Notes to Cicero, Philippica II excerpts

consulatus, -us m.
consulship; term of office as consul; meum consulatum is the object of vituperaret in hyperbaton, a violation of the usual word order to indicate an unnatural or unusual state of affairs.
praeter preposition + accusative
except, besides; past, beyond. The object te is Antony.
vitupero (1)
declare invalid; criticize; vituperaret is in the subjunctive in a relative clause of characteric introduced by qui.
invenio, -ire, -veni, -ventum
find, discover; the subject is the interrogative pronoun Quis.
cuius: connecting relative pronoun modifying fatum; its antecedent is Publium Clodium.
tibi: dative of disadvantage together with Curioni, after the intransitive manet.
sicut adverb
as, just as.
maneo, -ere, mansi, mansum
remain; wait for, await (intransitive)
is, ea, id pronoun
he, she, it; this, that. Cicero's reference to Fulvia in the neuter id . . . quod is a sharp insult.
domus, -i f.
house, home; locative case.
uterque, utraque, utrumque
each of the two, both; translate with illorum.
fatalis, e
deadly, fatal. Note the separation of fatum ... quod ... fatale, another instance of hyperbaton (see link above); Cicero embeds domi tuae and illorum utrique within the phrase for dramatic effect.

Notes to Cicero, Philippica II.48

intimus, -a, -um
most secret, confidential, intimate; an intimate friend (substantive), followed by the dative Clodio; the subject is Antony.
tribunatus, -us, m.
the tenure or exercise of the office of tribune; in is regularly used with the ablative to denote an office held. Clodius sought election as tribune of the plebs to secure Cicero's exile, retaliating for his testimony in the Bona Dea trial.
suus, -a, -um
his, her, its; one's own; third person reflexive possessive adjective: sua agrees with beneficia but refers to the unnamed subject of the main verb (Antony).
erga preposition + accusative
towards, against.
incendium, -i n.
fire, conflagration; heat; passion; objective genitive governed by fax.
fax, facis f.
torch; firebrand; person/thing that starts mischief; eius refers to Antony, cuius refers to Clodius. Perhaps an implication of Clodius in the torching of Cicero's house on the Palatine while he was in exile.
quidam, quaedam, quiddam
a certain (unspecified) someone/something.
molior, -iri,molita/us sum
set in motion; contrive; the direct object is quiddam.
quid dicam: indirect question following intellegit.
optime adverb
best, very well.

Notes to Cicero, Philippica II.77

levitas -tatis f.
lightness; frivolity; the word signals the mockery that follows, a libretto for a comic mime, which is appropriate as Volumnia Cytheris, the actress and Antony's mistress, figures in the narrative.
hora diei decima: ablative of time when or within which; the word fere indicates the time is approximate, the 10th hour being between 3 and 4 p.m.
Saxa rubra: lit. “Red Rocks,” a way station no longer identifiable, 12 km. north of Rome on the Via Flaminia (click SPQR for the route).
delitesco, -ere, -litui
conceal oneself, lurk, hide away.
cauponula, -ae f.
small or mean tavern; note Cicero's use of the diminutive, which adds to the comic tone of the narrative.
occulto (1)
conceal, secrete; the direct object is se, third person reflexive pronoun.
perpoto (1)
drink continuously.
vespera, -ae f.
evening.
cisium, -ii n.
chariot; cart.
adveho, -ere, -vexi, -vectum
carry, convey; ride ; perfect passive participle.
obvoluo, -ere, -volui,-volutum
cover up the head/face completely by wrapping it; an ablative absolute with capite.
ianitor, -oris m.
doorkeeper; porter; supply dixit. At this point in his delivery Cicero might have assumed a voice suggestive of the character in Roman elegy whose role is to block the would-be lover from his mistress.
tabellarius, -i, m.
letter-carrier; messenger.
confestim adverb
immediately; understand a verb like deducitur (found in some mss.) after ad eam, the unnamed Fulvia.
causa, -ae f.
cause; reason; case. Here, in the ablative = for the sake of; cuius is a genitive object, its antecedent being eam (Fulvia).
quam = eam, its antecedent being epistulam.
amatorie adverb
in a loving manner; the word is used elsewhere only in Plautus' Mercator.
caput, -itis n.
head; source; main point; in the latter sense it governs the indirect statements that follow, reporting the contents of the letter that Fulvia is reading.
sibi = possessive pronoun in the dative, with futurum [esse]; it refers to Antony, the subject of the sentence.
mima, -ae f.
mime actress; here Volumnia Cytheris, Antony's mistress.
abicio, -ere, -ieci, -iectum
throw away; abandon; the subject is se, the verb is in the infinitive in indirect statement.
illim adverb
from that person, i.e., the mime with whom Antony was carrying on an affair.
transfundo, -ere, -fudi, -fusum
transfer; pour from one vessel into another, decant.
mulier, -eris f.
woman, female; wife; Cicero uses this generic term instead of uxor or coniunx to refer to Fulvia.
uber, -is, -e
copius, plentiful; abundant, rich; fertile; uberius is the comparative adverb.
misericors, -cordis
pitiful, contemptible; compassionate, merciful; note Cicero's sarcasm.
aperio, -ere, -perui, -pertum
uncover; open up, reveal; note the asyndeton, portraying the swift action: potuit, aperuit, invasit.
collum, -i n.
neck
invado, -ere, -vadi, -vasum
fall upon; seize, lay hold of, attack.
nequam indeclinable adjective
worthless, good for nothing, vile; note the accusative of exclamation for emotional effect.
magis adverb
more; modifies proprie.
proprie adverb
properly, accurately, strictly speaking.
ut conjunction
in order that, so that; introduces a purpose clause with the verb in the subjunctive (adspiceret), interrupted by the temporal clause cum te ostendisses. Note the disordered word order (hyperbaton), used for emotional effect.
catamitus, -i m.
catamite; predicate accusative with te, direct object after adspiceret. A corruption of the name Ganymede, the young Trojan prince abducted by Zeus who became his cupbearer in Olympus and lover (click on SPQR at the end of the line); the term signifies the passive male partner in a same-sex relationship.
nec opinato adverb
unexpectedly; modifies ostendisses.
ostendo, -ere, -tendi, -tensum
expose, show, exhibit, display; pluperfect subjunctive in a temporal cum clause.
aspicio, -ere, -spexi, -spectum
behold, look at/upon, perceive; imperfect subjunctive in a purpose clause.
idcirco adverb
on that account, for that reason; with perturbasti, it introduces the purpose clause (ut...adspiceret).
perturbo (1)
disturb, confound, throw into confusion; shortened form of perturbavisti.
 

Notes to Cicero, Philippica II.95

syngrapha, -ae f.
a bond, promissory note, agreement to pay, followed by the amount in the objective genitive (sestertii). Subject of the main verb facta [est].
sesterium, -i n.
1,000,000 sesterces (a silver coin); multiplied centiens (one hundred times), the total is 10,000,000 sesterces.
legatus, -i m.
ambassador, delegate, deputy; accusative following the preposition per (= by).
imperitus, -a, -um
inexperienced.
hospes, -itis m.
friend; visitor, guest, host; modified by reliquorum.
sententia, -ae f.
opinion, judgment; with nostra, ablative after sine, and in parallel construction (ellipsis of et) with reliquorum hospitum regis.
gynaecium, -i n.
women’s apartments in the inner part of the Greek house; no such separate quarters existed for women in Roman houses.
veneo, -ere, venii, venitum
go on sale, be sold; note the tenses of the verb, the sound painting and the rhythm of venierunt et veneunt, by which Cicero emphasizes the persistent venality of the home.

Notes to Cicero, Philippica II.113

extorqueo, -ere, -torsi, -tortum
tear away, wrench out; take by force; the direct object is ista [arma], the object of ex- (tibi) is Antony.
utinam adverb
would that, if only; here the exclamation is followed by an ablative absolute with the verb to be understood (salvis nobis).
ago, -ere, egi, actum
treat, deal; negotiate (idiom with cum and the ablative); egeris is a perfect subjunctive in an indirect question after quomodo modo.
utor, uti, usus/a sum
use, employ; enjoy; followed by the ablative (istis consiliis).
diuturnus, -a, -um
lasting, of long duration.
etenim conjunction
for indeed.
avarus, -a, -um
avaricious, covetous,greedy; modified by minime: Cicero is being sarcastic here.
coniunx, -iugis m. f.
spouse, wife, husband; married person: Fulvia, whose legal relationship to Antony is at last named. Note the effect of anaphora: ista [arma[ ... istis consiliis ... ista tua minime avara coniunx.
contumelia, -ae f.
insult; affront; this is a standard claim made when a living person is named in a speech.
describo, -scribere, -scripsi, -scriptum
depict.
nimium adverb
excessive, too much; modifies diu.
pensio, -onis f.
a paying, payment (especially of a debt). Cicero is playing on the fact that marriage settlements and dowries were frequently paid in three installments. Since Fulvia had already buried two husbands, he suggests that her payment of a third is past due.


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