Letter 8004: You left for distant parts and forgot all about friendship.
Ennodius of Pavia→Arator, Man|c. 496 AD|Ennodius of Pavia
friendshiphumortravel mobility
From: Ennodius, deacon and literary figure in Pavia
To: Arator [the future poet and subdeacon of Rome]
Date: ~496 AD
Context: A playful reproach to the young Arator for forgetting his city friends when retreating to the countryside — mixing real affection with literary gamesmanship.
Ennodius to Arator.
You left for distant parts and forgot all about friendship. Your devotion to me was apparently not allowed past the city walls. While you live in town, you guard your artful courtesies with considerable skill. But the moment you decide to head for the countryside, you drop the memory of your friends like heavy baggage.
So you have gone off to enjoy your rural pleasures, and here we remain, stuck among the miseries of urban life, written off. The affection you profess clearly had no roots — you shed it like a burden the moment the road opened up before you.
You may ask: why so quick with the complaint? Because not even a fair accusation should be delayed when friendship is at stake. I sent a letter ahead of me; you sent nothing back. If silence is your answer, I know where I stand. But I would rather hear otherwise. Farewell.
IIII. ENNODIVS ARATORI.
Ad longinqua digrediens caritatis inmemor extitisti. non
licuit tecum piam diligentiam muros exire. dum urbis habitator
es, fabricatas blanditias non sine daedala arte custodis: at
ubi rus petendum esse decreueris, quasi graues sarcinas amicorum
memoriam derelinquis. tu uillares delicias expetisti, et
nos apud te inter moenium mala remansimus. non habuit
radicem affectio, quam uelut curarum tormenta separasti. dicas,
unde tam uelox exprobratio? nec aequum esse parari ante
1 filoBophiam B nihil] fi T 2 ueteris B locatus Lb
3 silentii L\' curam om. T 4 immuta T 9 in quo] iniquo
L constrigebaris L eximeras B promissi B 10 successu
L 11 incoationem B dirigetis B 12 iunxistes
B1 domine LTYb messale Bl 15 adcepto B correctum
LTV sucgestionibus B resigna muniis frequentibus T
IIll. 19 exstitisti V 20 licuet B 21 es om. Pb, et B
dedala BLTY ad BL 22 rus om. T 23 uilasres T
dilicias B 24 babuet B 25 pasti B 26 tam B s. L
delicta tortorem. scripturum te, mox fuisses ad optata peruectus,
sine cunctatione promisisti: quantum pater tuus semper
culparum tuarum uulgator exposuit, iam a te pueri paginis
uacui commearunt. timeo, ne ista taciturnitas diuturnitate
conualescat et in usum silentii turpis crescat incuria. domine
mi, saluto ergo et promissi te memorem debere esse conuenio,
quatenus inter cana nemora redimitus hederis efferaris.
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From:Ennodius, deacon and literary figure in Pavia
To:Arator [the future poet and subdeacon of Rome]
Date:~496 AD
Context:A playful reproach to the young Arator for forgetting his city friends when retreating to the countryside — mixing real affection with literary gamesmanship.
Ennodius to Arator.
You left for distant parts and forgot all about friendship. Your devotion to me was apparently not allowed past the city walls. While you live in town, you guard your artful courtesies with considerable skill. But the moment you decide to head for the countryside, you drop the memory of your friends like heavy baggage.
So you have gone off to enjoy your rural pleasures, and here we remain, stuck among the miseries of urban life, written off. The affection you profess clearly had no roots — you shed it like a burden the moment the road opened up before you.
You may ask: why so quick with the complaint? Because not even a fair accusation should be delayed when friendship is at stake. I sent a letter ahead of me; you sent nothing back. If silence is your answer, I know where I stand. But I would rather hear otherwise. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.