Letter 8018: Ad eundem salutatoria
Another Greeting to Gregory
If my tongue were to flow like the flood of a torrent — or be swept away by the whirling of rapids — even so, for your supreme praises in particular, Gregory, while I could not fill them with a river, I would be a mere drop. Not even the Muse of generous Vergil [the great Roman poet, 70-19 BC] could equal you as a father.
Good man, what greatness you carry — who can say it in words?
With this brevity, holy one, I commend to you your servant in his submission — me, Fortunatus: may it be forgiven, I pray.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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