Letter 465: The "reputation" you mention — I believe it is Traianus, for he is the one who convinced himself that I amount to...
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.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ἠλίᾳ. (355/56)
Ἣν μὲν κ.αλεῖς φήμην, Τραϊανὸς εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ, ἐκεῖνος
γάρ ἐστιν ὁ πείσας τε αὑτὸν ὡς εἴην ἐγώ τι, καὶ πολλοὺς
ἕλκων εἰς κοινωνίαν τῆς δόξης, χάρις δέ σοι τοῦ μὴ ποιήσα-
σθαι πρόφασιν εἰς τὸ μὴ γράψαι τὸ μὴ λαβεῖν τὴν ἐπιστολήν,
ἀλλὰ χωρὶς θεῖναι τό τε ἐμὸν καὶ τὴν τῶν οἰκετῶν κακίαν.
εἰ δὲ μὴ τῶν νέων, οὓς τῇ μουσικῇ τρέφεις, ἐκηδόμην,
ἁρπασθεὶς ἂν ἦσθα παρ’ ἡμῖν. νῦν δὲ ἔδοξέ μοι τοις μὲν μὴ
φθονῆσαι τοῦ χειμῶνος, τὸ δὲ τῷ θέρει τηρῆσαι.
τὸν νε-
φρὸν δὲ ἡμῖν ἢν ἀπαλλάξῃς τοῦ πάθους, ζῆν ἡμᾶς πέπεικας·
ὡς νῦν γε ἡμῖν ἐν συμφορᾷ τὸ μὴ τεθνάναι.
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Source. Translated by Blomfield Jackson. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol.