May or June 43 BCE: To Brutus (?) (at Dyrrachium) from Cicero (at Rome)
Vote for Lamia 👍
From Cicero to Brutus, greetings.1
I enjoy my friendship with Lucius Lamia more than anyone else. His great services to me—I won’t call them duties—and to the Roman people are well known. He fulfilled his duties and put on sumptuous games as aedile,2 and is now seeking election to the praetorship. Everyone understands that he lacks neither dignity nor influence; but it seems like the canvassing is so aggressive that I am quite frightened about the whole thing, and think I must support Lamia’s campaign.
I have no difficulty in seeing how much you can assist me in this situation, nor do I have any doubt how much you are willing to do for my sake. So please, Brutus, believe me when I say that there is nothing I ask of you with more enthusiasm, there is nothing you could do that would make me more grateful than this—if you put all your resources and devotion into helping Lamia with his campaign. I am sincere in my request that you do this.
Latin text of ad Familiares 11.17 | Glossary | Historia Civilis video overview of 44-43 BCE
Footnote borrowed from Shackleton Bailey: ‘This letter to M. Brutus seems to have found its way into the correspondence with Decimus by mistake. T.-P. offer three explanations to sustain the praenomen D in the heading. (a) 'It is quite possible that Cicero may have written two letters and given them to different letter-carriers, in order to make sure of one at least reaching its destination.' The preposterous notion that letters eodem exemplo had different texts here makes its final bow. (b) 'Or again, he may have heard that Lupus was in Rome, and on hearing it may have written Ep. 888 [i.e. 434 (XI.16)] to urge Decimus to recommend Lamia to Lupus, as the latter would be able to secure the votes of the equites in his favour.' Comment is superfluous. (c) ‘Or lastly, it is not impossible that Cicero wrote two drafts of the letter and only dispatched one.’ Not impossible, but highly improbably. In all likelihood, as suggested by B. F. Schmieder (Historisch-philol. Bemerkungen zu Ciceros Briefen (1799), 60), the letter was written to M. Brutus. Cicero’s letters to him are all headed CICERO BRUTO S(AL).’
In 45 BCE.