Ad Familiares 13.46
Ad Familiares 13.46
Headnote
Cicero to Appuleius, the companion piece to Fam. 13.45 and probably written shortly after. L. Nostius Zoilus is a freedman who has been left a share in his patron’s estate — Cicero is the coheir, which makes the two of them informal partners in the inheritance. The letter is one of the shortest in the corpus and the formula is unusually warm: commendo tibi sic ut unum ex nostra domo — “I commend him to you as one of my own household.”
L. Nostius Zoilus is my coheir, and at the same time the heir of his own patron. I have written both points so that you may know there is between us a ground of friendship, and may consider him a sound man, since he has been honoured by his patron’s judgement. Him therefore I commend to you as one of my own household. It will be very welcome to me if you take care that he comes to know that this commendation has been a great help to him with you.
L. Nostius Zoilus est coheres meus, heres autem patroni sui. ea re utrumque scripsi, ut et mihi cum illo causam amicitiae scires esse et hominem probum existimares, qui patroni iudicio ornatus esset. Eum tibi igitur sic commendo ut unum ex nostra domo. valde mihi gratum erit, si curaris ut intellegat hanc commendationem sibi apud te magno adiumento fuisse.