Letter 5021: I'm overjoyed that an old debt has been paid to your merits at last.
I'm overjoyed that an old debt has been paid to your merits at last. You've long placed the republic in your debt through your virtues, and now, having found a prince of divine faith [i.e., the emperor], she has in a sense obtained the consulship she owed you.
I would have rushed to the celebration with eager heart, if the late arrival of the imperial travel permit hadn't squeezed the window too tight. Winter, too, held me back — heavy cold and short daylight hours slow a traveler down.
But my heart and my joy are with you. I alone have reason to grieve that misfortune robbed me of such a blessing; for you, the number of those present will suffice, along with the devotion of those who are absent.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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