Notes to Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares 14.2

Tulllius, -i m.
Tullius, the nomen of the statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero; his paternal gens traced its ancestry to the sixth king of Rome, Servius Tullius.
salus, -utis f.
health; with dicit and followed by the dative case, it is the traditional opening of a letter ("sends greetings").
Terentia, -ae f.
Terentia; her name is the feminine form of her paternal gens, the Terentii. Cicero's first wife.
Tulliola, -ae f.
Tullia, diminutive form of her name for endearment. Cicero's daughter.
Cicero, -onis m.
Cicero: Marcus Tullius Cicero Minor, the statesman's son.
suus, -a. -um
his own, her own, its own. The possessive pronoun here refers to Cicero, the subject of the sentence, but agrees in case and number with the addressees, the three members of Cicero's family. Cicero uses it in addressing the members of his family only.
nolo, nolle, nolui
not wish, be unwilling, refuse; present active imperative form, followed by the infinitive putare.
puto I
think, suppose; reckon; with noli, a negative command.
quisquam, quaequam, quic/quidquam
anyone, anything.
longus, -a, -um
long, vast; longiores is a comparativeadjective modifying epistulas.
scribo, -ere, scripsi, scriptum
write; draw; describe; me is the subject of scribere in an indirect statement construction in present time.
nisi conj.
if not, unless; except, but; nisi si=nisi, a common pleonasm for nisi in the language of everyday life, comedy, and literary prose.
quis, quid, indefinite pronoun
whoever, whatever; after si, nisi, num, ne, quis=aliquis: someone, something, the subject of scripsit.
plus, pluris n.
more; many; comparative form of multum.
qui, quae, quod, relative pronoun
who, which, that; dative singular, indirect object of rescribi.
rescribo, -ere, -scripsi, scriptum
reply, write back, respond; present impersonal passive infinitive after oportere.
oportet, -ere, -uit impersonal verb
it is necessary; ought, should; present active infinitive in indirect statement.
nec . . . nec, correlative conjunction
neither . . . nor.
habeo, -ere, -ui, -itum
have, hold; possess; know; the direct object is quod scribam, which could be either the present subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic (see A & G #535) or the future indicative in a relative clause of fact (A & G #279a). Translate each possibility and compare the result. Which would you choose?
tempus, -oris
time; opportunity; hoc tempore is the ablative of time at which.
difficilis, -e
hard, difficult, troublesome; difficilius is a comparative adjective modifying quidquam, accusative neuter singular of quisquam (see above).
facio, -ere, feci, factum
do, perform; make.
vero adv.
but in fact; certainly; indeed.
queo, -ire, -ivi/-ii, -itum
be able, can; followed by the infinitive scribere.
sine prep.
without; followed by the ablative case.
multus, -a, -um
many; plurimus is the superlative form, modifying lacrimis.
lacrima, -ae f.
tear.
miser, -ra, -rum
wretched, poor, pitiful; superlative form modifying the pronoun vos in indirect statement after video.
beatus, -a, -um
happy, prosperous, well-off; superlative form modifying quas.
volo, velle, volui
wish, want; be willing.
is, ea, id
he, she, it; this, that; linked to -que, the enclitic form of et.
praesto, -are, -stiti,-stitum/-statum
furnish, provide; show; excel; the direct object is id.
debeo, -ere, -ui, itum
ought, be bound; owe; followed by the infinititve praestare.
timidus, -a, -um
fearful, afraid; lacking courage. Note Cicero's shift to the plural timidi, referring to Atticus and other friends who had counselled moderation in opposing Clodius.
sum, esse, fui, futurus/a sum
be; here nisi introduces a contrary to fact condition in past time (see A & G #317): the pluperfect fuissemus is the protasis, praestitissem is the apodosis. What can Cicero's shift in agent mean?
quidem adverb
in fact; it is true; indeed; it emphasizes a te, an ablative of personal agent.
omnis, -e
all, every, any; neuter accusative plural, subject of fieri in indirect statement.
fio, fieri, factus/a sum
be done, happen; become, arise; fieri is present infinitive in indirect statement introduced by video (A & G #577).
fortiter adverb
vigorously, courageously, resolutely; fortissime = superlative form.
amanter adverb
lovingly, affectionately; amantissime = superlative form.
miror I deponent
be surprised, wonder; admire.
maero, -ere
mourn, be sad, grieve.
casus, -us m.
misfortune; event, accident; fall, downfall; object of maereo.
eiusmodi demonstrative pronoun
of that kind, of such a kind; genitive form of is + modus describing casum.
ut conjunction
that; here introduces a substantive result clause (A & G #568) with subleventur.
tantus, -a, -um
so great.
miseria, -ae f.
trouble, distress, misery; miseriis is ablative of means.
sublevo (1)
lighten, alleviate, support; present passive subjunctive in a result clause.
Publius Valerius, m.
citizen male name; an otherwise unknown friend of Cicero to whom Atticus had loaned money.
officiosus, -a, -um
obliging, dutiful; in apposition to Publius Valerius.
magnus, -a, -um
great, copious; maximo is a superlative form.
fletus, -us, m.
weeping, tears.
lego, -ere, legi, lectum
read; recite; gather, select; quod is the object of legi.
quemadmodum interrogative adverb
how, in what way; introduces verb in indirect question ducta esses.
Vesta, -ae f.
Vesta. Understand aede or templo as the object of the preposition a. The genitive case of the goddess's name indicates that Terentia sought sanctuary in the area Vestae containing the temple (aedes Vestae) and the Vestal home (atrium Vestae).
tabula, -ae f.
table; picture panel; notice board; record. While the locus and identification of the tabula Valeria is not sure, Terentia was removed against her will for official questioning elsewhere (cf. AJP 1898 and CP 1908).
duco, -ere, duxi, ductum
lead, bring, march; ducta esse is pluperfect passive subjunctive in indirect question (A & G #586).
Hem interjection
what? Ah! Alas; indicative of surprise or dismay.
lux, lucis f.
light; life; day; in the vocative case, affectionately addressed to Terentia.
desiderium, -i/-ii, n.
desire; darling; in the vocative case, affectionately addressed to Terentia.
unde, adverb
from whom, from where, whence.
ops, opis f.
power; influences; resources.
peto, -ere, -ivi/-ii, -itum
seek, go to; ask; look for; complementary infinitive after solebant.
soleo, -ere, -itus
be accustomed, be in the habit; subject is omnes (Cicero's clients, family, friends approached Cicero for help through Terentia).
sic adverb
so, in such a way (followed by a consecutive clause) . . . that.
vexo (1)
trouble, distress, shake; te vexari is present passive infinitive of exclamation with te, accusative of exclamation, as its subject.
iaceo, -ere, -ui
lie, be ill; lie dead; infinitive of exclamation with te, accusative of exclamation, as its subject.
sordes, -is, f.
baseness, meanness; dirt, squalor.
culpa, -ae f.
blame, fault; ablative of cause. Cicero refers to the Senatus Consultum Ultimum that put several of the Catilinarian conspirators to death without trial that left him politically vulnerable, leading to his exile.
ceteri, -orum m. pl.
the rest, the others.
servo (1)
save, rescue; keep, preserve. The subject is qui (its antecedant is ego, understood from mea culpa).
pereo, -ere, -ii, -itum
perish, die; be lost. Imperfect subjunctive in a result clause after sic . . . ut.
domus, -us/-i f.
house, home
area, -ae f.
space; building site; open area
denique adverb
at last, finally.
videor, -eri, visus/a sum
seem, suppose, appear; understand mihi videbor restitutus [esse].
restituo, -ere, -tui,-tutum
replace, restore; rebuild, renew. Perfect passive infinitive agreeing with the subject of videbor. The following erit restituta is the future perfect passive indicative in a Future More Vivid Condition (A & G #514 B), modifying either domus or area.
verum adverb
but actually, but yet.
doleo, -ere, -ui, -itum
grieve, lament, be sorry; be in pain.
impensa, -ae f.
expense, outlay; subject of facienda est, the gerundive of obligation in the passive periphrastic construction (A & G #500).
despolio, (1)
rob, plunder; agrees with te miseram in a construction of indirect statement.
venio, -ire, veni, ventum
come into, incur; the direct object is in partem, with eius refering to impensa.
quod si idiom
but if.
conficio, -ere, -feci, -fectum
complete, accomplish, effect; subject is negotium.
negotium, -i/ii n.
matter, business, trouble; i.e., the matter of Cicero's recall.
consequor -qui, -secutus/a sum
achieve, win; follow, pursue.
idem, eadem, idem
the same.
sin conjunction
but if.
premo, -ere, pressi, pressum
press, squeeze; burden; the subject is eadem fortuna.
reliquiae, -arum f. pl.
remains, leavings; i.e., the remainder of Terentia's dowry.
proicio, -icere, -ieci, -iectum
throw away; discard, abandon, give up. Note the direct address to Terentia (misera).
obsecro (1)
implore, appeal to.
sumptus, -us m.
expense, cost; object of the preposition ad.
attineo, -ere, -tinui, -tentum
pertain, concern; hold fast, detain; the subject is quod.
sino, -ere, sivi, situm
allow, let, permit. Present active imperative, 2nd person singular.
alius, alia, aliud
other, another.
modo adverb
only, at all, in any way.
sustineo, -ere, -tinui, -tentum
support; maintain; hold up; the object is quod ad sumptum attinet. Cicero repeats the verb below in a negative clause of fearing about Terentia's health: timeo ut sustineas.
valetudo, -inis f.
state of health, illness; health.
iste, ista, istud
that, that of yours.
infirmus, -a, -um
weak, indisposed.
noli vexare
Note the repetition of the negative command from the opening words of the letter: noli putare. Here the command is preceded by the colloquial idiom si me amas = please.
oculus, -i m.
eye; the dative of reference mihi applies to Cicero's eyes and thoughts, an indication of his high level of emotion.
verso (1)
turn; be present; revolve; the passive is used here in the sense of a middle voice. The phrase dies noctesque is accusative of duration of time.
labor, -oris m.
task, effort, work; object of excipere and sustineas.
excipio, -ere, -cepi, -ceptum
take up, receive; the subject is te, in indirect statement after video.
timeo, -ere, -ui
have misgivings; fear; followed by ut and the subjunctive sustineas= fear that not.
in preposition
in; on; into; against. How does the meaning change if you translate in followed by the ablative (in te) or by the accusative (in te or in omnia)?
quare adverb
and therefore; how, why.
ut conjunction
that, so that. Here it introduces the subjunctive consequamur in a purpose clause (A & G #531), whose object is id.
spero (1)
hope for, wish for; the object is quod.
ago, -ere, egi, actum
do, put forth, perform, manage; act; the object is quod.
servio, -ire, serivi/ii, servitum
devote onesself to, serve; followed by the dative (valetudini).
nescio, -ire, nescivi/ii, nescitum
not to know; be ignorant of; here followed by the subjunctive scribam in indirect question (A & G #586).
aliquis, aliqua, aliquid
someone, something; object of vos scribitis.
longus, -a, -um
long, tall, lengthy; the comparative adverb longius modifies discedam and refers to geographic distance (Cicero was exiled to an area no closer than 400 miles from Rome).
quoniam conjunction
since, seeing that.
placeo, -ere, -ui, -itum
please, satisfy; here used impersonally (placet).
discedo, -ere, -cessi, -cessum
go away, depart.
volo, velle, volui
wish, want, be willing; velim is present active subjunctive, 1st person singular, an Optative Subjunctive (A & G #442b).
saepe adverb
often, frequently; quam with the superlative saepissime = as often as possible.
mitto, -ere, misi, missum
send, dispatch. The subjunctive following velim serves as a mild command/request (A & G #439).
praesertim adverb
especially.
firmus, -a, -um
strong, stable, firm; firmius is the comparative adverb.
spero (1)
hope for, wish for; present active subjunctive, 1st person plural, in a relative clause of characteristic.
valeo, -ere, -ui, -itum
be strong, be well, be healthy; farewell. Note the plural form of the verb and desiderium, to include his children in this letter predominantly to his wife.
do I
give, offer; of letters, give for dispatch.


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