To Clematius. (358)
Best of all is to enjoy a good wife, but a beautiful one is no bad thing either, since even the wiser heads count that worth something. Learning her character from you gave me pleasure; seeing her beauty in person, I congratulated both her parents and you — them for what they produced, you for what you possess. She would satisfy even Delos-born Homer, who adorned women with likenesses to golden Aphrodite.
Remembering how you suffered the year before last at being separated from your wife — feelings I did not praise then — I now find I cannot praise them enough: so great was your longing.
See to it, then, that you become a father quickly, so that since you honored me by showing me your wife, I may repay you with the labors that children bring.
As for your mother-in-law, hold her as dear as your own mother. She has a fine mind and considers you a son rather than a son-in-law. Apart from everything else, the length of the journey she undertook deserves your respect. And the greatest thing: she left behind a husband who needed her and a household, and came bringing you her daughter — delighting in the praise she hears of you and counting such words worth more than great possessions.
Best of all is to enjoy a good wife, but a beautiful one is no bad thing either, since even the wiser heads count that worth something. Learning her character from you gave me pleasure; seeing her beauty in person, I congratulated both her parents and you — them for what they produced, you for what you possess. She would satisfy even Delos-born Homer, who adorned women with likenesses to golden Aphrodite.
Remembering how you suffered the year before last at being separated from your wife — feelings I did not praise then — I now find I cannot praise them enough: so great was your longing.
See to it, then, that you become a father quickly, so that since you honored me by showing me your wife, I may repay you with the labors that children bring.
As for your mother-in-law, hold her as dear as your own mother. She has a fine mind and considers you a son rather than a son-in-law. Apart from everything else, the length of the journey she undertook deserves your respect. And the greatest thing: she left behind a husband who needed her and a household, and came bringing you her daughter — delighting in the praise she hears of you and counting such words worth more than great possessions.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.