Letter 10.3

I was very glad to see Furnius for his own sake, and still more glad because, as I listened to him, I seemed to be listening to you. He described your courage in war, your justice in governing the province, and your good judgment in every kind of business. He also spoke of what our own familiarity had already taught me: the charm of your manner. Finally, he added how generously you had treated him. All of this pleased me; the last point also made me grateful. Plancus, my connection with your family was formed long before you were born. My personal affection for you began when you were a boy, and when you reached manhood our intimacy grew from my inclination and your deliberate judgment. For these reasons I take extraordinary pains to support your public standing, which I am convinced ought to be joined with my own. You have reached the highest honors in every field, with virtue leading the way and fortune marching beside you. You achieved this despite many detractors, whom you defeated by ability and hard work. Now, if you will listen to me, a man who loves you deeply and yields to no one in claiming an older and closer friendship, you will look for the rest of your advancement from the soundest possible settlement of the constitution. You know, of course, for it could not have escaped you, that there was a period when people thought you too ready to yield to the circumstances of the time. I would have thought the same if I had believed you approved of the things to which you submitted. But because I knew your true feelings, I judged that you simply saw the limits of your power. Now the situation is different. The decision on every point is in your own hands and free from constraint. You are consul-designate, in the prime of life, and an excellent speaker, at a time when the state is unusually short of men like that. In heaven's name, throw yourself wholly into the course that will bring you reputation and glory. The one path to glory, especially now, after the republic has been worn down for so many years, is honest public service. I write this from affection, not because I think you need warning or instruction. I know you drank from the same springs as I did. So I will stop advising you. For now I meant only to give a hint, more to show my affection than to display my wisdom. Meanwhile, whatever I think affects your standing, I will attend to with zeal and close care.

DCCLXXXVI (Fam. X, 3) TO L. MUNATIUS PLANCUS (IN GALLIA COMATA) ROME (SEPTEMBER) I was very glad to see Furnius for his own sake, but all the more glad because in listening to him I seemed to be listening to you. He vividly described your valour in war, the justice of your administration in the province, and the wisdom you displayed in every department. He mentioned besides — what our association and intimacy had not left me ignorant of — the courtesy of your manners, as well also as your very liberal conduct to himself. All these were very pleasant hearing to me: the last roused my gratitude also. I have had, my dear Plancus , a close bond of friendship with your family, formed a considerable time before you were born, a personal affection for you from your boyhood, and, when you grew up, an intimacy begun from inclination on my part and from deliberate judgment on yours. For these reasons I take extraordinary pains to support your political position, which I am convinced ought to be associated with my own. You have attained to the highest distinctions in every department, virtue showing the way, and fortune marching by your side. And these you have won though you had many detractors, whom you have baffled by your talents and industry. At present, if you will listen to me — who love you dearly and yield to no one in his claim to be a closer and older friend — you will look for every advancement in the rest of your life from the best possible settlement of the constitution. You know of course — for it could not possibly have escaped you — that there has been a period during which people thought you too much inclined to yield to the circumstances of the time. I should have thought so, too, had I thought that you approved of the things to which you submitted. But as I well knew your real sentiments, I considered that it was only that you saw the limits of your power. Now the case is different. The decision on all points is in your own hands and is unfettered. You are consul-designate: at the prime of life: a first-rate orator. And all this when the state is unusually destitute of men of this sort. In the name of Heaven, throw yourself heart and soul into the measures calculated to bring you reputation and glory. The one path to glory, especially at a time like this, when the Republic has been harassed to death for so many years, is that of honest administration. It was my personal affection that impelled me to write this to you, rather than any idea of your needing admonition and precept. For I know that you imbibed them from the same fountains as myself. Therefore I will put a period to these exhortations. For the present I thought I should only give a hint — rather to show you my affection than to display my wisdom. Meanwhile I will attend with zeal and minute care to whatever I think will affect your high position.

III. Scr. Romae eodem fere tempore, quo ep. II. CICERO PLANCO SAL. Cum ipsum Furnium per se vidi libentissime, tum hoc libentius, quod illum audiens te videbar audire; nam et in re militari virtutem et in administranda provincia iustitiam et in omni genere prudentiam mihi tuam exposuit et praeterea mihi non ignotam in consuetudine et familiaritate suavitatem tuam; adiunxit praeterea summam erga se liberalitatem: quae omnia mihi iucunda, hoc extremum etiam gratum fuit. Ego, Plance, necessitudinem constitutam habui cum domo vestra ante aliquanto, quam tu natus es, amorem autem erga te ab ineunte pueritia tua, confirmata iam aetate familiaritatem cum studio meo, tum iudicio tuo constitutam: his de causis mirabiliter faveo dignitati tuae, quam mihi tecum statuo debere esse communem. Omnia summa consecutus es virtute duce, comite fortuna, eaque es adeptus adolescens multis invidentibus, quos ingenio industriaque fregisti: nunc, me amantissimum tui, nemini concedentem, qui tibi vetustate necessitudinis potior possit esse, si audies, omnem tibi reliquae vitae dignitatem ex optimo rei publicae statu acquires. Scis profecto—nihil enim te fugere potuit—fuisse quoddam tempus, cum homines existimarent te nimis servire temporibus, quod ego quoque existimarem, te si ea, quae patiebare, probare etiam arbitrarer; sed, cum intelligerem, quid sentires, te arbitrabar videre, quid posses. Nunc alia ratio est: omnium rerum tuum iudicium est idque liberum. Consul es designatus, optima aetate, summa eloquentia, maxima orbitate rei publicae virorum talium: incumbe, per deos immortales! in eam curam et cogitationem, quae tibi summam dignitatem et gloriam afferat; unus autem est, hoc praesertim tempore, per tot annos re publica divexata, rei publicae bene gerendae cursus ad gloriam. Haec amore magis impulsus scribenda ad te putavi, quam quo te arbitrarer monitis et praeceptis egere; sciebam enim ex iisdem te haec haurire fontibus, ex quibus ipse hauseram: quare modum faciam. Nunc tantum significandum putavi, ut potius amorem tibi ostenderem meum, quam ostentarem prudentiam. Interea, quae ad dignitatem tuam pertinere arbitrabor, studiose diligenterque curabo.