Letter 2028: **From:** Ennodius, deacon (later bishop) of Pavia

Ennodius to Avienus. Thanks be to God, which must be set in the first place, who has made your greatness demand the very things that were owed to be offered by me. You have given a reward to the chattering that until now I had scarcely kept within its modest inner chamber. I make use of the genius of the pen, which I had harshly called back from its troublesome employment of writing: I now possess, by an unaccustomed loquacity, the merit of a voice compelled to speak. For after you commanded me to send pages your way, you entrusted to my mind that which I had kept silent. Well done! The face long lavish has at last fallen to me, to attain to an abundance of affection without any cost to you. Let us learn not to hate what helps us. The grace of silence has brought it about that we may now speak to you freely: conversations often disdained are now awaited by us. I will go no further: the office of the tongue is asserted, as I see, by the rarity of speech. And in this matter, where the assurance of my joy is not lame, our judgment is propped up by the corroboration of truth. Behold, that man who with the very tips of his lips scarcely tasted the letters of the learned, dowered though they were with the rich harvest of weighty discourse, does not disdain to receive the stubble of our little tablet. With a twofold gladness, O modesty, you have done me good: both because you stand sure at your post, and because, when conversations are frequently scorned, they come to be missed. Behold, the judgment of him whom we love has been made better. For ourselves, then, we have provided modesty; for our consul, amendment. But lest the page proceed too far, overstepping the bounds set beforehand, and lest by saying much we should show that what we kept silent was not a matter of deliberation - farewell, my lord, and deem those who love you worthy of this fellowship, since the lofty heights of your honors receive only those increases which are born of humility.

XXVIII. AVIENO ENNODIVS. Deo gratias, quod principe loco ponendum est, qui magnitudinem tuam quae a me erant offerenda fecit exigere. dedisti pretium garrulitati, quam uix hactenus intra uerecundum. penetrale continui. eliciti utor stili genio, quem duriter ab 1 sociantur P, sentientur T actenas B, ∗actenus L raa uennantibuB L 5 respondent B 6 permittat Tl men B, om. T 7 dedala LTV, ded∗la B prouissione L indedinti B 9 artifices B comoditati T 10 negaturum non T 12 diligis Bb, diligit LPTV 18 enim eet b 14 acholasticum B 15 ad] ab T 16 quidquid B 19 ąępe (q postea add. m. I) V, spe Pb susteneo B fata BTYb, facta fata P, facta L et Sirm. XXVIII. 21 ennodius om. T 22 principe BT\', principis LP T1Vb 24 precium LTV uix ex iaa corr. T ∗actenus L, bactinas B uericandum Bl 25 geno B inportuna scriptione reuocaui : meritum coactae uocis inusitata loquacitate possideo. nam postquam me iussisti paginas destinare, animo meo; quod tacueram, commendasti. euge, frons diu prodiga aliquando mihi contigit ad affectionis copiam sine tui dispendio peruenire. discamus non odisse quod adiuuat. silentii gratia fecit, ut te libera iam loquamur: expectantur a nobis saepe fastidita conloquia. non ibo longius: adseritur, ut uideo, linguae officium raritate sermonum. in qua parte non clauda laetitiae meae fides est, sententia nostra ueri adstipulatione fulcitur. ecce ille, qui doctorum epistulas grauidi dotatas messe conloquii summis labiis uix libabat, tabellae nostrae culmos non dedignatur accipere. gemina, pudor, mihi hilaritate profuisti, cum tu in statione certus es et cum frequenter contempti desiderantur affatus: facta est ecce melior eius sententia, quem amamus. nobis ergo uerecundia, consuli nostro emendatione prospeximus. sed ne in longum procedat pagina transcendens terminos praefinitos et loquendo multa quod tacuimus demonstremus non fuisse consilii, uale, mi domine, et amantes tui hac communione dignare, quia praecelsi honorum tuorum apices haec sola recipiunt augmenta, quae de humilitate nascuntur. I cohacte B in naitata fort . 2 post////|qua ̃ (qui eras.) L iussistis L 3 comendasti T, commodasti fort . 4 prodig-a (i eros.)\'L contingit T1 9 letitiae V fidis B soutentis TJ uestra T 10 grauidi] grandi Sirm . 11 messe colloquii messe Tx 12 calmus B 16 emendatio B 18 demostremas LV, demustremus P 19 sttantes Bb, amantis LPTV poessi T* 20 agments T* 21 dė B s. k