Hīc mīrāmur hunc hominem tantum excellere cēterīs, cuius legiōnēs sīc in Asiam pervēnerint, ut nōn modo manus tantī exercitūs, sed nē vēstīgium quidem cuiquam pācātō nocuisse dīcātur? Iam vērō quem ad modum mīlitēs hībernent, cotīdiē sermōnēs ac litterae perferuntur; nōn modo ut sumptum faciat in mīlitem, nēminī vīs adfertur, sed nē cupientī quidem cuiquam permittitur. Hiemis enim, nōn avāritiae perfugium māiōrēs nostrī in sociōrum atque amīcōrum tēctīs esse voluērunt.

39: Pompey the peaceful, or: imperialism with gloves

In this section, Cicero moves on from describing the faults of other commanders to building up a picture of the excellent conduct of Pompey when he brought his army into Asia...[full essay]

Study Questions:

  • What is hic? (Hint: it’s not the demonstrative pronoun.)
  • What case, number and gender is cuius? To whom does it refer?
  • Identify and explain the mood of pervenerint.
  • What declension (and what gender) are manus and exercitus? What case is manus in, what case exercitus?
  • What type of clause does ut introduce?
  • What construction does dicatur govern?
  • What kind of clause is quem ad modum milites hibernent?
  • Both hiemis and avaritiae are genitives dependent on refugium: but what type of genitive is hiemis, what type avaritiae?
  • How many indirect statements can you find in this section? Can you identify the verbs introducing them, and find their subject accusatives?

Stylistic Appreciation:

What are the rhetorical devices Cicero uses to emphasise the good behaviour of Pompey’s forces in Asia?

Discussion Point:

Cicero ends this section by invoking the normative force of the ancestors. Are ‘older generations’ by definition ethically superior – in ancient Rome and elsewhere in history?

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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/ja/cicero-de-imperio/39