269. in foro: i.e., in legal practice.
libebat: libere, libuit, impers., it is pleasing.
curiam:senate-house; Caesar, now dictator, had greatly diminished the role of the senate.
270. id quod erat: id is in appos. with the whole cl. existimabam…perdidisse, the thing which was = as was the case.
272. frangerem: I broke = I gained control over.
273. ferre: sc. me as subj.
quo: adv., lit., whither = (a person) to whom; with confugerem, REL. CL. OF PURPOSE.
ubi: here, with whom; quo, ubi, and cuius refer to Tullia.
276. consanuisse: consanescere, to become healthy, get well, heal.
recrudescunt: recrudescere,to become raw again, continuing the metaphor in vulnere.
non: modifies possum (275).
277. tum: when Tullia was still alive.
a re publica: i.e., from the political world.
quae levaret: = ut ea (i.e., domus) me levaret, REL. CL. OF PURPOSE, and cp. the parallel ut…adquiescam below.
278. maerens: maerere, to grieve, lament.
279. in eius bonis: i.e., in its good fortunes.
281. domesticum: sc. dolorem.
282. quo: ABL. OF DEGREE OF DIFFERENCE, with magis = all the more.
283. ratio nulla: no philosophical reasoning.
284. consuetudinis: consuetudo, custom, practice, close personal relationship; with coniunctio, the association of our daily lives.
quamquam: conj., although, or at the beginning of an independent cl., as here, however, and yet.
sperabam…audiebam (285): EPISTOLARY TENSES.
286. cum…tum: = non solum…sed etiam.
287. ante: adv., in advance, i.e., before Caesar returns from Spain, where he had just defeated Pompey’s sons at Munda.
traducendum sit (288): traducere,to pass, spend.
288. unius: namely Caesar, modified by the four following adjs.; despite his aversion to dictatorship, Cicero can recognize good qualities in Caesar, as well as the necessity of political compromise.
290. alieni: here, estranged.
amicissimi: Caesar had pardoned Sulpicius, a former supporter of Pompey, and appointed him governor of Achaia in 46 B.C.
magnae…est deliberationis (291):it is a matter for careful consideration.
291. ratio: here, plan—and a plan not for action but for keeping quiet and out of Caesar’s way.
292. concessu et beneficio: with his permission and kindness; probably a HENDIADYS, by his kind permission.
293. Basilo: Lucius Minucius Basilus, a former legate of Caesar’s in Gaul who apparently served with him also in the civil war, joined the conspiracy after being denied a provincial governorship following his term as praetor in 45.
294. gratulor: gratulari, + dat., to congratulate; the brevity of this letter and its intense emotionality suggest to many historians that it was written within just hours after the assassination, to which Cicero may have been an eye-witness.
295. quid agas: how you are; a friend meeting another often commenced a conversation with “Salve! Quid agis?”
“Julius Caesar Proceeding to the Senate on the Ides of March” Abel de Pujol 19th century Musée des Beaux-Arts Valenciennes, France
Giraudon/Art Resource, NY.
Cicero longs to see Servius as soon as possible.
Quo magis te exspecto teque videre quam primum cupio; maius mihi solacium afferre ratio nulla potest quam coniunctio consuetudinis sermonumque nostrorum; quamquam sperabam 285 tuum adventum (sic enim audiebam) appropinquare. Ego autem cum multis de causis te exopto quam primum videre, turn etiam ut ante commentemur inter nos qua ratione nobis traducendum sit hoc tempus, quod est totum ad unius voluntatem accommo-dandum et prudentis et liberalis et, ut perspexisse videor, nec a 290 me alieni et tibi amicissimi. Quod cum ita sit, magnae tamen est deliberationis quae ratio sit ineunda nobis non agendi aliquid sed illius concessu et beneficio quiescendi. Vale.
AD FAMILIARES 6.15
