Letter 5032: I am glad that my friend Aurelius has been admitted to the circle of your proteges — not only for his sake, since...

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusUnknown|c. 381 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
friendship

I am glad that my friend Aurelius has been admitted to the circle of your proteges — not only for his sake, since the patronage of so distinguished a man is a great benefit, but especially for my own, since you treated my testimony as equivalent to your own judgment. This only deepens my obligation to you.

I ask that you continue to show him favor. He is a man of proven integrity who will not disappoint the trust you have placed in him — or the word I have given on his behalf. Farewell.

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

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