Letter 120: Polianus has returned to us and reported the favors he received, and both he and I are grateful.
Polianus has returned to us and reported the favors he received, and both he and I are grateful. Now, heading back to you again, he was eager to bring a letter -- not because he doesn't already stand high enough in your regard to mention other people's names with confidence, but because he knows that letters from me put you in a good mood, and he was afraid he'd be punished for not bringing one.
So I gave it gladly, for both reasons: to bring you some pleasure and to spare my friend a penalty.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Φλωρεντίῳ. (359/60)
Ἐπανῆκεν ἡμῖν Πωλιανὸς ὧν τε ἔτυχεν ἤγγειλε καὶ χά-
ριν εἴχομεν ἐγώ τε καὶ ἐκεῖνος ὧν ἔτυχεν ἐκεῖνος. νῦν δ’ αὖ-
θὶς παρὰ σὲ τρέχων ἔσπευσε γράμματα φέρειν οὐχ ὡς οὐκ
ἤδη παρὰ σοὶ τοσοῦτος ὢν ὥστε κἂν ἄλλου πρὸς σὲ μνησθῆ-
ναι μετὰ θάρσους, ἀλλ’ εἰδώς, ὅτι τοῖς παρ’ ἡμῶν ἡδίων γίνῃ
γράμμασιν, ἔδεισε μὴ δίκην ἀπαιτηθῇ τοῦ μὴ κομίζειν.
ἔδω-
κα τοίνυν ἀμφοτέρων εἵνεκα προθύμως σοί τε εὐφροσύνην
παρασκευάζων καὶ τὸν ἑταῖρον ἐξαιρούμενος ζημίας.
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