Letter 8008: I thought my previous letter would have drawn a reply by now, but the roads are uncertain and carriers unreliable —...
Ennodius of Pavia→Helpidius|c. 499 AD|Ennodius of Pavia
travel mobility
From: Ennodius, deacon and literary figure in Pavia
To: Helpidius, deacon
Date: ~499 AD
Context: A follow-up letter to the deacon Helpidius, continuing their professional and personal exchange during a period of ecclesiastical turbulence.
To Helpidius the deacon, from Ennodius.
I thought my previous letter would have drawn a reply by now, but the roads are uncertain and carriers unreliable — so I write again, trusting that persistence will eventually reach you even if a single letter could not.
The affairs of the church demand our attention from every direction. You know this as well as I do. But amid the press of duties, I hope you find a moment to remember that there are friends who think of you and want to hear how you fare.
Even a line or two would satisfy me. I do not need eloquence from you — just proof that you are well. Farewell.
VIII. HELPIDIO DIACONO ENNODIVS.
Quibus modis fraternitatom tuam ad scribendum quaue arte
sollicitem, quando homo uerborum locuples in me silentia
peregrina custodis? elegi, ut loqui te loquendo faciam etillam
Atticam eruditionem ad epistolas alia garrulitate producam.
iustum fuit ut tot diebus a promissione desisteres et qualiter
2 inperoiens S me esse] messe B 3 inequalitatem B
peetis B 4 uestre B
VIl. 8 aput B scanctas B ut saepius consciencias B
9 elimenat B 12 importun\' (n\' ex m corr.) T, inpor B commonionis
B 118 obseqaentissimae B, obsequentissimi Pb 14 horrei
BL 15 facite fort . 16 disceHre (de eras.) L potuisaitis B
Vm. Hanc epistuiam cum antecedenti, coniungit inscriptione
omissa b 18 hilpidio B, elpidio L diaci B, diaci L
19 ad s.] adscribendam B, ascribendum L 20 solibitem Bl
locaplepe B1 silleatia V 91 te loqui Pb 22 alia] latina
fort . producem B 23 tota LV desierteris B
peruenisses nulla paginae directione signares? an forte circa
me illam tuam cautelitatem aestimas esse seruandam? dedignaris
conloquio quorum gratiam multo sudore quaesisti. crede
mihi, nisi ab hoc te uitio sub ea qua ambulare soles uelocitate
suspenderis , necesse est, ut ad alios nostra patrocinia transferamus,
qui memores constituti amorem munerentur obsequiis.
his ergo salutans amico et medico indico me graui corporis
inaequalitate laborare, quam nisi te dictante pagina iocos
exhibitura curauerit, distensam per tormenta ranulam longis
hominibus coaequabo.
◆
From:Ennodius, deacon and literary figure in Pavia
To:Helpidius, deacon
Date:~499 AD
Context:A follow-up letter to the deacon Helpidius, continuing their professional and personal exchange during a period of ecclesiastical turbulence.
To Helpidius the deacon, from Ennodius.
I thought my previous letter would have drawn a reply by now, but the roads are uncertain and carriers unreliable — so I write again, trusting that persistence will eventually reach you even if a single letter could not.
The affairs of the church demand our attention from every direction. You know this as well as I do. But amid the press of duties, I hope you find a moment to remember that there are friends who think of you and want to hear how you fare.
Even a line or two would satisfy me. I do not need eloquence from you — just proof that you are well. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.