Sallust, "Letter of Mithridates"

[hlawson38]

Very last paragraph. Sallust represents Mithridates writing another king to persuade him to join in an alliance against the Romans.

Teque illa fama sequetur, auxilio profectum magnis regibus latrones gentium oppressissse.

And that report will accompany you, by aid to great kings you crushed the plunderers of the nations.

I can't make out "profectum".

[whsiv]

Salve,

It's looking to me like the past participle of proficisci. If this is the case, I would tend toward understanding auxilio in its military sense of "auxiliary troops" (admittedly this use is more frequent in the plural, but it does show up in the singular - and I don't think Sallust would hesitate at all to use a slightly more rare word).

"...having set out with auxiliary forces..."

Caesar has a similar construction (though he uses the plural): Caesar confisus famā rerum gestarum, infirmis auxiliis proficisci non dubitaverat, Caes. B. C. 3, 106

[adrianus]

Ut opinor,
"And this reputation will attend you: by the aid given to great kings [auxilio quod profectum est], to have put down those who prey on other nations."

[hlawson38]

Thanks to whsiv and adrianus for the replies. Both were helpful, in that I just couldn't find any function for "profectum" in the quotation. I had considered it as a perfect participle of "profiscor", but could cast no satisfactory meaning for it, but I didn't think of "perfectum" in adrianus's sense at all.

Adrianus, is it correct that you read "perfectum" as the perfect participle of "proficio"?

[Qimmik]

profectum agrees with te. From proficiscor. "And the fame will follow you that you, having set out as a help to great kings, crushed the plunderers of the nations."

Less literally:

"And you will become famous for having set out to help great kings and thereby having crushed the plunderers of the nations."

Here's a similar use of profectus with subsidio in the dative and the persons helped in the dative from Cornelius Nepos:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Nep. Iph. 2.5&lang=original

[Qimmik]

Auxilio is dative of purpose (Allen & Greenough sec. 382). They cite Caesar, Bellum Gallicum, i. 52: tertiam aciem nostris subsidio misit., 'he sent the third line as a relief to our men.'

And you will become famous for having gone to the aid of great kings [more literally, set out as an aid to great kings] and thereby crushed the plunderers of nations.

[adrianus]

Adrianus, is it correct that you read "perfectum" as the perfect participle of "proficio"?

Est // yes