Letter 6085: ...we missed the company of those whose presence and companionship can make even a modest dinner feel special.

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusUnknown|c. 400 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
property economics

...we missed the company of those whose presence and companionship can make even a modest dinner feel special. So to you and to our shared darling, whose solemn day you celebrated with such devotion, we wish many abundant years and many more returns of this same feast. It's only right that loving parents enjoy unbroken happiness.

The air at Tibur [Tivoli] is pleasant enough, but the mismanagement of my estate agents is infuriating. The fields show no sign of proper cultivation, most of the harvest is owed in debts, and the tenants have nothing left -- neither to cover their accounts nor to invest in the land. Farewell.

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

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