Marcus Tullius Cicero→Gaius Cassius Longinus|c. 43 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Syria|AI-assisted
I think you have learned from the official records, which I know are sent to you, about the crime of your relative Lepidus and the extreme fickleness and instability of his conduct.
So, after we thought the war was finished, we are fighting it again. We place all our hope in Decimus Brutus and Plancus; or, if you want the real truth, in you and Marcus Brutus. This is not only for immediate refuge if some reverse occurs, which I hope will not happen, but also for the lasting establishment of liberty.
Here at Rome we were hearing the things we wanted to hear about Dolabella, but we had no certain authorities. Know this: you are a great man in present judgment and in future expectation. Set that before yourself and strive for the highest things. There is nothing so great that the Roman people does not judge you able to accomplish and secure it.
Farewell.
DCCCXCIII (Fam. XII, 8) TO GAIUS CASSIUS LONGINUS (IN SYRIA) ROME (JUNE) THE crime of your relative Lepidus and the extreme fickleness and levity of his conduct I think that you will have learnt from the gazette of the senate, which I am assured is sent to you. Accordingly, after once finishing the war we have a renewed war upon our hands, and our whole hope is in Decimus Brutus and Plancus . If you would have the real truth, it is in you and our friend M. Brutus , not only for immediate safety, if, what I trust may not be the case, any reverse occurs, but also for securing a permanent liberty. We at Rome have gratifying intelligence about Dolabella , but it does not rest on good authority. Let me assure you that you are the hero of the hour, both from present impressions and future expectations. With this knowledge before your eyes, be sure that you aim at the highest achievement. There is nothing which the Roman people does not think can be accomplished and sustained by you.
VIII. Scr. Romae mense Iunio (post VIII Id.) a.u.c. 711. CICERO CASSIO SAL.
Scelus affinis tui Lepidi summamque levitatem et inconstantiam ex actis, quae ad te mitti certo scio, cognosse te arbitror: itaque nos confecto bello, ut arbitrabamur, renovatum bellum gerimus spemque omnem in D. Bruto et Planco habemus, si verum quaeris, in te et in M. Bruto, non solum ad praesens perfugium, si, quod nolim, adversi quid acciderit. Sed etiam ad confirmationem perpetuae libertatis. Nos hic de Dolabella audiebamus, quae vellemus, sed certos auctores non habebamus. Te quidem magnum hominem et praesenti iudicio et reliqui temporis exspectatione scito esse: hoc tibi proposito fac ut ad summa contendas; nihil est tantum, quod non populus Romanus a te perfici atque obtineri posse iudicet. Vale.
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I think you have learned from the official records, which I know are sent to you, about the crime of your relative Lepidus and the extreme fickleness and instability of his conduct.
So, after we thought the war was finished, we are fighting it again. We place all our hope in Decimus Brutus and Plancus; or, if you want the real truth, in you and Marcus Brutus. This is not only for immediate refuge if some reverse occurs, which I hope will not happen, but also for the lasting establishment of liberty.
Here at Rome we were hearing the things we wanted to hear about Dolabella, but we had no certain authorities. Know this: you are a great man in present judgment and in future expectation. Set that before yourself and strive for the highest things. There is nothing so great that the Roman people does not judge you able to accomplish and secure it.
Farewell.
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
VIII. Scr. Romae mense Iunio (post VIII Id.) a.u.c. 711. CICERO CASSIO SAL.
Scelus affinis tui Lepidi summamque levitatem et inconstantiam ex actis, quae ad te mitti certo scio, cognosse te arbitror: itaque nos confecto bello, ut arbitrabamur, renovatum bellum gerimus spemque omnem in D. Bruto et Planco habemus, si verum quaeris, in te et in M. Bruto, non solum ad praesens perfugium, si, quod nolim, adversi quid acciderit. Sed etiam ad confirmationem perpetuae libertatis. Nos hic de Dolabella audiebamus, quae vellemus, sed certos auctores non habebamus. Te quidem magnum hominem et praesenti iudicio et reliqui temporis exspectatione scito esse: hoc tibi proposito fac ut ad summa contendas; nihil est tantum, quod non populus Romanus a te perfici atque obtineri posse iudicet. Vale.