Letter 6025: Your Greatness knows what devotion I bear you.
Your Greatness knows with what prejudice the followers of the liberal arts honor me, demanding the writings of my recommendation as something owed to them. It is the custom that you confer benefits while I confer words, and that the greatness of the things desired surpasses the wish of the petitioner. If I were to refrain from these duties — saving the spirit of your gifts — I would not have the desire of a well-wisher. The bearer of this letter, Pertinax, will be made known before you by the testimony of the modesty of his birth, who will use the good of his modesty in attestation of his lineage. Through him, having made the signs of my health known according to your desire, I pray that he may reap the fruit of his confidence from the rich harvest of your condescension, and that as often as the welcome course of travelers permits, you send me pages which you receive as the solace of your love.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
XXV. ENNODIVS FAVSTO.
Scit magnitudo uestra quo me honorent praeiudicio studiorum
liberalium sectatores tamquam rem sibi debitam commendationis
meae scripta poscentes. in usu est uos beneficia, me
uerba conferre et magnitudinem rerum desiderium uincere
postulantis. si ab his muniis temperem, saluo munerum uestrorum
genio, ego uotum beniuoli non habebo. perlator praesentium
1 iutus LTV, iustus Bb, adiutus Sirm., iussus coni. Schottus
XXIIII. 4 arcotamie T 5 affectionis ius LTV 6 prolexitate
B 7 nectet Bb 9 nesciuntur LTV 10 cUusa L (a
eras.) 12 uendicant B (eorr. rec. ?) Tb 14 prcBtitit B
16 portitor] potior Bb benificii B .
XXV. 21 honerent B sed onorent s. I. m. rec- B, onerent b
22 sectatoris B 23 ustun BlLTlV 24 magnitudine BTb ,
rerumJ tiestram fort . 25 Balua Bx (ut uidetur) b 26 beniuoli B*
LTV v/non B habeo Tlb
11*
Pertinax teste apud uos natalium suorum pudore uulgabitur,
qui in adstipulatione stemmatis usurus est bono uerecundiae,
per quem indiciis ualitudinis meae pro uestro desiderio factis
precor, ut fiduciae suae fructum capiat ex dignationis uestrae
messe locupletem, et quotiens uotiuus conmeantum cursus accesserit,
ad subleuandum me quas in amoris solacio accipitis
paginas destinate.
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