Letter 3035: It's a blemish on justice that my friend Magnillus — who served as vicar [deputy governor] in Africa and earned...

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusUnknown|c. 383 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
friendshiptravel mobility

It's a blemish on justice that my friend Magnillus — who served as vicar [deputy governor] in Africa and earned universal praise both publicly and privately — is being held up by various obstacles in the province. You know the man's maturity and his many fine qualities, which won your affection even when he was governing Liguria.

So there's no need for me to sing the praises of someone you already know well. I earnestly ask that when the letter-carrier explains the reasons for his delays, you intervene on his behalf so that he may finally return home and exchange the hardship of his long exile for the rest he longs for.

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

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