Letter 6011: After our common lord departed from the city of Milan, my sole consolation has been the hope that letters might do...
Ennodius of Pavia→Avienus|c. 501 AD|Ennodius of Pavia
friendshipgrief deathtravel mobility
From: Ennodius, deacon and literary figure in Pavia
To: Avienus [Roman senator]
Date: ~501 AD
Context: A letter written after a patron or associate departed from Milan, leaving Ennodius with only the consolation of correspondence — a glimpse into the urban life of northern Italy under Ostrogothic rule.
Ennodius to Avienus.
After our common lord departed from the city of Milan, my sole consolation has been the hope that letters might do what physical presence can no longer accomplish. Absence is hard enough without adding silence to it.
I miss the conversations we had when distance was not an obstacle. The city feels emptier now, and the business that fills my days cannot replace what friendship provided. But letters, at least, cross the miles that we cannot — and I cling to them as a drowning man clings to whatever floats.
Write to me. Let the page carry what the road cannot. Farewell.
XI. ENNODIVS AVIENO.
Digresso. de Mediolanensi urbe communi domino sola in
consolatione remanserunt solacia litterarum, quia dum sermo
ad uos dirigitur, aliqua praesentiae uestrae desideriis meis
imago blanditur. quod et a uobis domnis meis, ut crebro
faciatis, exposco, cogitantes absentiam uestram hac sola posse
adsiduitate sustineri. habeant felicissimi uotiuam praesentiam,
mihi delieta mea cogitanti epistularis cura sufficiet. domine
mi, salutem uberrimam dicens precor, ut et per sanctos
dei pro me preces fundere minime desistatis, et domino
gratias referre, cuius circa me beneficia etiam insperata tribuuntur.
2 beniflciis B ,3 deo V s. I . 4 ex*orruit L 5 tribuaere
L 7 suggere L 8 tabulari BLTVb comensis] commissis
b et s. I. m. rec. B 9 modicia B Vb (et sic Corp. inscr. lat.
V nr . 5742), moditia LT 10 obpraemit B, oprimit T iubeatis
T et fort. V* 13 contempnit LTV \'
XI. 19 domnis B, dominis LTVb 20 hac Bb, hoc LTY
21 adsiduetate B eustinere - V1 habent B 22 -dilecta
B b 23 mihi BL V praecor B et om . b 24 dei] domini
b pręces B domino b 25 referte Sirm . inspirata B
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From:Ennodius, deacon and literary figure in Pavia
To:Avienus [Roman senator]
Date:~501 AD
Context:A letter written after a patron or associate departed from Milan, leaving Ennodius with only the consolation of correspondence — a glimpse into the urban life of northern Italy under Ostrogothic rule.
Ennodius to Avienus.
After our common lord departed from the city of Milan, my sole consolation has been the hope that letters might do what physical presence can no longer accomplish. Absence is hard enough without adding silence to it.
I miss the conversations we had when distance was not an obstacle. The city feels emptier now, and the business that fills my days cannot replace what friendship provided. But letters, at least, cross the miles that we cannot — and I cling to them as a drowning man clings to whatever floats.
Write to me. Let the page carry what the road cannot. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.