Commentary on Att. 14.13B
Commentary by Nate Carney, edited by Jacques Bailly

Text:
Scr. in Puteolano vi Kal. Mai. an. 44

Cicero Antonio cos. S.D.

(1) Quod mecum per litteras agis unam ob causam mallem coram egisses; non enim solum ex oratione, sed etiam ex vultu et oculis et fronte, ut aiunt, meum erga te amorem perspicere potuisses. (2) nam cum te semper amavi, primum tuo studio, post etiam beneficio provocatus, tum his temporibus res publica te mihi ita commendavit ut cariorem habeam neminem. (3) litterae vero tuae cum amantissime tum honorificentissime scriptae sic me adfecerunt ut non dare tibi beneficium viderer sed accipere a te ita petente ut inimicum meum, necessarium tuum, me invito servare nolles, cum id nullo negotio facere posses.
(4) Ego vero tibi istuc, mi Antoni, remitto atque ita ut me a te, cum his verbis scripseris, liberalissime atque honorificentissime tractatum existimem, idque cum totum, quoquo modo se res haberet, tibi dandum putarem, tum do etiam humanitati et naturae meae. (5) nihil enim umquam non modo acerbum in me fuit sed ne paulo quidem tristius aut severius quam necessitas rei publicae postulavit. (6) accedit ut ne in ipsum quidem Cloelium meum insigne odium fuerit umquam, semperque ita statui, non esse insectandos inimicorum amicos, praesertim humiliores, nec his praesidiis nosmet ipsos esse spoliandos.
(7) Nam de puero Clodio tuas partes esse arbitror ut eius animum tenerum, quem ad modum scribis, iis opinionibus imbuas ut ne quas inimicitias residere in familiis nostris arbitretur. (8) contendi cum P. Clodio cum ego publicam causam, ille suam defenderet. (9) nostras concertationes res publica diiudicavit. (10) si viveret, mihi cum illo nulla contentio iam maneret. (11) qua re, quoniam hoc a me sic petis ut, quae tua potestas est, ea neges te me invito usurum, puero quoque hoc a me dabis, si tibi videbitur, non quo aut aetas nostra ab illius aetate quicquam debeat periculi suspicari aut dignitas mea ullam contentionem extimescat, sed ut nosmet ipsi inter nos coniunctiores simus quam adhuc fuimus. (12) interpellantibus enim his inimicitiis animus tuus mihi magis patuit quam domus. (13) sed haec hactenus.
(14) Illud extremum: ego quae te velle quaeque ad te pertinere arbitrabor semper sine ulla dubitatione summo studio faciam. (15) hoc velim tibi penitus persuadeas.

Introduction
Before inviting Sex. Cloelius back to Rome, Antony had written to Cicero to ask for his assent. Cloelius had been exiled in 52 (eight years previous to this letter) after the murder of P. Clodius, whose freedman and lieutenant he was. Cicero was on hostile terms with both during the political conflicts of the 50s. Cicero and Antony would themselves be in open contention soon after this letter was composed.

Index nominorum
Sextus Cloelius (? - ?): He was a freedman and lieutenant of P. Clodius maior, exiled after the latter’s murder in 52BCE, and the subject of Antony’s initial letter.
P. Clodius maior (93 - 52 BCE): Formerly a supporter of Cicero, e.g. in the trial against Catiline; subsequently, in 62, Cicero helped in the prosecution against Clodius over the so-called ‘Bona Dea’ scandal; later, in 60-59BCE, Clodius legally lowered his rank to plebeian to become tribune and began a campaign against Cicero, leading to Cic.’s exile (58-57BCE). Cic.’s Pro Milone (52BCE) was written in defense of Milo, whose supporters violently clashed with Clodius, ultimately leading to the latter’s death.
P. Clodius minor (c. 60 - after 30 BCE) son of P. Clodius maior, and Antony’s stepson (Antony had married P. Clodius maior’s former wife, mother of P. Clodius minor).

Bibliography:
D.R. Shackleton Bailey, Cicero: Select Letters, Cambridge, 1980.

Commentary

[1] Quod mecum per litteras agis unam ob causam mallem coram egisses; non enim solum ex oratione, sed etiam ex vultu et oculis et fronte, ut aiunt, meum erga te amorem perspicere potuisses. nam cum te semper amavi, primum tuo studio, post etiam beneficio provocatus, tum his temporibus res publica te mihi ita commendavit ut cariorem habeam neminem.

Quod: ‘that which’ a 'linking relative' w/antecedent omitted. | mallem: imperfect subj., potential force. | egisses, potuisses: pluperfect subjunctives, semi-independent past contrary-to-fact subjunctives dependent on mallem. | ex vultu et oculis et fronte, ut aiunt: identifies this as a common saying: variations of combinations of the elements vultus, frons, and oculi (or synonyms: sometimes also verba or vox) are found frequently in Cicero: cf.  ad Quint. Frat. 1.1.15.7 (frons, oculi, vultus) and de Fato 10.11 (oculis, vultu, fronte). | non solum…sed etiam. Syntactical structures such as this mark Cicero's precise, careful style; such adverbial phrases are key to holding together the framework of a sentence or statement, and help the reader make quick sense of the material. |
cum…tum: ‘just as…so’; ‘as…so’.: construction used three times in this letter within the first four sentences. cum appears nine times in this letter: thrice in the present cum…tum construction, thrice meaning ‘with’, once as concessive (sent. 3), and twice as causal (4, 7). | ita…ut: ‘so…such that.’ Another helpful construction to make quick sense of the syntax: these words are indications of a result clause whose verb ‘habeam’ is thus in the subjunctive.

[2] litterae vero tuae cum amantissime tum honorificentissime scriptae sic me adfecerunt ut non dare tibi beneficium viderer sed accipere a te ita petente ut inimicum meum, necessarium tuum, me invito servare nolles, cum id nullo negotio facere posses.

Syntactical structure similar to the previous sentence: cum…tum then sic…ut. | litterae vero tuae cum amantissime tum honorificentissime scriptae: subject of the sentence. | sic…ut: introduces a result clause: hence viderer subjunctive in secondary sequence imperfect expressing simultaneous time relative to the leading verb adfecerunt. An additional reason why viderer is subjunctive might be (it's hard to prove) that it has independent potential force and so means "I might seem." | a te ita petente ut…nolles: ita prepares the way for the ut clause: here, ita petente ... ut means something like "asking within the following limit, namely that" (see sense 34 of ut in OLD). | me invito: conditional abl. absolute, ‘if I am unwilling’: when translating an abl. abs., often one must decide between temporal, causal, concessive, or other senses. | cum: concessive force ("although"), and hence subjunctive; secondary sequence because of leading verb adfecerunt. | nullo negotio: "without effort."

[3] Ego vero tibi istuc, mi Antoni, remitto atque ita ut me a te, cum his verbis scripseris, liberalissime atque honorificentissime tractatum existimem, idque cum totum, quoquo modo se res haberet, tibi dandum putarem, tum do etiam humanitati et naturae meae. nihil enim umquam non modo acerbum in me fuit sed ne paulo quidem tristius aut severius quam necessitas rei publicae postulavit. accedit ut ne in ipsum quidem Cloelium meum insigne odium fuerit umquam, semperque ita statui, non esse insectandos inimicorum amicos, praesertim humiliores, nec his praesidiis nosmet ipsos esse spoliandos.

 The first sentence is somewhat complex, best outlined. Each indentation is a level of subordination:

• Ego vero tibi istuc, mi Antoni, remitto (first main clause)
  
• atque ita (sc. remitto: either an afterthought belonging with the previous clause or an independent second clause)
  
• ut me a te..., (result clause begun; within the result clause is a bit of indirect speech with me as subject, tractatum (esse) as infinitive)
  
• cum his verbis scripseris, (causal cum clause modifying existimem clause)
  
• liberalissime atque honorificentissime tractatum existimem, (result clause completed)
  
• idque cum totum..., (begin a bipartite main clause cum... tum... with adverbial id 'at that' shared between them)
  
• quoquo modo se res haberet, (indirect question or perhaps parenthetical clause with potential subjunctive: attached loosely to the clause it is in)
  
• ...tibi dandum putarem, (complete first part of idque cum totum clause: putarem independent potential subjunctive, and has indirect speech totum tibi dandum (esse) dependent on it)
  
• tum do etiam humanitati et naturae meae. (second part second main clause)
  

remitto: OLD sense 14 is "forgo one's rights in the matter, overlook, forgive" ("w. dat. of beneficiary"); Antony gave Cicero the authority to continue or stop punishing Cloelius, and Cicero hereby forgoes his right to continue the punishment. | in me: in me could mean "against me," but here the context demands "within me": after acknowledging Antonius’ honorable gesture, Cic. makes it clear that he has not been overly harsh against his opponents. | accedit ut: in Latin, the ut clause is nominal and the subject of accedit. But as an English translation, one almost wants to translate ‘it just so happens that…’ | meum insigne odium: perhaps sarcastic and revealing that Cicero perceives he has a false reputation for severity. | fuerit: perf. subj. in substantive clause of result. | umquam: note the emphasis: umquam has been used twice in two sentences now. | statui: introduces indirect statement: esse insectandos and esse spoliandos. | inimicorum amicos: e.g. Cloelius, the friend of Cic.’s enemy, P. Clodius. | nec his praesidiis nosmet ipsos esse spoliandos: Cicero seems to be saying that it would be mutually beneficial were there a principle of not harming another's friends/clients/subordinates. More subtly, Cicero may not want to deprive himself of the possible eventual support which his enemies' friends might give to him. A further point might be that Cicero does not want his own supporters to be attacked by his own enemies and so does not attack their supporters. In any case, Cicero's calculation is practical.

[4] Nam de puero Clodio tuas partes esse arbitror ut eius animum tenerum, quem ad modum scribis, iis opinionibus imbuas ut ne quas inimicitias residere in familiis nostris arbitretur. contendi cum P. Clodio cum ego publicam causam, ille suam defenderet. nostras concertationes res publica diiudicavit. si viveret, mihi cum illo nulla contentio iam maneret.

tuas partes: ‘your role.’ | ut…imbuas: a final noun clause (i.e., indirect command) describing what Cicero thinks Antonius’ ‘partes’ are. | iis: Bailey suggests in Cicero: Select Letters that is is often used where English would use ‘such’. | ut ne…arbitretur: it is hard to determine whether this is (a) a continuation of Cic.’s advice, and hence a final noun clause/indirect command, or (b) a purpose clause. The clause is amenable to both:  (a) ‘Imbue him (i.e. encourage him) not to think there are any hostilities…’, or (b) ‘Imbue him with such opinions in order that he not think…’. | cum (a): ‘with’ | cum (b): causal, and hence subjunctive defenderet. | res publica diiudicavit: the reference might be to Cicero's recall from exile or some other decision or it may more loosely refer to Clodius’ murder. | viveret ... maneret: A straightforward (i.e. easily identified) present contrary-to-fact conditional, as indicated by the two imperfect subjunctives. Cicero claims not to hold grudges.

[5] qua re, quoniam hoc a me sic petis ut, quae tua potestas est, ea neges te me invito usurum, puero quoque hoc a me dabis, si tibi videbitur, non quo aut aetas nostra ab illius aetate quicquam debeat periculi suspicari aut dignitas mea ullam contentionem extimescat, sed ut nosmet ipsi inter nos coniunctiores simus quam adhuc fuimus. interpellantibus enim his inimicitiis animus tuus mihi magis patuit quam domus. sed haec hactenus. Illud extremum: ego quae te velle quaeque ad te pertinere arbitrabor semper sine ulla dubitatione summo studio faciam. hoc velim tibi penitus persuadeas.

First, another somewhat complex sentence perhaps best outlined:

• qua re ... , (begin main clause)
  
• quoniam hoc a me sic petis (causal clause modifying dabis)
  
• ut ... , (begin result clause: cf. §2 note on a te ita petente ut…nolles)
•  quae tua potestas est, (relative clause: "such is your power")
  
• ... ea neges (completion of result clause; ea is abl. with the indirect speech te usurum (esse))
• te ... (begin indirect speech dependent on neges)
  
• me invito (concessive abl. abs.)
  
• ... usurum, (comletion of indirect speech)
  
• ... puero quoque hoc a me dabis, (completion of main clause)
  
• si tibi videbitur, (protasis to main clause)
  
• non quo aut aetas nostra ab illius aetate quicquam debeat periculi suspicari (first rejected reason)
  
• aut dignitas mea ullam contentionem extimescat, (second rejected reason)
  
• sed ut nosmet ipsi inter nos coniunctiores simus (real reason given as purpose clause)
  
• quam adhuc fuimus. (comparative clause)
  

ea: ablative with usurum. | puero quoque hoc a me dabis: hoc refers to the granted request. Cic. very aptly balances an acknowledgement of the respect Antony has shown him with an insistence that it is his act. | videbitur: "seems good": sometimes videor means not just 'seem' but 'seem good/right.' | non quo aut…aut…sed ut: OLD quo2 lists the following as typical: non quo ‘because’ with subjunctive of a rejected reason + sed quo with subjunctive of the reason presented as real. Here, aut ... aut lists two reasons which Cicero denies, and sed ut introduces Cicero's real reason in a purpose clause (in lieu of the OLD's more typical causal quo clause). | periculi: partitive genitive with quicquam. | nosmet ipsi: referring to Cicero and P. Clodius minor. | interpellantibus … inimicitiis: ablative absolute referring to the disrupting hostilities of the time. | domus: Antonius’ household, which includes P. Clodius minor: the meaning of domus could be literal, but seems more broadly conceived. | hactenus: ‘no further’. | quae ... quaeque: relative pronouns with omitted antecedent. The antecedent is the object of faciam, as in English "I will do what you want." | arbitrabor: this verb must be understood with both relative clauses introduced by quae and quaeque. | summo studio: ablative of manner. | velim: potential subj. | persuadeas: 'semi-independent' subjunctive, which is like the subjunctive in indirect command (or rather a request) - ‘velim ut’ is the idea. Woodcock in A New Latin Syntax, §142, p. 103: ‘The omission of the conjunction ut is not very common in literary Latin, except in indirect reports of speeches. It is commoner in the familiar or conversational style.’

Vocabulary
accedo, accedere, accessi, accessum: approach; happen; but accedit can, with an ut clause as subject, mean "be added," "come in addition."
acerbus, a, um: harsh, bitter; violent, severe; oppressive
accipio, accipere, accepti, acceptum: receive, accept
adficio, adficere, adfeci, adfectum: affect
adhuc: up to now
aetas, aetatis, f.: age
ago, agere, egi, actum: do, transact
aio, aiere, -, - : say, assert, affirm
amantissime: most lovingly
amicus, i, m: friend
amo (1) : love
amor, oris, m: love
animus, i., m: mind, spirit
arbitror, arbitrari, arbitratus sum: judge; witness, observe
beneficium, i, n.: benefit, favor, kindness
carior, carius: more dear, more beloved
causa, ae, f.: cause
commendo, commendare, commendavi, commendatus: commend, recommend
coram: face to face
concertatio, onis, f: controversy, dispute; wrangling
coniunctior, coniunctius: closer, more connected
contendo, contendere, contendi, contentum: contend with, fight
contentio, onis, f: rivalry; tension; controversy, dispute
debeo, debere, debui, debitum: ought, should
defendo, defendere, defensi, defensum: defend
dignitas, atis, f.: esteem, standing, rank; dignity
diiudico, diiudicare, diiudicavi, diiudicatus: decide, settle; adjudicate, judge; distinguish, discern
do, dare, dedi, datum: give, grant, concede, allow
dubitatio, onis, f.: hesitation
enim: for
erga: toward
etiam: even
existimo, existimare, existimavi, existimatus: think, suppose; estimate, judge, consider
extimesco, extimescere, extimui, - : dread, be frightened
extremus, a, um: situated or occurring at the end (last thing)
facio, facere, feci, factus: do, make, etc.
familia, ae, f: household
frons, frontis, f: brow, countenance
habeo, habere, habui, habitum: have, hold; consider
hactenus: thus far; to this point and no further; as far as this; so far; so much for
honorificentissime: most honorifically
humanitas, atis, f.: humanity, human nature; kindness; culture
humilior, humilis: lower; humbler, weaker
iam: at this time
imbuo, imbuere, imbui, imbutum: imbue
inimicitia, ae, f.: hostility; enmity
inimicus, i, m.: enemy
insector, insectari, insectatus sum: pursue, harrass
insignis, insigne: distinguished, remarkable, prominent
inter: among, between
interpello, interpellare, interpellavi, interpellatum: interrupt, disrupt; obstruct, impede; annoy
invitus, a, um: unwilling
istuc: thither, to you, in that direction
ita: thus, so
liberalissime: most freely, generously, liberally
litterae, arum f: letter
magis: more
malo, malle, malui, - : prefer
maneo, manere, mansi, mansum: remain, endure
modo: just, only, provided that
modus, i., m: way, method; limit
nam: for
natura, ae f: nature
necessarius, i, m.: relative, kinsman, connection, client
necessitas, atis, f.: compulsion, exigency; need
nego (1) : deny
negotium, i, n.: difficulty, trouble
nemo, neminis, m/f: nobody, no one, no man
nihil: nothing
nolo, nolle, nolui, - : be unwilling, want not, refuse
nosmet: emphatic form of nos, ‘we our very selves’
ob: due to
oculus, i, m.: eye
odium, i, n.: hatred
opinio, onis, f.: opinion, report
oratio, onis, f.: speech, discourse
pars, partis, f.: part, share; function, duty
pateo, patere, patui, - : be open, accessible
paulus: little
penitus: inwardly, inside, thoroughly
persuadeo, persuadere, persuasi, persuasum: persuade, convince
peto, petere, petivi, petitum: seek; ask
periculum, i, n.: risk, danger
perspicio, perspicere, perspexi, perspectum: perceive or discern clearly
pertineo, pertinere, pertenui,- : belong, relate, pertain to
possum, posse, potui,- : be able
postulo, postulare, postulavi, postulatum: ask, demand; claim; need, require
potestas, atis, f.: power, capacity (including ‘right, jurisdiction’)
praesertim: especially
praesidium, i, n.: defense, help, guard
primum: first
provoco, provocare, provocavi, provocatus: call forth, provoke (move, stir)
publicus, a, um: public
puer, i, m: boy
puto, putare, putavi, putatum: think, consider
quem ad modum: in what manner
quo modo: ‘in which way’, how
quoniam: since
quoque: also
remitto, remittere, remisi, remissum: grant, allow, concede
res, ei, f. : affair, thing
resideo, residere, resedi, resessum: reside, linger
scribo, scribere, scripsi, scriptum: write
semper: always
servo, servare, servati, servatus: preserve, protect, watch over
severior, severius: more severe, serious, grave
sic: thus
sine: without
spolio, spoliare, spoliavi, spoliatum: strip, pillage, plunder
statuo, statuere, statui, statutum: decide, make up (mind)
studium, i, n: eagerness, zeal, concern
summus: highest, greatest
suspicor, suspicari, suspicatus sum: mistrust, suspect
tempus, oris, n. : time, season
tener, a, um: young, sensitive
totus, a, um: whole, all, entire, every part; all together
tracto, tractare, tractavi, tractatum: handle, manage, treat
tristior, tristius: sadder
umquam: ever
utor, uti, usus sum: use (takes abl.)
verbum, i, n.: word
vero: truly
video, videre, visi, visum: see; (passive) seem; seem good
vivo, vivere, vixi, victum: live
volo, velle, volui, - : want, desire, intend
vultus, us, m.: expression, appearance; face