Mea potestas

Latin Construction

mea potestas. fem.

1. ‘My power.’

Constructions

Preposition constructions

• in mea potestate — Cic. [αʹ], [βʹ], [γʹ]
• in meam potestatem — Cic. [δʹ], [στʹ]

Loci

• αʹ prep. Brutus, ap. Cicero, Ad Familiares 1.4:

Illud [arbitrium] quidem non muto, quod ei quem me occidere res non coegit neque crudeliter quicquam eripui neque dissolute quicquam remisi, habuique in mea potestate quoad bellum fuit.

I will not in fact change my mind on this, because I neither confiscated anything out of cruelty from this man—whom circumstances did not compel me to kill—nor out of weakness did I restore anything to him; I maintained control over him throughout the war.

• βʹ prep. Pollio, ap. Cicero, Ad Familiares 10.32:

Et provinciam in otio et exercitum in mea potestate tenui

I kept the province in peace and the army under my control.

• γʹ prep. Cicero, Ad Familiares 15.16:

Doceas tu me oportebit, cum salvus veneris, in meane potestate sit spectrum tuum, ut simul ac mihi collibitum sit de te cogitare, illud accurrat

Once you've gotten here safe, you ought to explain to me whether your apparition should be under my control; as it rushes to me whenever I feel like thinking about you.

• δʹ prep. Caesar, ap. Cicero, Ad Atticum 9.7c:

iam duo praefecti fabrum Pompei in meam potestatem venerunt et a me missi sunt.

At this point two of Pompey's prefects of engineers have come into my power, and I have let them go.

• εʹ Cicero, Ad Atticum 4.2:

sed volui meam potestatem esse vel petendi vel ineunte aestate exeundi

But I wanted control over whether I ran for office, or left at the beginning of summer.

• στʹ prep. Cicero, Ad Familiares 15.4:

septimo quinquagesimo die rem confeci, ut omnibus partibus urbis disturbatis aut incensis compulsi in potestatem meam pervenirent

I brought the thing to an end on the fifty-seventh day; after all parts of the city had been demolished or burned down, they were forced to come under my control.