From: Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, Roman Senator
To: Protadius and Minervius (multiple short letters)
Date: ~371-399 AD
Context: Several letters bundled together: Symmachus playfully defends his silence to a friend, reflects on the labors of correspondence, and writes several recommendations to Minervius.
To a friend (~371 AD):
You enjoy my letters -- so you say! That must be why you demand them so often and so eagerly. But I should not be branded lazy just because I cannot satisfy your insatiable appetite for my writing. Do you really think friendship's memory fades through silence? Do not judge hearts that way -- their commitments are eternal. Loyalty carries its own weight and does not need the constant prod of a pen to remind it. I have written this to you more than once, yet you never abandon your old complaint. What if it is better to keep a long silence? Do you not see that the oracles have long since stopped speaking? No letters are read in the cave at Cumae [the famous Sibyl's grotto near Naples], Dodona [the ancient Greek oracle site] no longer whispers through its leaves, and no prophecy is heard from the vents at Delphi. Allow me then, a mere mortal shaped by Prometheus's hand, to stop committing to papyrus what has long since ceased to be written even on prophetic leaves. But do not suspect I am declaring permanent silence. I will write at intervals proportional to the distance between us. You too should master your impatience with reason -- it is unreasonable to expect daily letters delivered from the Tiber to the banks of the Rhine.
---
To Protadius (~395 AD):
The rewards I reap from your letters are great, but they grow richer when they pass through the hands of our mutual friends. Each one adds something of his own to what you have written. So I credit to you whatever I gather from everyone's conversation. But consider in return how much effort it costs me to reply to the varied brilliance of so many fine minds. You are all equals, yet no two of you are alike. So the task of replying brings me no less difficulty than the pleasure of receiving. Nature has imposed this law on all human joys: that care follows pleasure. A newborn child delights its parents on the first day, but soon anxious fears drive away that brief happiness. Honor is joyful at the start, then the heat of labor overtakes the spirit. It would take forever to string together more examples.
Let me turn to what I may properly say about so great a man. You have sworn rashly! You complain that my letters are being committed to perishable paper and you have backed up your extravagant judgment with an oath. Are you making a game of me -- insisting that my casual talk be transferred to wooden tablets or linden writing boards, lest the fragile old age of papyrus ruin your archive? The Marcian prophets, after all, had their divinations pressed into perishable bark, and the Cumaean prophecies were preserved on linen. Yet you would have my letters poured into silk scrolls in the Persian fashion! The weight of your authority is great, and I cannot dismiss what you assert under oath. But when I look at myself again, my confidence wavers, and my conscience contradicts your testimony. So what your standing as judge makes credible, my own self-doubt as listener rejects. You alone can settle the question -- by telling your affection to speak more sparingly in praise of me from now on.
---
To Minervius (~397 AD): You have stolen a march on my modesty by writing first. Consider me bound to you by this gift. But I cannot accept that you seem to be entering the house of our friendship as a new visitor. I long ago took your virtues -- equal to your brothers' -- into my heart's keeping. You have even grown into your legitimate share of the family friendship your father held with me, though each of you individually has gained the full measure of my love. The goods of the soul, though they may seem to be spread among many, nevertheless benefit each person fully and undivided. Moreover, since you serve in the imperial chancery's eloquence, I have extended the right hand of friendship to you. So bound as we are by so many pledges, let us not measure the age of our affection by when we first exchanged letters. For just as the heart is faster than correspondence, so love came before writing.
---
To Minervius (~396 AD): After word spread through travelers that you had arrived in Milan, I hoped for a letter from you shortly. But when my expectation was disappointed and no reward for my hope followed, I claimed for my own the courtesy I had expected from you. An additional reason for writing was my distinguished friend Bassus, who has been briefly pulled away from us and needed me to transfer him into your good graces. I have added a second page to be delivered to your brother when fortune grants you a return to your homeland. He had already sprinkled us with the flowers of his eloquence and had commissioned some ancient records of Gaul to be copied out during his leisure. It works out perfectly that through you he can receive both the honor of my letter and the fruit of the history he requested.
---
To Minervius (~398-399 AD): My friend Paulus has long served in the imperial treasury, but you should not judge him by his rank alone -- his integrity of character surpasses the modesty of his office. Do not look down on the man if you examine the number of his years of service. Advancement comes slowly to the modest, who tend to remain below what their merits deserve. Yet he does not regret standing still so long, for he was saved for your judgment, under which rising is the greatest reward for patience. Since his integrity of life and his years of service speak for him, it is fitting that he should reach his due rewards with me as his advocate and you as his patron.
Delectaris epistulis meis. credo! hinc est, qnod eas et saepe et ardenter efBa-
gitas. sed non statim mereor desidis notam, si neqneo tni amoris in me avaritiae
satisfacere. an interlabi amicitiae memoriam per silentium pntas? cave talia de ani- 5
mis opinari . quomm aetema iudicia Bunt. habet enim plurimum sui ponderis fides
2 et allegata voluntario sacro stili admonitione non indiget. haec a me tibi non semel
scripta snnt, nec tamen deseris inveteratam qnerellam. quid si praestat longum tacere?
non vides oracula olim locuta desisse, nec nlla in antro Cnmano litteris legi, nec
Dodonam loqui frondibus, nec de spiraculis Delphicis ullnm carmen audiri? patere 10
igitnr, ut homullus Promethei manu fictus mandare cessem papyro, qnae dudum in
3 vatum foliis non leguntur. nolo tamen denuntiatum tibi a me silentium snspiceris.
t«nebo in scribendo tantam mensuram temporis, quantum inter nos locis absumus. tu
quoque inpatientiam vince ratione, quae non sinit, ut tibi cottidie litterae meae in
vicinia Rheni posito a nostro Albula deferantur. 15
XXXnn a. 395.
AD PROTADIVM.
Magni sunt quidem fmctus, quos de litteris tuis capio, sed fiunt uberiores, dnm
communium fratrum manus transeunt. singuli enim scriptis tnis de suo aliquid ad-
ponunt. tibi igitur acceptum fero quidquid ex omnium ore conquiro. sed rursus ex- 20
pende, qnanto labore respondeam tot ingeniomm sublimium varietati. nam pares estis,
nec tamen similes. ergo non minorem mihi rependenda adfemnt difficultatem quam
2 accepta dnlcedinem. hanc omnibus humanis gaudiis legem natura dixit, ut curae
voluptatem sequantur. natae subolis primns parentes dies hilarat, mox pii metus
brevem gratiam fugant: honor in exordiis laetns est, dehinc animos labomm aestns 2&
ingreditur. longum fiat, si pergam similia contexere. et iam mihi ad ea devertendnm
3 est, quae fas sit de tanto viro dicere. temere iurasti. mandari enim periturae chartae
epistulas quereris et allegasti sacramento enorme iudicium. itane me ludos facis, ut
quae apud te incuriosius loqnor, fin stili caudices aut tiliae pugillares censeas trans-
ferenda, ne facilis senectus papyri scrin/a cormmpat? et Marciomm qnidem vatnm 30
divinatio caducis corticibus inculcata est, monitus Cumanos lintea texta snmpsemnt:
4 tu etiam sericis voluminibus Achaemenio more infundi litteras meas praecipis. magna
sunt auctoritatis tuae pondera, nec possum gratiosum putare, quod tu iuratus allegas ;
de amico VM0 7 alligata uolnntario sacramento Wouweren 8 praestet V, praestes M, praestas (/*)
tnr V auspiceris corr. ex suspicaris P 13 tanta P 1 m. 14 inpatientia uince rationem V
17 om. VM 19 per communium VM(r) 21 parestis P l m. 22 rependendi VM
quam om. P 1 m. 24 subolis] /^, suboH Af, suboles PV prima parentes die P^ m. 26 fuat V
mihi ad eadem uertendum est VM, ea mihi aduertendum est F 27 cartae P ^ m. VMy certe P 1 m.
maleriae\ quae in eitro laudahatWj cf. Plin. h. n. XlJIy 101 caudice^ P 30 nec P sena-
tus VM scrinla] ego, scrinta (?) P 1 m., scripta P2m. VM martiorum VM 32 siricis V, sy-
ricis M achemenio Vy achymenio M
LIBER IIIL 1 1 1
sed dum me rursus inspicio, labascit fides et refragatur testimonio conscientia. ita PVM
quod credibile persona iudicis facit, diffidentia respuit audientis. tu igitur solus am-
bigua summovebis, si amorem tuum posthac parcius loqui de laudibus meis iusseris.
AD MINERVIVM. PVF
5 XXXV ante a. 397.
Obrepsisti verecundiae meae, ut prior scriberes. vadatum me tibi hoc munere
velim credas. sed non fero, ut aedes quodammodo amicitiae nostrae novus salutator
adisse videaris. iamdudum virtutes tuas pares fratribus in pectoris mei possessionem
recepi. crevisti etiam pro parte legitima patemae in me familiaritatis successionem,
10 licet singulis vobis soliditas mei amoris accesserit; quae bona animi, etsi spargi in
plures putantur, unicuique tamen plena et indivisa proficiunt. praeterea cum palatinae
eloquentiae militares, porrexi amicitiae tuae dexteram. quare tot tantisque pignoribus
adnexi, non aestimemus de epistularum tirocinio caritatis aetatem. nam ut animus
eelerior est litteris, ita prius fuit amare quam scribere.
t5 XXXVI a. 396.
AD MINERVIVM. PFM
Postquam te Mediolanium venisse adseveratio commeantium palam fecit, speravi
de proximo litteras tuas; sed ubi elusa est expectatio mea nec successit ullum spei
pretium , praesumptum de te officium meo operi vindicavi. auxit praeterea scribendi
20 causam vir spectabilis frater meus Bassus , qui paulisper avulsus a nobis transponi a
me in pectus tunm debuit. adieci alteram paginam reddendam germano tuo, cum tibi 2
fors in patriam reditum secundaverit. asperserat nos ille iamdudum facundiae suae
floribus, et sibi Oalliarum prisca monumenta iuvando otio exscribenda mandaverat.
optato accidit, nt ei per te utrumque reddatur, honor epistulae meae et expetitae
25 fructus bistoriae.
XXXVn a. 398—399.
AD MINERVIVM.
Panlus amicus meus iamdiu aerario sacro militat, sed non pro gradu militiae
spectandus tibi; nam probitate morum suorum mediocritatem vincit officii. nec de-
30 spexeris hominem , si numerum stipendiorum eius examines ; sed tardiores processus
habet verecundia, quae facit, ut intra merita honoris sui haereat. nec tamen paenitet
longum stetisse; tuo enim iudicio reservatus est, sub quo emergere maximum morae
pretium est. cnm igitur illi vitae integritas, militiae aetas suffragium ferat, dignum
est, ut ad debitos fructus me precatore, te auctore perveniat.
successionem] Mercet, successione PVDP 11 indiuersa V 12 militarem F pigneribus V
perseuerat P, secunda u^ritas perseuerat K, secundum persuaserit M 23 momenta VM
112 SYMMACHI EPISTVLAE
XXXVm a. 398—399.
◆
From:Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, Roman Senator
To:Protadius and Minervius (multiple short letters)
Date:~371-399 AD
Context:Several letters bundled together: Symmachus playfully defends his silence to a friend, reflects on the labors of correspondence, and writes several recommendations to Minervius.
To a friend (~371 AD):
You enjoy my letters -- so you say! That must be why you demand them so often and so eagerly. But I should not be branded lazy just because I cannot satisfy your insatiable appetite for my writing. Do you really think friendship's memory fades through silence? Do not judge hearts that way -- their commitments are eternal. Loyalty carries its own weight and does not need the constant prod of a pen to remind it. I have written this to you more than once, yet you never abandon your old complaint. What if it is better to keep a long silence? Do you not see that the oracles have long since stopped speaking? No letters are read in the cave at Cumae [the famous Sibyl's grotto near Naples], Dodona [the ancient Greek oracle site] no longer whispers through its leaves, and no prophecy is heard from the vents at Delphi. Allow me then, a mere mortal shaped by Prometheus's hand, to stop committing to papyrus what has long since ceased to be written even on prophetic leaves. But do not suspect I am declaring permanent silence. I will write at intervals proportional to the distance between us. You too should master your impatience with reason -- it is unreasonable to expect daily letters delivered from the Tiber to the banks of the Rhine.
---
To Protadius (~395 AD):
The rewards I reap from your letters are great, but they grow richer when they pass through the hands of our mutual friends. Each one adds something of his own to what you have written. So I credit to you whatever I gather from everyone's conversation. But consider in return how much effort it costs me to reply to the varied brilliance of so many fine minds. You are all equals, yet no two of you are alike. So the task of replying brings me no less difficulty than the pleasure of receiving. Nature has imposed this law on all human joys: that care follows pleasure. A newborn child delights its parents on the first day, but soon anxious fears drive away that brief happiness. Honor is joyful at the start, then the heat of labor overtakes the spirit. It would take forever to string together more examples.
Let me turn to what I may properly say about so great a man. You have sworn rashly! You complain that my letters are being committed to perishable paper and you have backed up your extravagant judgment with an oath. Are you making a game of me -- insisting that my casual talk be transferred to wooden tablets or linden writing boards, lest the fragile old age of papyrus ruin your archive? The Marcian prophets, after all, had their divinations pressed into perishable bark, and the Cumaean prophecies were preserved on linen. Yet you would have my letters poured into silk scrolls in the Persian fashion! The weight of your authority is great, and I cannot dismiss what you assert under oath. But when I look at myself again, my confidence wavers, and my conscience contradicts your testimony. So what your standing as judge makes credible, my own self-doubt as listener rejects. You alone can settle the question -- by telling your affection to speak more sparingly in praise of me from now on.
---
To Minervius (~397 AD): You have stolen a march on my modesty by writing first. Consider me bound to you by this gift. But I cannot accept that you seem to be entering the house of our friendship as a new visitor. I long ago took your virtues -- equal to your brothers' -- into my heart's keeping. You have even grown into your legitimate share of the family friendship your father held with me, though each of you individually has gained the full measure of my love. The goods of the soul, though they may seem to be spread among many, nevertheless benefit each person fully and undivided. Moreover, since you serve in the imperial chancery's eloquence, I have extended the right hand of friendship to you. So bound as we are by so many pledges, let us not measure the age of our affection by when we first exchanged letters. For just as the heart is faster than correspondence, so love came before writing.
---
To Minervius (~396 AD): After word spread through travelers that you had arrived in Milan, I hoped for a letter from you shortly. But when my expectation was disappointed and no reward for my hope followed, I claimed for my own the courtesy I had expected from you. An additional reason for writing was my distinguished friend Bassus, who has been briefly pulled away from us and needed me to transfer him into your good graces. I have added a second page to be delivered to your brother when fortune grants you a return to your homeland. He had already sprinkled us with the flowers of his eloquence and had commissioned some ancient records of Gaul to be copied out during his leisure. It works out perfectly that through you he can receive both the honor of my letter and the fruit of the history he requested.
---
To Minervius (~398-399 AD): My friend Paulus has long served in the imperial treasury, but you should not judge him by his rank alone -- his integrity of character surpasses the modesty of his office. Do not look down on the man if you examine the number of his years of service. Advancement comes slowly to the modest, who tend to remain below what their merits deserve. Yet he does not regret standing still so long, for he was saved for your judgment, under which rising is the greatest reward for patience. Since his integrity of life and his years of service speak for him, it is fitting that he should reach his due rewards with me as his advocate and you as his patron.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.