Letter 72: I did not advise you to leave your homeland, your home, your family, and your prospects -- nor would I ever give...
To Aetius. (359)
I did not advise you to leave your homeland, your home, your family, and your prospects -- nor would I ever give such advice to a citizen who contributes so much to so great a city.
But since a counselor more persuasive than I appeared, and something seemed to you more important than your own dignity, I do not approve of the decision, but I pray it may end well. That too would be Fortune's doing.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ἀετίῳ. (359)
Ἐγώ σε πατρίδα καταλιπεῖν καὶ οἶκον καὶ γένος καὶ
προσδοκίας οὐ παρῄνεσα μηδέ γε παραινέσαιμί ποτε πολίτη
τοιαῦτα πόλιν οὕτω μεγάλην παρεχομένῳ
ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐφάνη
σύμβουλος μὲν ἐμοῦ πιθανώτερος, σοὶ δέ τι τῆς σαυτοῦ σε-
μνότερον, οὐκ ἐπαινῶ μὲν τὰ δόξαντα, λαβεῖν δὲ χρηστὸν εὔχο-
μαι τέλος. εἴη δ’ ἂν καὶ τοῦτο τῆς Τύχης.
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