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
On good rolls he says nothing; on bad ones he laughs. In neither case does he lose his temper; in both he plays the philosopher. He disdains second chances — refuses both to fear them and to inflict them, ignoring opportunities offered and brushing past obstacles. You would think that even in dice he is handling weapon …
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
To Audax. Where, I would like to know, are they hiding now — those men who used to congratulate themselves on their heaped-up wealth and their piles of tarnished silver? Where, too, is the presumption of those who puffed themselves up against the promise of younger men on the sole ground of their seniority? Where are t …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
Sidonius To His Dear Philimatius, greetings. I nunc, et legibus me ambitus interrogatum senatu move, cur adipiscendae dignitati hereditariae curis pervigilibus incumbam; cui pater socer, avus proavus praefecturis urbanis praetorianisque, magisteriis Palatinis militaribusque micuerunt. et ecce Gaudentius meus, hactenus …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
Sidonius To His Dear Felix, greetings. Gaudeo te, domine maior, amplissimae dignitatis infulas consecutum. sed id mihi ob this solum destinato tabellario nuntiatum non minus gaudeo. nam licet in praesentiarum sis potissimus magistratus et in Lares Philagrianos patricius apex tantis post saeculis tua tantum felicitate r …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
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 0.01
This color comes not from anger but from modesty. His shoulders are rounded, his upper arms powerful, his forearms hard, his hands broad. His chest juts out beyond a receding belly. A spine that sits lower than the ridge of his ribs divides the plain of his back. On either side, the flanks are knotted with prominent mu …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
… 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
But why have I foolishly added these thoughts, as though I were giving advice when I came seeking it? Rather, let everything be arranged according to your judgment, decision, and letters — and made known to the clergy and the people. For we are not so far gone in folly that we would decide to summon you first — if it i …
sidonius_apollinaris · c. 467 · score 0.01
Sidonius To His Dear Ecdicius, greetings. Duo nunc pariter mala sustinent Arverni tui. 'quaenam?' inquis. praesentiam Seronati et absentiam tuam. Seronati, inquam: de cuius ut primum etiam nomine loquar, sic mihi videtur quasi praescia futurorum lusisse fortuna, sicuti ex adverso maiores nostri proelia, quibus nihil es …
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
When he rises, the palace guard begins its nighttime watches. Armed men take their posts at the entrances to the royal residence, where they will keep vigil through the first hours of sleep. But why should I go on? I promised you a brief portrait of the man, not an account of his kingdom. Besides, it is time to end thi …
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
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
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 Secundinus. For a long time now we have been reading your work with admiration and praise — you who are most at home in hexameters. Your subjects were always delightful, whether you were describing the wedding torches of the marriage chamber or beasts pierced by royal spear-thrusts. But in the triple trochaic hendec …