Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
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All letters (688)
Lest my interruption of correspondence be counted against me as a fault, I prefer to be prompt in my duty rather...
This is a letter where the social gap between us actually shapes what we write.
This is the famous Paralius — whose own father, by accusing him, did him as much good as harm.
Let antiquity, so lavish with praise, fall silent — the age that honored Apelles, Zeuxis, and their like with...
I'm writing from the country, paying you my usual tribute of correspondence.
Ancient custom dictates that those who travel abroad should write home first, but affection overrides protocol and...
I feel utterly unequal to the task of thanking you properly for what you've done for my son Flavianus.
Your letter brightened my day, and your words doubled the pleasure of our household's birthday celebration.
Take this opening salvo of fatherly words with good cheer, and be generous in returning the favor going forward.
The moment a familiar opportunity to write presented itself, I didn't hesitate to put my longing for you on paper.
I'm overjoyed to hear you're well and that you haven't forgotten our friendship amid the hardships of public business.
[To an unnamed friend] I'm renewing my recommendation of Euscius, not starting one from scratch — when you were in...
My duties are not yet finished, and the city's demands are not yet satisfied.
I'm deeply grateful to learn that you don't find my letters tasteless, and I consider it a real gift that my...
...and so I've returned to the Bay of Baiae, since Baiae was quiet by then.
Wanting to know how your family's business is going — that's the mark of a loyal and honorable concern.
Relax — take a break and enjoy your leisure.
It's perfectly reasonable for you to demand frequent letters from me — but it's not reasonable to jump to dark...
The experts in rhetoric say there's no controversy when both sides are guilty of the same thing.
You'll learn from the official senate records exactly what the most distinguished order [the Roman Senate] decreed...
[To a friend] A man traveling to give thanks needs no letter of introduction, so my son Flavianus, relying on the...
Grand requests require a preamble; for easy favors, there's no need for elaborate pleading.
I'm sending you a second letter so that my steady stream of words can be a comfort to us both.
The consular magnificence did full justice to the circus games.
The grain supply from Africa has been interrupted; I write to report the situation and to request the imperial...
The recommendation I make in this letter is made on the basis of genuine knowledge and genuine judgment, not merely...
You certainly imitate the style of Menippean Varro, but you surpass his talent.
It's no use accusing me of silence — I've been scrupulous about keeping up my correspondence, and there's hardly...
Having covered the coast beyond Formiae that stretches toward Axyr, we won't delay the ship and its rowers.
This letter's Latin text is heavily corrupted by OCR artifacts and critical apparatus, making continuous translation...
A welcome opportunity has arisen to send you word of my well-being.
Your silence has been long, and I've endured it patiently in the hope that you'd eventually write.
[The text of this letter is heavily intermixed with critical apparatus notes, making large portions unreliable for...
I received your letter with such pleasure that I confess all my earlier complaints have been forgotten — the charm...
I expect another letter of mine will reach you first, since the carriers of this one are following a slow pack-mule...
The public games require animals from the provinces, and the provincial governors have been less cooperative than...
A legal question has arisen in the administration of the city that requires an imperial rescript to resolve; I set...
People who hope to receive a gift are usually the impatient ones.
I'm in good spirits now that you've remembered your promise and set out.
A matter close to my heart demands your assistance.
Your first letter reached me — so short, so hurried, it seemed to be imitating your journey.
I received your letter with such delight — arriving as it did after a long silence — that I confess I've completely...
I received your letter with such pleasure — coming as it did after a long silence — that I confess I've completely...
This is a long letter whose text is substantially intermixed with critical apparatus and OCR artifacts.
A certain sense of propriety held me back from writing first.
Your letter was delivered to me while I was staying at the seventh milestone on the Via Ostiensis [the road from...
Our trip abroad has been extended by a few extra days, since the rains have postponed the games.
This letter spans several pages and is heavily interspersed with critical apparatus.
For some time now the silent Lucrine waters have been longing for you, and the smooth bay of Baiae, and Puteoli...
We were worried the rain would hold you up.
Both my respect for you and my sense of duty would make any occasion for writing worth seizing — let alone one as...
You expect longer letters from me.
The opportunity of a reliable carrier has given me a chance to pay you my respects by letter.
[To a friend about Anastasius] You know our friend Anastasius well — you've seen him often in your own home.
Your letter was delivered while I was at the seventh milestone along the Via Ostiensis, and I immediately arranged...
A certain convention kept me from being the first to write — old custom requires that travelers initiate the...
I trust that a steady flow of letters from me is enough to comfort your heart.
I'm delighted that your letters sparkle with sharp observations and clever turns of phrase.
It serves the public interest that greater responsibilities have been entrusted to you.
Is this really my luck — that everywhere I turn, there's something that needs rebuilding?
The silence between us has grown long enough that I feel the weight of it, and I write now partly to discharge the...
This letter's text is heavily interspersed with critical apparatus notes.
You want longer letters from me.
This is a lengthy letter substantially corrupted by OCR artifacts and interwoven editorial apparatus.
I've received your letter, and with it the pleasant news that you and your family are well.
I was glad to learn from your letter that everything is going well for you and that your public responsibilities are...
After this greeting, I turn to a matter that demands your attention.
I've wanted to write to you for some time, but the demands of public and private business have kept my pen idle.
Our friend Annius was passing through so quickly that all I could manage was a bare word of greeting.
My spirits lift every time a letter from you arrives.
This letter contains multiple sections interspersed with critical apparatus.
A fragmentary letter header; the text of this letter is largely lost, surviving only as a partial heading in the...
A poet of real quality has appeared among the younger men of the senatorial class; I draw your attention to him...
...so that we may hear good news of your health and your affairs, and pass this short time we plan to spend in...
Your daughter's birthday was approaching, and the gifts you'd sent arrived at just the right moment.
...I'm waiting impatiently for your arrival.
I have learned that several people were strolling around our city's forum after receiving letters from me, and I am...
Your servant delivered two letters from you, and I would be guilty of bad faith if I did not reply in kind.
I count it a personal credit that you've announced your long-desired return.
You know that our silence is an equal offense on both sides, and so the blame is unfairly placed on me alone for...
To a friend (~371 AD):
The frequency of my earlier letters has used up everything worth writing.
The news of your illness alarmed me terribly, even though the same letter reassured me that your health had been...
Conflicting rumors slowed my journey.
Among the good things parents leave behind, friendship too deserves to be inherited -- and perhaps one should pursue...
May this custom endure, and may the mutual assurance of well-being be renewed between us year after year.
Other letters of mine have been chasing you across Spain -- I had assumed you were living there because of the...
You ask me for longer letters.
When I was surveying in writing the civil and military achievements of our lord Theodosius [Emperor Theodosius I, r.
I took Aurelianus — my protege, who now commands the urban cohorts — into my circle of friends at your suggestion.
You will perhaps accuse me of an excessively long silence.
My friend Gaudentius has taken refuge in your protection -- a man who deserves to be loved in every respect.
I know what you think of me.
Since no official courier was available, I entrusted this letter to a private traveler.
...I entered Milan on the day before the Kalends of March [February 28], after a long and winding detour.
I take great pleasure whenever I receive one of your letters.
The news from the Danube frontier has been better in the past month than in the previous year, which is a relief;...
The prefectural records require an imperial confirmation on a question of precedent; I set out the question in the...
So where am I supposed to find an abundant supply of words when you've lent me nothing in the way of literary capital?
I'd nearly resigned myself to writing you a brief, empty letter — there was nothing worth reporting, and when...
I wrote this letter for the modest and devoted Marcellus and Romanus more as a gesture of friendship than with any...
If you haven't yet learned about my son Nicasius's praiseworthy character and honorable way of life, then accept as...
The person who brings you this letter is known to me in the way that one knows people whose family one has done...
I have good grounds for complaint: you were raised to the honor of a pontificate and gave me no sign of our shared joy.
Let your concern for me extend beyond surface courtesy.
I owe it to men of proven worth to recommend them to you, since admission to your circle of friends is a supreme gift.
I foresaw the fear that news of my illness would cause you.
Our friendship had led me to expect your visit.
While you are busy relieving the hardships of the provincials, a heavier blow has fallen on the Apulians.
[Only a fragment survives:] I am often urged by your warm correspondence to write about the literary studies we've...
Here is your son — whom I've pried from my own comfort to satisfy your longing.
You are certainly blessed with natural gifts and intellectual talent, but even you will find it hard to excuse such...
To a friend: Even when I was staying in Milan, I observed the courtesy of greeting you, and now that I have...
To our friend Castor, who is returning to Campania, I've entrusted more verbal instructions about household matters...
This letter survives only in fragmentary form, with the manuscript text too damaged to reconstruct reliably.
I'm glad you missed hearing from me, but I reject any charge of negligence.
If you know my heart at all, you can't doubt that poor health was the only thing keeping me from writing.
My son is out of danger, thank God, but he's suffering from a weakness that borders on illness.
I have no doubt that you care about men of quality -- for your own character must take pleasure in the company of...
Sicily's provincial assembly has sent Ambrosius, one of the leading men of the provincial bar, to our lords and...
Even if I could honor you with letters every single day, I still wouldn't feel I'd done my duty as the situation...
I come to the aid of my conscience, which will not allow me to remain indebted to the services of friends.
You've chosen the easier topic.
You excuse yourself for your long silence.
Resume the path of our long-neglected custom — I lead the way, being the first to break our shared offense of silence.
Your letter was trimmed to Spartan brevity but overflows with substance.
I would gladly have helped Taburus's brother, whom you asked me to assist, and would have done so without...
So I've been keeping silent for nothing, waiting confidently for you to keep your promise.
And if fortune favors, I'll follow the letter in person soon.
Break into the gifts of familiar writing and share with me whatever you've accomplished in administering the city's...
The memory of the former consul Petronius, whose home was in Ariminum [Rimini], requires me to defend his orphaned...
The honorable Severus has enlisted me in fulfilling his dearest wish.
People who lack confidence in themselves seek letters of recommendation from me.
Duty suggested I should write, since the person delivering this letter hopes for more from your judgment than from mine.
I wish I could use you as my envoy to the excellent consul to explain and excuse my absence -- if I knew that you...
You possess such an abundance of eloquence that you earn pardon for your previous silence through the excellence of...
I reap annual harvests of joy from your letters -- this is the return, these are the riches that Spain pays me.
A fragmentary letter surviving only as a partial heading and brief reference in the manuscript.
My brother Entrechius, a man of distinction, sent his children away -- driven by a father's impatient love, with the...
I'd just come back from the coast at Formiae to my house on the Caelian Hill [one of Rome's seven hills] when I...
You've redeemed two offenses against friendship in a single letter, with wit as your payment: you'd been away too...
I would devote a long letter to the merits of our mutual friend Eusebius, if you did not already know more than I...
Our ancestors did well and wisely — as was their way in so many things — when they built the temples of Honor and...
...long days on the road, rough lodgings, the creeping cold, the shrinking daylight, and all the other hazards of...
I practically seized Simplicius, the imperial agent, at the very gate of the Via Flaminia, just to dictate these few...
Your poem reached me and I have read it with the pleasure that work of genuine quality always gives, alongside the...
Our friendship is on everyone's lips, and the fame of your horses has reached distant places.
The Tiburtine villa that recently came into your possession deserves a more talented wordsmith than me.
After your letter was delivered by my coachman and the greeting he brought from the road discharged my obligation,...
I ask that, having been admitted into your clientele, he may be glad both that my patronage has been of use to him...
I'm delighted to mean more to you than most people, since you're the kind of man who looks out for my interests...
I'm overflowing with joy that the new year will see you as consul.
You're certainly well-supplied with counsel and prepared for every situation — a man of your wisdom and cultivation...
I was thoroughly displeased by the solitude of Baiae [a famous resort on the Bay of Naples, now largely abandoned]...
...while others track scent-trails with the keen noses of their hounds.
If I may say so, we no longer lack a supply of chariot horses for the games — but the delay in the praetorship spurs...
No one who carries your letters to me has ever gone back to you empty-handed.
My dear Zenodorus doesn't yet know you in person, but your reputation has already won his admiration.
I debated for some time whether to honor you with a letter while properly waiting for your return.
I readily recommend my friend Eusebius — not as someone new or unknown, but as a man already proven by his loyalty...
After your long silence, I was hoping — no, expecting — a letter of generous length.
If you have a taste for natural history — the kind Pliny labored over — here are some volumes I happened to have on...
Although rumor has already brought you the news — that you have been relieved of your public responsibilities — I...
Go ahead — judge my decisions in hindsight, as you like, and blame me for the prefecture's complaint that it was...
I had believed that nothing could be added to a friendship between us that is already full and long-established.
You're quite comfortable, I see, neglecting to write back — you know this kind of offense will go unpunished.
...I am still waiting in suspense for your judgment on those pieces belonging to our togaed nation.
I had long been waiting for your letters, uncertain in my mind about what so prolonged a silence might mean.
A longer letter would be needed if I were recommending a stranger.
Your eyes are searching for me, I'm sure -- but don't let your heart doubt that I'm present.
Your silence has lasted long enough that I have concluded either that you are extremely busy or that you are...
I'm taking advantage of the openness you've offered me.
Your long-desired letter finally arrived with my servant's belated return, and it brought me very welcome news of...
Your long-expected letter has arrived, and it makes me all the more prompt to return the favor of correspondence.
Even if personal and friendly petition were lacking, the force of public justice could not fail to support so...
Generously, as is your way, you sent an attendant to assist our return journey.
Opportunities to send you greetings must be sought out when they're scarce and seized when they appear -- especially...
You told me to stay at Baiae [the famous resort on the Bay of Naples].
If you had answered my letter, you would have lightened your own conscience.
You ask what I'm up to.
It's just like you — given our mutual devotion and the long history of our friendship — to insist that your own...
...and you care for me, but I worry that you might take up some fight on my behalf while I'm away and draw hostility...
The man who ought to have delivered your letter to me will instead deliver mine to you — for you and I do not share...
You report what I had already perceived through hope and intuition: that the very first meeting opened the door of...
When I departed, you entrusted me with a responsibility befitting our friendship: not to keep silent about matters...
The results will show how much your diligence has accomplished for the public good, once unnecessary expenditures...
I dare invite you to my estate at Lavinium [an ancient town south of Rome] after the delights of Tibur, and I won't...
You always claim you put my interests above your own.
I have no time for the common run of philosophers who fake wisdom with pretentious clothing and a haughty air.
Here's Rusticus, barely freed from his business in Rome.
The report of the distinguished vicar, our colleague, will lay out the shameful nature of the crime that's been...
Word is that you've ordered Ampelius and some other senators from Sardinia, as is claimed, to appear before the...
I'm repeating my request on behalf of my friend Sallustius — whom, as you yourself confirmed, you've already taken...
My brothers Dorotheus and Septimius, praiseworthy men, carried a single letter from you.
I was wondering what could possibly explain the fact that a man so devoted to the courtesies of friendship had...
I've given this letter to the carrier of the official dispatches, paying my respects with a greeting and at the same...
Whatever we were hoping for from Sicily is still uncertain.
Though I'm laid low by a serious fever, I couldn't deny you the courtesy of a letter without seeming to neglect my...
Neither the departure of our distinguished brother Proelianus allowed me to stay silent, nor would my own affection...
Country leisure is certainly a pleasure, but I put your company first.
Although I know that modesty is kin to virtue, I nevertheless wished to find in the letters of your highness an...
SYMMACHUS TO AUSONIUS:
They say snails, when they're thirsty and no dew falls from the sky, survive on their own moisture.
I assumed your return was approaching, since the sacred rites of the Mother of the Gods [the festival of Cybele, the...
I too embrace the old-fashioned form in my letter headings, and I am quite surprised that a copyist's error crept in.
Has it really pleased our common father [the emperor] to keep you detained longer than I would wish?
It's a blemish on justice that my friend Magnillus — who served as vicar [deputy governor] in Africa and earned...
It is common practice for those who need help to turn to proven supporters.
My son Caecilianus, a distinguished man currently managing the grain supply of our common fatherland, has learned...
Our brother Helpidius was called away not only by desire for your company but also by the consul's letter.
The matter of the appointment you mentioned in your last letter is one I have been giving some thought to, and I...
Your brother has been deeply grieved by the loss of his tutor and only recently started listening to those trying to...
As long as the rumors are still circulating and nothing is settled, stay calm and enjoy your leisure.
You're trying to lure me out of Campania's embrace with praises of your Tiburtine estate.
We're planning to retrace our route and finally return to your sight, even though my son is still weak and I've been...
I'm doing exhausting work: I keep writing to someone who keeps not answering.
I've been idle for some time in the retreats of Campania and had no opportunity to write.
I cannot decide what form of reply best suits the occasion.
My son Parthenius's arrival needs no embellishment of recommendation.
The distinguished Dusarius, who rightfully holds a leading position among medical practitioners, has asked me to...
You gave me more than I asked for.
I would have attended to your interests even without a reminder.
...so you should know that these friends were hand-picked by the distinguished consul himself, and that you are the...
I recently sent you news of my good health, and I still haven't received a matching report about yours.
After the customary greeting, I'll pass along the request of Gaetulicus, an agent in rebus [an imperial courier and...
You tempt me with talk of the Campanian coast, but here at our Praenestine estate [near modern Palestrina, in the...
I interrupt your busy schedule with my steady stream of letters — partly because I enjoy this kind of exchange...
The philosopher Horus, a man of exceptional life and learning, has long been dear to me.
I congratulate my friend Ignatius: your affection for him has outstripped even my own diligent care.
I am getting ahead of your voluntary generosity with a formal request, so that what you would freely give may appear...
When I wrote this letter to you, I was confined to my bed by illness -- freed from danger, to be sure, but still...
The strength of my health is beginning to rally — it is only fair that a steady stream of letters should now be...
I'm well. That should always be the opening line of a letter, since it's what the reader most wants to hear.
Our friend Severus has been released from his public troubles and is heading home to enjoy some peace.
My first concern is always to ask how your health stands.
We haven't yet reached the coast at Naples to see the crown jewel of your estate, but everything the Tyrrhenian Sea...
I'm glad you're well. But the idea that the coast at Naples outshines our Formiae -- I suspect that's not really...
The recommendation I make in this letter is made on the basis of genuine knowledge and genuine judgment, not merely...
People are wrong to say Fortune has no judgment.
I know this letter will reach you late — either because of the duties that will keep you busy for a while, or...
I'm doing something that suits both your character and my own inclinations: introducing the finest people to your...
I recommended the son of the distinguished Macedonius to you some time ago, when he first entered your court.
Many people speak well of Sexio's record as former governor of Calabria, and for that reason they've asked me to...
The palatine officials [imperial court staff] accused of wrongdoing, whom Your Excellency ordered brought from...
It is the mark of your character to give commands that are both pious and just.
Once again I'm extending a loan of letters to an honest debtor.
You were joking, I think, when you wrote that you'd been frightened by soldiers on the road -- a transparent excuse...
Fortune often upsets the best-laid plans -- and that's exactly what happened to me.
You've been free of public duties for some time -- you should have returned in person rather than soothing your...
The season at the villa has given me the leisure to reflect on what the office demands and what it gives in return;...
You've made up for your long silence with a double delivery.
It's an old saying that talent is nourished by honor.
Those who obtain their wishes by the gods' kindness feel that honoring the source of their blessings in person is a...
The news from the East has been, to put it gently, unsettling.
I count the joys of your fortune among my own debts, and I take you as my judge of this sentiment — you who have...
I would say more, if justice needed many prayers to assist it.
I should not be a braggart about my devotion to you -- our mutual obligations spring from a genuine sense of duty...
I recently received a letter from Euscius reporting that our charioteers and some stage performers have been put...
We tried to keep the crocodiles -- the ones displayed at the theater show -- alive for your visit.
It's unnecessary work to remind someone who already remembers, but when you've taken on a friend's business, you...
What happened to your promises?
Friendship was invented so that the exchange of favors might serve mutual benefit.
You deserve to hear about things that have recently done me credit, given your devoted interest in my affairs.
Shortly afterward, I had promised to support the son of my friend Trygetius as a candidate for the praetorship...
With the gods' help, we arrived at our destination after a smooth voyage and an easy journey.
On the third day before the Nones of October [October 5], I replied to your letter at first light.
I haven't felt like writing until now — not with the complaints of my various ailments making such a racket, and I...
...simply put, the situation demands that the discomfort of being away from home should make you appreciate what you...
It is superfluous labor to recommend the conspicuous -- like holding a torch before someone standing in sunlight.
This letter survives only in fragmentary form, with the manuscript text too damaged to reconstruct reliably.
I can tell that the devoted attention I pay your household is well known to you -- that's why you share good news...
I was overjoyed to hear that your health has been restored — your well-being is always my highest wish.
Our reasons for not writing are different, but the result is the same.
We'll be setting out for home tomorrow, God willing — which you already knew.
I'd already sent my letter, which I assume has reached you by now.
I am staying in Milan for the moment, summoned for the ceremonies of our lord Valentinian's inaugural consulship.
The obligations of friendship are not burdens but privileges.
You have confirmed my own longstanding judgment about the charm and amenity of the Formian coast [modern Formia,...
The birthday gift you sent -- may our shared happiness keep this tradition alive for many years to come -- lifted my...
I've already used up my writing time with the servant heading back to Campania, but I didn't want your saintly and...
We've arrived, but I already regret coming.
As I reported in my previous letter, my health was struck down on arrival -- whether by bad water or the change of...
I know you both want and expect my letters, since custom dictates that the person setting out should open the exchange.
Good gods, how nothing is safe or certain for us mortals!
You ask — like a good citizen born for the common welfare — what reliable reports say about the current crisis.
A complaint that demands a duty is itself a gracious thing.
I could have borne your silence patiently, knowing your habits, had not the fear of illness made me anxious.
Someone might think it is merely a formality that the consul of the previous year still owes these obligations.
Your servant, having carried out your instructions once we reached our destination, shouldn't leave without a...
You have opened the door to correspondence late.
I delight in the regular frequency of your letters and draw abundant joy from this gift.
I'm perfectly willing to write, but I'd rather save the news for my dear son Sibidius to relay in person at his leisure.
We need to renew our petition for the emperor's visit.
I've been writing frequently these past days, but no amount of letters can satisfy the heart of someone who truly cares.
For my part, I'm secure enough in our friendship to take it in stride if someone who loves me slips up.
We'd planned to linger in the countryside a while longer, but news of the homeland's troubles changed our plans.
In hopes of good health, we have chosen a place near the sea, but the winds are still fighting against us and we...
I had resolved to be away from home for a long while and was enjoying a pleasant period of leisure with our friends...
I have exchanged the leisure of home for a pleasant journey abroad, traveling at the command of our lord Valentinian.
I testify that my servant Firmus has completed his military service with honor.
I don't mind writing to Your Excellency often, even though I've received nothing in return.
The dinner was a success, or at least it achieved what I intended it to achieve: the two men who needed to meet each...
Please welcome Maximus -- an old friend but a brand-new courier [agens in rebus, an imperial messenger], a man going...
Both my devotion to you and my duty to the distinguished Eusebius -- a man who has earned the respect of the best...
The events at Adrianople have changed the texture of Roman public life in ways that are not yet fully visible; I set...
The formal obligations of the season are behind me now, and I find myself with an unusual surplus of unobligated...
So you boast of your leisure and your hunting.
You've given me great comfort in my grief.
I was living at my suburban estate, which lies beside the Appian Way, when your letter was delivered to me by a...
The sight of your family will certainly fill you with joy.
On the eighth day, after struggling through many difficulties on the road, I finally greeted my home.
It is right to support those who desire honorable things, so that worthy intentions may be aided by the backing of...
Since our dear Sibidius returned to Rome and reported how badly my daughter is suffering physically, my own spirits...
The friendships of parents are rightly passed down to their children, so that affection once formed may benefit the...
I believe my letter reached you some time ago, explaining that my friend Iucundus, though eager for your judgment,...
You've always stood out for the brilliance of your life and learning, but now the congratulations of all good men...
I know you're advising me out of genuine love.
I had hoped for the vacant plot of land near Naples that adjoins my property from yours, so that I might build a new...
...since he earnestly requested it, I gladly lent my effort to his desire, knowing that among those who love me,...
You haven't replied to my earlier letters either, but it was my duty to write again rather than waste such a...
Your letters have pushed me to do what I was already longing to do -- to openly seek the friendship I had long been...
You have been silent for a long time, but I must not imitate such an example.
You ask how I am and what I am doing.
I hope for your presence -- for you are not in the habit of abandoning your promises.
The situation is, as you will have gathered from the general news, one that calls for caution rather than boldness.
I feel the affection you think it right to return, but I'm deeply surprised that you suspect my son Flavianus -- who...
...may he carry back your lasting affection and a greeting in return.
Take heart — be patient with the duty that's been imposed on you.
You urge me to cultivate our friendship through frequent correspondence.
I know you value people for their character, not their rank.
The preparation for my consulship keeps me busy with joyful and fortunate obligations.
Outstanding merits require no supporting witness, since virtue, conspicuous in its own light, rejects the aid of...
You are still silent, but my loquacity is not restrained by your example.
I sensed there was something behind your long abstention from letters.
The management of our estates demands constant attention -- a truth that every landowner learns through hard experience.
Our Senate's delegates have returned after handling everything successfully.
Mutual affection makes it natural for me to delegate tasks that serve my interests.
...the family's fortunes have grown, and my lord and son Flavianus is enjoying the fruits of private leisure.
The most august senate has appointed my lord and son Attalus as envoy to our lords and emperors, chosen from among...
Full of hope since you announced your forthcoming visit, I'm putting the spur to those already hurrying, and I ask...
If friendship always demands that we help each other's affairs with mutual services, how much more attentively...
My written recommendation carries little weight if my friend Leontius is not commended by his own blameless life and...
It is an act full of piety that you spontaneously anticipate a brother's wish.
The senatorial obligations are drawing our attention to pressing concerns.
That you collect my letters is a sign of your affection, though I note that you do not seem to be very selective...
I had already sent a letter with my own messenger when Maximus turned up asking for another.
I make a point of writing to you often, so it never seems my care for our friendship has cooled.
Gelasius, whom I wish well, has taken on the management of an imperial household — a post that brought him some...
Just as I cannot remain silent whenever an occasion invites my pen, so too, when there is no subject for a longer...
It is a duty of human decency to furnish recommendations to those who seek them.
Considering how much affection you are kind enough to show me, I expect that my servant Cyriacus will find a warm...
The years have a way of making one's position on certain questions more nuanced than it was in youth, and I want to...
I know it speaks to our friendship that I involve you in my difficulties.
I've grown more confident in my affection for Athanasius, a man of fine qualities, now that I've learned your...
This isn't a new request -- it's one you'll recognize.
I'd recommend Anysius to you — an admirable man — except that he entered my circle of friends on your introduction...
Rufus, the treasurer of the pontifical college, is bringing you the college's formal petition.
My friend Acutianus could have obtained what he's asking for on his own — he's no less familiar to you than to me.
The most distinguished Honoratus has pleased me above all others for his integrity and his way of life.
The protector Valentinianus, who was some time ago entrusted and commended to you through my good offices under your...
Don't judge my care for you by the length of this letter.
You'll never lead me, by your silence, to follow your example.
Your letter has kept me in suspense, and I'm anxious to hear encouraging news.
My friends Magnus and Magnillus have a petition I've agreed to support.
Since the gods have given you the power to be useful to my friends, I'm confident that Romanus — an excellent man...
There's something in my daughter Galla's [the text says "Fusgania" — possibly a copyist error] complaints that I'll...
Your love for Domitius is well known and firmly established, which spares me the labor of commending him.
Both the usual and the unusual contributions are being made by you for the production of our games.
The circumstances of our time test every friendship, and those that survive the test emerge stronger.
We've returned to our home and household gods, only to find a few unpleasant surprises.
I'm in agony from kidney pain.
...your delight prompted a letter written in high spirits.
This letter survives only in fragmentary form, with the manuscript text too damaged to reconstruct reliably.
The grain supply from Africa has been interrupted; I write to report the situation and to request the imperial...
It's human nature that people who stammer end up talking more — they keep going out of embarrassment at their own...
Here's my second letter, and I still haven't received a reply to the first.
Some men delight in profits and gains; I prefer to spend on what fulfills my desires.
Our son Symmachus, having completed his games as a candidate for office, presents to you the customary quaestorian...
Many people have asked me for letters of introduction, but the merits of some and the importunity of others have...
For a long time now, my lord and brother Alypius has wished to visit the sacred court.
Whether this letter will find you still at Milan is anyone's guess.
I'll never hold back when it comes to pleasing you.
This entry contains only a manuscript reference number and no letter text.
You judged rightly and commendably that our brother Tatianus, the spectabilis, should be entrusted with the task.
Although the difficulties of communication have increased with distance, I do not allow them to interrupt the...
I feel as though I am traveling with you whenever your vivid narrative describes your comings and goings.
It is the voice of law and justice that a good-faith contract cannot be rescinded.
I take delight both in the honor with which you have now been elevated and in your continuing affection for me.
A short while ago I sent a letter, but I do not begrudge doubling the greeting that is owed to you.
You are always the bearer of great joys for me, but now what you report has exceeded even my prayers.
I'd been wondering, my dear friend, why you'd let the silence drag on so long.
Our exchange of friendly letters is a sweet competition, and rightly we've both taken care not to be outdone.
This entry contains only a manuscript reference number and no letter text.
The effort I've been putting into writing speeches, you've rewarded with the prize of praise.
When I'm vouching for a friend to someone who already trusts me, I keep things brief.
Late consolation only reopens wounds.
...Fortune has seized my hand; she's dragged me back against my will.
Avitus, bishop, to Faustus and Symmachus, senators of the city of Rome.
A good commander knows to encourage the proven valor of a soldier who has been tested in battle, so that courage,...
[Pope Symmachus (r. 498-514) was a pope whom Ennodius energetically defended during the disputed papal election of...
While the apostolic see is graced by the care of Your Holiness's crown, and the heavenly governance of the Church...
Although the distinguished Laurentius attends to your cause with the devotion it deserves, I add my own voice — not...
A necessary matter of practical importance has prompted this letter.
Petition is never ineffective when it reaches a man of justice and compassion.
My son Boniface the deacon has told me that your Experience had written to say that a monastery built by Labina, a religious lady, is now ready for monks to be settled in it. And indeed I praised your solicitude; but we wish that some other place than that which has been assigned for the purpose should be provided; but with the condition, in vie...