ad Quintum fratrem II.16 (15)
Commentary by Stephanie Spaulding, revised by J. Bailly (thanks
to James Aglio for additional suggestions)
Text:
Scr. Romae exeunte mense Sextili a.u.c. 700.
MARCUS QUINTO FRATRI SALUTEM.
1 Cum a me litteras librari manu acceperis, ne paulum
<quidem> me oti habuisse iudicato, cum autem mea, paulum. Sic
enim habeto, numquam me a causis et iudiciis districtiorem fuisse,
atque id anni tempore gravissimo et
caloribus maximis. Sed haec, quoniam tu ita praescribis,
ferenda sunt, neque committendum ut aut spei aut cogitationi vestrae
ego videar defuisse, praesertim cum, si id
difficilius fuerit, tamen ex hoc labore magnam gratiam
magnamque dignitatem sim collecturus. Itaque, ut tibi
placet, damus operam ne cuius animum offendamus atque
ut etiam ab iis ipsis qui nos cum Caesare tam coniunctos
dolent diligamur, ab aequis vero aut etiam a propensis in
hanc partem vehementer et colamur et amemur.
2 De ambitu
cum atrocissime ageretur in senatu multos dies, quod ita erant
progressi candidati consulares ut non esset ferendum,
in senatu non fui. Statui ad nullam medicinam rei publicae
sine magno praesidio accedere.
3 Quo die haec scripsi Drusus erat de praevaricatione a
tribunis aerariis absolutus in summa quattuor sententiis,
cum senatores et equites damnassent. Ego eodem die post
meridiem Vatinium eram defensurus; ea res facilis est.
comitia in mensem Septembrem reiecta sunt. Scauri
iudicium statim exercebitur, cui nos non deerimus.
'Συνδείπνους' Σοφοκλέους, quamquam a te actam
fabellam video esse festive, nullo modo probavi.
4 Venio nunc ad id quod nescio an primum esse debuerit. O
iucundas mihi tuas de Britannia litteras! Timebam Oceanum,
timebam litus insulae; reliqua non equidem contemno,
sed plus habent tamen spei quam timoris magisque sum
sollicitatus exspectatione ea quam metu. Te vero ὑπόθεσιν
scribendi egregiam habere video. Quos tu situs, quas naturas
rerum et locorum, quos mores, quas gentis, quas pugnas,
quem vero ipsum imperatorem habes! Ego te libenter, ut rogas, quibus
rebus vis, adiuvabo et tibi versus quos rogas,
hoc est Athenas noctuam, mittam.
5 Sed heus tu! Celari videor a te. Quo modo nam, mi frater,
de nostris versibus Caesar? Nam primum librum se legisse
scripsit ad me ante, et prima sic ut neget se ne Graeca quidem
meliora legisse; reliqua ad quendam locum ῥᾳθυμότερα (hoc
enim utitur verbo). Dic mihi verum: num aut res eum aut χαρακτήρ non
delectat? Nihil est quod vereare. Ego enim ne
pilo quidem minus me amabo. Has de re φιλαλήθως et, ut
soles [scribere], fraterne.
Commentary
In this letter of 54 BCE, Cicero responds to his brother Quintus,
who
had
written to him from Britain, where he was a legate with Caesar.
Scr.: scripsit or scriptum.
Romae: locative.
exeunte mense Sextili: ablative absolute. Month names are all
adjectives in Latin.
a.u.c. 700: = ab urbe condita 700 (54 BCE).
MARCUS QUINTO FRATRI SALUTEM: understand dicit here.
1
1 Cum a me litteras librari manu acceperis, ne paulum
<quidem> me oti habuisse iudicato, cum autem mea, paulum. Sic
enim habeto, numquam me a causis et iudiciis districtiorem fuisse,
atque id anni tempore gravissimo et
caloribus maximis. Sed haec, quoniam tu ita praescribis,
ferenda sunt, neque committendum ut aut spei aut cogitationi vestrae
ego videar defuisse, praesertim cum, si id
difficilius fuerit, tamen ex hoc labore magnam gratiam
magnamque dignitatem sim collecturus. Itaque, ut tibi
placet, damus operam ne cuius animum offendamus atque
ut etiam ab iis ipsis qui nos cum Caesare tam coniunctos
dolent diligamur, ab aequis vero aut etiam a propensis in
hanc partem vehementer et colamur et amemur.
Cum ... acceperis: Cum temporal + fut. perf.
indicative (A&G 547).
The action is future perf. from the writer's point of view.
litteras: plural litterae, "a letter" (that you
send): singular
littera, "a letter" (of the alphabet).
librari =librarii (SYNCOPE).
manu: "handwriting" (METONYMY).
paulum: adverbial accusative.
ne paulum quidem: ne + X + quidem = "not even
X."
The <> pointy brackets are a standard way to indicate that a
modern editor thought it was indispensible, but there is nonetheless
no
evidence for that word in the manuscripts.
oti: an alternate form of the genitive of otium;
partitive genitive
with paulum.
iudicato: "Fut." Imperative Sing. (A&G 449) followed by
indirect
statement.
There is no significant difference between the "future" imperative
and
the "present" imperative.
habuisse: perf. inf. refers to time prior to main verb.
oti =otii (SYNCOPE): gen. with paulum.
cum autem mea, paulum = cum autem a me litteras mea manu
acceperis me
paulum otii habuisse iudicato.
habeto: "Fut." Imperative Sing. again followed by indirect
statement.
id: emphatic (A&G 298a): "at that,"
or more colloquially "to boot" or "this being the case."
districtiorem: participles can be made comparative or
superlative just
like other adjectives.
tempore: abl. of time at which.
caloribus maximis: abl. of manner.
The plural is idiomatic: cf. mediis caloribus, "in the midst
of summer," at Livy 2.5.3.
haec ... ferenda sunt: passive periphrastic (A&G 196).
committendum (sc. est): passive periphrastic followed by
result clause. Committo = "become guilty of," be liable to a
charge that"
(as in "commit" a crime).
vestrae: Quintus' and Caesar's.
defuisse: perf. inf. refers to time prior to main verb. Desum
takes
dat.
praesertim cum: cum causal always takes subj.
si...collecturus: this whole conditional is in the cum
clause, hence
fuerit is amenable to construal either as fut. perf.
ind.(which it
would be if the conditional si...collecturus sim were not in
a
cum clause) or as perf. subj. (by attraction: A&G 508.4
and 663).
Si here is virtually equivalent to "although" (see OLD si 9), as tamen makes clear: the Loeb
text
even has etiamsi.
difficilius: the comparative means "quite ..." as well as
"more ...."
id: evidently Quintus had proposed something specific
(perhaps that is
what cogitationi refers to above). Bailey thinks id
refers to some
proposed honors for Cicero.
sim collecturus: "future" subjunctive of primary sequence
(also called
"first periphrastic": A&G 195).
ut: "as."
damus ... offendamus ... diligamur ... colamur ... amemur:
"we" =
Cicero, as often.
ne cuius = ne (ali)cuius.
ne...offendamus: purpose.
ut ... diligamur , ...colamur et amemur: purpose.
qui dolent: + acc. + inf. construction (nos
coniunctos (sc. esse)):
verbs of
emotion often take acc. + inf. (cf. English "I am pained that ...").
aequis: "non-partisans."
hanc partem: "this political party" (namely, the one Cicero
is in).
2 De ambitu
cum atrocissime ageretur in senatu multos dies, quod ita erant
progressi candidati consulares ut non esset ferendum,
in senatu non fui. Statui ad nullam medicinam rei publicae
sine magno praesidio accedere.
de ambitu: This refers to a proposed lex de ambitu
concerning bribery
and canvassing for public offices. Bailey thinks it was ad hoc and
nothing came of it.
cum: concessive cum always takes subj.
ageretur: impersonal.
multos dies: acc. of duration of time.
quod: causal.
ita...ut: the ita prepares for the result clause with
ut, as often.
candidati: from candidus, -a, -um "white," because
candidates for
public
office wore a whitened toga.
esset ferendum: second periphrastic (A&G 196) in
secondary
sequence.
statui + inf.
rei publicae: obj. gen. with medicinam.
3 Quo die haec scripsi Drusus erat de praevaricatione a
tribunis aerariis absolutus in summa quattuor sententiis,
cum senatores et equites damnassent. Ego eodem die post
meridiem Vatinium eram defensurus; ea res facilis est.
comitia in mensem Septembrem reiecta sunt. Scauri
iudicium statim exercebitur, cui nos non deerimus.
'Συνδείπνους' Σοφοκλέους, quamquam a te actam
fabellam video esse festive, nullo modo probavi.
quo die: ablative of time at which.
scripsi: an "epistolary" past tense: when Quintus reads the
letter, the
writing will be in the past. A&G §479.
Drusus: (M. Livius Drusus Claudianus) Cicero will defend him
against
charges of collusive prosecution ("prevarication") in 53.
tribunis aerariis: tribunes in charge of the public treasury.
erat ... absolutus: the two parts of this verb are widely
separated.
in summa: "in total."
quattuor sententiis: "by 4 votes"; abl. of means.
cum...damnassent: concessive, secondary sequence.
Vatinium: Publius Vatinius, Tribune in 59, Praetor in 55,
Consul in 47,
was attacked by Cicero in the extant in
Vatinium, and subsequently
defended by Cicero in 54.
defensurus eram: "first periphrastic" conjugation (A&G
195).
comitia: pl. = "election," sg. comitium, -i =
"assembly."
Scauri: Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, candidate for the consulship
in 54,
was
defended by Cicero against charges of extortion (de repetundis)
in his
provincial office in Sardinia. He was acquitted.
deerimus: desum takes the dat.
'Συνδείπνους' Σοφοκλέους: "Sophocles' 'Banqueters,'" a play
the extant fragments of which unfortunately do not help to
understand
what Cicero means here.
actam fabellam: fabellam agere can mean "to act in
a play" or "to
write a play." fabellam facere means "to write a play."
Quintus may
have
translated or adapted the play, or perhaps events transpired in
Caesar's camp that reminded Cicero of the play.
4 Venio nunc ad id quod nescio an primum esse debuerit. O
iucundas mihi tuas de Britannia litteras! Timebam Oceanum,
timebam litus insulae; reliqua non equidem contemno,
sed plus habent tamen spei quam timoris magisque sum
sollicitatus exspectatione ea quam metu. Te vero ὑπόθεσιν
scribendi egregiam habere video. Quos tu situs, quas naturas
rerum et locorum, quos mores, quas gentis, quas pugnas,
quem vero ipsum imperatorem habes! Ego te libenter, ut rogas,
quibus
rebus vis, adiuvabo et tibi versus quos rogas,
hoc est Athenas noctuam, mittam.
nescio an primum
esse debuerit: nescio an often means "perhaps." In
spite of
appearances, it does not introduce indirect questions and take the
subjunctive normally (A&G 575d). Hence debuerit is
subj. in a relative clause of characteristic in primary
sequence rather than indirect question, as it might appear to be.
litteras: acc. of exclamation.
equidem= ego quidem (although the e- is
probably not etymologically
related to ego).
habent: subject = reliqua (understand pars
vel sim.).
plus spei quam timoris: plus in the singular takes
a genitive, unlike
English, where "more" is usually an adjective. In the plural,
however,
plur- is an adjective.
ὑπόθεσιν: "topic" is acc. fem.
sing., modified by egregiam.
scribendi: genitive gerund dependent on ὑπόθεσιν.
video: as a verb of thinking/perceiving, video
takes indirect speech.
Quos tu situs, quas naturas..., quos mores...: ASYNDETON.
quas gentis: clearly, gentis is acc. pl. here.
quem ipsum imperatorem: Caesar himself provided an
extraordinary topic.
ut = "as."
quibus rebus vis: the antecedent of quibus is in
the relative clause
itself (A&G 307b).
hoc est Athenas noctuam: This is a proverb, "(to bring) an
owl to
Athens." Since Athena's and hence Athens' symbol was an owl, the
proverb must mean that Cicero thinks his brother is a perfect
fount of
verses, and so has no need of Cicero's verses. Cratander (a 16th
century editor of Cicero's letters who had access to lost
manuscripts)
indicates that
Cicero's text contained the Greek version of the proverb: γλαῦκ’
εἰς
Ἀθήνας.
hoc est: "explaining or
elaborating preceding word or phrase" (OLD s.v. 10c) is idiomatic.
5 Sed heus tu! Celari videor a te. Quo modo nam, mi frater,
de nostris versibus Caesar? Nam primum librum se legisse
scripsit ad me ante, et prima sic ut neget se ne Graeca quidem
meliora legisse; reliqua ad quendam locum ῥᾳθυμότερα (hoc
enim utitur verbo). Dic mihi verum: num aut res eum aut χαρακτήρ
non
delectat? Nihil est quod vereare. Ego enim ne
pilo quidem minus me amabo. Has de re φιλαλήθως et, ut
soles [scribere], fraterne.
Watch for understood forms of esse in this section.
Celari: in the active celo can take an "accusative of the
person from
whom the thing is concealed" (OLD s.v. 5, which should help
understand
this passive inf.).
mi: vocative of meus.
quo modo ... Caesar?: a verb meaning "react" vel sim.,
or perhaps more simply "is," may be implied here.
nostris versibus: C. is referring to his de Temporibus suis (so Bailey
says). Cicero had written a poem de
Consulatu suo, but it was already
published at this time. Thus this probably refers to something
new, the
de Temporibus suis, which
was
about C.'s exile and return.
scripsit: + acc.+ inf.
prima: with understood pars (hence feminine prima)
and some sort of understood verb ("had been written," "was") that
is modified by sic ut .... Whatever is supplied, prima
looks to be parallel to reliqua, which is modified by ῥᾳθυμότερα,
which can be fem. sg. nom. or n. pl. nom./acc. If reliqua is
feminine, reliqua goes well with another understood
pars.
sic: with understood est (primary sequence: hence
neget). sic prepares
for the result clause ut neget.
legisse: perf. inf. refers to time prior to the verb it
depends on,
neget.
reliqua: with understood pars est.
ad + acc. "up to."
ῥᾳθυμότερα: Greek for "rather languid." Understand "he
thinks" (putat vel sim.).
utitur: takes abl.
num: expects a negative answer: cf. English, "It's not so,
is it?"
res: "subject matter."
χαρακτήρ: "style."
quod vereare: relative clause of result. (nihil) est
quod + subj. means
"there is (no) reason to ...." vereare is interchangeable
with verearis.
pilo: ablative of degree of difference.
has ... fraterne: understand scribe.
ut: with the indicative, ut usually means "as."
soles: understand scribere (Bailey thinks C. did
not actually write
scribere and so brackets it).
has de re: has apparently refers to res and χαρακτήρ:
and is
the
object of the understood verb (scribe vel sim.), while de
re ("about
the matter") modifies the adverb φιλαλήθως.
φιλαλήθως: adverb meaning "truth-loving-ly."
Vocabulary
accedo,-ere,-cessi,-cessum to come forward
accedo,-ere,-cessi,-cessum to come forward
accipio, -ere, -cepi, ceptum to receive
adiuvo,-iuvare,-iuvi,-iutum to assist
aequus, -a, -um fair-minded, impartial
aerarium,-i nueter subst. of aerarius,-a,-um, the public treasury
atrox,-ocis. terrible, fierce
calor, -oris heat, warmth
causa,-ae (f.) law suit
celo,-are to hide
cogitatio,-onis (f.) intention, design
colligo, -ere, -legi, -lectus to get, acquire
committo, -mittere, -misi, misum to be guilty of, to cause that
coniungo,-ere,-iunxi,-iunctum to unite, hence partic.
coniunctus,-a,-um
having been joined
consularis,-e consular
damno, -are to condemn, to find guilty
desum + dat. to fall short
diligo,-ere,-lexi,-lectum to esteem
distringo, -ere, -strinxi, -strictum to occupy, to engage
dolo,-ere,dolui to grieve
egregius,-a,-um extraordinary
exerceo,-ere,-ui,-itum to keep at work
habeo to consider, to keep in mind
iudicium,-i (n.) legal trial
iudico, -are to judge
librarius,-i a transcriber of books, a copyist
manus, manus, f. handwriting
medicina, -ae, f., cure, remedy
noctua,-ae (f.) owl
offendo, -fendere,-fendi,-fensum to displease, to offend
operam dare pay attention
otium, -i leisure, free time
pars, partis, f. party, faction
paulum adv. a little bit
pilus,-i (m.) a single hair
praescribo, -ere, -scripsi, -scriptum to write out, to prescribe
praesertim adv. especially
praesidium,-i. support, assistance, backing
praevaricatio,-onis (f.) collusive
probo,-are to approve
propendeo,-pendere,-pendi,-pensum to be inclined, favorable to
quamquam conj. although
quoniam conj. since
sententia. -ae, f., vote, opinion
statuo, -uere, -ui, -utum to decide
The text of the letter is from from
www.thelatinlibrary.com, which took
it from The Society of Ancient Languages with the kind permission of
its webmaster, Brian M. Kleeman. The text is D. Albert Wesenberg's
Teubner edition of 1885.