Letter 5050: It is the mark of youthful vigor to rouse wild beasts from their woodland lairs and to pursue liberal studies with...
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus→Unknown|c. 388 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
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From: Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
To: [Unnamed correspondent]
Date: ~388 AD
Context: A letter praising the recipient's youthful energy in hunting and comparing it favorably to scholarly pursuits.
It is the mark of youthful vigor to rouse wild beasts from their woodland lairs and to pursue liberal studies with the pleasure of the hunt. These pleasures of the countryside are not merely recreation -- they train the body for hardship and the mind for quick decision. I envy your energy and your freedom to enjoy it. We city dwellers must content ourselves with the arena's pale imitation of what you experience firsthand among the forests and fields.
luvenalis industriae est excire saltibns feras et liberalia stndia silvestri voluptate
distingnere. sic olim Marsus inpiger et fortis Sabellns robnr habuemnt. nostris annis
parta proficiant. est huius indulgentiae in quibusdam avibns exemplum, nt nutrimenta
senescentibns aetas vicissim prima conportet. sed nondnm convenit yaletndini meae
porfyriae P, porphiriae V 13 cineres] M, cerneres PV 14 iusti (iu m ra»,) P 17 itaque V,
ista M coherens (co in ras,) P 1 m, 18 emlttam pelius P 20 Sperchio] Af(r), sperthio PV
itte V 1 m, 21 cedat] Wmgcndorp, credat PVM 22 snpBsa V, isU M 23 ad eum in
ras, V 2 m., ad ipsum M
28 «q* aur. symmachi uc explic ad patemu. incip eiusdem ad olybriu et probinum P, incipit ad oli-
brinm et probinum F, om. V 30 om, VF symmacus P 31 iuuenilis V 32 habuerer P
fort. scrib, robnr alnerunt 33 ut] /t P 34 oportet V
144 SYMMACHI EPISTVLAE
PVF uti ferinis yisceribas, nec tamen gratiam muneris vestri minuit apnd me necessitas
parsimoniae. nam etsi utendi abstinentia sanitati meae consulit, honor tamen maneris
animo satisfecit.
LXVIII (LXVI).
◆
From:Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
To:[Unnamed correspondent]
Date:~388 AD
Context:A letter praising the recipient's youthful energy in hunting and comparing it favorably to scholarly pursuits.
It is the mark of youthful vigor to rouse wild beasts from their woodland lairs and to pursue liberal studies with the pleasure of the hunt. These pleasures of the countryside are not merely recreation -- they train the body for hardship and the mind for quick decision. I envy your energy and your freedom to enjoy it. We city dwellers must content ourselves with the arena's pale imitation of what you experience firsthand among the forests and fields.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.