To Elias. (355/56)
The "reputation" you mention — I believe it is Traianus, for he is the one who convinced himself that I amount to something and draws many others to share that opinion. I thank you for not using the excuse of never having received my letter as a reason not to write, but for keeping separate my own obligation and my servants' negligence.
If I were not concerned for the young men you are nurturing in the arts, I would have snatched you away to join us. As it is, I decided not to begrudge them the winter but to save you for the summer.
As for my kidney — if you can relieve me of the affliction, you will have convinced me I am alive. For as things stand, not being dead is itself a misfortune.
The "reputation" you mention — I believe it is Traianus, for he is the one who convinced himself that I amount to something and draws many others to share that opinion. I thank you for not using the excuse of never having received my letter as a reason not to write, but for keeping separate my own obligation and my servants' negligence.
If I were not concerned for the young men you are nurturing in the arts, I would have snatched you away to join us. As it is, I decided not to begrudge them the winter but to save you for the summer.
As for my kidney — if you can relieve me of the affliction, you will have convinced me I am alive. For as things stand, not being dead is itself a misfortune.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.