Tu ipse

[massimo.p]

Cicero says the following to Q. Caecilius suggesting that he evaluate his own ability to defend Verres:

de te...tu ipse quemadmodum existimes...

How you (yourself) judge yourself?

Here are two "expert" translations, which I do not quite understand:

1) "But as for you...I earnestly advise us to examine your own mind."

2) "Consider your own thoughts about yourself."

I simply cannot see how they add to this indirect question the word, "mind" or the phrase "your own thoughts?" And "advise us (#1)?" Where is that coming from?

If anyone could help, I would be eternally grateful.

 

[AoM]

Wouldn’t put too much into translations, especially older ones, since they’re inevitably going to adapt the wording.

But existimes is just going with de te (L&S even cites it as an example).

 

[Pacifica]

Isn't the first translation supposed to say "advise you" rather than "advise us"?

The second translation, although not literal, gets the message of the original across. "How you yourself think about yourself" (literal translation) and "your own thoughts about yourself" (less literal) convey the same idea, but the less literal version flows better in English.

In the first translation "but as for you" renders the emphasis that's conveyed in Latin by the word order (by the position of de te at the beginning of the sentence).

 

[massimo.p]

Thank you both! As for the phrase, "advise us," it could have been a typo, but that is how it appeared in the translation.

Thanks again!