Quintus Aurelius Symmachus & Virius Nicomachus Flavianus

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...

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.

Having covered the coast beyond Formiae that stretches toward Axyr, we won't delay the ship and its rowers.

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.

Both my respect for you and my sense of duty would make any occasion for writing worth seizing — let alone one as...

The silence between us has grown long enough that I feel the weight of it, and I write now partly to discharge the...

...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...

I took Aurelianus — my protege, who now commands the urban cohorts — into my circle of friends at your suggestion.

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...

Here is your son — whom I've pried from my own comfort to satisfy your longing.

I come to the aid of my conscience, which will not allow me to remain indebted to the services of friends.

The memory of the former consul Petronius, whose home was in Ariminum [Rimini], requires me to defend his orphaned...

Duty suggested I should write, since the person delivering this letter hopes for more from your judgment than from mine.

I practically seized Simplicius, the imperial agent, at the very gate of the Via Flaminia, just to dictate these few...

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]...

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...

The man who ought to have delivered your letter to me will instead deliver mine to you — for you and I do not share...

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 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?

I cannot decide what form of reply best suits the occasion.

My son Parthenius's arrival needs no embellishment of recommendation.

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...

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...

Those who obtain their wishes by the gods' kindness feel that honoring the source of their blessings in person is a...

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...

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.

A complaint that demands a duty is itself a gracious thing.

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 was living at my suburban estate, which lies beside the Appian Way, when your letter was delivered to me by a...

I had hoped for the vacant plot of land near Naples that adjoins my property from yours, so that I might build a new...

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...

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...

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 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...

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.

Some men delight in profits and gains; I prefer to spend on what fulfills my desires.

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.

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.