Letter 5014: Don't blame the boy for the slow return.
Don't blame the boy for the slow return. My distress over Symmachus [apparently a sick family member, possibly his son] left me no time to write back, and I held off sending the messenger until there was reason for hope.
Now that his danger has turned into a proper illness [i.e., identified and treatable], I can at least mention it to you. May divine mercy, which bends its ears to the prayers of parents, grant that I can soon send you more comforting news. Farewell.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Nolo puerum crimineris ob reditum tardiorem. mea pro Symmacho conturbatio
neque ad rescribendum tempus invenit et recursum tabellarii usque ad spem bonam
distulit. nunc quia periculum eius in aegritudinem versum est, hoc ipsum loqui apud
te licuit. faciet divina miseratio, quae pias aures adplicat votis parentum, ut tibi mox
de eo, quod iuvet animum, securitas mea nuntiet. 20
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