Letter 7039: You tempt me with talk of the Campanian coast, but here at our Praenestine estate [near modern Palestrina, in the...
You tempt me with talk of the Campanian coast, but here at our Praenestine estate [near modern Palestrina, in the hills southeast of Rome] we have no shortage of pleasures either. People may differ -- most put the seaside above the mountains -- but I maintain that wooded uplands are better for escaping summer heat than open, cultivated land.
You'd dangled another enticement: my son Flavianus would soon be joining you. Well, I've been enjoying his company for some time. Which tells you my situation is considerably better -- I have both the cool hills and the company you lack.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
PVM Animum meum Campani litoris commemoratione sollicitas; sed nobis quoque in
Fraenestino rure degentibus non minus suppetit voluptatum. sint licet plures homi-
num sententiae, quae maritimis montana postponant, ego tamen vitandis aestibus ma-
2 gis iudico nemorosa quam cultu aperta congruere. adieceras ad inritamentum profec- is
tionis nostrae, filium meum Flavianum brevi tecum futurum. huius ego praesentia
iam diu defruor. ex quo intellegis, sortem meam multo esse potiorem; nam et con-
parationem loci utriusque in ambiguo conlocavi et societatem pignoris mei , qua ma-
3 xime gloriabare, in fructum meum transtuli. ergo tu potius remetiri ad nos viam
mutata condicione deberes. adc/e satietatem, quam tibi adtulit copiarum longus usus; 20
nam Campania, ut est absentibus desiderabilis , ita facile explet morantes. sed de
hoc non ibo longius, ne re^ioni illi, quae nobis acceptissima est, denuntiare, si ve-
nero, fastidium meum videar. vale.
XXXVI.
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My earlier letter already told you what I could say now.