Marcus Tullius Cicero→Lucius Munatius Plancus|c. 43 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Gaul|AI-assisted
Although I did not require thanks from you, since I knew you were deeply grateful in fact and in feeling, I must admit that your thanks were very pleasant to me. I saw, as clearly as one sees things with the eyes, that I am loved by you. You will ask, "What did you think before?" I always knew it, certainly, but never more plainly.
Your dispatch was wonderfully welcome to the Senate. It was welcome because of the facts themselves, so weighty and important, and because they showed the bravest spirit and the highest judgment. It was also welcome because of the seriousness of its language and thought.
But, my dear Plancus, throw yourself into finishing the final phase of the war. In this will lie the highest gratitude and glory. I desire everything for the republic's sake; but by Hercules, worn out now in trying to save it, I am not much more devoted to my country than to your glory. The immortal gods, I hope, have given you the fullest opportunity for that. Seize it, I beg you. The man who crushes Antony will have ended this most foul and dangerous war.
DCCCLXXV (Fam. X, 19) TO L. MUNATIUS PLANCUS (IN GAUL) ROME (27 MAY) THOUGH I do not look for formal thanks from you, since I know that you are most grateful in fact and from your heart, nevertheless — for I must confess the truth — they were very gratifying to me. For I seem to see, as though it were something actually visible to the eye, that I am beloved by you. You will say, “What did you think before?” Well, I always knew it, but never with greater clearness. Your despatch was wonderfully liked by the senate, both for the facts it contained, which were of the utmost importance and significance, indicating supreme courage and consummate strategy, and also for the impressiveness of its sentiments and language. But, my dear Plancus , push on with all your might and finish the last struggles of the war. In this you will find the greatest popularity and glory. Of course the object of all my desires is the Republic: but, by heaven, I am by this time tired out with my efforts to save it, and am now not more earnest in favour of my country than of your glory. To win that the immortal gods have now given you a unique opportunity, as I hope. Embrace it, I beseech you. For the man who crushes Antony will have brought a most abominable and dangerous war to an end.
XIX. Scr. Romae exeunte mense Maio a.u.c. 711. CICERO PLANCO.
Quamquam gratiarum actionem a te non desiderabam, cum te re ipsa atque animo scirem esse gratissimum, tamen—fatendum est enim—fuit ea mihi periucunda; sic enim vidi, quasi ea, quae oculis cernuntur, me a te amari. Dices: "quid antea?" Semper equidem, sed numquam illustrius. Litterae tuae mirabiliter gratae fuerunt senatui—cum rebus ipsis, quae erant gravissimae et maximae, fortissimi animi summique consilii, tum etiam gravitate sententiarum atque verborum. Sed, mi Plance, incumbe, ut belli extrema perficias: in hoc erit summa et gratia et gloria. Cupio omnia rei publicae causa; sed mehercules in ea conservanda iam defetigatus non multo plus patriae faveo quam tuae gloriae, cuius maximam facultatem tibi di immortales, ut spero, dederunt, quam complectere, obsecro; qui enim Antonium oppresserit, is hoc bellum taeterrimum periculosissimumque confecerit.
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Although I did not require thanks from you, since I knew you were deeply grateful in fact and in feeling, I must admit that your thanks were very pleasant to me. I saw, as clearly as one sees things with the eyes, that I am loved by you. You will ask, "What did you think before?" I always knew it, certainly, but never more plainly.
Your dispatch was wonderfully welcome to the Senate. It was welcome because of the facts themselves, so weighty and important, and because they showed the bravest spirit and the highest judgment. It was also welcome because of the seriousness of its language and thought.
But, my dear Plancus, throw yourself into finishing the final phase of the war. In this will lie the highest gratitude and glory. I desire everything for the republic's sake; but by Hercules, worn out now in trying to save it, I am not much more devoted to my country than to your glory. The immortal gods, I hope, have given you the fullest opportunity for that. Seize it, I beg you. The man who crushes Antony will have ended this most foul and dangerous war.
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
XIX. Scr. Romae exeunte mense Maio a.u.c. 711. CICERO PLANCO.
Quamquam gratiarum actionem a te non desiderabam, cum te re ipsa atque animo scirem esse gratissimum, tamen—fatendum est enim—fuit ea mihi periucunda; sic enim vidi, quasi ea, quae oculis cernuntur, me a te amari. Dices: "quid antea?" Semper equidem, sed numquam illustrius. Litterae tuae mirabiliter gratae fuerunt senatui—cum rebus ipsis, quae erant gravissimae et maximae, fortissimi animi summique consilii, tum etiam gravitate sententiarum atque verborum. Sed, mi Plance, incumbe, ut belli extrema perficias: in hoc erit summa et gratia et gloria. Cupio omnia rei publicae causa; sed mehercules in ea conservanda iam defetigatus non multo plus patriae faveo quam tuae gloriae, cuius maximam facultatem tibi di immortales, ut spero, dederunt, quam complectere, obsecro; qui enim Antonium oppresserit, is hoc bellum taeterrimum periculosissimumque confecerit.