Letter 47
It's an old saying that talent is nourished by honor. Our own era has proved it true. No one distinguished in war or prominent at home has found his effort unrewarded. And so, when the deserving receive their due, hope is kindled in those who follow the same path.
I'm therefore delighted — on many people's behalf, since honest effort is winning them Fortune's favor — but most of all for my friend Julianus, whom I'd like you to love as much as I'm confident you can esteem him.
You know how rare it is, in the dust of the courtroom, to find eloquence paired with integrity. Either modesty holds back a fine mind, or success makes a fluent speaker arrogant. In my friend, these qualities coexist in such balance that his decency never silenced him and his fluency never cost him his dignity. He never sold his tongue's ornaments for a fee; despite his modest means, he traded wealth for loyalty, profit for a good name.
I'm happy to entrust him to your hands — or rather, your heart — since my deepest concern is that good people should benefit from your friendship. And I know you feel the same: nature delights in equals, and we are drawn to what resembles us.
But lest a lengthy testimonial arouse suspicion that I'm simply playing advocate, I ask you to judge him for yourself with careful scrutiny. Once you've tested his principles, you'll have tested my judgment too. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
Related Letters
1. An attempt was made by the enemy of Christians to cause, by occasion of our very dear and sweet son your brother, the agitation of a most dangerous scandal within the Catholic Church, which as a mother welcomed you to her affectionate embrace when you fled from a disinherited and separated fragment into the heritage of Christ; the desire of t...