To Ambrosius. (355/356)
I have not written to you for a long time. When I searched for an excuse, I found one that would not merely resolve this charge but, I think, would prevail even if I had done you some greater wrong.
For I am sending you a letter by the hand of the finest of orators, the gentlest of men, and the most scrupulous of governors. These qualities and more the people of the Hellespont saw in Eusebius. You will soon see them for yourselves.
Allow me to predict that the profit will flow from your end back to us. It is up to you to show yourself as you are, since you will be speaking to attentive ears, and a soul worthy of serious engagement will appear -- one that knows how to discern and what to disregard.
I have not written to you for a long time. When I searched for an excuse, I found one that would not merely resolve this charge but, I think, would prevail even if I had done you some greater wrong.
For I am sending you a letter by the hand of the finest of orators, the gentlest of men, and the most scrupulous of governors. These qualities and more the people of the Hellespont saw in Eusebius. You will soon see them for yourselves.
Allow me to predict that the profit will flow from your end back to us. It is up to you to show yourself as you are, since you will be speaking to attentive ears, and a soul worthy of serious engagement will appear -- one that knows how to discern and what to disregard.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.