Prayer to Jupiter

Cicero is speaking before the college of pontiffs: while he was in exile Clodius demolished his house and consecrated the site to the goddess Liberty, and now the consecration must be shown to be invalid. A speech about sacred law ends by addressing the gods whose law was at issue.

What is given here is one clause of a long period: Cicero names in succession Jupiter of the Capitol, Juno Regina, Minerva, the Penates and Vesta, and the governing precor atque quaeso comes later and applies to them all.

The value of the line is that it explains a cult title. Optimus Maximus — Best and Greatest — was normally just pronounced; Cicero takes it apart: "Best on account of benefits, Greatest on account of power". It is one of the very few ancient explanations of the most familiar Roman divine name, and it comes not from a theologian but from an advocate who needed to remind the court why the god is called that.

The word order is not accidental either: benefits come before power. In his own case, a benefit is precisely what Cicero is asking for.