Letter 2030: You can easily imagine how I received the news of the Sicilian affair gone wrong — you who know that the injustice...

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusUnknown|c. 380 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
grief death

You can easily imagine how I received the news of the Sicilian affair gone wrong — you who know that the injustice of judges wounds me even in other people's cases. And now I am even accused of having given imprudent advice that led to the loss of a case that was rightly decided.

But what was I to do? I advised what justice demanded, not what fortune would allow. If the outcome proved unfavorable, the fault lies with the judge, not with the counsel. I remain convinced that the case was sound, and I urge you not to abandon it. An appeal may yet restore what an unjust verdict has taken away. Send me word of what you decide. Farewell.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.

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