Letter 79: If I could have traveled with Sabinus, I would have spoken to you in person rather than writing -- that's how badly...
If I could have traveled with Sabinus, I would have spoken to you in person rather than writing -- that's how badly I want to rescue the man from this storm. But since I'm held here by various obligations, I've taken the next best course and am writing instead.
I would ask you, for the sake of both justice and our friendship, to stand firm against the difficulties of the moment and teach people that it is not their right to tear governors apart once they leave office.
I told Sabinus he could count on getting anything from you. It's in your hands now whether that promise makes me look like a braggart or not.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ἀταρβίῳ. (359)
Εἰ μὲν οἷός τ’ ἦν κοινωνῆσαι Σαβίνῳ τῆς ὁδοῦ, παρὼν
ἄν σοι διελεγόμην ἀντὶ τοῦ γράφειν, οὕτω πολλή μοι σπουδὴ
τὸν ἄνδρα ἐξαρπάσαι τῆς ζάλης· ἐπεὶ δὲ πολλαχόθεν ἠνάγ-
κασμαι μένειν, οὐ παρῆκα τὸν δεύτερον πλοῦν, ἀλλ’ ἐπιστέλλω.
καὶ βουλοίμην ἄν σε τοῦ τε δικαίου καὶ ἡμῶν χάριν ἀν-
τισχεῖν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ καιροῦ δυσκολίαν καὶ διδάξαι τοὺς ἀν-
θρώπους, ὡς οὐκ ἐπ’ αὐτοῖς ἐστι τοὺς ἄρχοντας, ὅταν λήξωσι
τῆς ἀρχῆς, σπαράττειν.
ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ὡμολόγηκα πρὸς ἐκεῖ-
νον, ὡς παντὸς ἂν παρὰ σοῦ τύχοι, σὺ δ’ ἂν εἴης κύριος ἡ
ἀλαζόνα με δεῖξαι τῇ ὑποσχέσει ἢ μή.
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