Letter 1028: If you have a taste for natural history — the kind Pliny labored over — here are some volumes I happened to have on...
If you have a taste for natural history — the kind Pliny labored over — here are some volumes I happened to have on hand. The copyist, I suspect, will displease a scholar as exacting as you: he's rather careless with accuracy. But don't blame me for the sloppy editing. I'd rather earn your approval for the speed of my gift than for the quality of someone else's work. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
Related Letters
This letter, written in 374 A.D., is chiefly interesting for its mention of Jerome's sister. It would seem that she had fallen into sin and had been restored to a life of virtue by the deacon, Julian. Jerome speaks of her again in the next letter (§4).
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I dare invite you to my estate at Lavinium [an ancient town south of Rome] after the delights of Tibur, and I won't...
After this greeting, I turn to a matter that demands your attention.
You have written to me requesting that I meet with you.