Letter 5076: The circumstances of our time test every friendship, and those that survive the test emerge stronger.
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus→Unknown|c. 398 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
friendship
From: Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
To: [Unnamed correspondent]
Date: ~398 AD
Context: A letter on various matters, with the beginning partially obscured by OCR damage.
The circumstances of our time test every friendship, and those that survive the test emerge stronger. I have observed with admiration your steadfastness through recent difficulties, and I want you to know that it has not gone unnoticed. In better days, such constancy might be taken for granted; in times like these, it is a rare and precious thing. I attach my thoughts on the particular matters you raised, and I trust my judgment will prove as useful as your patience deserves.
«
Romam redisse me nuntio. atque utinam sanitatis qnoque meae index esse potuis-
sem, quam labefactavit peregrinationis iniuria et hiemalis asperitas. sed otio redditus
30 spero meliora. ipse ut valeas, divina praestabunt. nam ut homines meos solito favore
tuearis, postulare non debeo, cum incitamentum spontanea officia non requirant.
I reddito V^ mihi lex V^, ex V^ fratrem V^ aliquid anit asperiUtis inur. V^
2 quoque] qq V^
misi Vt
II sym help V^, om, V^M 14 ///ria P exultoque ad V2 8//dium P 15 ex-
ortatione P l m, 16 lectionem V\ lectioni (F) 17 enim om, V^ silere (F) propo-
sitio V»
uore sollto V*
152 SYMMACHI EPISTVLAE
LXXXXVII (LXXXXV).
PV^m SYMMACHVS HELPIDIO.
Maiaerim quidem taum solamen adipisci, ned quia litteris secundus ad gratiam locus
est, desiderio tui scriptorum conpensatio satisfecit maximeque iuvit animnm, quod
tecum bonam valetudinem redisse in gratiam nuntiasti. ipse Formiis adhuc residere s
PV lconstitui, ut mitigatis autumni aestibus ad suburbana concedam. neque enim temporis
mei ratio patitur, nt communem patriam maestus ingrediar. vale.
LXXXXVin (LXXXXVI) .
◆
From:Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
To:[Unnamed correspondent]
Date:~398 AD
Context:A letter on various matters, with the beginning partially obscured by OCR damage.
The circumstances of our time test every friendship, and those that survive the test emerge stronger. I have observed with admiration your steadfastness through recent difficulties, and I want you to know that it has not gone unnoticed. In better days, such constancy might be taken for granted; in times like these, it is a rare and precious thing. I attach my thoughts on the particular matters you raised, and I trust my judgment will prove as useful as your patience deserves.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.