Letter 5005: I would happily draw out the occasion that has earned me such frequent letters from you — if doing so did not burden...
Ennodius of Pavia→Avitus of Vienne|c. 496 AD|Ennodius of Pavia
friendship
From: Ennodius, deacon and literary figure in Pavia
To: Avitus
Date: ~496 AD
Context: A short note on the pleasures and obligations of frequent correspondence — touching on the late antique ideal that busy letters between friends are proof of genuine affection.
Ennodius to Avitus.
I would happily draw out the occasion that has earned me such frequent letters from you — if doing so did not burden you. For whenever you send me pages full of business, you are really doing a service to affection itself. But among the wise, a short letter from a perceptive friend counts for more than a long one from a dull one.
I keep my reply brief, then, not from lack of feeling but from respect for your time. Know that every letter you send is received with the warmth it deserves. Farewell.
V. ENNODIVS AVITO.
Vellem produci causam, si propositum non grauarem, per
quam frequentia amantis scripta promerui. dum enim
£ 1 homines BV1 bi insatialem L bi s. I. m. ant . 2 mihi B
LV 3 foederis] finit add. B
IIII. 5 helisee T 7 uiuet B 8 se∗∗questratione L (st
eras.) 9 cathena T 10 dampna LV, dapna T 11 p ̃ sente
T 12 prosapie TV 14 domina BPb cinegia T 15 iuseionem
T cupiam B • 16 dedisset optata LPTVb ∗∗salutationis
B 18 preetatur B 20 homi B 21 assit T
22 ∗∗cude (m eras.) L formatus] flnit add. B
negotiosas paginas destinatis, ministerium praebetis affectui. sed
apud prudentes et animorum conscios sufficiunt parca conloquia.
urbanus in promissionibus esse non sapio nec eis, quibus animam
debeo, fucata fronte blandiri. uos tantum coeptis insistite et
mandatis caelestibus obsequentes malum hominem, quem dicitis,
a desideriis deducatis. me conuenit plus rebus ostendere
quam sermone polliceri, quia quod tribuo hoc mihi restitui
incunctanter expecto. domine mi, salutationem plenissimam
dicens rogo, ut domnae Heliseae communi matri pro me gratias
agas, quae dignata est litteris suis uincula proximitatis ostendere
◆
From:Ennodius, deacon and literary figure in Pavia
To:Avitus
Date:~496 AD
Context:A short note on the pleasures and obligations of frequent correspondence — touching on the late antique ideal that busy letters between friends are proof of genuine affection.
Ennodius to Avitus.
I would happily draw out the occasion that has earned me such frequent letters from you — if doing so did not burden you. For whenever you send me pages full of business, you are really doing a service to affection itself. But among the wise, a short letter from a perceptive friend counts for more than a long one from a dull one.
I keep my reply brief, then, not from lack of feeling but from respect for your time. Know that every letter you send is received with the warmth it deserves. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.