Letter 685: Even when you were staging those remarkable spectacles, purchasing glory with money, I considered it an honor to be...
To Auxentios. (361/62)
Even when you were staging those remarkable spectacles, purchasing glory with money, I considered it an honor to be associated with you. And now I delight in the honor conveyed by the skin, and though I was not present to witness the beasts' exploits, I can judge from the hide what the leopard did to the hunters.
I pray to Artemis that she make your future shows splendid too, both in the ferocity of the beasts and the skill of those who face them.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Αὐξεντίῳ. (361/32)
Καὶ ὅτε τὰ θαυμαστὰ ἴνα ἐποίεις δόξαν ὠνούμενος
χρημάτων, αὐτὸς ἡγούμην ἐν τιμῇ καθίστασθαι μετὰ σαυτοῦ
καὶ νῦν χαίρω τε τῇ διὰ τοῦ δέρματος τιμῇ καὶ τῶν τεθεαμέ-
νων τὰ ἔργα τῶν θηρίων οὐ πόρρω γεγένημαι τῇ δορᾷ τε-
κμαιρόμενος, οἷα ἡ πάρδαλις ἔδρα τοὺς κυνηγέτας
εὔχομαι
δὴ τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι καὶ τὰ λοιπά σοι θεῖναι λαμπρὰ θηρίων τι
χαλεπότητι καὶ τῇ τῶν πρὸς ταῦτα εἰσιόντων σοφίᾳ.
Related Letters
To Παλλαδίῳ. (361)
Jacob is the wrestler, and his story is the story of the soul that refuses to let go of God.
Ambrose, Bishop, to the Emperor Valentinian.
Blæsilla, the daughter of Paula and sister of Eustochium, had lost her husband seven months after her marriage. A dangerous illness had then led to her conversion, and she was now famous throughout Rome for the length to which she carried her austerities. Many censured her for what they deemed her fanaticism, and Jerome, as her spiritual adviser...
Word is that you've ordered Ampelius and some other senators from Sardinia, as is claimed, to appear before the...