M. Tullius Cicero, De Imperio Cn. Pompei Ad Quirites, Charles Duke Yonge (Translator), 12

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[12] Take care lest, as it was a most glorious thing for them, to leave you such wide renown and such a powerful empire, it should be a most discreditable thing for you, not to be able to defend and preserve that which you have received. What more shall I say? Shall I say, that the safety of our allies is involved in the greatest hazard and danger? King Ariobarzanes has been driven from his kingdom, an ally and friend of the Roman people; two kings are threatening all Asia , who are not only most hostile to you, but also to your friends and allies. And every city throughout all Asia, and throughout all Greece , is compelled by the magnitude of the danger to put its whole trust in the expectation of your assistance. They do not dare to beg of you any particular general, especially since you have sent them another, nor do they think that they can do this without extreme danger.

De Imperio Cn. Pompei Ad Quirites. M. Tullius Cicero. Charles Duke Yonge (Translator). London. 1856.

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Current edition Perseus

In Defense of the Proposed Manilian Law (English) (Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, Volume 2. Yonge, Charles Duke, translator. London: Bell, 1856.)

Editions (1)

De Imperio Cn. Pompei Ad Quirites Perseus (Cicero. M. Tulli Ciceronis Orationes, Volume 1. Clark, Albert Curtis, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908.) — 12 focus

[12] videte ne, ut illis pulcherrimum fuit tantam vobis imperi gloriam tradere, sic vobis turpissimum sit id quod accepistis tueri et conservare non posse.

quid? quod salus sociorum summum in periculum ac discrimen vocatur, quo id¹ tandem animo ferre debetis? regno est expulsus² Ariobarzanes rex, socius populi Romani atque amicus; imminent duo reges toti Asiae non solum vobis inimicissimi sed etiam vestris sociis atque amicis; civitates autem omnes cuncta Asia atque Graecia³ vestrum auxilium exspectare propter periculi magnitudinem coguntur; imperatorem a vobis certum⁴ deposcere, cum praesertim vos alium miseritis, neque audent neque id se⁵ facere sine summo periculo posse arbitrantur.

Commentary

Notes on The Manilian Law (Select Orations of Cicero (Allen and Greenough's Edition). Greenough, James Bradstreet; Kittredge, George Lyman, editors. Boston, London: Ginn & Company, 1897.) focus

videte ne : the Latin expresses in the form of a purpose clause ("see to it lest," etc.) what we should put in the form of an indir. quest. ("see whether it be not," etc.).

ut , as, correl. with

sic .

illis , i.e. your ancestors.

non posse : subject of sit.

quid? a regular formula of transition, again.

quod , that: § 572 , b (333, b); G. 542; H. 588, 3 (540, iv, N.); H.-B. 552, 1.

periculum ac discrimen , a dangerous crisis: the former word signifying the trial; the latter the decision. (See Introd., p. xlv.)

Ariobarzanes : king of Cappadocia. It was the designs of Mithridates upon this kingdom that first brought him into collision with Rome. (Fig. 20 is from a fine bust of some unknown Cappadocian.)

certum , a particular.

cum : causal.

sine summo periculo , i.e. by offending Lucullus and Glabrio.

M. Tullius Cicero De Imperio Cn. Pompei Ad Quirites 12

Charles Duke Yonge (Translator)

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