Letter 23
|venantius fortunatus
XXIII. Ad Paternum
To Paternus
Your deeds shine by the omen of your name, Paternus [paternus means "fatherly"] — you who make yourself a father by your own proper gift. Unmindful of nothing in my service, you provide everything, and you gladly give holy prayers to those devoted to you.
Since you are seen to be so prompt now in distributing good things — may your resources be multiplied from which you might do even more.
XXIII
Ad Paternum
Nominis auspicio fulgent tua facta, Paterne,
munere qui proprio te facis esse patrem.
servitii nostri non inmemor omnia praestas
et tibi devotis das pia vota libens.
ut bona distribuas modo qui tam promptus haberis,
unde magis praestes amplificentur opes.
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XXIII. Ad Paternum
To Paternus
Your deeds shine by the omen of your name, Paternus [paternus means "fatherly"] — you who make yourself a father by your own proper gift. Unmindful of nothing in my service, you provide everything, and you gladly give holy prayers to those devoted to you.
Since you are seen to be so prompt now in distributing good things — may your resources be multiplied from which you might do even more.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.