Letter 9010: After the customary greeting, let me raise a pressing matter: my son's praetorian games are approaching and must be...

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusUnknown|c. 370 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
travel mobility

After the customary greeting, let me raise a pressing matter: my son's praetorian games are approaching and must be furnished with horses of the finest breeding and speed. I've dispatched agents with generous funds, but I fear that seasonal difficulties may complicate the transport. If the need arises, I'd be grateful if you could arrange temporary fodder and shelter for the animals until conditions improve. Any horses of exceptional quality that happen to be available in your area would also be most welcome — one shouldn't pass up a good opportunity close at hand. Your help in this enterprise will earn my enduring gratitude. Farewell.

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

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