M. Tullii Ciceronis De Amicitia 8


vim hoc quidem est adferre...: "this indeed is to use force."

re bona: "in a good cause".

cum...tum: = et...et....

mihi... cogitanti: dative case after videri, "it seems to me...." The participle is equivalent to a temporal clause. Cicero could have said, "dum cogito de amicitia, illud saepissime videtur mihi considerandum...."

illud: "that thing" , looking ahead to the indirect question, "utrum....".

utrum...causa: this is the kind of sentence that made Cicero famous. His Roman readers would wait with baited breath for the whole thing to come together. The basic stucture is this:

It seems to me worth considering whether (utrum) friendship
is desirable becasue of weakness or (an) there is another cause.

Here is a diagram of the whole question:

UTRUM propter imbecillitatem atque inopiam desiderata
sit amicitia
ut, dandis recipiendisque meritis,
quod quisque minus per se ispe posset,
id acciperet ab alio vicissimque redderet,
AN eset hoc quidem proprium amicitiae,
sed (esset) antiquior et pulchrior et magis a natura ipsa
profecta alia causa.

Let's look at each clause in turn:

utrum...: Sometimes it helps to put the Latin into English word order. This clause would be rewritten as, "utrum amicitia desiderata sit propter imbecillitatem atque inopiam...."

ut dandis...: note that the "ut" clause is interrupted by the relative (quod). You have to put the two halves of the "ut" clause together as follows:

ut, dandis recipiendisque meritis, acciperet ab alio vicissimque redderet id quod...

dandis, recipiendisque: gerundives agreeing with meritis. Remember that in a gerundive phrase, the noun is the object of the verbal idea: "in giving... benefits."

quod: picks up the "id" of the previous clause: "id quod quisque ipse minus posset (facere) per se."

an esset hoc: "hoc", "this", refers to the exchange of benefits mentioned above.

proprium: this exchange of benefits may be a "property" of friendship, but not its cause.

sed antiquior...: Cicero could have said, "an esset alia antiquior et pulchrior causa, profecta a natura ispa."

princeps: the principal thing, the chief motive.

temporis causa: "to suit the occasion".

quapropter...amicitia: amicitia is the subject of orta est.

potius: correlative with quam: "rather than". This expression is synonymous with magis...quam, which occurs in the next line.

applicatione animi: an inclination of mind, i.e., a mental or intellectual attraction.

sensu amandi: "a feeling of love." Notice that Cicero relates the attraction of friendship to the intellect (animus) and the emotions (sensus).

quantum...: the indirect question depends on cogitatione, "calculation".

quod: "which thing", referring to the phenomenon described above. As often, qui, quae, quod is used in Latin where we would use a demonstrative. Cicero could have said, "quale hoc sit potest animadverti etiam in bestiis...

amimadverti potest: the subject is the indirect question, quale.... "What sort of thing this is... can be noticed."

sensus appareat: i.e., we can easily see the feelings of puppies, kittens, cubs, etc. for their mothers.

deinde...videamur: We know that amicitia is natural not only because it exists between parents and children of all species, but also because we have a special attraction to people who are like ourselves or who represent our personal ideal.

cuius cum moribus: "with whose way of life..."

virtute: than virtue: ablative of comparison.

si quod...quasi lumen: = si aliquod quasi lumen, "something like a light". Remember: "After nisi, si, num, and ne, ali takes a holiday." Corny, eh?

quippe cum: "since".

C. Fabrici, M.Ő Curi: Gaius Fabricius Luscinus and Manius Curius Dentatus, both Roman statesmen and generals in the early 3rd century, B.C,, and both extolled as examples of old-fashioned Roman virtue and honesty. When Fabricius was at war with the Greek general, Pyrrhus, one of the latterŐs men secretly wrote to Fabricius, offering to poison his commander. Fabricius then informed Pyrrhus directly of the plot.

Tarqinium Superbum, Sp. Cassium, Sp. Maelium: the dregs of Roman history. Tarquinius "the Proud" was the last king of Rome, driven out of the city after he raped a noble matron, Lucretia. Spurius Cassius Vecellinus, a patrician of the early 5th century, BC, was executed for conspiring to overthrow the republic. Later in the same century, Spurius Maelius was suspected of trying to "buy" the kingship by dishing out grain to the poor.

decertatum est: impersonal passive: "there was a contest".

Pyrrho et Hanibale. Pyrrhus was a Greek general who invaded Italy in the early third century, BC, at the invitation of Greeks living in Sicily. He won two major battles against the Romans, but lost so many of his own men in the process that he eventually had to withdraw. Hence the expression, "Pyrrhic victory". He earned a reputation for fair play by returning Roman prisoners in exchange for FabriciusŐ information. Hannibal, the famous Carthaginian commander, invaded Italy in the late 3rd century. Though he remained unbeaten in the field, the Romans managed to outlast him, and finally forced him to withdraw by invading Africa themselves. Although we have no reason to think that Hannibal was unusually cruel, the Romans stereotyped the entire Carthaginian people as cruel and treacherous.