Letter 19: Your son has carried off my nurse's daughter: a disgraceful deed, and one that would have made enemies of us both,...

Sidonius to his dear Pudens, greetings. 1. Your son has carried off my nurse's daughter: a disgraceful deed, and one that would have made enemies of us both, had I not immediately known that you knew nothing of what was to be done. But with the purgation of your conscience already established, you now see fit to ask for impunity for the offence while the case is still fresh. I grant it on one condition: that you, as patron, release the ravisher from his hereditary bondage to the estate, so that he is no longer a mere tenant but a free man. 2. The woman, for her part, is already free. She will then appear to have been taken not for mockery but for marriage, provided that our defendant -- on whose behalf you plead -- once made a client instead of a tax-paying tenant, begins to hold the status of a commoner rather than that of a colonus. For only this settlement, this satisfaction, even moderately compensates for the insult to me. I acquiesce to your wishes and our friendship on this condition: that liberty releases the husband, so that punishment need not seize the rapist. Farewell.

EPISTULA XIX Sidonius Pudenti suo salutem. 1. Nutricis meae filiam filius tuae rapuit: facinus indignum quodque nos vosque inimicasset, nisi protinus scissem te nescisse faciendum. sed conscientiae tuae purgatione praelata petere dignaris culpae calentis impunitatem. sub condicione concedo: si stupratorem pro domino iam patronus originali solvas inquilinatu. 2. mulier autem illa iam libera est; quae tum demum videbitur non ludibrio addicta sed assumpta coniugio, si reus noster, pro quo precaris, mox cliens factus e tributario plebeiam potius incipiat habere personam quam colonariam. nam meam haec sola seu compositio seu satisfactio vel mediocriter contumeliam emendat; qui tuis votis atque amicitiis hoc adquiesco, si laxat libertas maritum, ne constringat poena raptorem. vale.