Ennodius to Bishop Senator.
The first and finest thing — beyond any doubt fitting for a man of holy vocation — is to do spontaneously for the sake of justice what others do only when prompted. The next best thing, and closely related to integrity, is not to resent honest advice when it is given. And though the man who must be reminded does not hold the first place in virtue, he still has God's favor if he does not resist the promptings of truth.
I say all this by way of preface so that I am not seen to be delaying my own interests with a long preamble. Some time ago I petitioned you personally, asking that one slave — the only one remaining to me — be returned from the household workers who had been enticed away from my estate by your people. You gave my petition a solemn promise in reply: that even if the boy were legally yours, you would put gracious generosity ahead of legal advantage.
When I returned from Ravenna, I found — and it grieves me to say this — that for my sins, the bishop's decree had not been carried out. I attribute it to my own failings that a man whose mouth condemns falsehood has violated his own pledge. Here I am again, appealing to your conscience; here I am, doing what a son ought to do. Through the distinguished and magnificent lord Victor, I am prepared to surrender whatever the authority of secular law might have granted me. Judge for yourself whether I am at fault — I who chose as my representative a man suited to the moral standards of bishops, one who could soften even the most unyielding hearts that resist what is fair.
I have already endorsed the outcome of this affair by approving the character of my envoy. Consider whether it befits your office, whether it is worthy of a bishop, to dismiss a man who could command even the rocks. Two things argue in my favor: the justice of my case and the character of my advocate. Whatever stands against these will swiftly earn the condemnation of every good person.
I. SENATORI EPISCOPO ENNODIVS.
Prima res est sancto conueniens sine dubitatione proposito
sponte pro iustitia facere quicquid alii solent monitis exhibere,
sed honestati proxima uel secunda rectis suggestionibus non
grauari. in qua parte et si principem locum non possidet qui
monetur, habet tamen dei gratiam, quod ueritatis insinuationibus
non repugnat. causam ergo praefationis insinuo, ne et
ego utilitatem meam differre uidear prolixitate sermonum. dudum
per me suppliciter postulaui, ut de mancipiis, quae de
casa mea a uestris sollicitata constabat, unum mihi quod remanserat
redderetur. dedistis precibus meis sancta promissione
responsum, ut etiamsi uobis puer ipse iure conpeteret, uos
tamen gratiam commodis anteferre. regresso me de Rauenna,
quod dictu nefas est, pro peccatis meis effectum sacerdotalis
definitio habere non potuit. adscribo meritis meis, quod cuius
ore damnatur mendacium statuta uiolauit. ecce iterum me ad
conscientiam uestram refero, ecce quod filium decet exhibeo,
ut per sublimem et magnificum uirum domnum Victorem ad
humilitatem conferam quicquid mihi poterat legum saecularium
auctoritate praestari. uidete si reus sum, qui elegi uirum
antistitum moribus congruentem, qui uel contra aequitatem
repugnantium indomita posset corda mollire. effectum mihi
I. 2 Ennodiui om. T 4 quidquid B aliia. T 5 hone*
state T suggestibus T1 6 posse4it B 7 *quod L
9 prolexitate B 10 pro me fort . suppleciter poatolaui B
11 unum ex ufi T m. a 13 ut idem ualet ac scilicet, cf. Wiener
StwHen II p. 249 14 antefarit T1 ut uidetur 16 diffiuitio
PTb 17 damnantur L 18 filium] fidelium B 19 uirum om .
1
B 20 secularium B, saecularum L 22 equitatem B, equitatum T1
negotii iam promisi, qui legati meritum conprobaui prouidete,
si religionem deceat, si a pontifice dignum sit illum, qui potest
cautibus inperare, contemni. duo sunt quae mecum faciunt,
negotii sinceritas et genius subplicantis: quicquid contra hoc
obstiterit, bonorum sententiam mox meretur.
◆
Ennodius to Bishop Senator.
The first and finest thing — beyond any doubt fitting for a man of holy vocation — is to do spontaneously for the sake of justice what others do only when prompted. The next best thing, and closely related to integrity, is not to resent honest advice when it is given. And though the man who must be reminded does not hold the first place in virtue, he still has God's favor if he does not resist the promptings of truth.
I say all this by way of preface so that I am not seen to be delaying my own interests with a long preamble. Some time ago I petitioned you personally, asking that one slave — the only one remaining to me — be returned from the household workers who had been enticed away from my estate by your people. You gave my petition a solemn promise in reply: that even if the boy were legally yours, you would put gracious generosity ahead of legal advantage.
When I returned from Ravenna, I found — and it grieves me to say this — that for my sins, the bishop's decree had not been carried out. I attribute it to my own failings that a man whose mouth condemns falsehood has violated his own pledge. Here I am again, appealing to your conscience; here I am, doing what a son ought to do. Through the distinguished and magnificent lord Victor, I am prepared to surrender whatever the authority of secular law might have granted me. Judge for yourself whether I am at fault — I who chose as my representative a man suited to the moral standards of bishops, one who could soften even the most unyielding hearts that resist what is fair.
I have already endorsed the outcome of this affair by approving the character of my envoy. Consider whether it befits your office, whether it is worthy of a bishop, to dismiss a man who could command even the rocks. Two things argue in my favor: the justice of my case and the character of my advocate. Whatever stands against these will swiftly earn the condemnation of every good person.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.