Marcus Tullius Cicero→Roman Senate|c. 47 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome|AI-assisted
I entered the province on the last day of July. Since the difficulty of the journey by land and sea had kept me from arriving earlier, I thought the duty most suited to my office, and most useful to the public interest, was to arrange everything connected with the army and active operations. I made those arrangements with more care and energy than my resources or supplies allowed.
Because messages and letters were reaching me almost every day about the Parthian invasion of Syria, I thought I ought to march through Lycaonia, the Isaurian country, and Cappadocia. There was a strong reason to suppose that if the Parthians tried to leave Syria and invade my province, they would march through Cappadocia, because that route was most open to them. So I led the army through the part of Cappadocia bordering Cilicia and pitched camp at Cybistra, a town at the foot of Mount Taurus. I wanted Artavasdes, the Armenian king, whatever his disposition might be, to know that an army of the Roman people was not far from his frontier. I also wanted King Deiotarus, a ruler deeply loyal and devoted to our republic, as close as possible, since his advice and resources might help the public interest.
While I was in camp there, I sent the cavalry into Cilicia so that the communities in that region, having been told of my arrival, might be confirmed in their loyalty, and so that I might learn quickly what was happening in Syria. I then thought I should devote the three days I stayed in that camp to a duty of high importance.
Your formal decree had assigned me the task of protecting King Ariobarzanes, called Eusebes and Philorhomaeus, defending his safety and the integrity of his kingdom, and acting as guardian of king and kingdom alike. You had added that his safety was a matter of great concern to the Roman people and the senate, a decree such as our house had never before passed about any king. I therefore thought I was bound to report your judgment to the king and to promise him my protection, together with faithful and vigorous support, so that, since his safety and the integrity of his kingdom had been entrusted to me, he might tell me anything he wanted done.
In the presence of my council I communicated these points to the king. He began by giving proper and warm thanks to you, and then thanked me as well. He said he regarded it as a very great and honorable distinction that his safety should concern the senate and people of Rome, and that I had shown such energy as to make both my own good faith and the weight of your recommendation unmistakable. At that first meeting he also assured me, which I was very glad to hear, that he neither knew nor suspected any plots against his life or his kingdom.
I congratulated him, said I rejoiced to hear it, and nevertheless advised him, as a young man, to remember the disaster of his father's death, to guard himself with vigilance, and, in accordance with the senate's instruction, to take measures for his safety. He then left me and returned to Cybistra.
The next day he came to me in camp with his brother Ariarathes and certain older men who had been his father's friends. Distressed and in tears, with his brother and friends showing the same distress, he began appealing to my good faith and to the charge you had laid on me. When I asked in surprise what had happened, he said that clear information about a conspiracy had been reported to him. It had been withheld from him before my arrival because those who could have denounced it had been silent from fear; now, trusting in my protection, several people had boldly told him what they knew. Among them, his devoted brother had told him, and repeated the story in my hearing, that he had been urged to try to become king. So long as his brother was alive he could not accept that suggestion, but fear of danger had kept him from revealing it.
After this, I advised the king to take every precaution to preserve his life. I urged his friends, who had enjoyed the confidence of his father and grandfather, to guard their king's life with all care and vigilance, warned by his father's miserable murder. When the king asked me for cavalry and cohorts from my army, I knew that under your decree I was not only allowed but even bound to comply. Yet the public interest demanded, because news was arriving daily from Syria, that I lead the army as soon as possible to the frontiers of Cilicia. And since the plot had now been exposed, the king seemed not to need a Roman army, but able to defend himself by his own resources.
I therefore urged him to learn his first lesson in ruling by taking measures to preserve his own life: to exercise royal authority against those whom he had discovered to be plotting against him, to punish those who had to be punished, to free the rest from fear, and to use the protection of my army to inspire fear in the guilty rather than to keep a civil war alive. The result, I said, would certainly be that once everyone knew the senate's decree, they would understand that, in accordance with your decision, I would protect the king if necessary.
After encouraging him in this way, I broke camp and began my march into Cilicia. I left Cappadocia with the impression that, by your policy and by a strange, almost providential accident, my arrival had rescued from an actual conspiracy a king to whom you had granted that unsolicited and highly complimentary title, whom you had entrusted to my honor, and whose safety you had declared by decree to be a matter of great concern to you.
I thought it proper that my dispatch should inform you of this, so that you might learn from what almost happened that you had long before taken the precautions needed to prevent it. I have been all the readier to give you this information because, in King Ariobarzanes, I think I have seen signs of virtue, ability, good faith, and loyalty to you that show you had good reason for all the care and energy you devoted to protecting him.
CCXVIII (Fam. XV, 2) TO THE MAGISTRATES AND SENATE CYBISTRA (SEPTEMBER) M. Tullius Cicero , son of Marcus, greets the consuls, praetors, tribunes, and senate. If you are well, I am glad. I and the army are well. Having entered the province on the last day of July, not having been able to arrive earlier owing to the difficulty of the journey both by land and sea, I thought the thing most suitable to my office, and most conducive to the public welfare, was to provide everything affecting the army and its active service. These arrangements having been made by me with more care and energy than means or sufficient supplies, and messages and letters reaching me nearly every day concerning an invasion of the province of Syria by the Parthians , I thought that I ought to direct my march through Lycaonia , the Isaurians , and Cappadocia . For there was very strong reason to conjecture that, should the Parthians endeavour to quit Syria and invade my province, they would march through Cappadocia , as being most completely open to them. Accordingly, I marched with the army through that part of Cappadocia which borders on Cilicia , and pitched my camp at Cybistra , which is a town at the foot of Mount Taurus , in order that Artavasdes , the Armenian king, whatever his disposition, might know that an army of the Roman people was not far from his frontier; and that I might have in as close contact as possible king Deiotarus , a sovereign who is most loyal and devoted to our Republic, since his advice and material support might be of assistance to the public interests. Having my camp in this place, and having sent the cavalry into Cilicia — in order that my arrival, having been notified to the communities in that region, might confirm the loyal dispositions of all, and at the same time that I might get early information of what was going on in Syria — I thought I ought to give the three days of my stay in that camp to a high and necessary duty. For, seeing that a formal resolution of yours had imposed upon me the duty of protecting king Ariobarzanes (surnamed Eusebes and Philorhomaeus), of defending the personal safety of that sovereign and the integrity of his dominions, and of being the guardian of king and kingdom alike: and seeing that you had appended a declaration that the safety of that sovereign was a matter of great concern to the people and senate — a decree such as had never been passed by our house concerning any king before — I thought myself bound to report the expression of your opinion to the king, and to promise him my protection and a faithful and energetic support, in order that, as his personal safety and the integrity of his dominions had been commended to my care, he might communicate to me anything he wished to be done. Having, in the presence of my council, communicated these things to the king, he began his reply by the proper expression of his warmest thanks to you: and then went on to thank me also, saying that he looked upon it as a very great and honourable distinction that his personal safety should be a matter of concern to the senate and people of Rome , and that I should exhibit such energy as to put beyond doubt my own good faith and the weight of your recommendation. And, indeed, at this first interview, he also assured me of what I was very delighted to hear, that he neither knew nor had a suspicion of any plots either against his own life or against his kingdom. After I had congratulated him and said that I rejoiced to hear it, and yet had advised him as a young man to remember the disaster of his father's death, to protect himself with vigilance, and, in accordance with the injunction of the senate, to take measures for his safety, he then left me and returned to the town of Cybistra . However, next day he came to visit me in the camp, accompanied by his brother Ariarathes and some elder men, who had been his father's friends. In a state of agitation and with tears in his eyes — his brother and friends showing the same signs of distress — he began appealing to my good faith and the charge imposed on me by you. On my asking with surprise what had occurred, he said that “information of an undoubted conspiracy had been communicated to him, which had been withheld from him before my arrival, because those who might have denounced it to him had kept silence through fear, but that now, relying upon my protection several persons had boldly informed him of what they knew: that among these his most devoted brother had told him” (a story which the latter repeated in my hearing) “that he had been solicited to aim at becoming king: that so long as his brother was alive he could not accept that suggestion; but that from fear of the danger he had never revealed the circumstance.” After this speech I advised the king that he should take every precaution to preserve his life; and I exhorted the friends, who had enjoyed the confidence of his father and grandfather, to guard the life of their sovereign with all care and vigilance, warned by his father's most lamentable murder. Upon the king asking me for some cavalry and cohorts from my army, though I was fully aware that in view of your senatorial decree I was not only authorized, but even bound to comply, yet, since the public interests demanded, owing to the news daily arriving from Syria , that I should lead the army as soon as possible to the frontiers of Cilicia — and since the king, now that the plot had been denounced, seemed not to be in need of an army of the Roman people, but to be capable of defending himself by his own resources, I urged him to learn his first lesson in the art of ruling by taking measures to preserve his life: that upon those by whom he had discovered that a plot was being laid against him he should exercise his sovereign rights: punish those who must be punished, relieve the rest from fear: use the protection of my army rather to inspire fear in the guilty than to keep up a state of civil war: the result would be no doubt that all, having been made acquainted with the decree of the senate, would understand that in accordance with your resolution I should protect the king if necessary. Having thus encouraged him, I broke up my camp there, and began my march into Cilicia , leaving behind me on my departure from Cappadocia an impression that by your policy my arrival, owing to a strange and almost providential accident, had relieved from an actual plot a sovereign to whom you had given unsolicited that title in most complimentary terms, whom you had entrusted to my honour, and whose safety you had declared in a decree to be a matter of great concern to you. I thought it was not improper that my despatch should inform you of this circumstance, in order that you might learn from what almost happened that you had long before taken the precautions necessary to prevent it: and I have been all the more ready to give you the information, because in king Ariobarzanes I think I have detected such signs of virtue and ability, as well as of good faith and loyalty to you, that you appear to have had good reason for all the care and energy you have devoted to his protection.
II. Scr. in itinere ex castris ad Cybistra in Ciliciam mense Septembri (XI. K. Oct.) a.u.c. 703. M. TULLIUS M. F. CICERO PROCOS. S. D. COS. PR. TR. PL. SENATUI.
S. v. v. b . e. e. q. v. Cum pr. K. Sext. in provinciam venissem neque maturius propter itinerum et navigationum difficultatem venire potuissem, maxime convenire officio meo reique publicae conducere putavi parare ea, quae ad exercitum quaeque ad rem militarem pertinerent; quae cum essent a me cura magis et diligentia quam facultate et copia constituta nuntiique et litterae de bello a Parthis in provinciam Syriam illato quotidie fere afferentur, iter mihi faciendum per Lycaoniam et per Isauros et per Cappadociam arbitratus sum; erat enim magna suspicio, Parthos, si ex Syria egredi atque irrumpere in meam provinciam conarentur, iter eos per Cappadociam, quod ea maxime pateret, esse facturos. Itaque cum exercitu per Cappadociae partem eam, quae cum Cilicia continens est, iter feci castraque ad Cybistra, quod oppidum est ad montem Taurum, locavi, ut Artavasdes, rex Armenius, quocumque animo esset, sciret non procul a suis finibus exercitum populi Romani esse, et Deiotarum, fidelissimum regem atque amicissimum rei publicae nostrae, maxime coniunctum haberem, cuius et consilio et opibus adiuvari posset res publica. Quo cum in loco castra haberem equitatumque in Ciliciam misissem, ut et meus adventus iis civitatibus, quae in ea parte essent, nuntiatus firmiores animos omnium faceret et ego mature, quid ageretur in Syria, scire possem, tempus eius tridui, quod in iis castris morabar, in magno officio et necessario mihi ponendum putavi. Cum enim vestra auctoritas intercessisset, ut ego regem Ariobarzanem Eusebem et Philoromaeum tuerer eiusque regis salutem incolumitatemque regni defenderem, regi regnoque praesidio essem, adiunxissetisque salutem eius regis senatui populoque Romano magnae curae esse, quod nullo umquam de rege decretum esset a nostro ordine, existimavi me iudicium vestrum ad regem deferre debere eique praesidium meum et fidem et diligentiam polliceri, ut, quoniam salus ipsius, incolumitas regni mihi commendata esset a vobis, diceret, si quid vellet. Quae cum essem in consilio meo cum rege locutus, initio ille orationis suae vobis maximas, ut debuit, deinde etiam mihi gratias egit, quod ei permagnum et perhonorificum videbatur senatui populoque Romano tantae curae esse salutem suam meque tantam diligentiam adhibere, ut et mea fides et commendationis vestrae auctoritas perspici posset. Atque ille primo, quod mihi maximae laetitiae fuit, ita mecum locutus est, ut nullas insidias neque vitae suae neque regno diceret se aut intelligere fieri aut etiam suspicari. Cum ego ei gratulatus essem idque me gaudere dixissem cohortatus, ut recordaretur casum illum interitus paterni et vigilanter se tueretur atque admonitu senatus consuleret saluti suae, tum a me discessit in oppidum Cybistra. Postero autem die cum Ariarathe, fratre suo, et cum paternis amicis maioribus natu ad me in castra venit perturbatusque et flens, cum idem et frater faceret et amici, meam fidem, vestram commendationem implorare coepit. Cum admirarer, quid accidisset novi, dixit ad se indicia manifestarum insidiarum esse delata, quae essent ante adventum meum occultata, quod ii, qui ea patefacere possent, propter metum reticuissent; eo autem tempore spe mei praesidii complures ea, quae scirent, audacter ad se detulisse; in iis amantissimum sui, summa pietate praeditum fratrem dicere—ea quae me quoque is audiente dicebat—: se sollicitatum esse, ut regnare vellet; id vivo fratre suo accipere non potuisse; se tamen ante illud tempus eam rem numquam in medium propter periculi metum protulisse. Quae cum esset locutus, monui regem, ut omnem diligentiam ad se conservandum adhiberet, amicosque in patris eius atque iudicio probatos hortatus sum, regis sui vitam docti casu acerbissimo patris eius omni cura custodiaque defenderent. Cum rex a me equitatum cohortesque de exercitu meo postularet, etsi intelligebam vestro senatus consulto non modo posse me id facere, sed etiam debere, tamen, cum res publica postularet propter quotidianos ex Syria nuntios, ut quam primum exercitum ad Ciliciae fines adducerem, cumque mihi rex patefactis iam insidiis non egere exercitu populi Romani, sed posse se suis opibus defendere videretur, illum cohortatus sum, ut in sua vita conservanda primum regnare disceret: a quibus perspexisset sibi insidias paratas, in eos uteretur iure regio; poena afficeret eos, quos necesse esset, reliquos metu liberaret; praesidio exercitus mei ad eorum, qui in culpa essent, timorem potius quam ad contentionem uteretur; fore autem, ut omnes, quoniam senatus consultum nossent, intelligerent me regi, si opus esset, ex auctoritate vestra praesidio futurum. Ita confirmato illo ex eo loco castra movi; iter in Ciliciam facere institui, cum hac opinione e Cappadocia discederem, ut consilio vestro, casu incredibili ac paene divino regem, quem vos honorificentissime appellassetis nullo postulante quemque meae fidei commendassetis et cuius salutem magnae vobis curae esse decressetis, meus adventus praesentibus insidiis liberasset: quod ad vos a me scribi non alienum putavi, ut intelligeretis ex iis, quae paene acciderunt, vos multo ante, ne ea acciderent, providisse, eoque vos studiosius feci certiores, quod in rege Ariobarzane ea mihi signa videor virtutis, ingenii, fidei benevolentiaeque erga vos perspexisse, ut non sine causa tantam curam in eius vos salutem diligentiamque videamini contulisse.
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I entered the province on the last day of July. Since the difficulty of the journey by land and sea had kept me from arriving earlier, I thought the duty most suited to my office, and most useful to the public interest, was to arrange everything connected with the army and active operations. I made those arrangements with more care and energy than my resources or supplies allowed.
Because messages and letters were reaching me almost every day about the Parthian invasion of Syria, I thought I ought to march through Lycaonia, the Isaurian country, and Cappadocia. There was a strong reason to suppose that if the Parthians tried to leave Syria and invade my province, they would march through Cappadocia, because that route was most open to them. So I led the army through the part of Cappadocia bordering Cilicia and pitched camp at Cybistra, a town at the foot of Mount Taurus. I wanted Artavasdes, the Armenian king, whatever his disposition might be, to know that an army of the Roman people was not far from his frontier. I also wanted King Deiotarus, a ruler deeply loyal and devoted to our republic, as close as possible, since his advice and resources might help the public interest.
While I was in camp there, I sent the cavalry into Cilicia so that the communities in that region, having been told of my arrival, might be confirmed in their loyalty, and so that I might learn quickly what was happening in Syria. I then thought I should devote the three days I stayed in that camp to a duty of high importance.
Your formal decree had assigned me the task of protecting King Ariobarzanes, called Eusebes and Philorhomaeus, defending his safety and the integrity of his kingdom, and acting as guardian of king and kingdom alike. You had added that his safety was a matter of great concern to the Roman people and the senate, a decree such as our house had never before passed about any king. I therefore thought I was bound to report your judgment to the king and to promise him my protection, together with faithful and vigorous support, so that, since his safety and the integrity of his kingdom had been entrusted to me, he might tell me anything he wanted done.
In the presence of my council I communicated these points to the king. He began by giving proper and warm thanks to you, and then thanked me as well. He said he regarded it as a very great and honorable distinction that his safety should concern the senate and people of Rome, and that I had shown such energy as to make both my own good faith and the weight of your recommendation unmistakable. At that first meeting he also assured me, which I was very glad to hear, that he neither knew nor suspected any plots against his life or his kingdom.
I congratulated him, said I rejoiced to hear it, and nevertheless advised him, as a young man, to remember the disaster of his father's death, to guard himself with vigilance, and, in accordance with the senate's instruction, to take measures for his safety. He then left me and returned to Cybistra.
The next day he came to me in camp with his brother Ariarathes and certain older men who had been his father's friends. Distressed and in tears, with his brother and friends showing the same distress, he began appealing to my good faith and to the charge you had laid on me. When I asked in surprise what had happened, he said that clear information about a conspiracy had been reported to him. It had been withheld from him before my arrival because those who could have denounced it had been silent from fear; now, trusting in my protection, several people had boldly told him what they knew. Among them, his devoted brother had told him, and repeated the story in my hearing, that he had been urged to try to become king. So long as his brother was alive he could not accept that suggestion, but fear of danger had kept him from revealing it.
After this, I advised the king to take every precaution to preserve his life. I urged his friends, who had enjoyed the confidence of his father and grandfather, to guard their king's life with all care and vigilance, warned by his father's miserable murder. When the king asked me for cavalry and cohorts from my army, I knew that under your decree I was not only allowed but even bound to comply. Yet the public interest demanded, because news was arriving daily from Syria, that I lead the army as soon as possible to the frontiers of Cilicia. And since the plot had now been exposed, the king seemed not to need a Roman army, but able to defend himself by his own resources.
I therefore urged him to learn his first lesson in ruling by taking measures to preserve his own life: to exercise royal authority against those whom he had discovered to be plotting against him, to punish those who had to be punished, to free the rest from fear, and to use the protection of my army to inspire fear in the guilty rather than to keep a civil war alive. The result, I said, would certainly be that once everyone knew the senate's decree, they would understand that, in accordance with your decision, I would protect the king if necessary.
After encouraging him in this way, I broke camp and began my march into Cilicia. I left Cappadocia with the impression that, by your policy and by a strange, almost providential accident, my arrival had rescued from an actual conspiracy a king to whom you had granted that unsolicited and highly complimentary title, whom you had entrusted to my honor, and whose safety you had declared by decree to be a matter of great concern to you.
I thought it proper that my dispatch should inform you of this, so that you might learn from what almost happened that you had long before taken the precautions needed to prevent it. I have been all the readier to give you this information because, in King Ariobarzanes, I think I have seen signs of virtue, ability, good faith, and loyalty to you that show you had good reason for all the care and energy you devoted to protecting him.
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
II. Scr. in itinere ex castris ad Cybistra in Ciliciam mense Septembri (XI. K. Oct.) a.u.c. 703. M. TULLIUS M. F. CICERO PROCOS. S. D. COS. PR. TR. PL. SENATUI.
S. v. v. b . e. e. q. v. Cum pr. K. Sext. in provinciam venissem neque maturius propter itinerum et navigationum difficultatem venire potuissem, maxime convenire officio meo reique publicae conducere putavi parare ea, quae ad exercitum quaeque ad rem militarem pertinerent; quae cum essent a me cura magis et diligentia quam facultate et copia constituta nuntiique et litterae de bello a Parthis in provinciam Syriam illato quotidie fere afferentur, iter mihi faciendum per Lycaoniam et per Isauros et per Cappadociam arbitratus sum; erat enim magna suspicio, Parthos, si ex Syria egredi atque irrumpere in meam provinciam conarentur, iter eos per Cappadociam, quod ea maxime pateret, esse facturos. Itaque cum exercitu per Cappadociae partem eam, quae cum Cilicia continens est, iter feci castraque ad Cybistra, quod oppidum est ad montem Taurum, locavi, ut Artavasdes, rex Armenius, quocumque animo esset, sciret non procul a suis finibus exercitum populi Romani esse, et Deiotarum, fidelissimum regem atque amicissimum rei publicae nostrae, maxime coniunctum haberem, cuius et consilio et opibus adiuvari posset res publica. Quo cum in loco castra haberem equitatumque in Ciliciam misissem, ut et meus adventus iis civitatibus, quae in ea parte essent, nuntiatus firmiores animos omnium faceret et ego mature, quid ageretur in Syria, scire possem, tempus eius tridui, quod in iis castris morabar, in magno officio et necessario mihi ponendum putavi. Cum enim vestra auctoritas intercessisset, ut ego regem Ariobarzanem Eusebem et Philoromaeum tuerer eiusque regis salutem incolumitatemque regni defenderem, regi regnoque praesidio essem, adiunxissetisque salutem eius regis senatui populoque Romano magnae curae esse, quod nullo umquam de rege decretum esset a nostro ordine, existimavi me iudicium vestrum ad regem deferre debere eique praesidium meum et fidem et diligentiam polliceri, ut, quoniam salus ipsius, incolumitas regni mihi commendata esset a vobis, diceret, si quid vellet. Quae cum essem in consilio meo cum rege locutus, initio ille orationis suae vobis maximas, ut debuit, deinde etiam mihi gratias egit, quod ei permagnum et perhonorificum videbatur senatui populoque Romano tantae curae esse salutem suam meque tantam diligentiam adhibere, ut et mea fides et commendationis vestrae auctoritas perspici posset. Atque ille primo, quod mihi maximae laetitiae fuit, ita mecum locutus est, ut nullas insidias neque vitae suae neque regno diceret se aut intelligere fieri aut etiam suspicari. Cum ego ei gratulatus essem idque me gaudere dixissem cohortatus, ut recordaretur casum illum interitus paterni et vigilanter se tueretur atque admonitu senatus consuleret saluti suae, tum a me discessit in oppidum Cybistra. Postero autem die cum Ariarathe, fratre suo, et cum paternis amicis maioribus natu ad me in castra venit perturbatusque et flens, cum idem et frater faceret et amici, meam fidem, vestram commendationem implorare coepit. Cum admirarer, quid accidisset novi, dixit ad se indicia manifestarum insidiarum esse delata, quae essent ante adventum meum occultata, quod ii, qui ea patefacere possent, propter metum reticuissent; eo autem tempore spe mei praesidii complures ea, quae scirent, audacter ad se detulisse; in iis amantissimum sui, summa pietate praeditum fratrem dicere—ea quae me quoque is audiente dicebat—: se sollicitatum esse, ut regnare vellet; id vivo fratre suo accipere non potuisse; se tamen ante illud tempus eam rem numquam in medium propter periculi metum protulisse. Quae cum esset locutus, monui regem, ut omnem diligentiam ad se conservandum adhiberet, amicosque in patris eius atque iudicio probatos hortatus sum, regis sui vitam docti casu acerbissimo patris eius omni cura custodiaque defenderent. Cum rex a me equitatum cohortesque de exercitu meo postularet, etsi intelligebam vestro senatus consulto non modo posse me id facere, sed etiam debere, tamen, cum res publica postularet propter quotidianos ex Syria nuntios, ut quam primum exercitum ad Ciliciae fines adducerem, cumque mihi rex patefactis iam insidiis non egere exercitu populi Romani, sed posse se suis opibus defendere videretur, illum cohortatus sum, ut in sua vita conservanda primum regnare disceret: a quibus perspexisset sibi insidias paratas, in eos uteretur iure regio; poena afficeret eos, quos necesse esset, reliquos metu liberaret; praesidio exercitus mei ad eorum, qui in culpa essent, timorem potius quam ad contentionem uteretur; fore autem, ut omnes, quoniam senatus consultum nossent, intelligerent me regi, si opus esset, ex auctoritate vestra praesidio futurum. Ita confirmato illo ex eo loco castra movi; iter in Ciliciam facere institui, cum hac opinione e Cappadocia discederem, ut consilio vestro, casu incredibili ac paene divino regem, quem vos honorificentissime appellassetis nullo postulante quemque meae fidei commendassetis et cuius salutem magnae vobis curae esse decressetis, meus adventus praesentibus insidiis liberasset: quod ad vos a me scribi non alienum putavi, ut intelligeretis ex iis, quae paene acciderunt, vos multo ante, ne ea acciderent, providisse, eoque vos studiosius feci certiores, quod in rege Ariobarzane ea mihi signa videor virtutis, ingenii, fidei benevolentiaeque erga vos perspexisse, ut non sine causa tantam curam in eius vos salutem diligentiamque videamini contulisse.