Letter 54: Every effort I make on your behalf is a pleasure to me.
To Modestus. (359)
Every effort I make on your behalf is a pleasure to me. Even if the matter we are laboring over is small, the mere fact of laboring for you is its own reward. You, however, endure great toils for great causes -- bearing the fierce sun for so long, running to and fro, adding action to deliberation, and through all this holding back a terrible wave that threatens to flood the land.
But see how the worst is receding, and better things are approaching. The moment when the champion receives his crown is near.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Μοδέστῳ. (359)
Ἐμοὶ πᾶς ὑπὲρ σοῦ πόνος ἡδύς. καὶ γὰρ ἂν μικρὸν
ὑπὲρ οὗ πονοῦμεν ᾐ, τό γε ὑπὲρ σοῦ πονεῖν καρπὸς ἐμοί. σὺ
μέντοι καὶ μεγάλους καὶ ὑπὲρ μεγάλων ὑπομένεις τοὺς πό-
νοῦς βαρεῖαν μὲν οὕτως ἀκτῖνα τοσοῦτον ἀνεχόμενος χρόνον,
περιτρέχων δὲ ἄνω καὶ κάτω, βουλαῖς δὲ ἔργα προστιθείς, διὰ
δὲ τούτων κῦμα ἀνείργων δεινὸν ἐπικλύσαι τὴν γῆν.
ἀλλ
ὁρᾷς ὡς ὑπονοστεῖ μὲν τὰ χείρω, πρόσεισι δὲ τὰ βελτίω καὶ
τὸ στεφανοῦσθαι τὸν ἀθλητὴν πλησίον.
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