To Apollinaris [a kinsman].
Through Bishop Faustinus — a man bound to me by the fellowship of our old comradeship no less than by our shared profession — I had sent you certain warnings by word of mouth. I am glad you obeyed. For it is deeply ingrained in prudent minds to guard against the unexpected, just as it would be absurd to break into complaints when a bold venture goes wrong, blaming the unpredictable workings of chance for the disastrous outcomes of ill-considered plans.
"Where is this going?" you ask. I confess I was terribly afraid that in a time of public danger you would not be afraid — that the unshaken security of your solid household, undisturbed until now, would make your family tremble with untimely devotion in the face of the enemy's violent raids, and that the holiday pilgrimage [apparently a planned journey to a religious festival] so eagerly desired would first excite the tender hearts of the women, then collapse in value once the difficulty of the road made itself felt. Though in those same hearts a holiness so native and deeply rooted has made its home that, had anything gone wrong on the journey, they would have been glad to have endured a kind of martyrdom on behalf of a martyr. But I, whose lesser innocence breeds greater anxiety, gladly side with the more cautious opinion on doubtful matters and easily agree even with those who fear what is safe.
Therefore it was well done that you wisely postponed the risky journey, and the fate of so great a family was not staked on so great a gamble. Though the journey might have gone well, I would never have given my approval to a plan whose recklessness can only be excused by the accident of success. God willing, such prayers will be blessed with favorable outcomes, and there will yet be time to remember these terrors amid the pleasures of peace — but the present dangers make us cautious, even if the future will make us secure.
In the meantime, the bearer of this letter sighs over certain losses he claims were inflicted by your man Genesius. If you see that the complaint is not without basis, please grant the wronged man restitution and the foreigner a speedy resolution. But if his grievance is fueled by spiteful calumny, then the punishment of the complainant has already preceded your judgment: the brazen petitioner, worn out by the expense and travel of his rashly undertaken suit, sweats through his troubles — and this at the height of winter, amid the deepest snowdrifts and crusts of ice. Such a season, as far as litigants are concerned, may be short on hearings but is always long on suffering. Farewell.
EPISTULA VI
Sidonius Apollinari suo salutem.
1. Per Faustinum antistitem non minus mihi veteris contubernii sodalitate quam novae professionis communione devinctum verbo quaepiam cavenda mandaveram: dicto paruisse vos gaudeo. siquidem prudentibus cordacitus insitum est vitare fortuita, sicut itidem absurdum, si coeptis audacibus adversetur eventus, consurgere in querimonias et inconsultarum dispositionum culpabiles exitus ad infamanda casuum incerta convertere.
2. 'quorsum istaec?' ais. fateor me nimis veritum, ne tempore timoris publici non timeres et solidae domus ad hoc aevi inconcussa securitas ad tempestuosos hostium incursus pro intempestiva devotione trepidaret inchoaretque apud animorum matronalium teneritudinem sollemnitas expetita <valescere, itineris difficultas despecta> vilescere: quamquam in pectoribus earundem ita sibi sit genuina sanctitas peculiare metata domicilium, ut, si quid secus viantibus accidisset, laetaturae fuerint quoddam se pro martyre tolerasse martyrium. ast ego, cui maiorem diffidentiam minor innocentia facit, super hoc ambiguo sententiae cautiori libentius adhaeresco nec difficulter applicor etiam tuta metuentibus.
3. proinde factum bene est, quod anceps iter salubriter distulistis neque intra iactum tantae aleae status tantae familiae fuit. et licet inchoata via potuerit prosperari, ego tamen huiusmodi consilio album calculum minime apponam, cuius temeritas absolvi nequit nisi beneficio felicitatis. dabit quidem talia vota divinitas dignis successibus promoveri licebitque adhuc horumce terrorum sub pacis amoenitate meminisse; sed praesentia faciunt cautos quos videbunt futura securos.
4. interim ad praesens apicum oblator damna sibi quaepiam per Genesium vestrum inflicta suspirat. si perspicis a vero non discrepare querimoniam, tribue, quaeso, convincenti reformationem, peregrino celeritatem. si vero calumniam plectibili sufflammat invidia, in eo iam praecessit vindicta pulsati, quod procax petitor sumptu et itinere confectus temere propositae litis exsudat incommoda, atque hoc in maximo hiemis accentu summisque cumulis nivium crustisque glacierum; quod tempus, quantum ad sectatores litium spectat, breve quidem saepe est audientiae sed diuturnum semper iniuriae. vale.
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To Apollinaris [a kinsman].
Through Bishop Faustinus — a man bound to me by the fellowship of our old comradeship no less than by our shared profession — I had sent you certain warnings by word of mouth. I am glad you obeyed. For it is deeply ingrained in prudent minds to guard against the unexpected, just as it would be absurd to break into complaints when a bold venture goes wrong, blaming the unpredictable workings of chance for the disastrous outcomes of ill-considered plans.
"Where is this going?" you ask. I confess I was terribly afraid that in a time of public danger you would not be afraid — that the unshaken security of your solid household, undisturbed until now, would make your family tremble with untimely devotion in the face of the enemy's violent raids, and that the holiday pilgrimage [apparently a planned journey to a religious festival] so eagerly desired would first excite the tender hearts of the women, then collapse in value once the difficulty of the road made itself felt. Though in those same hearts a holiness so native and deeply rooted has made its home that, had anything gone wrong on the journey, they would have been glad to have endured a kind of martyrdom on behalf of a martyr. But I, whose lesser innocence breeds greater anxiety, gladly side with the more cautious opinion on doubtful matters and easily agree even with those who fear what is safe.
Therefore it was well done that you wisely postponed the risky journey, and the fate of so great a family was not staked on so great a gamble. Though the journey might have gone well, I would never have given my approval to a plan whose recklessness can only be excused by the accident of success. God willing, such prayers will be blessed with favorable outcomes, and there will yet be time to remember these terrors amid the pleasures of peace — but the present dangers make us cautious, even if the future will make us secure.
In the meantime, the bearer of this letter sighs over certain losses he claims were inflicted by your man Genesius. If you see that the complaint is not without basis, please grant the wronged man restitution and the foreigner a speedy resolution. But if his grievance is fueled by spiteful calumny, then the punishment of the complainant has already preceded your judgment: the brazen petitioner, worn out by the expense and travel of his rashly undertaken suit, sweats through his troubles — and this at the height of winter, amid the deepest snowdrifts and crusts of ice. Such a season, as far as litigants are concerned, may be short on hearings but is always long on suffering. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.