Inde cum sē in Italiam recēpisset, duābus Hispāniīs et Galliā Trānsalpīnā praesidiīs ac nāvibus cōnfīrmātā, missīs item in ōram Īllyricī maris et in Achāiam omnemque Graeciam nāvibus Italiae duo maria maximīs classibus fīrmissimīsque praesidiīs adornāvit, ipse autem, ut Brundisiō profectus est, ūndēquīnquāgēsimō diē tōtam ad imperium populī Rōmānī Ciliciam adiūnxit; omnēs, quī ubīque praedōnēs fuērunt, partim captī interfectīque sunt, partim  ūniūs huius sē imperiō ac potestātī dēdidērunt. Īdem Crētēnsibus, cum ad eum ūsque in Pamphŷliam lēgātōs dēprecātōrēsque mīsissent, spem dēditiōnis nōn adēmit obsidēsque imperavit. Ita tantum bellum, tam diūturnum, tam longē lātēque dispersum, quō bellō omnēs gentēs ac nātiōnēs premēbantur, Cn. Pompēius extrēmā hieme apparāvit, ineunte vēre suscēpit, mediā aestāte cōnfēcit.

35: Pompey’s cruise control (II): ‘I have a fleet – and need for speed’

Cicero continues his account of Pompey’s war against the pirates...[full essay]

Study Questions:

  • Identify the various clauses and constructions that make up the first long sentence (Inde cum ... Ciliciam adiunxit): what are the subjects, what the main verbs? How are they linked? How many ablative absolutes can you spot? How many subordinate clauses can you bracket off?
  • Identify and explain the case of Brundisio.
  • Can you explain how the Romans hit upon the verbal monstrosity undequinquagesimus, -a, -um to express ‘49th’?
  • Parse dediderunt and identify its accusative object.
  • Parse idem.
  • Explain the construction obsides imperavit. What other constructions does the verb impero, imperare govern?
  • Analyse the rhetorical design of Cn. Pompeius extrema hieme apparavit, ineunte vere suscepit, media aestate confecit.
  • What kinds of ablative are extrema hieme, ineunte vere, media aestate?
  • Cicero continues with his geopolitical discourse: can you place all the locations he mentions (including Illyria, Cilicia, and Pamphylia) on a map?

Stylistic Appreciation:

This is the last of several paragraphs that Cicero devotes to Pompey’s campaign against the pirates. What are the rhetorical means by which he generates a sense of closure?

Discussion Point:

Why did the Cretans prefer to surrender to Pompey, who was far away in Pamphylia, rather than to another Roman general in their vicinity?

article Nav
Previous
Next

Suggested Citation

Ingo Gildenhard, Louise Hodgson, et al., Cicero, On Pompey’s Command (De Imperio), 27–49. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-78374-080-2. DCC edition, 2016.https://dcc.dickinson.edu/ar/cicero-de-imperio/35