To Sarpedon. (361 AD)
When I heard that you turned your troubles into an occasion for philosophy, I nearly praised the man who wronged you. But when I met the excellent Mariane and experienced her character firsthand, I was amazed you hadn't made the change sooner, living as you do with such a woman. But it was fated, it seems, that your happiness would come late.
Hold to your present course, hoping to accomplish something great, but counting even small gains in such matters as great. Consider this my repayment for the time you saved my life — when, after drinking a purgative, I was rushing to the baths at the wrong hour and you stopped me.
When I heard that you turned your troubles into an occasion for philosophy, I nearly praised the man who wronged you. But when I met the excellent Mariane and experienced her character firsthand, I was amazed you hadn't made the change sooner, living as you do with such a woman. But it was fated, it seems, that your happiness would come late.
Hold to your present course, hoping to accomplish something great, but counting even small gains in such matters as great. Consider this my repayment for the time you saved my life — when, after drinking a purgative, I was rushing to the baths at the wrong hour and you stopped me.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.