Letter 5044: Duty demanded that I write, especially since a convenient opportunity presented itself.

From: Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, Roman Senator To: A friend (name lost) Date: ~386 AD Context: A brief courtesy letter sent via a friend's servant, expressing good wishes. Duty demanded that I write, especially since a convenient opportunity presented itself. Your man offered himself to me as a letter carrier, and I realized it would be a grave offense to send him back with nothing. I wish you well, I report my own good health, and in return I ask you to reward me with news of your wellbeing.

15 Religio postulavit, ut scriberem, praesertim cum hortaretur familiaris occasio. nam homo tuus tabellarium se mihi optulit, cui nihil litterarum dare summa piaculi esse perspexi. salvere igitur te opto, me nuntio, et vicissim peto, ut nos sospitatis tuae indiciis munereris. LXn (LX) a. 396—397.