Letter 7055: I've been writing frequently these past days, but no amount of letters can satisfy the heart of someone who truly cares.
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus→Messalam|c. 390 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
diplomaticillness
I've been writing frequently these past days, but no amount of letters can satisfy the heart of someone who truly cares. It should be enough for you to know we're well -- though our shared treasure was troubled for a few days by a hemorrhage that dampened the pleasure of our leisure. She's now beginning, with God's help, to return to full health.
TO MESSALA:
Fortune has made her peace with our citizens, now that the state has claimed you for its service. Your appointment deserves to be counted among the age's blessings.
10 Superioribus diebus litteras frequentavi, sed nulla adsiduitas animum potest aman-
tis explere. puto autem vobis ad cognitionem posse sufficere, quod valere nos scribi-
mus, licet commune pignus paucis diebus effusione vexata otii nostri minuerit volup-
tatem. quae iam divina ope ad plenam sanitatem coepit emergere.
AD MESSALAM. PVM
15 LXXXI (LXXX) a. 399.
Fortuna cum civibus nostris revertit in gratiam, postquam te sibi respublica vin-
dicavit. adnumerandus est igitur ceteris sperantibus aequitatem lucundus amicissimus
meus, quem morbo iam diu gravem praefectnra eminens ad cogoitionem privatae litis
exciverat. et illi quidem votivum sub examine tuo respondere propositis, sed valetudo
20 obnititur voluntati, quae effusione sanguinis sauciata itinerum recusat incertum. nec
deerit ins adversantis petitioni, si ad vicarium tuum disceptatio transferatur. haec
igitur summa est postulati, ut cum causae nihil de loco pereat, salutem homini per-
egrinatio remota conciliet.
LXXXn (LXXXI) a. 399.
25 ADMESSALAM.
Instruenda mihi atque adomanda praetura est, ad cuius nos editionem magnitn-
dinis tuae processus animavit; inceptum enim meum viribus fratris utetur. quaeso
igitur, ut mecum religiose votiva officia partiaris et familiaribns meis ad Hispaniae
longinqua pergentibus ob equorum cumlium coemptionem suffragia promovendi negotii
»0 digneris adnuere. longum fiat, si velim litteris praestanda percurrere; capita igitur
reram subiecto indiculo strictim notavi. tibi integmm erit adicere beneficia, si qua
stilus petentis omisit.
(i. t. spiritu) indicauit P 18 praefector aeminens P 1 m. 19 est iUi Mtreer 20 intinerum P,
in tenemm V
praestaiidi V, res tantas P 2 m.
OXFORD
200 SYMMACHI EPISTVLAE
LXXXm (LXXXH) a. 399.
◆
I've been writing frequently these past days, but no amount of letters can satisfy the heart of someone who truly cares. It should be enough for you to know we're well -- though our shared treasure was troubled for a few days by a hemorrhage that dampened the pleasure of our leisure. She's now beginning, with God's help, to return to full health.
TO MESSALA:
Fortune has made her peace with our citizens, now that the state has claimed you for its service. Your appointment deserves to be counted among the age's blessings.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.