Letter 5049: The heirs of Ampelius, a man of illustrious memory, are being harassed by a private lawsuit.
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus→Unknown|c. 388 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
illness
From: Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
To: [Unnamed correspondent]
Date: ~388 AD
Context: Symmachus intervenes in a legal dispute affecting the heirs of the late Ampelius, a man of illustrious memory.
The heirs of Ampelius, a man of illustrious memory, are being harassed by a private lawsuit. You must not think this is merely a matter between private parties -- the reputation of a great man and the security of his family's legacy are at stake. I ask you to give this case your personal attention. The facts are set forth in the accompanying documents. I believe you will find that justice clearly favors the heirs, and I trust your fairness to reach the right conclusion. The dead deserve to have their wishes honored, and the living deserve to inherit without fear.
Ampeli inlustris memoriae viri necessitndines incessnntnr lite privata. non pntes
sola parentis reeordatione curam pro illis nostram moveri; extemos qnoqne et memo-
5 rati yiri nescios causae nrit indignitas. cnins breviter, nt possnm, fastigia et capita
contingam. Ampelins de snmmatibns qnondam senatns. qnem famae celebritate didi- 2
cisti, domnncnlam Romae de Postumino c. v. Porphyriae herede mercatus est. con-
tractus istins origo insta, aetas prope saecularis, intemptata possessio est. nnnc
nuper veterator qnidam proenratorio nomine extnlit capnt, Eusebii ex notariis c. v.
10 qnassans vetustam petitionem de impetratis olim Theodosii cninsdam bonis, qnibns
hoc praedinm mentitnr haesisse. Theodosio et Porphyriae nulla rationum societas 3
fuit, nuUa coniunctio facnltatum. res in iudicio urbano et a petitore coepta et
ipso fngiente finita est. denno cmeres negotii obreptiva supplicatione refovet in
flammam et per diffidentiam insti divinae domus pro se adtrahit actiones, ob in-
15 qnisitionem videlicet mobilium, quibus nihil est commune cnm praedio. pervestiget 4
ista legum ordine privati rector aerarii; aedium dominos relinquat iudici sno. dnplex
utiqne causa est, divisa rerum vocabnlis, actione discrepans, origine non cohaerens,
s^parata personis. neqne mobile aliquid emit Ampelius, neque domnm fiscns incessit.
cnr procnrator alienns invalidam petitionem pnblicis viribns invat? cnm fratre nostro 5
30 Sperchio inlnstri viro quaeso ista communices. est aeqni servantissimns, et qui liben-
tins communi iuri cedat qnam potestati snae faveat. scit enim leges honoribns esse
potiores. confido cnm snppressa cognoverit, elicitis non defnturam correctionem. si
quaeret, cnr ad enm super hoc nihil scripserim, respondeas, qnaeso, nondnm inter nos 6
facta stili consnetndine veritnm esse me, ne qnid a principio viderer arguere. dabit
25 mihi cansae hnins emendatio sermocinandi cnm eo materiam laetiorem; gratiarum actio
anspicinm litteris meis faciet. non expectabo nltra, nt adloquii sni fidnciam praestet
haerenti; ad omne me officinm institia eins hortabitur.
AD OLYBRIVM ET PROBINVM. PVF
LXVn (LXV) a. 397?
◆
From:Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
To:[Unnamed correspondent]
Date:~388 AD
Context:Symmachus intervenes in a legal dispute affecting the heirs of the late Ampelius, a man of illustrious memory.
The heirs of Ampelius, a man of illustrious memory, are being harassed by a private lawsuit. You must not think this is merely a matter between private parties -- the reputation of a great man and the security of his family's legacy are at stake. I ask you to give this case your personal attention. The facts are set forth in the accompanying documents. I believe you will find that justice clearly favors the heirs, and I trust your fairness to reach the right conclusion. The dead deserve to have their wishes honored, and the living deserve to inherit without fear.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.