Letter 8019: Although every frequency of letters may seem insufficient to express what I feel, the attempt itself has value.
Ennodius to Faustus.
Although every frequency of letters may seem insufficient to express what I feel, the attempt itself has value. I write not because my words can contain my affection but because silence would contain it even less. Accept the imperfect vessel for the sake of its perfect contents. Farewell.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
XVIIII. ENNODIVS FAVSTO.
Quamuis omnis frequentia litterarum uideatur rara sollicitis
nec sufficiat prouidentia pro pietate suspenso, tamen pars ista,
cui inpenditur, nisi responderit, ab humanitate seiungitur. ergo
salutationis officia praefatus deo tribuente indico mecum sanctorum
suffrages et uestris precibus iam melius agi et illam
despsrationis et febrium intepuisse ualitudinem. nunc, quod
restat, spero, ut petitionem meam, quam per confamulum
meum fratrem Florum destinaui, suscipere solita. benignitate
dignemini, quia, etsi mihi ad praesens res uidetur esse conpendii,
uobis, quibus magis futura cordi sunt, utilitas ex hac
parte summa respondet.
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