Letter 419: You are in possession of my work and free to return it slowly -- or keep it, if you wish.
You are in possession of my work and free to return it slowly -- or keep it, if you wish. As I said to you in person, I trust that you believe there is beauty in what I write. But I do worry this might bring you a poor reputation. I myself produce nothing sacred, and apes who imitate only do what comes naturally to apes.
So let us not blame them for it.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Βακχίῳ. (355)
Σὺ τῶν ἐμῶν κύριος βραδέως τε ἀποδοῦναι καὶ κατα-
σχεῖν, εἰ βούλοιο. ὃ δὲ καὶ πρὸς παρόντα ἔφην, οἴεσθαι μέν
σε κάλλος ἐνεῖναι τοῖς ἐμοῖς πιστεύω· δέδοικα μέντοι μή σοι
τοῦτό τὴν χείρω δόξαν ἐνέγκῃ. ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἱερόν, οἱ
δὲ πίθηκοι πιθηκίζοντες τὰ αὑτῶν ποιοῦσι.
μὴ τοίνυν
αὐτοὺς μεμφώμεθα.
Related Letters
Those who saw the honors you lavished on Artemis are the luckier ones.
The governor took part in your festival in the same way I did -- he missed nothing I had heard.
I believe both things: that you copied them out, and that you consider my trifles a treasure.
The Hellenic religion does not yet thrive as I wish, and the fault lies with those who profess it.
I have written to you before and I greet you again now.