Letter 4002: The venerable priest Amantius, by requesting that I send a letter to you, has made my act of devotion a matter of...
Ennodius of Pavia→Alico|c. 494 AD|Ennodius of Pavia
education booksfriendship
Ennodius to Alico.
The venerable priest Amantius, by requesting that I send a letter to you, has made my act of devotion a matter of his own command. A fortunate compulsion, this — one that serves my own desires. A noble order from a superior that is itself in service to affection. The one who compels me actually owes me something, since he has served my own wishes. The letter is doubly blessed: it bears witness to love twice over — drawing a new person into the bonds of friendship while also obligating the heart of an older friend. By faithfully singing your praises, Amantius caused me to choose you before I knew you. Rarely does affection precede acquaintance — to whom is it given to please before being seen?
Consider the weight the bearer carries in my estimation: my own judgment bends to his word. I have seen the man he has come to know; the man he praises, I embrace. A mind firmly established often yields to a friend's assessment. We rightly look up to those whom a proven man exalts.
Now, if the meagerness of my talent could do justice to the abundance of favor — if the poverty of my arid speech did not falter at the fountain of this bond — if the nature of a letter, which places reins on even the most copious eloquence, allowed me to go on at greater length — I would explain how much your nobility owes me for having been the first to initiate this exchange of letters, for having opened the door of friendship with the key of my words.
But I beg you: let the bearer be loved in return for what he has given. I commend to you the affairs of the Church, since what is invested in my hope grows into merit for you. My lord, offering you the fullest tribute of my greetings, I ask that if it pleases you to accept this offering from the libation of my affection, you may open the shrine of your friendly conscience with a reply. Farewell.
II. ENNODIVS ALICONI.
Venerabilis Amantius presbyter dum ad uos paginas exigit,
rem deuotionis meae sui esse fecit imperii. felix necessitas,
I. 2 simacho T, simmacho B pape T 5 robor BL V
preconio B 6 tyronis LPV 8 qua] qui L peliandom L,
preliandum B 9 debet L 12 co*mendet B, comendet T
13 marcellinum Pb 14 quod Lx 15 quidquid BL egrum
B 17 Bpnali T 18 uale om. B
n. 21 dirigit b 22 felez L1
VI.
7
quae uotis praestat obsequium: libera praeeminentis iussio, quae
seruit affectui. debet mihi coactor quod meae praestiti uoluntati:
prospera est scriptio, quae testimonium tribuit bis amori,
dum et nouum in ius diligentiae adtrahit et amici senioris
pectus obligat: qui dum magnitudinis tuae fidelis praeco est,
prius uos per adstipulationem suam fecit eligi quam cognosci.
raro notitiam praecessit affectio: cui contigit ante placere quam
inspici? quantum apud me pondus est perlatoris aduertite, ad
cuius nutum iudicia nostra flectuntur: uidimus quem didicit:
quem laudat amplectimur. saepe in solido constituta mens
propria amico cedit examini. merito ergo suspicimus quos probatus
extollit. nunc si ubertatem gratiae ingenii macies explicaret,
si ad fontem foederis aridi sermonis non lassaretur
infantia, si epistularis qualitas, quae etiam copiosis eloquentia
frenos inponit, progredi me ad longiora permitteret: adsererem
quantum nobilitas tua mihi debeat, quod ad epistulare commercium
primus accessi, quod ianuam diligentiae reseraui
claue sermonis. baiulus tamen deprecor ut pro his quae tribuit
redametur. ecclesiae causas insinuo, quia quod spei meae
inpenditur uobis crescit ad meritum. domine mi, effusissimae
munus salutationis inpendens quaeso, ut, si uobis cordi est
oblationem meam de libamine caritatis accipere, religionem
amicae conscientiae reseretis alloquio. uale.\'
1 praeeminentiB Sirm., praeminentis BLPTVb 2 coictoc L1 (ic
in a corr. m. 2, c 8. 1. scr. m. rec.) meae] mae B, me L petitn
1
L, prestiti B uoluntate L1 4 amci B 5 tuae B a. I .
fideles V1 preco B, praeco est (o est M ras.) V 6 agnosci
Pb .7 preceaBit B anta placare L1 8 aduerte T 11 suscipmns
T probitas b 14 infancia B que etiam qualitas
V o
T copiosis B (stc) 15 frenua B ? inpofiti T corr. m. 3
16 quanttL B, quanta LPTVb mihi debeat Bb, om. LPTV
17 adcessi B quod] et b 18 baiolus B deprecor B, precor
LPTVb 19 reclametur L 20 mi] mihi BL V effnsissime
L 21 salutationis munus b, munus munus salutationis
B 22 relegionem B 28 me amice T uale om. Pb
◆
Ennodius to Alico.
The venerable priest Amantius, by requesting that I send a letter to you, has made my act of devotion a matter of his own command. A fortunate compulsion, this — one that serves my own desires. A noble order from a superior that is itself in service to affection. The one who compels me actually owes me something, since he has served my own wishes. The letter is doubly blessed: it bears witness to love twice over — drawing a new person into the bonds of friendship while also obligating the heart of an older friend. By faithfully singing your praises, Amantius caused me to choose you before I knew you. Rarely does affection precede acquaintance — to whom is it given to please before being seen?
Consider the weight the bearer carries in my estimation: my own judgment bends to his word. I have seen the man he has come to know; the man he praises, I embrace. A mind firmly established often yields to a friend's assessment. We rightly look up to those whom a proven man exalts.
Now, if the meagerness of my talent could do justice to the abundance of favor — if the poverty of my arid speech did not falter at the fountain of this bond — if the nature of a letter, which places reins on even the most copious eloquence, allowed me to go on at greater length — I would explain how much your nobility owes me for having been the first to initiate this exchange of letters, for having opened the door of friendship with the key of my words.
But I beg you: let the bearer be loved in return for what he has given. I commend to you the affairs of the Church, since what is invested in my hope grows into merit for you. My lord, offering you the fullest tribute of my greetings, I ask that if it pleases you to accept this offering from the libation of my affection, you may open the shrine of your friendly conscience with a reply. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.