Letter 40: I have just sent you a present: a horse that is perfect in every quality a horse should have.
To Uranius.
I have just sent you a present: a horse that is perfect in every quality a horse should have. You will find him useful for racing, for hunting, and for leading a triumphal procession after the Libyan victory. I honestly cannot tell you which purpose he is best suited for — the hippodrome, the hunt, the parade, or actual war.
If he is less beautiful than the horses of Nesaea, if his head is a bit heavy and his flanks a bit thin — well, God does not give all perfections together, to horses any more than to men. Perhaps it is actually an advantage that his softer parts are less developed than his hard ones. Bones endure toil better than flesh. Your horses carry more meat; ours carry more bone.
Human translation — Livius.org
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