Marcus Tullius Cicero→Publius Silius|c. 50 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Bithynia|AI-assisted
I was grateful to you in Atilius's matter: although I came in late, I nevertheless preserved an honorable Roman knight through your kindness. And, by Hercules, I have always felt that you were in my debt because of our shared connection and exceptional friendship with our Lamia.
So first I thank you for freeing me from all that trouble. Then I follow gratitude with shamelessness, though I will make it up to you, for I will always cultivate and defend you with the greatest care. If you care for me, please see that you count my brother Quintus in the same class as me. By doing that, you will add a great crown to your already great kindness.
CCXXXIII (Fam. XIII, 62) TO P. SILIUS NERVA (IN BITHYNIA) CILICIA I was very much obliged to you in the business of Atilius — for though I was late in the field I managed by your kindness to save a respectable Roman knight — and, by Hercules , I always did believe that you were one on whom I could rely, owing to the attachment to and rare friendship with Lamia common to us both. Accordingly, first of all I offer you my thanks for having freed me from all annoyance; then I follow this up with a piece of impudence — but I will make up for it: for I will always pay you attention and stand up for you with the utmost energy. Pray, if you care for me, be sure you hold my brother Quintus in the same regard as you do me. By so doing you will crown your kindness and greatly enhance it.
LXII. Scr. in Cilicia exeunte anno u.c. 703. M. CICERO S. D. P. SILIO PROPR.
Et in Atilii negotio te amavi—quum enim sero venissem, tamen honestum equitem Romanum beneficio tuo conservavi—, et mehercule semper sic in animo habui, te in meo aere esse propter Lamiae nostri coniunctionem et singularem necessitudinem. Itaque primum tibi ago gratias, quod me omni molestia liberasti; deinde impudentia prosequor, sed idem sarciam—te enim semper sic colam et tuebor ut quem diligentissime—: Quintum fratrem meum, si me diligis, eo numero cura ut habeas, quo me: ita magnum beneficium tuum magno cumulo auxeris.
◆
I was grateful to you in Atilius's matter: although I came in late, I nevertheless preserved an honorable Roman knight through your kindness. And, by Hercules, I have always felt that you were in my debt because of our shared connection and exceptional friendship with our Lamia.
So first I thank you for freeing me from all that trouble. Then I follow gratitude with shamelessness, though I will make it up to you, for I will always cultivate and defend you with the greatest care. If you care for me, please see that you count my brother Quintus in the same class as me. By doing that, you will add a great crown to your already great kindness.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
LXII. Scr. in Cilicia exeunte anno u.c. 703. M. CICERO S. D. P. SILIO PROPR.
Et in Atilii negotio te amavi—quum enim sero venissem, tamen honestum equitem Romanum beneficio tuo conservavi—, et mehercule semper sic in animo habui, te in meo aere esse propter Lamiae nostri coniunctionem et singularem necessitudinem. Itaque primum tibi ago gratias, quod me omni molestia liberasti; deinde impudentia prosequor, sed idem sarciam—te enim semper sic colam et tuebor ut quem diligentissime—: Quintum fratrem meum, si me diligis, eo numero cura ut habeas, quo me: ita magnum beneficium tuum magno cumulo auxeris.