Letter 6061: The situation is, as you will have gathered from the general news, one that calls for caution rather than boldness.

From: Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, senator and orator To: [Unknown correspondent] Date: ~393 AD Context: Symmachus, Book VI, letter 61. A letter from the period following the usurpation of Eugenius — a politically dangerous time for the pagan aristocracy who had supported the wrong side. The situation is, as you will have gathered from the general news, one that calls for caution rather than boldness. I have been cautious, though I am aware that caution in such circumstances can look like either wisdom or cowardice depending on who is observing it. What I have done and not done: I have maintained all my formal relationships and obligations while saying nothing that could be construed as support for the position that is now, as it turns out, the wrong one to have supported. This is the kind of statement that covers a multitude of careful non-actions, and I do not pretend otherwise. The question that occupies me — and that I raise with you because I trust your discretion — is what the current situation means for the long term. The trend is clear enough: the traditional forms of public life in which we have been formed are becoming less available to us, and the alternative is either to adapt or to withdraw. I have been adapting, within the limits of my conscience. The limits of my conscience are not infinitely flexible. More on this when we can speak in person. Yours in the difficult navigation of difficult times, Symmachus