To Demetrius. (359/60)
Your fine friend Bacchius has been separated from you and has not spent nearly enough time with me. The reason: an ulcer kept him at home, and my professional duties -- you know how demanding they are -- prevented me from being free. On top of that, worries have piled up because of those who have no respect for the emperor's decisions [regarding pagan rights]. They are doing their very best to overturn them.
But the day I did see our friend, I counted as a white day [a lucky day] to set against many others. I listened to his accounts of the drinking contests with dark wine and how he searched for wine through the broth. May he never stop drinking, and may you never stop writing -- you who have achieved this crowning feat: winning your victory in perfect calm.
Your fine friend Bacchius has been separated from you and has not spent nearly enough time with me. The reason: an ulcer kept him at home, and my professional duties -- you know how demanding they are -- prevented me from being free. On top of that, worries have piled up because of those who have no respect for the emperor's decisions [regarding pagan rights]. They are doing their very best to overturn them.
But the day I did see our friend, I counted as a white day [a lucky day] to set against many others. I listened to his accounts of the drinking contests with dark wine and how he searched for wine through the broth. May he never stop drinking, and may you never stop writing -- you who have achieved this crowning feat: winning your victory in perfect calm.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.