Letter 5004: The fulfillment I have long sought in my desires has come at last.
Ennodius of Pavia→Helisea|c. 495 AD|Ennodius of Pavia
property economicsslavery captivity
Ennodius to Helisea.
The fulfillment I have long sought in my desires has come at last. To give blessings their proper flavor, what is awaited at length is all the more treasured when it arrives. The bonds of family survive wherever on earth we may be. The chain of blood is not broken by the separation of bodies. Affection, divided across distant regions, feels no loss — since among those who are physically apart, love holds the place of presence.
I give thanks to Almighty God, who has made you mindful of family loyalty and reminded you of your lineage through a pious occasion. God is my witness: ever since my lady Cynegia described to me the excellence of your way of life, I have sought the sight of you with a special ardor — if only a longed-for opportunity had given my wishes their fulfillment.
My lady, in offering you the tribute of my greeting, I pledge the service of my devotion in the matter you outlined in your letter — since whatever is given to the soul profits as much as whatever is offered to holy pursuits. I tell you truly: I never loved the man you detest, and I feared that your own consent might be bent toward the advancement of that dreadful person. May God prevent a man shaped by no anvil of good formation from attaining ecclesiastical office.
IIII. ENNODIVS HELISEAE.
Diu quaesitus desideriis meis euenit effectus: ut detur genius
beneficiis, transmissa in longum expectatione tribuuntur. uiuit
in quacumque terrarum parte proximitas: sequestratione corporum
sanguinis catena non rumpitur: per discreta regionum
caritas damna non sentit, quando inter eos qui habitatione
separantur praesentiae uice tenetur affectio. deo omnipotenti
gratias refero, quia uos memores fecit esse pietatis et prosapiae
sub religiosa occasione reminisci. teste deo postquam
mihi domna Cynegia meritum uestrae conuersationis exposuit,
uisionem uestram speciali ardore requisiui, si uotis copiam
optata dedisset occasio. domina, salutationis reuerentiam dicens
in designato litteris uestris negotio ministerium deuotionis
spondeo, quia tantum praestatur animae, quantum sanetis
exhibetur studiis. uere dico me numquam dilexisse quem detestamini
et ueritum, ne ad diri hominis profectum uester
quoque inclinaretur adsensus. adsit deus, ne ad ecclesiasticam
dignitatem ueniat nulla bonae institutionis incude formatus.
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Ennodius to Helisea.
The fulfillment I have long sought in my desires has come at last. To give blessings their proper flavor, what is awaited at length is all the more treasured when it arrives. The bonds of family survive wherever on earth we may be. The chain of blood is not broken by the separation of bodies. Affection, divided across distant regions, feels no loss — since among those who are physically apart, love holds the place of presence.
I give thanks to Almighty God, who has made you mindful of family loyalty and reminded you of your lineage through a pious occasion. God is my witness: ever since my lady Cynegia described to me the excellence of your way of life, I have sought the sight of you with a special ardor — if only a longed-for opportunity had given my wishes their fulfillment.
My lady, in offering you the tribute of my greeting, I pledge the service of my devotion in the matter you outlined in your letter — since whatever is given to the soul profits as much as whatever is offered to holy pursuits. I tell you truly: I never loved the man you detest, and I feared that your own consent might be bent toward the advancement of that dreadful person. May God prevent a man shaped by no anvil of good formation from attaining ecclesiastical office.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.