Letter 4031: Although we have exchanged many letters on many subjects, the conversation is not exhausted.

Ennodius of PaviaAvitus of Vienne|c. 517 AD|Ennodius of Pavia
friendship

Ennodius to Avitus.

Although we have exchanged many letters on many subjects, the conversation is not exhausted. Between friends of real depth, there is always more to say — and the desire to say it is itself proof of the friendship's vitality.

Write to me again. The subject does not matter. The act of writing does. Farewell.

AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.

Latin / Greek Original

XXXI. ENNODIVS AVITO.

Licet multam nobis per litteras magnitudinis tuae occasionem
gaudii lamenta pepererunt, cum ad hilaritatis obsequium index
funeris sermo militasset, non tamen par lacrimis iucunditas
contigit nec maeroris turbidum ex toto alloquii serena depulerunt.
retinet adflictionem mens de tanti decessione pontificis
etiam post desiderata conloquia, ob hoc quia natura rerum est,
ut quaelibet laetitia uel modici angoris conlatione superetur.
sed quid noua commemoratione facimus quae animum clandestina
hactenus iactatione domuerunt? uotis uestris cum dei
adiutorio comitem me promitto, dummodo salua domni papae
nostri incolumitate talem uos elegisse cognoscam, quem eum,
cui animae cura est, laudare non pudeat. nefas est enim credentem
ad obliqua prouocare et quem affectu obligastis per
incerta deducere. uale.

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