Letter 6004: My illness — a pain in my right hand — has been compounded by the bitter news you've sent.
My illness — a pain in my right hand — has been compounded by the bitter news you've sent. What distresses me most is knowing that my daughter can't be persuaded to limit what she eats and drinks. So, beset by both a wound of the heart and a sickness of the body, I couldn't wait to recover enough to write in my own hand. Instead I've dictated this letter in haste, serving my anxiety more than my usual habits.
First, I beg you to ease my fears with a reassuring reply. Then I ask you, my dear daughter, to avoid what's harmful to your health and restore your repeatedly interrupted recovery through self-control — not only because moderation benefits health, but because abstaining from what's harmful is also proof of good judgment. Farewell.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
Aegritudinem meam, quam dexterae manus dolore sustineo, nuntiorum acerbitate
duplicastis. acrior antem me cnra distringit, quod scio filiae meae cibomm et po-
tuum continentiam non posse snaderi. anxius igitnr vulnere animi et corporis morbo
30 nsque ad subscribendi possibilitatem litteras differre non potui, sed dictatione prope-
rata magis soUicitudini meae quam consuetudini satisfeci. et primo, ut timorem meum
responsis levetis, exoro; dehinc te, domina filia, precor, ut saluti adversa declines et
interpellatam totiens valetudinem repares auxilio temperantia^. quia non solum sani-
tati commodat, vemm etiam ad testimonium pmdentiae pertinet noxiis abstinere. vale.
2 iuuat V
moue// P subdit^ numeratione P l m. 12 inucem P 1 m,
taasisuperlor F 21 dicitur P l m. VF 22 dono eorr. tx damno P 8im//8i P 24 /ego-
tlo P quantam P2 m.
Q. ▲TEILrTS Stmmachvs. 20
1 54 SYMMACHI EPISTVLAE
V.
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