Letter 8005: [First letter] It pleased the public interest that greater responsibilities were entrusted to you.
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus→Unknown|c. 367 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
friendshipillnesstravel mobility
[First letter] It pleased the public interest that greater responsibilities were entrusted to you. My expression of joy can therefore be brief — I wouldn't want any hint of flattery to tarnish the honesty of my judgment. I pray that the course of your new office brings you satisfaction, though I have no doubt that integrity cannot be changed and that good character is only spurred on more happily by recognition.
[Second letter] I rejoiced at the honor of your friendship when I received your letter. But when our friend Annius reported your uncertain health, my happiness gave way to deep concern. Travel, which is practically an illness in itself, now comes with the additional blow of real sickness. Yet I take comfort in your well-known self-discipline, your proven wisdom, and your strength of spirit in adversity — qualities that tend to restore bodily health and inner calm. I hope to hear better news of you soon, and I'm already preparing my ears for happier reports. May the justice that watches over the faithful ensure that after this brief setback your life continues with all the blessings it deserves.
Nihil inter te et optimum parentem tuum re aut adfectione divisum est. ergo et
litteras, quas ad eius reverentiam misi, ut omnium particeps in acceptum referre po-
tuisti. sed iam colendus es nobis etiam tuo nomine. praeterea cavi, ne respondente uno
inputaretur . *. munus duorum. convenit tamen brevitas huic paginae, quia relatu
digna praecerpsi. quare sermonem istum tamquam amoris in te nostri testem tenebis. 10
verum te in rescribendo decet esse prolixum. neque enim par condicio est a me ite-
rati, utrique autem vestrum singularis laboris. duos meatus repleri uno fonte diflficile
est; uni alveo abunde influunt duplicata principia.
XXV a. 396.
AD ALBINVM. 15
Crcdo arbitreris, circumsessum me Gampaniae amoenitatibus scribendi ad te hac-
tenus neglegentem fuisse. non est ea fortuna horum locorum, ut seriam curam se-
peliant voluptates. insolitis omnia necessitatibus strepunt et oneri cessere deliciae.
quare negotium pro otio repperi, nec possum facile ad haec amicitiae munia animum
retorquere. spondeo tamen reverentiae tuae , quod litteris meis praeferas. relegere 20
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[First letter] It pleased the public interest that greater responsibilities were entrusted to you. My expression of joy can therefore be brief — I wouldn't want any hint of flattery to tarnish the honesty of my judgment. I pray that the course of your new office brings you satisfaction, though I have no doubt that integrity cannot be changed and that good character is only spurred on more happily by recognition.
[Second letter] I rejoiced at the honor of your friendship when I received your letter. But when our friend Annius reported your uncertain health, my happiness gave way to deep concern. Travel, which is practically an illness in itself, now comes with the additional blow of real sickness. Yet I take comfort in your well-known self-discipline, your proven wisdom, and your strength of spirit in adversity — qualities that tend to restore bodily health and inner calm. I hope to hear better news of you soon, and I'm already preparing my ears for happier reports. May the justice that watches over the faithful ensure that after this brief setback your life continues with all the blessings it deserves.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.