Letter 799: The young men have come to collect on your promises, and you — noble in all else and incapable of falsehood — will...
To Modestus. (363 AD)
The young men have come to collect on your promises, and you — noble in all else and incapable of falsehood — will not disappoint them. I too, though absent, press my claim on those promises. Surely the proverb "shame dwells in the eyes" does not apply to you; you are equally honorable whether seen in person or writing to friends.
Come then, make these two skilled in lawsuits, and if you advance to something else, bring them along to do the same again. Perhaps someone will see the contestants become judges, with you as their sponsor and champion.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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. (363)
Ἐπὶ τὰς ὑποσχέσεις ἥκουσιν οἱ νέοι, σὺ δὲ τῇ τε ἄλλῃ
γενναῖος καὶ ψεύδεσθαι οὐκ εἰδώς. ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπὼν
ἀπαιτῶ τὰς ὑποσχέσεις. πάντως δὲ τὸ αἰδὼς ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς
οὐ παρὰ σοὶ κρατεῖ, ἀλλ’ ὁμοίως αἰδέσιμος ὁρώμενός τε καὶ
ἐπιστέλλων φίλοις.
ἄγε οὖν, ποίει τούτω δικὼν ἐπιστήμονε,
κἂν ἐπ’ ἄλλο τι προβῇς, ἄγε καὶ τούτω ταὐτὸ δράσοντε πάλιν.
ἴσως δέ τις ὄψεται τοὺς ἀγωνιστὰς ἀθλοθέτας σοῦ προξενοῦν.
τος καὶ ἐπαινοῦντος
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