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|AI-assisted
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.

AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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

Naevi instar est, nt frater mens Magnillus vicaria potestate per Africam fnnctus
testimonio omninm pnblice privatimque conspicuus variis in ea provincia retardetur
obstaculis. nosti -optimi viri maturitatem ceterasque artes bonas, quibns etiam tunm
amorem, cnm Lignriam gubemaret, adtraxit, et ideo apud te redundantis est operae
20 landare compertum. quare inpendio peto, ut cum a baiulo litteramm cansas morarum
eins acceperis, religiosum pro eius reditu interventum digneris adhibere, quo tandem
patriae restitntns longae peregrinationis iniuriam desiderata quiete commutet.

XXXV ante a. 398.

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