Letter 3005: If the distinguished Donidius — an admirer and champion of your character — had been thinking only of his domestic...
Sidonius Apollinaris→Hypatius, former student|c. 467 AD|Sidonius Apollinaris
grief deathimperial politicsproperty economics
Sidonius to his friend Hypatius.
If the distinguished Donidius — an admirer and champion of your character — had been thinking only of his domestic advantage, your good faith would have been more than enough for his interests, even without an intercessor. But he was led by his affection for me to ask me to petition for what he had already obtained on his own. And so this too is added to the tribute owed to your honor: that two of us become debtors, though only one receives the benefit.
He wishes, with your support, to reclaim half of the Eborolacensis estate [near Ebreuil in the Auvergne] — a portion that had been desolate even before the barbarians arrived and now belongs to a patrician house. He is not driven to this purchase by the spur of greed but by the memory of his ancestors. The entire property had been under his family's ownership up until the death of his stepfather, who recently passed. Now, as a man who covets nothing that belongs to others and is careful with his own, he is troubled not so much by the loss of his family's ancestral property as by the shame of it. He is compelled to attempt its recovery not by the vice of avarice but by the necessity of honor.
Deign to grant what he desires, what I request, and what your own character demands — so that through your patronage he may regain the full extent of this estate. For a man who has known the property since his earliest infancy and even crawled upon its grounds, not having recovered it would seem to reflect excessive laziness, however little profit it may bring. I myself will be just as obliged for any favor granted as if it advanced my own personal interests — since whatever my brother in age, my son in profession, my fellow citizen in residence, and my friend in loyalty receives, benefits me as well. Farewell.
EPISTULA V
Sidonius Hypatio suo salutem.
1. Si vir spectabilis morumque vestrorum suspector admiratorque Donidius solam rationem domesticae utilitatis habuisset, satis abundeque sufficeret fides vestra commodis suis, etsi nullus intercessor accederet. sed amore meo ductus est, ut quod ipse per se impetraverat me faceret postulare. itaque nunc honori vestro hic quoque cumulus accrescit, quod duo efficimur debitores, cum tamen unus e nobis beneficium consequatur.
2. Eborolacensis praedii etiam ante barbaros desolatam medietatem, quae domus patriciae iura modo respicit, suffragio vestro iuri suo optat adiungi. neque ad hanc nundinationem stimulo cupiditatis sed respectu avitae recordationis adducitur. siquidem fundi istius integritas familiae suae dominium usque in obitum vitrici nuper vita decedentis aspexit; nunc autem vir alieni non appetens, sui parcus possessionis antiquae a se alienatae non tam damno angitur quam pudore; quam ut redimere conetur, non avaritiae vitio sed verecundiae necessitate compellitur.
3. tribuere dignare votis suis, precibus meis, moribus tuis, ut ad soliditatem ruris istius te patrocinante perveniat, cui rem parentum sibique non solum notam verum etiam inter lactantis infantiae rudimenta reptatam sicut recepisse parum fructuosum, sic non emeruisse nimis videtur ignavum. ego vero tantum obstringar indultis, ac si meae proficiat peculiariter proprietati quicquid meus aetate frater professione filius, loco civis fide amicus acceperit. vale.
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Sidonius to his friend Hypatius.
If the distinguished Donidius — an admirer and champion of your character — had been thinking only of his domestic advantage, your good faith would have been more than enough for his interests, even without an intercessor. But he was led by his affection for me to ask me to petition for what he had already obtained on his own. And so this too is added to the tribute owed to your honor: that two of us become debtors, though only one receives the benefit.
He wishes, with your support, to reclaim half of the Eborolacensis estate [near Ebreuil in the Auvergne] — a portion that had been desolate even before the barbarians arrived and now belongs to a patrician house. He is not driven to this purchase by the spur of greed but by the memory of his ancestors. The entire property had been under his family's ownership up until the death of his stepfather, who recently passed. Now, as a man who covets nothing that belongs to others and is careful with his own, he is troubled not so much by the loss of his family's ancestral property as by the shame of it. He is compelled to attempt its recovery not by the vice of avarice but by the necessity of honor.
Deign to grant what he desires, what I request, and what your own character demands — so that through your patronage he may regain the full extent of this estate. For a man who has known the property since his earliest infancy and even crawled upon its grounds, not having recovered it would seem to reflect excessive laziness, however little profit it may bring. I myself will be just as obliged for any favor granted as if it advanced my own personal interests — since whatever my brother in age, my son in profession, my fellow citizen in residence, and my friend in loyalty receives, benefits me as well. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.