Letter 2056: In hopes of good health, we have chosen a place near the sea, but the winds are still fighting against us and we...
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus→Unknown|c. 391 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
illnesswomen
From: Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
To: [Unnamed correspondent]
Date: ~391 AD
Context: Symmachus reports from his seaside villa where his wife is convalescing, with news of Rome.
In hopes of good health, we have chosen a place near the sea, but the winds are still fighting against us and we have not yet felt the healthy breezes. This is why my wife's recovery is slower. If a better day brings some improvement, I will not delay in sending you the welcome report. As for news from the city, I would rather you hear it from the talk of travelers than from me, since things still hang in the balance and I do not want to say anything that daily events might contradict. But because you wish to know, I will say that nothing terrible is happening, only that many things are uncertain and fear still outweighs hope. One thing I can report confidently: our friends are well.
Spe bonae valetudinis mari vicina delegimus, sed necdum auras salubres ventis
30 obluctantibus experimur. hincpigrior est matronae ad sanitatem recursus; cui si quid
refectionis dies melior adiecerit, optatiim de ea indicium non morabor. urbanis ne-
gotiis, ut insinuare dignatus es, inquies monitor securus inludit. alieno enim periculo 2
in efiicax et copiae nocitura tempfatur, ut cum vilitatis metus in angustias coegerit
civitatem, tunc opum validis quaestum augeat avara venditio. hoscinc homines arbitreris,
deliberatione non 0 cessat ergo patrom deliberatio, uum uocemur Afommien, cessante ergo patruni deli-
beratione uacamus Suse
IS curauimus P 1 m., curat umus (IV>) 19 luxoriae P 1 m,
21 symmacus P 24 quia Suse, tabeliari uitio Mommsen
8»
60 SYMMACHI EPISTVLAE
P qu]* plus amicis consilio nocent, quam inimicis odio obesse potuissent? sed nos publico
dudum opere perfuncti, aliena sileamus. dii meliora procurent! neque enim gaudere
dignum est^ si qua mihi laus ex alterius errore proveniat. vale.
LVI ante a. 395.
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From:Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
To:[Unnamed correspondent]
Date:~391 AD
Context:Symmachus reports from his seaside villa where his wife is convalescing, with news of Rome.
In hopes of good health, we have chosen a place near the sea, but the winds are still fighting against us and we have not yet felt the healthy breezes. This is why my wife's recovery is slower. If a better day brings some improvement, I will not delay in sending you the welcome report. As for news from the city, I would rather you hear it from the talk of travelers than from me, since things still hang in the balance and I do not want to say anything that daily events might contradict. But because you wish to know, I will say that nothing terrible is happening, only that many things are uncertain and fear still outweighs hope. One thing I can report confidently: our friends are well.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.