Letter 4030: After the first hope you raised, I waited — and the waiting was the hardest part.

From: Ennodius, deacon in Pavia To: Eugenetes, vir illustris Date: ~518 AD Context: A letter reacting to a first hope that had been raised and possibly disappointed. To Eugenetes, the Illustrious, from Ennodius. After the first hope you raised, I waited — and the waiting was the hardest part. Now that the outcome is clear, I write to process what has happened and to assure you that the bond between us survives the result, whatever it may be. Hope is never wasted, even when the thing hoped for does not arrive. Farewell.

XXX. EVGENETI V. I. ENNODIVS. Postquam prima spei meae effectum dedere conloquia, ad usum sermonis ora diu feriata laxaui: animatur enim successibus etiam cui per conscientiam non subpetit Latiaris eruditio. cessantibus studiis saepe facundum gaudia reddiderunt: XXVIII. 1 peregrinatums ducerem T 4 continnatio L 6 domine om. B, domini B (8. I. m. rec. F) b mi T, mihi BLPV, nostri B (s . 2. m. rec. ?) b 8 imperandum L 9 congrua ̃ t B perducatur] flnit add. B , XXVIIII. 12 sequatium LT inauspica T 13 de deo ex debeo B bona L1 ingerit s. dispensatio om. T 14 praesumet B 16 aquiligensi B, aquiliensi T 17 numerum L 19 diliget B XXX. 21 eugeniti t ι̃ c. B 22 dederet Tl 24 latiares B, lanaris T 25 cessantibus ergo Pb facundus B, facondum Tl meroris BLTV maeroris nubila si hilaritas depellit, mox rutilantia per sudum uerba discurrunt. itaque aut perfectos nos laetitia monstrat aut infantes facit aduersitas. haec, mi domine, nobis etiam adstipulantibus confirmantur. ergo tempus prosperitatis amplexus reddo debendae salutationis affectum, sperans ut circa me nobilis promissio, quae a plenitudine gratiae sumpsit exordium, quasi incrementis egena geminetur. uale.