To Syagrius [a young Gallo-Roman aristocrat, great-grandson of a consul, living among the Burgundians].
You are the great-grandson of a consul — and through the male line, though that matters less to my present point. You are descended from a poet [Syagrius's ancestor, the consul, was also a literary man] whose statues would have been earned by his writing, had he not already earned the consular robe. And the studies of his descendants have not degenerated in this respect, not even slightly. So it is astonishing beyond words how easily you have picked up fluency in the Germanic language.
I remember your childhood being well grounded in the liberal arts, and I know for a fact that you declaimed frequently, forcefully, and eloquently before a rhetorical master. That being the case, I would like you to tell me: where did your heart suddenly absorb the euphony of a foreign people? It is as if you — fresh from the schoolmaster's rod and Virgil's readings, having sweated through the rich abundance and loquacity of that "varicose Cicero" [Sidonius's playful description of Cicero's elaborate style] — have burst forth as a new falcon from an old nest.
It is impossible to describe how much amusement it gives me and everyone else to hear that in your presence the barbarian is afraid of committing a barbarism in his own language. Aged Burgundians with stooped backs stand in amazement as you interpret their letters, and they choose you as arbiter and judge in their mutual business dealings. You are a new Solon among the Burgundians when it comes to explaining their laws, a new Amphion when it comes to tuning their three-stringed lyres [the Burgundians played a simple stringed instrument]. You are loved, sought out, entertained, chosen, consulted, and heard — and although they are as stiff in body as in mind, rough and unworkable, they embrace in you and simultaneously learn their native tongue alongside a Roman heart.
One thing remains, my most witty friend: do not slacken in devoting whatever leisure you have to reading, and maintain — as befits your refined taste — this balance: keep that barbarian tongue in hand so you are not laughed at, but exercise this Roman one so that you may laugh. Farewell.
EPISTULA V
Sidonius Syagrio suo salutem.
1. Cum sis consulis pronepos idque per virilem successionem (quamquam id ad causam subiciendam minus attinet), cum sis igitur e semine poetae, cui procul dubio statuas dederant litterae, si trabeae non dedissent (quod etiam nunc auctoris culta versibus verba testantur), a quo studia posterorum ne parum quidem, quippe in hac parte, degeneraverunt, immane narratu est, quantum stupeam sermonis te Germanici notitiam tanta facilitate rapuisse.
2. atqui pueritiam tuam competenter scholis liberalibus memini imbutam et saepenumero acriter eloquenterque declamasse coram oratore satis habeo compertum. atque haec cum ita sint, velim dicas, unde subito hauserunt pectora tua euphoniam gentis alienae, ut modo mihi post ferulas lectionis Maronianae postque desudatam varicosi Arpinatis opulentiam loquacitatemque quasi de + harilao vetere novus falco prorumpas?
3. aestimari minime potest, quanto mihi ceterisque sit risui, quotiens audio, quod te praesente formidet linguae suae facere barbarus barbarismum. adstupet tibi epistulas interpretanti curva Germanorum senectus et negotiis mutuis arbitrum te disceptatoremque desumit. novus Burgundionum Solon in legibus disserendis, novus Amphion in citharis, sed trichordibus, temperandis amaris frequentaris, expeteris oblectas, eligeris adhiberis, decernis audiris. et quamquam aeque corporibus ac sensu rigidi sint indolatilesque, amplectuntur in te pariter et discunt sermonem patrium, cor Latinum.
4. restat hoc unum, vir facetissime, ut nihilo segnius, vel cum vacabit, aliquid lectioni operae impendas custodiasque hoc, prout es elegantissimus, temperamentum, ut ista tibi lingua teneatur, ne ridearis, illa exerceatur, ut rideas. vale.
◆
To Syagrius [a young Gallo-Roman aristocrat, great-grandson of a consul, living among the Burgundians].
You are the great-grandson of a consul — and through the male line, though that matters less to my present point. You are descended from a poet [Syagrius's ancestor, the consul, was also a literary man] whose statues would have been earned by his writing, had he not already earned the consular robe. And the studies of his descendants have not degenerated in this respect, not even slightly. So it is astonishing beyond words how easily you have picked up fluency in the Germanic language.
I remember your childhood being well grounded in the liberal arts, and I know for a fact that you declaimed frequently, forcefully, and eloquently before a rhetorical master. That being the case, I would like you to tell me: where did your heart suddenly absorb the euphony of a foreign people? It is as if you — fresh from the schoolmaster's rod and Virgil's readings, having sweated through the rich abundance and loquacity of that "varicose Cicero" [Sidonius's playful description of Cicero's elaborate style] — have burst forth as a new falcon from an old nest.
It is impossible to describe how much amusement it gives me and everyone else to hear that in your presence the barbarian is afraid of committing a barbarism in his own language. Aged Burgundians with stooped backs stand in amazement as you interpret their letters, and they choose you as arbiter and judge in their mutual business dealings. You are a new Solon among the Burgundians when it comes to explaining their laws, a new Amphion when it comes to tuning their three-stringed lyres [the Burgundians played a simple stringed instrument]. You are loved, sought out, entertained, chosen, consulted, and heard — and although they are as stiff in body as in mind, rough and unworkable, they embrace in you and simultaneously learn their native tongue alongside a Roman heart.
One thing remains, my most witty friend: do not slacken in devoting whatever leisure you have to reading, and maintain — as befits your refined taste — this balance: keep that barbarian tongue in hand so you are not laughed at, but exercise this Roman one so that you may laugh. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.