Letter 2039: My son Parthenius's arrival needs no embellishment of recommendation.

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusUnknown|c. 384 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
illness

My son Parthenius's arrival needs no embellishment of recommendation. But I expect his standing will only rise when my own words accompany his presence. From him you'll learn what's been happening in Rome — though rumor has probably outrun the written account. Great and unexpected events don't stay secret for long.

The people of Rome have turned a corner. The punishment of the rioters is now being demanded by the very crowds that used to follow them, and the troublemakers have finally backed down. I won't say more — it would be wrong to steal anything from his account. I've left the full picture for the one coming to deliver it in person. Farewell.

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

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