Letter 56

Marcus Tullius CiceroQuintus Minucius Thermus|c. 50 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Asia|AI-assisted

Cluvius of Puteoli is very attentive to me and a close friend. He is convinced that, if he does not settle the business he has in your province through my recommendations while you are governor, he must count it lost and hopeless. Since so heavy a burden has been placed on me by a very dutiful friend, I too will place a burden on you, relying on your great services to me, though I do not wish to be troublesome.

The people of Mylasa and Alabanda owe Cluvius money. Euthydemus told me, when I was at Ephesus, that he would arrange for the Mylasians to send ecdici [official legal representatives] to Rome. That has not happened. I hear that envoys have been sent, but I prefer ecdici, so that something can actually be settled. So I ask you to order both them and the Alabandians to send ecdici to Rome.

In addition, Philocles of Alabanda gave Cluvius mortgages. They have fallen due. I would like you to see that he either gives up the mortgaged properties and hands them over to Cluvius's agents, or pays the money. The people of Heraclea and Bargylia, who likewise owe him money, should either pay or satisfy him from their revenues.

The people of Caunus also owe money, but they say they had deposited the sum. I would like you to investigate that and, if you find that they did not make the deposit either under an edict or by decree, to make sure that Cluvius's claim to interest is preserved under your usual procedure.

I am especially concerned about these matters because the interests of our friend Gnaeus Pompeius are involved too, and because he seems to me even more anxious about it than Cluvius himself. I very much want him to be satisfied with what I have done for him. On these points I ask you earnestly, again and again.

AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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

LVI. Scr. in Cilicia a.u.c. 703. CICERO THERMO PROPR. SAL.

Cluvius Puteolanus valde me observat valdeque est mihi familiaris: is ita sibi persuadet, quod in tua provincia negotii habeat, nisi te provinciam obtinente meis commendationibus confecerit, id se in perditis et desperatis habiturum; nunc, quoniam mihi ab amico officiosissimo tantum oneris imponitur, ego quoque tibi imponam pro tuis in me summis officiis, ita tamen, ut tibi nolim molestus esse. Mulase•w et 'Alabande•w pecuniam Cluvio debent: dixerat mihi Euthydemus, quum Ephesi essem, se curaturum, ut ecdici Mylasii Romam mitterentur; id factum non est: legatos audio missos esse, sed malo ecdicos, ut aliquid confici possit; quare peto a te, ut et eos et 'Alabande•w iubeas ecdicos Romam mittere. Praeterea Philocles Alabandensis Õpoyxaw Cluvio dedit: eae commissae sunt; velim cures, ut aut de hypothecis decedat easque procuratoribus Cluvii tradat aut pecuniam solvat. Praeterea Hercleotae et Bargylietae, qui item debent, aut pecuniam solvat aut fructibus suis satisfaciant. Caunii praeterea debent, sed aiunt se depositam pecuniam habuisse: id velim cognoscas et, si intellexeris eos neque ex edicto neque ex decreto depositam habuisse, des operam, ut usurae Cluvio instituto tuo conserventur. His de rebus eo magis laboro, quod agitur res Cn. Pompeii etiam, nostri necessarii, et quod is magis etiam mihi laborare videtur quam ipse Cluvius, cui satisfactum esse a nobis valde volo. His de rebus te vehementer etiam atque etiam rogo.

Revision history

  1. 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import

    Initial corpus import from modern cicero familiares book13 batch1 topostext latin v1.

    Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/cicero/fam13.shtml

Related Letters