Est haec dīvīna atque incrēdibilis virtūs imperātōris. Quid cēterae, quās paulō ante commemorāre coeperam, quantae atque quam multae sunt! Nōn enim bellandī virtūs sōlum in summō ac perfectō imperātōre quaerenda est, sed multae sunt artēs eximiae huius administrae comitēsque virtūtis. Ac prīmum quantā innocentiā dēbent esse imperātōrēs, quantā deinde in omnibus rēbus temperantiā, quantā fidē, quantā facilitāte, quantō ingeniō, quantā hūmānitāte! Quae breviter quālia sint in Cn. Pompēiō cōnsīderēmus. Summa enim omnia sunt, Quirītēs, sed ea magis ex aliōrum contentiōne quam ipsa per sēsē cognōscī atque intellegī possunt.

36: ‘Thou art more lovely and more temperate’: Pompey’s soft sides

Cicero now moves on from hailing Pompey’s martial prowess and his stunning success as a general to a consideration of his other qualities...[full essay]

Study Questions:

  • What noun has to be supplied with ceterae?
  • Identify and explain the case of paulo.
  • In the sentence multae sunt artes eximiae huius administrae comitesque virtutis, which words are in the nominative plural, which in the genitive singular?
  • What kind of ablative are innocentia, temperantia, fide, facilitate, ingenio and humanitate?
  • What effect does the repetition of quanta generate?
  • Why is the verb of the qualia-clause (sint) in the subjunctive?
  • Identify and explain the mood of consideremus.
  • Parse cognosci and intellegi.

Stylistic Appreciation:

Cicero has reached a pivotal moment in his argument: after discussion of Pompey’s prowess as military leader, he now focuses on his personal qualities more broadly. Discuss the stylistic devices he uses to emphasize their importance.

Discussion Point:

Can you find contemporary parallels for Cicero’s claim that good military leaders ought to possess ‘soft qualities’ of the kind he discusses here, to complement strategic or martial excellence?

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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/tr/cicero-de-imperio/36