Resultados25 letters/passages
symmachus · c. 382 · score 0.02
Word is that you've ordered Ampelius and some other senators from Sardinia, as is claimed, to appear before the appropriate court on criminal charges. I now hear they've been transferred to another tribunal. If your own recollection matches this account, I think it's only fair that you attend to the enforcement of your …
symmachus · c. 392 · score 0.02
To Longinianus. You previously deigned to embrace the friendship of my lord and son Flavianus, but now the time has come for you to show him proofs of true intimacy. For he has been summoned by the sacred letters of our lord Honorius, the most august emperor, to the office of the distinguished consul, and this will giv …
symmachus · c. 372 · score 0.02
… aim for themselves the windfall gains [bona caduca -- property that fell to the imperial treasury when intended heirs were disqualified], and that the position of honest men will grow worse if the opportunity for fraud falls only to those restrained by neither law nor shame. Therefore, since the emperor's own position …
symmachus · c. 376 · score 0.02
Duty suggested I should write, since the person delivering this letter hopes for more from your judgment than from mine. So I'll leave everything that letters usually contain to him to tell you directly. From him your Excellency will hear both what's worth knowing about me, and what his own situation requires.
symmachus · c. 394 · score 0.02
… ople for their character, not their rank. My friend Romanus still serves in the imperial administration as an officer of the sacred treasury, but his qualities of integrity would suit any level of public honor. His official standing is shared with many; his moral standing, with very few. I mention this so that you'll j …
symmachus · c. 378 · score 0.02
I repay everyone who gives me an occasion to write with the currency of a recommendation. The present favor I wish to do for the excellent Petrucius, who I know will regard this letter not so much as a recommendation of himself as of me — for his own merits speak loudly enough. He is a man of solid character, tested in …
symmachus · c. 398 · score 0.01
If the conditions of my present situation permitted, I would throw myself into your affairs even without being asked. But as matters stand, I must serve from a distance, offering what I can through letters and through the agents I have dispatched. Please do not mistake my physical absence for indifference. The spirit i …
symmachus · c. 383 · score 0.01
… ituation demands it: there is absolutely no way you can refuse the honor of the imperial summons. As for your brother, we've heard nothing beyond what was already communicated. I'm writing this from the wedding at Ostia, where the younger son of the distinguished Sallustius invited us. But I'll have to hurry back to Ro …
symmachus · c. 392 · score 0.01
Since our dear Sibidius returned to Rome and reported how badly my daughter is suffering physically, my own spirits have sunk as well. So I'm writing at once, anxiously asking, first, that she be helped back to health through medical care and avoiding whatever is harmful, and second, that a reliable report ease my worr …
symmachus · c. 374 · score 0.01
He is most devoted to us on account of his upright life, and I can attest that he deserves to be counted among the faithful friends of your household. Antistianus, a man of our senatorial order, has long pleased me by the integrity of his life and endeared himself through honorable service. That I assert this truthfull …
symmachus · c. 371 · score 0.01
Conflicting rumors slowed my journey. While I scouted safe routes and broke up the long distance with rest days, I finally reached Milan on the 24th of February, after a long detour through the territory of Ticinum [modern Pavia]. The emperor's gracious words have already soothed the weariness of my travels. I'm hopefu …
symmachus · c. 382 · score 0.01
Whatever we were hoping for from Sicily is still uncertain. Euscius wrote that the circus drivers and some stage performers had already set sail and were heading to Campania on my orders -- but even now there's no word of their actual arrival. So I've decided to send an agent to scour the coastline everywhere and repor …
symmachus · c. 365 · score 0.01
I believe I've beaten the news to you — the report that you've been relieved not only of the honor but also of its burdens. If so, let me now be the one to confirm what you've long wished for. My health and my son's are solid, by the grace of God. As for you, may good health and a safe return attend you — our prayers a …
symmachus · c. 387 · score 0.01
Those who obtain their wishes by the gods' kindness feel that honoring the source of their blessings in person is a form of gratitude in itself. And so my friend Paeonius, having received the magnificent gift of your testimonial, has hurried to visit the man who gave him this advancement. I'd recommend this excellent c …
symmachus · c. 392 · score 0.01
… t, advanced to the summit of glory, you may prove equal to the magnitude of the imperial appointment. To Messala. It is my duty to announce that I am well; it is my prayer to learn that you are in good health. By reporting my own good fortune, I have done the part of a loving friend. You still owe me the joy of knowing …
symmachus · c. 374 · score 0.01
I say this to recommend my intercession in general terms; but the specific nature of my request is as follows. The estates of my sister Italica, a distinguished lady, have been left uncultivated and are exhausted by the burden of public obligations. They need to be restored by judicial authority. I have promised this r …
symmachus · c. 367 · score 0.01
To Theodorus. How I fear that you will think I am flattering you! But this consulship of yours is such that it seems to have doubled my own. Now the height of my prayers has reached this point: that you may enjoy its title long and match the delay of your reward with length of life. For it is fitting that belated fulfi …
symmachus · c. 391 · score 0.01
I don't mind writing to Your Excellency often, even though I've received nothing in return. I answer for you myself: amid the cares of military life, there's no room for leisurely correspondence. I just hope my steady stream of greetings doesn't start to feel like an intrusion. I'd almost consider it a favor returned i …
symmachus · c. 379 · score 0.01
Rumor had promised you'd be coming home to our shared city. I was already celebrating. But as the days passed and the report went cold, I realized my only consolation was to return to the habit of writing. So here is my greeting. I ask Your Excellency to give me your visit instead of a letter. There is, after all, a pa …
symmachus · c. 374 · score 0.01
The interval before your response will be your own decision -- only remember that a prompt return of greeting signals goodwill, while a late one signals mere obligation. I think I have said enough about restoring our exchange of letters. But my words should also bring some practical benefit to the man carrying this let …
symmachus · c. 374 · score 0.01
You used to recommend young lawyers to my tribunal when I presided over the courts. Now the roles are reversed, and I commend candidates for the bar to your instruction. You must follow my example in this: receive those I introduce with the same openness with which I always welcomed those you sent to me. I love devotee …
symmachus · c. 389 · score 0.01
City business -- I have neither the time to learn about it nor the desire to write about it. My mind, occupied by bodily illness, can't spare attention for other people's affairs. One thing I do know: the reports of riots were lies. The rumors are so far from the truth that the prefecture has never been celebrated with …
symmachus · c. 390 · score 0.01
Since a long exchange between us had fallen quiet, I could no longer put off the customary greeting. [The Latin manuscript tradition for this letter (Symmachus, Epistulae Book 7, Letter 54) is heavily corrupt or fragmentary. The above is a partial rendering based on the best available source.]
symmachus · c. 400 · score 0.01
I take delight both in the honor with which you have now been elevated and in your continuing affection for me. May your new position bring you the satisfaction you deserve, and may our friendship only grow stronger as your responsibilities increase. I look forward to seeing what you will accomplish in your new role.
symmachus · c. 376 · score 0.01
I would devote a long letter to the merits of our mutual friend Eusebius, if you did not already know more than I could say about his integrity and his service. He is now anxious about his position, having learned that doubts have been raised about it. He presents his case through me, and I vouch for him without reserv …