-lat2:11.1-11.6

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