Letter 500: You promised to let me know what state you found your household in, and yet you have written nothing.
To Clematius.
You promised to let me know what state you found your household in, and yet you have written nothing. Surely, whether things remain as they were or have improved, you ought not to leave me in the dark. I would either have shared your joy or added my prayers to yours.
But that is you all over, I think -- lazy about sending letters, relentless about demanding them. Generous with gifts, yet the slowest man alive when it comes to accepting them.
In any case, do write. And expect to see Spectatus very soon. Travel with him, for the gods' sake, to Italy, so that things may go better for you -- and through you, for us as well.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Κληματίῳ. (356/57)
Ὑπέσχου μοι δηλώσειν οὗ τύχης σοι τὸν οἶκον εὑρήσεις
ὄντα, γράφεις δὲ οὐδέν. καίτοι χρῆν, εἴτ᾿ ἐπὶ τῶν προτέρων
ἕστηκεν εἴτ’ ἐπ’ ἀμείνω μεθέστηκε, μηδ’ ἡμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν. ἢ γὰρ
συνήσθημεν ἢ συνηυξάμεθα ἄν.
ἀλλ’, οἶμαι, γράμματα
πέμψαι μὲν εἶ ῥᾴθυμος, ἀπαιτῆσαι δὲ σφοδρός. καίτοι δῶρα
δοῦναι μὲν ἕτοιμος, λαβεῖν δὲ ἀργότατος.
ἀλλ’ ἐπίστει-
λόν τε καὶ τὸν Σπεκτάτον ἡγοῦ τάχιστα ὄψεσθαι μεθ’ οὗ
βάδιζε, πρὸς θεῶν, εἰς Ἰταλίαν, ὡς σοί τε βελτίω τὰ παάυ-
ματα γένοιτο καὶ ἡμῖν ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν.
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