Letter 3013: The solicitude I feel for you, which grows daily through the bond of kinship that links my affection to yours, would...
Ennodius of Pavia→Apollinaris (son of Sidonius)|c. 503 AD|Ennodius of Pavia
friendshiptravel mobility
From: Ennodius, deacon and literary figure in Pavia
To: Apollinaris
Date: ~503 AD
Context: A letter expressing anxiety about finding reliable carriers for correspondence — in a world without postal service, every letter was a gamble entrusted to a traveler.
Ennodius to Apollinaris.
The solicitude I feel for you, which grows daily through the bond of kinship that links my affection to yours, would have left me no peace had I not turned to that one remedy for the absent which divine providence has found in letters. But what am I to do when the confusion of travelers is so great that you cannot tell which one is most deserving of trust — to whom a letter bearing the weight of a friend's conscience can safely be entrusted?
I chose to risk imperfection rather than accept silence. The letter you hold may have passed through uncertain hands, but the sentiments it carries are as reliable as I am.
Know that I think of you constantly and that no distance has weakened the bond between us. Farewell.
XIII. ENNODIVS APOLLINARI.
Quantam cura mea, quae affectui uestro per necessitudinem
militat in dies suggerit, nulla commeantium essem damna
commentus, nisi ad illud unicum solamen absentium, quod in
XU. 2 ennodius om. T stefano L 4 Buperna gratia L
Pb largiBsime actibus celestium B 5 percurret B transeant
V1 aurientis BP, aurientis L 8 sicientis LV
9 limpfa B 10 estuante B, eetuanti T gignet B 11 quantam
b, quantum BLPTV affe r ̃ | L sacietatem LTV
12 anmenta L post ras . 14 cognata T 16 mi] mihi BL V
17 presta B 18 pliylosophyam LV, lilosophiam B uita tantum
LPTVb
XIII. 20 Epistulas 13-18 primus edidit Sirm . 21 apollenari
BLV 22 nostro T 23 suggesserit L1, suggere B essent
Sirm., ee T, essem uel esse in B 24 commentus scripsi, contentus
d u
BL V, contemptus T alud L unicum illud Sirm .
litteris inuenit prouidentia superna, concurrerem. sed quid
faciam, quando tanta est uenientum confusio, ut nescias qui
potissimum deligendus sit, cui reddenda sanctae conscientiae
uestrae possint scripta committi? trahunt enim in occasionem
conpendii sui uiliores quicquid nos praestamus affectui, et graue
est ut seruiat cupiditati quod exigit uis amoris. idcirco animum
usque ad domestici perlatoris opportunitatem \'b scriptione
suspendi, ne diligentiae ratio sparsa pot inmeritos perlatores
aliena inportunitate ranciscat et ad me culpa redeat quae a
me non sumpsit exordium. necessitatem ergo procurati silentii
breuiter explicans ad usum me paginalem conuerto, per quod
magnitudinis uestrae mihi praesentiam secretis animorum itineribus
expectata per paginas uerba concedunt. uale ergo, mi
domine, et illa quam debes generi serenitate frequentibus
amantem foue conloquiis, quia nullum est tam uenerabile munus
sollicito, quam si saepe uos agnoscam uestram nuntiare,
meam quaerere sospitatem.
◆
From:Ennodius, deacon and literary figure in Pavia
To:Apollinaris
Date:~503 AD
Context:A letter expressing anxiety about finding reliable carriers for correspondence — in a world without postal service, every letter was a gamble entrusted to a traveler.
Ennodius to Apollinaris.
The solicitude I feel for you, which grows daily through the bond of kinship that links my affection to yours, would have left me no peace had I not turned to that one remedy for the absent which divine providence has found in letters. But what am I to do when the confusion of travelers is so great that you cannot tell which one is most deserving of trust — to whom a letter bearing the weight of a friend's conscience can safely be entrusted?
I chose to risk imperfection rather than accept silence. The letter you hold may have passed through uncertain hands, but the sentiments it carries are as reliable as I am.
Know that I think of you constantly and that no distance has weakened the bond between us. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.