Letter 30
|c. 517 AD|ennodius pavia
From: Ennodius, deacon in Pavia
To: Avienus
Date: ~518 AD
Context: A letter marveling at the splendor of Avienus's reputation.
Ennodius to Avienus.
I marvel at the splendor of Your Greatness's fame — a fame that grows not through self-promotion but through the quiet accumulation of good works and faithful service. Such reputations are rare, and they are the only kind worth having.
I write to acknowledge what the world already knows, and to add my voice to the chorus of those who admire you. Farewell.
XXX. ENNODIVS AVIENO.
Miror fanis magnitudinis tuae iniucunda copulari et serenitatem
conscientiae uerborum austeritate maculatam, dum scribis
imperare me potius paginas quam diligentia exactrice promereri.
putas ullum genus dominandi esse sublimius quam illud quod
amore nos subicit? nulla sunt, domne Auiene, culmina a iugo
caritatis inmunia: quicquid in orbe libertatis est tali non subtrahitur
seruituti. ecce ego loco humilis, ignotus honoribus
uestris fascibus sic iubebo, parili contentus ordine subiacere.
nunc uale, et quantum tribui tibi senseris, tantum mihi sicut
fidelis restitutor affectionis inpende.
◆
From: Ennodius, deacon in Pavia
To: Avienus
Date: ~518 AD
Context: A letter marveling at the splendor of Avienus's reputation.
Ennodius to Avienus.
I marvel at the splendor of Your Greatness's fame — a fame that grows not through self-promotion but through the quiet accumulation of good works and faithful service. Such reputations are rare, and they are the only kind worth having.
I write to acknowledge what the world already knows, and to add my voice to the chorus of those who admire you. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.