Quintus Aurelius Symmachus→Unknown|c. 397 AD|symmachus
My friend Acutianus could have obtained what he's asking for on his own — he's no less familiar to you than to me. But it was important to me to lend him my voluntary support, and his request is backed by the justice of his case.
His kinsmen Nicasius and Rogatianus are involved in a joint lawsuit. He asks either that the case be referred back to the consular governor of Numidia for adjudication, or — what he'd prefer above all — that you yourself serve as judge and settle the dispute as quickly as possible.
If his standing with you carries weight, if the law supports his case, and if my intervention tips the balance of your favor, then it's only right that this excellent man should get what he hopes for. Farewell.
Potnit frater mens Acntianns sno nomine, qnod poscit, a£pisci, nt qni sit non
minns tibi qnam mihi familiaris, sed interfnit officii mei, nt ei volnntariam operam
commodarem. invat antem desiderinm illins institia postnlati. nam germanos ^nos
10 Nicasinm et Rogatiannm negotinm commnne cnrantes vel ad disceptationem Nnmi-
dici consnlaris remitti postnlat, vel qnod ei antiqnins est, te potissimum cognitore
mavnlt qnam primnm molestiam litis absolvi. qnare si et illins apnd te grande mo-
mentum est, et a legibns cansa non discrepat, et interventns mens libram tni favoris
inclinat, anniti aeqnnm est, nt optimo viro ex sententia procedat optatnm. vale.
15 LXX (LXTTTT) antea. 381.
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My friend Acutianus could have obtained what he's asking for on his own — he's no less familiar to you than to me. But it was important to me to lend him my voluntary support, and his request is backed by the justice of his case.
His kinsmen Nicasius and Rogatianus are involved in a joint lawsuit. He asks either that the case be referred back to the consular governor of Numidia for adjudication, or — what he'd prefer above all — that you yourself serve as judge and settle the dispute as quickly as possible.
If his standing with you carries weight, if the law supports his case, and if my intervention tips the balance of your favor, then it's only right that this excellent man should get what he hopes for. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.