Cicero ad Familiares X.10

Commentary by Andrew Van Buskirk, revised by J. Bailly

Introduction

In this letter Cicero encourages Lucius Munatius Plancus to bring his armies across the Alps and relieve Decimus Brutus at Mutina where Brutus is being besieged by Antony. The letter is dated March 30th, and Plancus did not commence his march until April 26th, by which time it was too late to be of any help (cf. ad Fam. X 9 and X 11), because Antony was defeated by Hirtius, Pansa, and Octavian.

In ad Fam. X 6, dated March 20th, we learn that Plancus was still uncertain whether or not he would champion the Republican side or maintain peace with Antony. This letter is in line with Cicero's previous effort to maintain Plancus' support for the Republican cause (cf. ad Fam. X 5). Cicero's promise to him of great honors are based on his knowledge of Plancus' ambitious character. After the battle of Mutina, Plancus pursued his own advantage and, along with Lepidus and C. Asinius Pollio, joined forces with Antony.

Lucius Munatius Plancus (87 BCE-15 BCE) was consul in 42 and censor in 22 BCE (the last time the office was filled). An officer under Caesar during the Gallic conquest, he switched allegiance to Antony, and then again, when Antony was defeated in Parthia, to Octavian.
Plancus' tomb still stands, overlooking Gaeta in Italy. As proconsul of Gallia Comata in 43 BCE, he founded the city of Lugdunum (Lyon) as well as Raurica (Augusta Raurica, near Basel, Switzerland). He was known as an orator.

Text

Scr. Romae III. Kal. Apriles a.u.c. 711. (March 30th, 43 B.C.)
CICERO PLANCO.

[1] Etsi satis ex Furnio nostro cognoram, quae tua voluntas, quod consilium de re publica esset, tamen tuis litteris lectis liquidius de toto sensu tuo iudicavi. Quamobrem, quamquam in uno proelio omnis fortuna rei publicae disceptatur—quod quidem, cum haec legeres, iam decretum arbitrabar fore—, tamen ipsa fama, quae de tua voluntate percrebruit, magnam es laudem consecutus; itaque si consulem Romae habuissemus, declaratum esset ab senatu cum tuis magnis honoribus, quam gratus esset conatus et apparatus tuus: cuius rei non modo non praeteriit tempus, sed ne maturum quidem etiam nunc meo quidem iudicio fuit; is enim denique honos mihi videri solet, qui non propter spem futuri beneficii, sed propter magna merita claris viris defertur et datur.

[2] Quare, sit modo aliqua res publica, in qua honos elucere possit, omnibus, mihi crede, amplissimis honoribus abundabis; is autem, qui vere appellari potest honos, non invitamentum ad tempus, sed perpetuae virtutis est praemium. Quamobrem, mi Plance, incumbe toto pectore ad laudem: subveni patriae, opitulare collegae, omnium gentium consensum et incredibilem conspirationem adiuva. Me tuorum consiliorum adiutorem, dignitatis fautorem, omnibus in rebus tibi amicissimum fidelissimumque cognosces; ad eas enim causas, quibus inter nos amore sumus, officiis, vetustate coniuncti, patriae caritas accessit, eaque effecit, ut tuam vitam anteferrem meae. III. K. Apr.

Commentary
Scr. Romae III. Kal. Apriles a.u.c. 711. (March 30th, 43 BCE)
CICERO PLANCO.

Scr.: scripsit or scriptum.
Romae: locative.
III. Kal. Apriles: the third day before the Kalends of Aprile (i.e. March 30th).
a.u.c. 711: ab urbe condita 711 (i.e. 43 BCE).
Cicero Planco: understand scripsit.

[1] Etsi satis ex Furnio nostro cognoram, quae tua voluntas, quod consilium de re publica esset, tamen tuis litteris lectis liquidius de toto sensu tuo iudicavi. Quamobrem, quamquam in uno proelio omnis fortuna rei publicae disceptatur—quod quidem, cum haec legeres, iam decretum arbitrabar fore—, tamen ipsa fama, quae de tua voluntate percrebruit, magnam es laudem consecutus; itaque si consulem Romae habuissemus, declaratum esset ab senatu cum tuis magnis honoribus, quam gratus esset conatus et apparatus tuus: cuius rei non modo non praeteriit tempus, sed ne maturum quidem etiam nunc meo quidem iudicio fuit; is enim denique honos mihi videri solet, qui non propter spem futuri beneficii, sed propter magna merita claris viris defertur et datur.

Etsi: etsi is often followed by subjunctive. Here cognoram relates a fact, and so the indicative is used.
Furnio nostro: A close friend of Cicero's who had helped him to keep Plancus on the Republican side. We learn in ad Fam. X 6 that Furnius addressed the senate on Plancus' behalf and affirmed Plancus' loyalty to them. In that same letter, Cicero criticizes Plancus for considering peace with Antony. Apparently Plancus was riding the fence, or at least keeping his options open should his side suffer a reversal.
cognoram: syncopated form of cognoveram. An 'epistolary' tense: i.e., by the time Plancus reads the letter, the statement will be in the past.
quae tua voluntas: supply esset from the following clause. Indirect question. Secondary sequence.
quod . . . esset: indirect question, secondary sequence.
tuis lectis litteris: abl. absolute.
liquidius: comparative adverb modifying iudicavi.
Quamobrem: ob, "because of" + quam rem, "which thing" = "that is why."
uno proelio: The battle of Mutina, where the combined forces of Octavian and the consuls Hirtius and Pansa defeated Antony.
quod quidem . . . arbitrabar fore: arbitrabar is an epistolary tense: by the time the letter is read, the action will be past. Fore decretum = futurum esse decretum: future infinitive in indirect statement.
legeres: cum temporal clauses referring to the past often take subjunctive: secondary sequence.
tamen ipsa fama, quae de tua voluntate percrebuit, magnam es laudem consecutus: the relative clause interrupts the main clause, just as the cum clause did in the previous sentence.
ipsa fama: why ablative?
Itaque . . . conatus et apparatus tuus: past contrary-to-fact condition.
Romae: locative case.
ne . . . quidem: "not even."
declaratum esset: pluperfect subjunctive in the apodosis of a past contrary-to-fact condition. Singular, because it agrees with the number of the first noun in the series (conatus).
quam gratus esset conatus et apparatus . . .: The meaning of quam here is "how (thankful)." This is an indirect question. The indirect question clause as a whole is the subject of declaratum esset.
cuius rei . . . tempus: cuius rei is a gen. dependent on tempus and refers to the possible awarding of honors to Plancus.
is enim denique honos mihi videri solet qui . . .: honos is predicate nominative.
defertur et datur: pleonasm. The two verbs mean practically the same thing.

[2] Quare, sit modo aliqua res publica, in qua honos elucere possit, omnibus, mihi crede, amplissimis honoribus abundabis; is autem, qui vere appellari potest honos, non invitamentum ad tempus, sed perpetuae virtutis est praemium. Quamobrem, mi Plance, incumbe toto pectore ad laudem: subveni patriae, opitulare collegae, omnium gentium consensum et incredibilem conspirationem adiuva. Me tuorum consiliorum adiutorem, dignitatis fautorem, omnibus in rebus tibi amicissimum fidelissimumque cognosces; ad eas enim causas, quibus inter nos amore sumus, officiis, vetustate coniuncti, patriae caritas accessit, eaque effecit, ut tuam vitam anteferrem meae. III. K. Apr.

sit modo: sit is subjunctive in a proviso clause (modo, 'if only').
in qua honos elucere possit: relative clause of characteristic: here equivalent to a purpose clause.
mihi crede: a parenthetical remark (it has no effect on the syntax of the rest of the sentence).
incumbe . . . subveni . . . opitulare . . . adiuva: four imperative verbs in a row. Subvenio and opitulor both take the dative of person or thing helped. Note that the last clause is the longest: that is called a "crescendo."
collegae: does not seem to refer to any one in particular, but rather generically refers to any pro-republican.
Me ... cognosces: the series of three accusatives (adiutorem, fautorem, amicissimum fidelissimumque) constitute a tricolon (three part) crescendo (the last one is the longest, so it grows, hence cresc-endo).
Ad eas enim causas quibus inter nos. . .: quibus is acting as ablative of means with the verb sumus iuncti. In the quibus clause there are three ablative of means in asyndeton: 1) amore 2) officiis 3) and vetustate. Note again, as is frequent in this letter, that the subordinate clause interrupts the main clause (ad eas ... caritas accessit).
Caritas patriae: subject of the main clause. Caritas + gen. = "love of ...."
ut tuam vitam anteferrem meae: antefero + acc.x + dat.y = "to prefer x to y." This is a nominal ut clause with the verb effecit.

Vocabulary

abundo, are to abound, be rich in
accedo, -cedere, -cessi, -cessum, to be added
adiutor, oris m. a helper
adiuvo (1), help
amplus, -a, -um, ample, full, extensive, large
antefero, -ferre, -tuli, -latus, prefer (acc.x + dat.y = ìto prefer x to y.î)
apparatus, a, um m. a preparation, preparing
appello (1), call, name
arbitror, ari dep. to decide, judge, think that
caritas, atis f., affection, love, esteem
cognosco, cognoscere, cognovi, cognitum, get to know, find out (perfect: know)
collega, ae m. colleague (in office); associate, fellow member
conatus, us, m., effort
coniunctus, -a, -um, joined
consensus, -us, m., agreement
consequor, consequi, consecutus, acquire
consilium, -i, n., plan, advice, counsel, opinion
conspiratio, ionis, f. harmony, agreement, union
consul, -sulis, m. a consul, one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman state under the republic
decerno, decernere, decrevi, decretum, decree, ordain; settle, decide
declaro (1), make clear or distinct; reveal or proclaim
defero, -ferre, -tuli, -latum confer, award, grant
discepto (1), decide, settle, determine
efficio, -ficere, -feci, -fectum, bring about that
eluceo, elucere, eluxi, beam forth, shine out, glitter
enim, truly, indeed
fama, -ae, f., rumor, report
fautor, oris m. a favorer, partisan
fidelis, -e, loyal, faithful, true
fore),
fortuna, -ae, f., fortune, future state
gens, gentis, f., people, clan; omnes gentes, , everyone, everyone in the world
gratus, a, um pleasing, welcome, agreeable; deserving thanks
honos, honoris, m., honor
incumbo, cumbere, cubui, cubitum, to apply oneself to a thing, 'get down to'
invitamentum, -i n. an invitation, attraction, allurement
Itaque, (and) thus
lego, legere, lexi, lectum, read
liquidius comparative degree of adj. liquidus, a, um, evident, certain
maturus, a, um, timely
meritum, -i, n., due reward
officium, -i, n., duty
opitulor, ari, + dat., to help, aid
pectus, oris n. the breast the breast as the seat of the affections
percrebresco, -brescere, -brui, become very frequent, become prevalent, become well known
perpetuus, a, um, continuous, uninterrupted
praemium, -i, n., reward
praetereo, ire, ivi to go by, pass by
proelium, -i, n., battle
propter + acc., on account of, because of
quam + adj., how
quamquam, although
quamobrem, sometimes written as one word, sometimes as three, which is why, for which reason
satis, sufficiently
sensus, us m. sense; way of thinking, attitude of mind
soleo, solere, solitus sum, be accustomed (+ inf.)
subvenio, venire, veni, ventum to come up to aid, relieve, succour
tempus, -oris, n., time: ad tempus, for the occasion, for the  moment
vetustas, atis f. long duration, length of time
voluntas, -atis, f., disposition, will; choice


Resources for this letter:

Cicero: The letters of January to April 43 BC. M.M. Willcock. Aris & Phillips Ltd. Warminster, England. 1995

The notes in Wilcock were of great help in learning the historical context of the letter. For the beginner in Roman history, H.H. Scullard's From the Gracchi to Nero is of great help.