Letter 71
Synesius of Cyrene→Pylaemenes|c. 406 AD|synesius cyrene
friendship
To Pylaemenes.
I have two letters in circulation addressed to you: I am writing to both Thrace and Isauria at the same time, hoping to find you with one or the other. The theme of both is simply a greeting to my dear friend Pylaemenes the philosopher — for that is what he is, whether he likes it or not. He can never entirely suppress his natural bent. He will never succeed in extinguishing the spark of sacred fire; someday, when he has risen above his frivolous pursuits, it will shine forth again.
Letter 71: Trying to Reach a Friend
[1] To Pylaemenes
There are two letters in circulation addressed to you; for I am writing at the same time to Thrace and to Isauria, that I may in any case find you with one or other of the letters. The theme of both of them is a greeting to my dear friend Pylaemenes, the philosopher, for this is he, whether he wills it so or not. [2] He can never completely get rid of his own natural bent. He will never succeed in extinguishing the spark of sacred fire, but some day when he has risen above his vain pursuits, it will shine forth again.
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To Pylaemenes.
I have two letters in circulation addressed to you: I am writing to both Thrace and Isauria at the same time, hoping to find you with one or the other. The theme of both is simply a greeting to my dear friend Pylaemenes the philosopher — for that is what he is, whether he likes it or not. He can never entirely suppress his natural bent. He will never succeed in extinguishing the spark of sacred fire; someday, when he has risen above his frivolous pursuits, it will shine forth again.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.