Marcus Tullius Cicero→Quintus Minucius Thermus|c. 50 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Asia|AI-assisted
The more I learn each day from letters and messengers that there is a major war in Syria, the more earnestly I ask you, in the name of our friendship, to send my legate Marcus Anneius back to me as soon as possible. I understand very clearly that his energy, counsel, and knowledge of military affairs can be of the greatest help to me and to the republic.
If a matter of such importance to him had not been involved, he could not have been persuaded to leave me, nor I to let him go. I expect to set out for Cilicia around May 1. Marcus Anneius must return to me before that day.
As for the matter I pressed on you very carefully both in person and by letter, I now ask again and again that you take care that he settles his business with the Sardians in accordance with the truth of the case and his own standing. From what you said when I spoke with you at Ephesus, I understood that you wished to do everything for Marcus Anneius himself. Still, I would like you to think that nothing you can do would please me more than letting me know that, through you, he has settled his business to his satisfaction. I ask you again and again to make that happen as soon as possible.
CCLIII (Fam. XIII, 57) TO Q. MINUCIUS THERMUS {PROPRAETOR IN ASIA) LAODICEA, MARCH: The more I am assured every day by letters and messages that a serious war is on foot in Syria , the more earnest am I in my request to you, in the name of our close friendship, that you would send back my legate M. Anneius to me at the earliest possible moment. For by his activity, wisdom, and knowledge of military affairs I well know that both I and the state can receive the most important assistance. Indeed, had it not been of such urgent importance to him, he would never have been induced to quit me, nor I to let him go. I think of starting for Cilicia about the 1st of May. Before that day M. Anneius is bound to rejoin me. The request which I pressed upon you very earnestly, both in a personal interview and by letter, I now reiterate — that you should take pains to enable him to settle the business he has with the Sardians as the justice of his case and the dignity of his character demand. I gathered from your remarks, when I conversed with you at Ephesus , that you were ready to do anything for the sake of M. Anneius himself. Yet I should wish you to think that you could not oblige me more than by letting me see that he has settled his business to his satisfaction owing to your support, and I beg you again and again to see that done at the earliest possible time.
LVII. Scr. Laodiceae mense Martio a.u.c. 704. CICERO THERMO PROPR. SAL.
Quo magis quotidie ex litteris nuntiisque bellum magnum esse in Syria cognosco, eo vehementius a te pro nostra necessitudine contendo, ut mihi M. Anneium legatum primo quoque tempore remittas; nam eius opera, consilio, scientia rei militaris vel maxime intelligo me et rem publicam adiuvari posse. Quod nisi tanta res eius ageretur, nec ipse adduci potuisset, ut a me discederet, neque ego, ut eum a me dimitterem. Ego in Ciliciam proficisci cogito circiter K. Mai: ante eam diam M. Anneius ad me redeat oportet. Illud, quod tecum et coram et per litteras diligentissime egi, id et nunc etiam atque etiam rogo, curae tibi sit, ut suum negotium, quod habet cum populo Sardiano, pro causae veritate et pro sua dignitate conficiat. Intellexi ex tua oratione, quum tecum Ephesi locutus sum, te ipsius M. Anneii causa omnia velle; sed tamen sic velim existimes, te mihi nihil gratius facere posse quam si intellexero per te illum suum negotium ex sententia confecisse, idque quam primum ut efficias te etiam atque etiam rogo.
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The more I learn each day from letters and messengers that there is a major war in Syria, the more earnestly I ask you, in the name of our friendship, to send my legate Marcus Anneius back to me as soon as possible. I understand very clearly that his energy, counsel, and knowledge of military affairs can be of the greatest help to me and to the republic.
If a matter of such importance to him had not been involved, he could not have been persuaded to leave me, nor I to let him go. I expect to set out for Cilicia around May 1. Marcus Anneius must return to me before that day.
As for the matter I pressed on you very carefully both in person and by letter, I now ask again and again that you take care that he settles his business with the Sardians in accordance with the truth of the case and his own standing. From what you said when I spoke with you at Ephesus, I understood that you wished to do everything for Marcus Anneius himself. Still, I would like you to think that nothing you can do would please me more than letting me know that, through you, he has settled his business to his satisfaction. I ask you again and again to make that happen as soon as possible.
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.
Quo magis quotidie ex litteris nuntiisque bellum magnum esse in Syria cognosco, eo vehementius a te pro nostra necessitudine contendo, ut mihi M. Anneium legatum primo quoque tempore remittas; nam eius opera, consilio, scientia rei militaris vel maxime intelligo me et rem publicam adiuvari posse. Quod nisi tanta res eius ageretur, nec ipse adduci potuisset, ut a me discederet, neque ego, ut eum a me dimitterem. Ego in Ciliciam proficisci cogito circiter K. Mai: ante eam diam M. Anneius ad me redeat oportet. Illud, quod tecum et coram et per litteras diligentissime egi, id et nunc etiam atque etiam rogo, curae tibi sit, ut suum negotium, quod habet cum populo Sardiano, pro causae veritate et pro sua dignitate conficiat. Intellexi ex tua oratione, quum tecum Ephesi locutus sum, te ipsius M. Anneii causa omnia velle; sed tamen sic velim existimes, te mihi nihil gratius facere posse quam si intellexero per te illum suum negotium ex sententia confecisse, idque quam primum ut efficias te etiam atque etiam rogo.