Resultados25 letters/passages
symmachus · c. 382 · score 0.02
… ause of justice itself — that's your chief concern — but I do dare ask that the imperial response come quickly, to give force to the rulings already made.
symmachus · c. 402 · score 0.02
Alexander, a most honorable man who has been assigned a provincial governorship, believes his position would be greatly enhanced by winning your friendship. He's enlisted me as his advocate, knowing that my letters carry enough weight with you to make this recommendation equivalent to the highest testimony. Farewell.
symmachus · c. 394 · score 0.02
Outstanding merits require no supporting witness, since virtue, conspicuous in its own light, rejects the aid of another's recommendation. Therefore, since our lord and brother Licinius has been made famous by the governance of the state conducted according to the standards of ancient discipline, what can my letter add …
symmachus · c. 383 · score 0.02
… outh and been marked by a judicial ruling, now implores the surest remedy -- an imperial pardon. But so that the desired result may smile on him quickly, he has hoped that the cause of his petition might be entrusted to your care. The essence of his request is this: that through the remission of the judgment against hi …
symmachus · c. 400 · score 0.02
You judged rightly and commendably that our brother Tatianus, the spectabilis, should be entrusted with the task. I can confirm from my own knowledge that he is a man worthy of the confidence you have placed in him. His rank is a true reflection of his character, and I have no doubt that he will carry out his responsib …
symmachus · c. 365 · score 0.02
I feel utterly unequal to the task of thanking you properly for what you've done for my son Flavianus. Words come easier than deeds, and yet I cannot make my words match the scale of your kindness. The joy isn't mine alone — with Flavianus, lost honor has returned to favor, and the senate and all good men share this ha …
symmachus · c. 387 · score 0.01
I count the joys of your fortune among my own debts, and I take you as my judge of this sentiment — you who have seen my heart tested whenever you consult your own. It was fitting in these tender days of good times that a man praised by public counsel should be admitted to office. Since events have unfolded as everyone …
symmachus · c. 391 · score 0.01
...so that I might discharge my obligation to you according to the ancient custom. For this practice has grown from an old institution, and I would not wish to be found wanting in the observance of traditions that our ancestors held sacred. Accept this courtesy as it is intended -- not as mere formality but as a renewa …
symmachus · c. 372 · score 0.01
I took Aurelianus — my protege, who now commands the urban cohorts — into my circle of friends at your suggestion. So I could hardly refuse him a letter of recommendation that he first earned through you. And it shouldn't feel like a burden, since you're the one who started it. The young man's petition arises from his …
symmachus · c. 401 · score 0.01
… your nature to use your influence to help everyone who distinguishes himself in imperial service. But I owe a special obligation to the excellent Romanus, on account of the friendship that has grown between us over many years. If my recommendation carries any weight with you, don't hesitate to believe he deserves both …
symmachus · c. 397 · score 0.01
The most distinguished Honoratus has pleased me above all others for his integrity and his way of life. Where both character and reputation converge in one person, a recommendation is almost superfluous -- and yet friendship demands the courtesy. Please receive him with the favor his virtues deserve, and know that in s …
symmachus · c. 384 · score 0.01
… mary greeting, I'll pass along the request of Gaetulicus, an agent in rebus [an imperial courier and intelligence officer], who hopes to win your just favor through my introduction. It suits your generous nature to welcome a man of honest intentions and to expand the circle of your admirers by one more. Farewell.
symmachus · c. 399 · score 0.01
Looking after a friend's requests is the duty of a good man — especially when justice supports the petition. Let me briefly explain what I'm driving at. I hold the distinguished Sabinianus in the highest regard. I cannot allow him to have the burden of guardianship [tutela — legal guardianship of minors] forced on him …
symmachus · c. 377 · score 0.01
...I pray you, show the just kindness of a fair price and good selection in this long foreign journey, so that the men who followed a flattering reputation may be confirmed in their hope -- a hope grounded in your dedication and my own standing.
symmachus · c. 381 · score 0.01
It's just like you — given our mutual devotion and the long history of our friendship — to insist that your own success is really my strength. The sentiment matches your well-known integrity, and the passing of time has never once proved you inconsistent. May fortune generously grant what you hope for. I won't say more …
symmachus · c. 398 · score 0.01
Since the gods have given you the power to be useful to my friends, I'm confident that Romanus — an excellent man with whom I've had a long-standing friendship — will find in your protection a ready source of hope. He's supported by two recommendations, and you value both: the weight of my testimony and the strength of …
symmachus · c. 386 · score 0.01
Everyone who hopes to be helped by gaining access to you takes -- in my judgment -- no fruitless path to winning your favor when they rely on my endorsement. One such person is the worthy Turasius, a friend of mine, who blames fortune for the lawsuit unjustly brought against him and pins his hope of a good outcome espe …
symmachus · c. 400 · score 0.01
It is the voice of law and justice that a good-faith contract cannot be rescinded. This principle governs the case I now bring to your attention. The details are set forth in the accompanying documents. I ask only that you apply the law as it stands, without regard to the status of the parties involved. Justice is blin …
symmachus · c. 380 · score 0.01
I'm taking advantage of the openness you've offered me. You've been stingy with your letters for a while now, but I won't follow your example — I know that for a man stationed at the peak of public honors, with vast and varied responsibilities, it's not the will to write that's lacking but the opportunity. That's the k …
symmachus · c. 380 · score 0.01
When you vouch for a good man, you recommend your own judgment as much as you help his cause. So in writing on behalf of my friend Maximus, I serve my own reputation no less than his interests. He's a man of outstanding character and learning in the liberal arts, second to none among the distinguished philosophers, and …
symmachus · c. 385 · score 0.01
The philosopher Horus, a man of exceptional life and learning, has long been dear to me. He counts it among Fortune's chief blessings to be connected with the best people. So, eager to fulfill his wish, I ask you to receive him — both for his own merit and in honor of my recommendation — among the most esteemed and hon …
symmachus · c. 376 · score 0.01
I reap annual harvests of joy from your letters -- this is the return, these are the riches that Spain pays me. And so, when winter retreats and the sea lanes open to ships, I entrust your letters to the winds -- though this year they reached me often enough but always late. Autumn was already fading when your men touc …
symmachus · c. 381 · score 0.01
I am glad that my friend Aurelius has been admitted to the circle of your proteges — not only for his sake, since the patronage of so distinguished a man is a great benefit, but especially for my own, since you treated my testimony as equivalent to your own judgment. This only deepens my obligation to you. I ask that y …
symmachus · c. 372 · score 0.01
Good fortune usually makes a man talkative, eager to burst the bounds of a quiet heart. But in your case, success has made you forget to write. I couldn't follow that example — the heavenly speech of our lord Gratian [Emperor Gratian, r. 367-383] filled me with hope and high spirits. So I've taken it upon myself to wri …
symmachus · c. 390 · score 0.01
I'm perfectly willing to write, but I'd rather save the news for my dear son Sibidius to relay in person at his leisure. So this page serves only as a greeting -- its brevity will satisfy the respect due to you without stealing his thunder. Farewell.