Letter 5008: [To a friend about Anastasius] You know our friend Anastasius well — you've seen him often in your own home.

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusMagnillum|c. 369 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
monasticism

[To a friend about Anastasius] You know our friend Anastasius well — you've seen him often in your own home. That familiarity alone ought to count in his favor with you, even without any letter of introduction. But now I have no doubt your care for him will be all the greater, since both an old acquaintance and this present letter speak on his behalf.

[To Magnillus] A convenient opportunity has come up to send you a sign of my well-being. I have no doubt my letter will reach you, since Silvanus — a man devoted to our interests — will deliver it. The very fact that he's carrying out this duty should itself recommend him to you. As for your reply, I'm not worried — our mutual affection guarantees that your letters will come in turn. Farewell.

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

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