Marcus Aurelius→Marcus Cornelius Fronto|c. 145 AD|Marcus Cornelius Fronto|From Rome (career hub)|To Rome (career hub)|AI-assisted
To my master, greeting.
1. Your brother lately brought me the good news of your arrival. I do long, by Heaven, for you to be able to come, provided it happen with your health unharmed. For I hope that the sight of you may contribute something even to my own health: "sweet it is to look into the eyes of a kindly man," as Euripides, I think, says. For my part, in my present circumstances I am in such a state that it may be easy for you to judge even from this, that I write these words with a borrowed [i.e. unsteady, scarcely my own] hand.
2. To be sure, as far as my strength is concerned, it is beginning to return; the pain in my chest, too, leaves nothing behind; but that ulcer is working its way along the windpipe [trachea]. We are trying remedies, and, lest anything bring our efforts to nothing, we keep careful watch. For I perceive that long-lasting afflictions are made more bearable by no other thing than by the consciousness of diligent care and of a self-restraint obedient to the physicians. It would be shameful, besides, that a defect of the body should be able to last longer than the mind's zeal to recover its health.
Farewell, my most delightful master. My mother greets you.
? 144–145 A.D. To my master, greeting. Your brother but now brought me the good news of your arrival. Heaven knows I long for you to be able to come, if only your health will allow of it, for I hope that the sight of you may do something for my health also. Sweet 'tis to look into a friend's kind eyes , as Euripides, I take it, says. My present condition you can easily gauge by the shakiness of my handwriting. As far as my strength is concerned, it is certainly beginning to come back. The pain in my chest, too, is quite gone; but the ulcer . . . . the trachea. I am under treatment and taking every care that nothing militates against its success. For I feel that my protracted illness can be made more bearable only by a consciousness of unfailing care and strict obedience to the doctors' orders. Besides, it were shame, indeed, that a disease of the body should outlast a determination of the mind to recover health. Farewell, my most delightful of masters. My mother greets you.
ad M. Caesarem 4.8 [63 Hout; 1.184 Haines]
Magistro meo salutem.
1 Adventum tuum mihi frater tuus nuper εὐηγγελίσατο. Cupio mehercule possos venire, quod salute tua fiat. Spero enim fore ut etiam valetudine meae conspectus tuus aliquid contollat: “εἰς ὄμματ᾿ εὔνου φωτὸς ἐμβλέψαι γλυκύ”, Euripides ait, opinor. Ego praesentiarum sic me habeo, ut vel hinc aestimatu facile sit tibi, quod haec precaria manu scribo. 2 Sane quidem, quod ad vires adtinet, incipiunt redire: Pectoris etiam dolor nullus residuus; ulcus autem illud ἀπεργάζεται τῆς ἀρτηρίας. Nos remedia experimur et, ne quid operae nostrae claudat, advigilamus. Neque enim ulla alia re tolerabiliora diuturna incoomoda fieri sentio quam conscientia curae diligentis et temperantiae medicis obsequentis. Turpe alioqui fuerit diutius vitium corporis quam animi studium ad reciperandam sanitatem posse durare.
Vale, mi jucundissime magister. Salutat te mater mea.
◆
To my master, greeting.
1. Your brother lately brought me the good news of your arrival. I do long, by Heaven, for you to be able to come, provided it happen with your health unharmed. For I hope that the sight of you may contribute something even to my own health: "sweet it is to look into the eyes of a kindly man," as Euripides, I think, says. For my part, in my present circumstances I am in such a state that it may be easy for you to judge even from this, that I write these words with a borrowed [i.e. unsteady, scarcely my own] hand.
2. To be sure, as far as my strength is concerned, it is beginning to return; the pain in my chest, too, leaves nothing behind; but that ulcer is working its way along the windpipe [trachea]. We are trying remedies, and, lest anything bring our efforts to nothing, we keep careful watch. For I perceive that long-lasting afflictions are made more bearable by no other thing than by the consciousness of diligent care and of a self-restraint obedient to the physicians. It would be shameful, besides, that a defect of the body should be able to last longer than the mind's zeal to recover its health.
Farewell, my most delightful master. My mother greets you.
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
ad M. Caesarem 4.8 [63 Hout; 1.184 Haines] Magistro meo salutem. 1 Adventum tuum mihi frater tuus nuper εὐηγγελίσατο. Cupio mehercule possos venire, quod salute tua fiat. Spero enim fore ut etiam valetudine meae conspectus tuus aliquid contollat: “εἰς ὄμματ᾿ εὔνου φωτὸς ἐμβλέψαι γλυκύ”, Euripides ait, opinor. Ego praesentiarum sic me habeo, ut vel hinc aestimatu facile sit tibi, quod haec precaria manu scribo. 2 Sane quidem, quod ad vires adtinet, incipiunt redire: Pectoris etiam dolor nullus residuus; ulcus autem illud ἀπεργάζεται τῆς ἀρτηρίας. Nos remedia experimur et, ne quid operae nostrae claudat, advigilamus. Neque enim ulla alia re tolerabiliora diuturna incoomoda fieri sentio quam conscientia curae diligentis et temperantiae medicis obsequentis. Turpe alioqui fuerit diutius vitium corporis quam animi studium ad reciperandam sanitatem posse durare. Vale, mi jucundissime magister. Salutat te mater mea.