Letter 2010: Justice, admittedly, doesn't need an advocate.

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusUnknown|c. 369 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus|AI-assisted
friendship

Justice, admittedly, doesn't need an advocate. But friendship can often speed a case along. Where am I going with this, you ask? I want Your Excellency to know that the praiseworthy Carissimus, a former count, places his hope in the quality of his case — but recognizes that having my letter to support him won't hurt when it comes to winning the judge's favorable attention.

I ask, therefore, that you advance the petition of a man I embrace with a brother's affection. I've taken up his cause because I've weighed the character of the petitioner and found his claim to be just.

AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.

Latin / Greek Original

lustitia quidem suffragium non requirit, sed amicitiarum plerumque respectu cau-
sarum celeritas adiuvatur. quorsum istud, inquies? ut noverit eximia dignatio tua,
sperare quidem virum laudabilem Carissimum ex comitibus de negotii qualitate, quod
20 optatum exitum posrit adipisci , sed intellegere , cessurum sibi aliquid ad promeren-
dum studium cognitoris, si meis litteris fulciatur. quaeso igitur, ut eius, quem fra-
tema adfectione conplector, orata promoveas. quae ideo commendanda suscepi, quia
mores petent/s expendens aequa esse praesumpsi.

XI ante a. 395.

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