80. dabo operam: operam dare, idiom, to give attention, take care, + ut cl.
valetudo: in the next paragraph Cicero mentions a plague at Thessalonica, where he had been staying, possibly a source of Terentia’s concern.
81. quanto: ABL. OF DEGREE OF DIFFERENCE.
82. omnis…habemus: i.e., with us, on our side.
Lentulum: sc. habemus; Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther was consul-elect at this time, and then as consul in 57 B.C. he did much to secure Cicero’s return from exile and to assist in the restoration of his property.
84. est desperandum: impers. pass.
85. familia: here, the household slaves.
quo modo:as (in what way); what the friends had suggested is not clear, but Cicero himself had considered the possibility of freeing his slaves.
de loco (86):with regard to this place; on fleeing into exile Cicero had gone to Gnaeus Plancius, quaestor of Macedonia, who provided him asylum at his residence in Thessalonica.
86. quam diu: how long = as long as.
87. attigit: attingere, to touch, reach, affect.
88. Epiro: Epirus, a remote section of northwest Greece.
89. quo: adv., where.
Hispo: probably a pseudonym for Lucius Calpurnius Piso, Caesar’s father-in-law and the incoming governor of Macedonia; as consul in 58 B.C. he had worked with Clodius to secure Cicero’s banishment.
90. decedat: NOUN CL. OF RESULT; Plancius was about to retire from his post in Macedonia.
91. complexum: complexus, embrace.
92. me ipsum: i.e., his former position.
recuperaro: = recuperavero, from recuperare, to recover, regain.
93. pietatis: affection, loyalty (not “piety” in our ordinary sense of the word).
Pisonis: Tullia’s husband (see note on line 64 above); Piso died in 57 B.C. just before Cicero’s return, and Tullia remarried the following year.
94. utinam: adv., introducing wishes, would that + subjunct. (OPTATIVE SUBJUNCT.).
95. ei voluptati: the so-called DOUBLE DAT. = DAT. OF REF. + DAT. OF PURPOSE.
Quod si nostris consiliis usi essemus neque apud nos tantum valuisset sermo aut stultorum amicorum aut improborum, beatissimi viveremus; nunc, quoniam sperare nos amici iubent, 80 dabo operam ne mea valetudo tuo labori desit. Res quanta sit, intellego, quantoque fuerit facilius manere domi quam redire: sed tamen, si omnis tribunos plebis habemus, si Lentulum tam studiosum quam videtur, si vero etiam Pompeium et Caesarem, non est desperandum.
85 De familia, quo modo placuisse scribis amicis, faciemus; de loco, nunc quidem iam abiit pestilentia, sed quam diu fuit, me non attigit. Plancius, homo officiosissimus, me cupit esse secum et adhuc retinet. Ego volebam loco magis deserto esse in Epiro, quo neque Hispo veniret nec milites, sed adhuc Plancius me retinet; 90 sperat posse fieri ut mecum in Italiam decedat—quem ego diem si videro et si in vestrum complexum venero ac si et vos et me ipsum recuperaro, satis magnum mihi fructum videbor percepisse et vestrae pietatis et meae. Pisonis humanitas, virtus, amor in omnis nos tantus est ut nihil supra possit. Utinam 95 ea res ei voluptati sit! Gloriae quidem video fore.
Julius Caesar 1st century B.C. Museo Pio Clementino Vatican Museums Vatican State
Scala/Art Resource, NY.
96. nihil: = a strong non.
te accusavi: Terentia and Quintus had had some disagreement, and Cicero, in attempting to mediate, apparently had given his wife the impression that he blamed her.
vos: subj. of esse; also felt as subj. of sitis.
praesertim: adv., especially.
98. egi: sc. eis gratias, with eis the antecedent of quibus; the antecedent of a rel. pron. was often omitted, especially when indef. or when, as here, the antecedent and rel. would be in the same case construction.
certiorem factum esse: for the idiom, see note on line 36; in his letters to these men Cicero gave Terentia due credit for reporting to him their help.
99. quod: as to the fact that.
vicum: vicus,property, estate.
100. obsecro: obsecrare, to beg, beseech.
101. premet: with eadem the sense is will continue to oppress.
queo: = possum.
reliqua:the remaining (things), the other (things), the rest.
103. fletum: fletus, weeping, lamentation.
