Letter 6083: I would have loved to be with you to celebrate my dear daughter's birthday -- may it return for many years to come.

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusUnknown|c. 399 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
friendship

I would have loved to be with you to celebrate my dear daughter's birthday -- may it return for many years to come. But the endless rain kept me from carrying out my plan. Still, I fulfill the proper rite with the pleasure of a small gift, asking only that the warmth of your welcome make up for the modesty of the offering. Farewell.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.

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