Resultados25 letters/passages
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.02
… because he was elevated through the highest titles of office all the way to the imperial throne. But I can never agree with the proposition that men who stand on the perilous and slippery heights of political power are fortunate. For the hourly miseries endured in this life by those so-called happy men are beyond descr …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.02
And the illustrious Gratianensis added: "A wide field for satirists is opened by this quarrel." At this the emperor turned his head toward me: "I hear, Count Sidonius, that you write satire." "And I, my lord," I replied, "hear the same thing." Then he said, but laughing: "Spare us at least." "But I," I said, "spare mys …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.02
Forbidden by the weight of his cares from maintaining the measured routine of his former peace, he instantly abandoned the rules of his old way of life and realized that the business of an emperor and the leisure of a senator simply cannot coexist. Nor did the future disappoint his present gloom. For though he had sail …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.02
Drunk on new wealth — and here you see their character even in small things — their very extravagance in spending betrays their inexperience in possessing. They cheerfully appear armed at dinner parties, in white at funerals, in furs at church, in black at weddings, and in beaver-skin cloaks at religious processions. N …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.02
All this I passed over, hoping it would be more fitting to place your greeting among bishops than among senators — and judging it more just to number you among the servants of Christ than among the prefects of Valentinian. Nor should any hostile critic hold it against you that you are now counted among priests rather t …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.02
… inst you can in no way be proved. At the same time, it is deeply unjust for the imperial judgment to lend its weight to private grudges, so that an innocent and carefree nobility is endangered on account of certain hatreds by an uncertain charge." When I bowed my head respectfully in thanks for this verdict, the faces …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
Beyond them lay Paeonius, and then Athenius, a man seasoned by the vicissitudes of lawsuits and politics. After him came Gratianensis, a man who should be kept well apart from any hint of infamy, who though he ranked below Severinus in honor surpassed him in favor. I reclined last, where the left margin of the emperor' …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
… il, sent a letter ahead announcing his coming. In it he reports that he carries imperial letters patent granting the patriciate to your brother Ecdicius as well — whose honors bring you no less joy than my own. It comes quickly if you consider his youth, but very slowly if you consider his merits. For he long ago paid …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
For I know he would have said nothing about his own distinction, and you would have judged him not heartless but merely shy. As for me, I rejoice not so much in the insignia of rank — which you have been awaiting with all the more impatience for all the more freedom (though I rejoice greatly in these too) — as in the f …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
6. When Marcellian's conspiracy to seize the diadem was being hatched, Paeonius had set himself up as the standard-bearer for the noble young men in the faction -- still a newcomer even in old age -- until at last, thanks to his proven record of fortunate daring, the crack of a gaping interregnum shed a gleam of light …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
Sidonius to his friend Attalus. I was glad — genuinely glad — to learn that you have begun to preside over the city of the Aedui [Autun]. My joy is fourfold: first, because you are my friend; second, because you are just; third, because you are firm; fourth, because you are nearby. All of which means that you are in a …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
Accordingly, in Avienus the rapid accumulation of honors was noted as pleasant, in Basilius their slow but steady growth as impressive. Both, to be sure, whenever they left their houses, were hemmed in by a crowd of clients going before, following behind, and pressing all around. But the hopes and ambitions of their re …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
Sidonius to his dear Eutropius, greetings. 1. I have long wanted to write to you, but now I am especially impelled to do so, since I am traveling to the city with Christ's blessing. My chief or sole reason for writing is to summon you from the depths of your domestic tranquility to take up the duties of the Palatine se …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
To Industrius. I recently visited the distinguished Vectius and closely observed his daily life, very much at my leisure. Since I found it worthy of being known, I judged it not unworthy of being told. First and foremost — for this rightly takes precedence over all other praise — his household maintains an unblemished …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
I shall provide access by securing your admission, comfort by attending your recitation, and support by championing your cause. If you trust the voice of experience, much serious business will be advanced for you by this performance." I obeyed his instructions. He did not withdraw his support from the task he had impos …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
He governs the condition and status of his dependents not by domination but by judgment: you would think he does not own his house but rather administers it. Having observed this man's character and moderation, I decided it would serve others' instruction to publish at least the outlines of his way of life — a life to …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
To Polemius. Gaius Tacitus — one of your own ancestors, a senator under the Ulpian emperors [i.e., under Trajan, early 2nd century] — put these words in the mouth of a Germanic chieftain in his history: "Vespasian and I are old friends; and back when he was a private citizen, we called each other friends." You ask wher …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
8. At this I marveled at the excessive pride of the one group and the excessive humility of the other, but refrained from asking the reasons. Then one of the factious crowd, planted for the purpose, came up to greet me. In the course of our conversation he said: "Do you see these people?" "I see them," I said, "and I w …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
To Explicius. Because your justice, proven in so many tests of fairness, has rightly earned the respect of all, I gladly and eagerly send before your tribunal each person who requests it, anxious to relieve myself of the burden of judgment and them of the burden of their quarrel. This will be accomplished if, as a scru …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
Sidonius to his dear Heronius, greetings. 1. After the wedding of the patrician Ricimer -- that is, after the resources of both empires had been squandered on the celebration -- serious public business was at last resumed, opening the door and field for the conduct of affairs. Meanwhile I was graciously received in the …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
… and tell us quickly whether — with God's guidance — the quaestor Licinianus [an imperial envoy sent to negotiate] has opened any door of safety for our mutual anxiety. He is, they say, a person greater in arrival than in expectation, more impressive in person than in report, and remarkable for every gift of fortune and …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
To the Lord Bishop Auspicius [Bishop of Toul, in northeastern Gaul]. If the conditions of the times and the distances between us permitted, I would cultivate our friendship not merely through the formalities of correspondence. But since the clash of warring kingdoms stands as too great an obstacle to the desire for fra …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
… icus, Massa, Marcellus, Carus, Parthenius, Licinus, and Pallas [notorious Roman imperial freedmen and corrupt officials] would raise their hands in surrender at the comparison. These are the men who begrudge civilians their rest, soldiers their pay, couriers their expenses, merchants their markets, ambassadors their gi …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
To the Lord Bishop Fonteius. If the established friendships of our elders give any advantage to their descendants in forming new connections, then I too come to a fuller acquaintance with your apostolic office carrying the credentials of family intimacy. For I remember that you were always a most powerful patron in Chr …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
Sought by all, no ambition touches you; the honor thrust upon you is a burden. You flee the clamor of Rome and Constantinople, the broken walls of arrow-scattering Titus [Jerusalem]. The walls of Alexandria and Antioch do not hold you; you scorn the Carthaginian roofs of Dido. You disdain the populous marshlands of Rav …