Letter 7006: I've just received the letter I'd been hoping for, and it showed both the devotion of your spirit and the progress...

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusUnknown|c. 368 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
education books

I've just received the letter I'd been hoping for, and it showed both the devotion of your spirit and the progress of your intellect. The only thing that didn't satisfy a father's longing was its brevity. I mention this so you'll understand how much pleasure your writing gave me -- since I'm complaining there wasn't enough of it. Who ever wishes for satisfaction except in things that are good?

From now on, write more generously, my light, so that the reader's mind may be fully nourished by the richness of your pen. Farewell.

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

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