Letter 3059: ...may the diligence of our correspondence grow warmer through the fruit of reciprocity.
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus→Unknown|c. 392 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
barbarian invasionfriendship
From: Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
To: [Unnamed correspondent]
Date: ~392 AD
Context: A partially preserved letter discussing the rewards of diligent correspondence and exchanging greetings.
...may the diligence of our correspondence grow warmer through the fruit of reciprocity. Accept, then, my greeting, and at the same time know that the exchange of letters between us is one of the great pleasures of my life. When duty and distance conspire to keep friends apart, the written word becomes the bridge between them. I have much to tell you, but this letter must be brief. A fuller account will follow when time permits.
officiorum diligentia frnctu vicissitudinis incalescat. sume igitur salutationem , simul-
que indicium sospitatis meae laetus amplectere, redditurus voto atque animo meo re-
ciproca gaudia similium de tuis actibus nuntiorum.
LXXn a. 384—387.
AD TIMASrVM. 15
Vrgeo te frequentibus scriptis et animi aflfectione non desero. est autem sequester
sermonis mei Felix probabilis honestate vitae et exercitatione militiae; cuius ut con-
siderationem habeas, commonere non debeo, cum tua aeqnitas tantum pro eo possit
efficere, quantum favor meus posset optare.
LXXIII a. 384—387. 20
AD TIMASIVM.
Petitio domini et fratris mei Stemmatii monitorem magis apud te quam preca-
torem requirit. nam cum tanta sit tibi eius antiquitas, ut votum nostrum favore prae-
curras, laborem rogandi in lucro habere debemus. breviter igitur, ut tui
poscat, adverte. subsidia vitae , quae bona dici solent, ubi census uberior est, infor- 25
tunio proscriptionis amisit. haec in magno reip. gaudio tuis potissimum meritis re-
pensanda committit. suscipe, oro te, plenum bonitatis negotium et amici inopiam, cui
miserae valetudinis casus accessit, rei familiaris integratione solare.
poscat F, laeunam indieavi 26 reip.] spei F 27 oro] LypsiuSj pro PF
AD PROMOTVM. PF
LXXim ante a. 392.
AD PROMOTVM.
Mnlta in te virtntnm natnra eongessit; qnae si qnis tmtinet pensiore indicio,
5 nesciat, ntmni in te bona fortitndinis magis an mentis excellant. sed alterins tibi
landis adstipnlator est princeps generis humani, ofliciomm vero familiarium nos testes
esse debemns. qno tibi religiosum stndium neqnimus aequare tamen in hoc 2
te mei amore progressnm, nt mihi falsis landibus blandiaris^ cum ais aliquid te ex
nostri oris desiderare promptario, qnod tibi inter ranca cornua feorum strepitns
10 blandiatnr. est qnidem familiare virtuti delenimenta exercitii sensibns admovere.
nam et Achillen vatum maximus refert, aegrnm antmi cnras fidibns resoMsse. sed
nos et mnsicae facnndiae inopiam confitemnr, et nntrimentnm loquendi eomm litteris
ancnpamnr, qnos haerere comitatni et fama loqnitur et tna scripta testantnr.
LXXV ante a. 392.
◆
From:Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
To:[Unnamed correspondent]
Date:~392 AD
Context:A partially preserved letter discussing the rewards of diligent correspondence and exchanging greetings.
...may the diligence of our correspondence grow warmer through the fruit of reciprocity. Accept, then, my greeting, and at the same time know that the exchange of letters between us is one of the great pleasures of my life. When duty and distance conspire to keep friends apart, the written word becomes the bridge between them. I have much to tell you, but this letter must be brief. A fuller account will follow when time permits.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.