Marcus Cornelius Fronto→Marcus Aurelius|c. 139 AD|Marcus Cornelius Fronto|From Rome (career hub)|To Rome (career hub)|AI-assisted
1. My dear boy, this is now the third time I am writing to you on the same matter: the first time through Lysias the son of Cephalus, the second through Plato the philosopher, and now this third time through this present foreign fellow [Fronto, playfully presenting his own Greek composition as the work of an outsider whose accent is almost barbarous] - a man almost barbarous in his speech, but, as I think, not at all wanting in judgment. I write now without touching at all upon what was written before, so do not neglect this discourse on the supposition that I am merely repeating myself. And if it seems to you that this present piece is fuller than what was sent before through Lysias and Plato, let this be proof to you that I am bringing forward reasonable arguments, since I am not at a loss for words. So now give your mind to the matter, and see whether the things I say are both new and just at once.
2. You seem, my boy, to want above all, before the discourse itself, to learn this: why ever it is that I, who am not in love, strive with so much eagerness to obtain the very things that lovers obtain. This, then, I will tell you first, how the matter stands. It is not, by Zeus, that this man, the thoroughgoing lover, has by nature any keener sight than I, who am no lover; rather, I perceive your beauty no less than any of the others. Indeed, I could say that I perceive it far more exactly than he. But what we observe in the case of those who are feverish and those who have exercised very strenuously in the wrestling-school - that the same result comes about, though not from a like cause - [is what happens to me]. For both are thirsty: the one from disease, the other from his exercises. Some such thing has happened to me too...
[at least two pages are missing]
<...> at once slippery and prone to slip.
3. But you will not come to me for your ruin, nor will you associate with me to any harm, but rather for every good. For the beautiful are benefited and preserved more by those who do not love them, just as plants are by waters. For neither springs nor rivers are in love with the plants, but by passing near them and flowing past them they cause them to bloom and flourish. And the money given by me you would justly call gifts, but that given by him, ransom-payments. The children of the seers say that even to the gods the thank-offerings among sacrifices are more pleasing than the propitiatory ones; of these, the fortunate offer the former for the keeping and possession of their good things, while those who fare badly offer the latter for the averting of dreadful things. Let this much be said about what is advantageous and beneficial both to you and to him.
4. But if it is right that he should obtain help from you ........................ you set this firmly ...... you yourself constructed this very love and contrived the Thessalian [women / love-charms, the Thessalians being notorious for witchcraft] ............... [...] ............... [...] ................ you love ............. he said .............. then ............ blameless ........... of someone, on account of the ... to him [...] ...... [...] ........ except if perhaps, having been seen, you have done some wrong.
5. And do not fail to recognize that you yourself are also being wronged and outraged - and this is no moderate outrage already - in that everyone knows and openly talks in this way, that this man is your lover; and so you anticipate, even before doing any such thing, by submitting to the name of the deed. At any rate, the greater part of the citizens call you this man's beloved; but I will keep your name pure and free from outrage for you. For you shall be named the beautiful one, not the one who is acted upon - so far as it depends on me. And if he uses this as some kind of just claim - that he desires you more - let him know that he does not desire you more, but rather more shamelessly. And flies and gnats we drive off and push away most of all because they fly at us most impudently and shamelessly. This indeed even the wild beasts know how to do: to flee, more than all others, the huntsmen, and the birds the fowlers; and all living things turn aside most from those who especially lie in wait for and pursue them.
6. But if anyone supposes that beauty is more renowned and more honored on account of its lovers, he is altogether mistaken. For you the beautiful ones run a risk, on account of your lovers, as to the credit of your beauty among those who hear of it; whereas through us, the others, you possess a more secure reputation. If, for instance, one of those who had not yet seen you were to inquire what sort you are in appearance, he would trust me when I praised you, knowing that I am not in love; but he would distrust the other, on the grounds that he praises not truthfully but as a lover does. So those who have some bodily injury, ugliness, or deformity might reasonably pray that lovers should come to be theirs; for they would not be tended by any others than those who approach them under the madness and compulsion of love. But you, with such beauty as yours, there is nothing more that you will reap from love. For those who do not love you need you no less.
7. Lovers are useless to those who are truly beautiful no less than flatterers are to those who are justly praised; whereas virtue, reputation, honor, gain, and adornment [come to the beautiful from us]. To the sea it is sailors and steersmen and trierarchs [naval captains] and merchants and the others who sail upon it - not, by Zeus, the dolphins, for whom life is impossible except in the sea - [who bring honor]; and to the beautiful it is we who praise and welcome them disinterestedly, not the lovers, for whom life would be unlivable if deprived of their darlings. And you would find, if you looked into it, that the lovers are the cause of the greatest disgrace; and disgrace all those of sound mind must flee, and the young most of all, upon whom the evil, falling at the beginning of a long life, will lie the longer.
8. Just as, then, in the case of sacred rites and sacrifice, so also in the case of life, it most befits those who are beginning it to take care for a good name ............... of the ............ into the uttermost disgrace .. these worthy lovers, indeed, though it is possible if ..... five and ......... [...] ........ a thing ... to lovers ... [...] ............... [...] ............... [...] ........ [extensive lacuna] ........ strong ....... [...] ...... [...] ............... [the bulk of this section is lost] ............... and indeed the lovers, through such offerings, do not honor those boys, but rather boast and make a display of themselves and, so to speak, dance out their love. And your lover, as they say, composes certain amatory writings about you, intending to lure you and draw you to himself and capture you above all by this means; but these things are shameful and reproachful and a kind of licentious cry sent forth under the goad of frenzy - such as the cries of beasts or cattle, bellowing or neighing or lowing or howling from love. To these the songs of lovers are like. If, then, you were to permit your lover to use you where and whenever he wished, he would wait for neither a fitting occasion nor place nor leisure nor solitude, but, like a beast under the madness, would straightway rush to do whatever he was eager to do, ashamed of nothing.
9. I will add this one thing more and bring my discourse to a close: that of all the gifts and works of the gods which have come for the use and delight and benefit of men, some are wholly and in every way divine - I mean earth and sky and sun and sea - and these we are by nature disposed to hymn and to wonder at, but not to love; while in the case of certain beautiful things of meaner sort, which have been allotted a less honorable portion, these now are touched by envy and love and jealousy and longing. And some men are in love with gain, others again with rich food, others with wine. It is in such a number and category that beauty is placed by lovers, like gain and food and drunkenness; but by us, who wonder at it but do not love it, it is placed like the sun and sky and earth and sea - for such things are too great and too lofty for any love.
10. One thing more besides I will tell you, by which you too, speaking it to the other boys, will seem persuasive. It is likely that you are not unaware - either from your mother or from those who reared you - that there is a flower which is in love with the sun and suffers the experiences of lovers: lifting itself up as he rises, turning round as he travels, and turning about as he sets; yet it gains nothing more by it, nor does it find the sun any more favorable on account of its love. At any rate it is the most dishonored of plants and flowers, being taken up neither for the festal feasts of those who keep holiday nor for the garlands of gods or of men.
11. You seem, my boy, to wish to see this flower; well, I will show it to you, if we walk both together along the wall toward the Ilissus [the small river at Athens, the setting of Plato's Phaedrus].
............... [...] ........ doubtful ............ [...] ............... [...] ............... [...] ........ to no one ............... [...]
A Discourse on Love 1. This is the third letter, beloved Boy, that I am sending you on the same theme, the first by the hand of Lysias, the son of Kephalus, the second of Plato, the philosopher, and the third, indeed, by the hand of this foreigner, in speech little short of a barbarian, but as regards judgment, as I think, not wholly wanting in sagacity. And I write now without trenching at all upon those previous writings, and so do not you disregard the discourse as saying what has been already said. But if the present treatise seem to you to be longer than those which were previously sent through Lysias and Plato, let this be a proof to you that I can claim in fair words to be at no loss for words. But you must consider now whether my words are no less true than new. 2. No doubt, O Boy, you will wish to know at the very beginning of my discourse how it is that I, who am not in love, long with such eagerness for the very same things as lovers. I will tell you, therefore, first of all how this is. He who is ever so much a lover is, by Zeus, gifted with no keener sight than I who am no lover, but I can discern your beauty as well as anyone else, aye, far more accurately, I might say, even than your lover. But, just as we see in the case of fever patients, and those who have taken right good exercise in the gymnasium, the same result proceeds from different causes. They are both thirsty, the one from his malady, the other from his exercise. It has been my lot also to suffer some such malady from love . . . . . . . . 3. But me you shall not come near to your ruin, nor associate with me to any detriment, but to your every advantage. For it is rather by non-lovers that beautiful youths are benefited and preserved, just as plants are by waters. For neither fountains nor rivers are in love with plants, but by going near them and flowing past them they make them bloom and thrive. Money given by me you would be right in calling a gift, but given by a lover a quittance. And the children of prophets say that to gods also is the thank-offering among sacrifices more acceptable than the sin-offering, for the one is offered by the prosperous for the preservation and possession of their goods, the other by the wretched for the averting of ills. Let this suffice to be said on what is expedient and beneficial both to you and to him. 4. But if it is right that he should receive aid from you . . . . you set this on a firm basis . . . . you framed this love for him and devised Thessalian love-charms . . . . . . . . . . . . owing to his insatiable desire . . . . unless you have manifestly done wrong. 5. And do not ignore the fact that you are yourself wronged and subjected to no small outrage in this, that all men know and speak openly thus of you, that he is your lover; and so, by anticipation and before being guilty of any such things, you abide the imputation of being guilty. Consequently the generality of the citizens call you the man's darling; but I shall keep your name unsullied and inviolate. For as far as I am concerned you shall be called Beautiful , not Darling . But if the other use this name as his by right because his desire is greater, let him know that his desire is not greater, but more importunate. Yet with flies and gnats the especial reason why we wave them away and brush them off is because they fly at us most impudently and importunately. It is this, indeed, that makes the wild beast shun the hunter most of all, and the bird the fowler. And, in fact, all animals avoid most those that especially lie in wait for and pursue them. 6. But if anyone thinks that beauty is more glorified and honoured by reason of its lovers, he is totally mistaken. For you, the beautiful ones, through your lovers, run the risk of your beauty winning no credence with hearers, but through us non-lovers you establish your reputation for beauty on a sure basis. At any rate, if anyone who had never seen you were to enquire after your personal appearance, he would put faith in my praises, knowing that I am not in love; but he would disbelieve the other as praising not truthfully but lovingly. As many, then, as are maimed or ugly or deformed would naturally pray for lovers to be theirs, for they would find no others to court them but those who approach them under the madness and duress of love; but you, such is your beauty, cannot reap any greater advantage from a lover. For non-lovers have need of you no less than they. And indeed, to those who are really beautiful, lovers are as useless as flatterers to those who deserve praise. It is sailors and steersmen and captains of warships and merchants, and those that in other ways travel upon it, who give excellence and glory and honour and gain and ornament to the sea—not, heaven help us, dolphins that can live only in the sea: but for beautiful boys it is we who cherish and praise them disinterestedly, not lovers, whose life, deprived of their darlings, would be unlivable. And you will find, if you look into it, that lovers are the cause of the utmost disgrace. But all who are right-minded must shun disgrace, the young most of all, since the evil attaching to them at the beginning of a long life will rest upon them the longer. 7. As, then, in the case of sacred rites and sacrifices, so also of life, it behoves above all those who are entering upon them to have a care for their good name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For indeed by such adornments lovers do them no honour, but are themselves guilty of affectation and display, and, as it were, vulgarize the mysteries of love. Your lover, too, as they say, composes some amatory writings about you in the hope of enticing you with this bait, if with no other, and attracting you to himself and catching you; but such things are a disgrace and an insult and a sort of licentious cry, the outcome of stinging lust, such as those of wild beasts and fed cattle, that from sexual desire bellow or neigh or low or howl. Like to these are the lyrics of lovers. If, therefore, you submit yourself to your lover to enjoy where and when he pleases, awaiting neither time that is fitting nor leisure nor privacy, then, like a beast in the frenzy of desire, will he make straight for you and be eager to go to it nothing ashamed. 8. I will add but one thing before I conclude my discourse, that we are formed by nature to praise and admire, but not to love, all the gifts of the gods and their works that have come for the use and delight and benefit of men—those indeed of them which are wholly and in every way divine, I mean the earth and sky and sun and sea—while in the case of some other beautiful things of less worth, and formed to fulfil a less comely part, these at once are the subject of envy and love and emulation and desire. And some are in love with wealth, others again with rich viands, and others with wine. In the number and category of such is beauty reckoned by lovers, like wealth and viands and strong drink; but by us, who admire, indeed, but love not, like sun and sky and earth and sea, for such things are too good for any love and beyond its reach. 9. One thing more will I tell you, and if you will pass it on to all other boys, your words will seem convincing. Very likely you have heard from your mother, or from those who brought you up, that among flowers there is one that is indeed in love with the sun and undergoes the fate of lovers, lifting itself up when the sun rises, following his motions as he runs his course, and when he sets, turning itself about; but it takes no advantage thereby, nor yet, for all its love for the sun, does it find him the kinder. Least esteemed, at any rate, of plants and flowers, it is utilized neither for festal banquets nor for garlands of gods or men. Maybe, O Boy, you would like to see this flower. Well, I will shew it you if we go for a walk outside the city walls as far as the Ilissus . . . .
1. My dear boy, this is now the third time I am writing to you on the same matter: the first time through Lysias the son of Cephalus, the second through Plato the philosopher, and now this third time through this present foreign fellow [Fronto, playfully presenting his own Greek composition as the work of an outsider whose accent is almost barbarous] - a man almost barbarous in his speech, but, as I think, not at all wanting in judgment. I write now without touching at all upon what was written before, so do not neglect this discourse on the supposition that I am merely repeating myself. And if it seems to you that this present piece is fuller than what was sent before through Lysias and Plato, let this be proof to you that I am bringing forward reasonable arguments, since I am not at a loss for words. So now give your mind to the matter, and see whether the things I say are both new and just at once.
2. You seem, my boy, to want above all, before the discourse itself, to learn this: why ever it is that I, who am not in love, strive with so much eagerness to obtain the very things that lovers obtain. This, then, I will tell you first, how the matter stands. It is not, by Zeus, that this man, the thoroughgoing lover, has by nature any keener sight than I, who am no lover; rather, I perceive your beauty no less than any of the others. Indeed, I could say that I perceive it far more exactly than he. But what we observe in the case of those who are feverish and those who have exercised very strenuously in the wrestling-school - that the same result comes about, though not from a like cause - [is what happens to me]. For both are thirsty: the one from disease, the other from his exercises. Some such thing has happened to me too...
[at least two pages are missing]
<...> at once slippery and prone to slip.
3. But you will not come to me for your ruin, nor will you associate with me to any harm, but rather for every good. For the beautiful are benefited and preserved more by those who do not love them, just as plants are by waters. For neither springs nor rivers are in love with the plants, but by passing near them and flowing past them they cause them to bloom and flourish. And the money given by me you would justly call gifts, but that given by him, ransom-payments. The children of the seers say that even to the gods the thank-offerings among sacrifices are more pleasing than the propitiatory ones; of these, the fortunate offer the former for the keeping and possession of their good things, while those who fare badly offer the latter for the averting of dreadful things. Let this much be said about what is advantageous and beneficial both to you and to him.
4. But if it is right that he should obtain help from you ........................ you set this firmly ...... you yourself constructed this very love and contrived the Thessalian [women / love-charms, the Thessalians being notorious for witchcraft] ............... [...] ............... [...] ................ you love ............. he said .............. then ............ blameless ........... of someone, on account of the ... to him [...] ...... [...] ........ except if perhaps, having been seen, you have done some wrong.
5. And do not fail to recognize that you yourself are also being wronged and outraged - and this is no moderate outrage already - in that everyone knows and openly talks in this way, that this man is your lover; and so you anticipate, even before doing any such thing, by submitting to the name of the deed. At any rate, the greater part of the citizens call you this man's beloved; but I will keep your name pure and free from outrage for you. For you shall be named the beautiful one, not the one who is acted upon - so far as it depends on me. And if he uses this as some kind of just claim - that he desires you more - let him know that he does not desire you more, but rather more shamelessly. And flies and gnats we drive off and push away most of all because they fly at us most impudently and shamelessly. This indeed even the wild beasts know how to do: to flee, more than all others, the huntsmen, and the birds the fowlers; and all living things turn aside most from those who especially lie in wait for and pursue them.
6. But if anyone supposes that beauty is more renowned and more honored on account of its lovers, he is altogether mistaken. For you the beautiful ones run a risk, on account of your lovers, as to the credit of your beauty among those who hear of it; whereas through us, the others, you possess a more secure reputation. If, for instance, one of those who had not yet seen you were to inquire what sort you are in appearance, he would trust me when I praised you, knowing that I am not in love; but he would distrust the other, on the grounds that he praises not truthfully but as a lover does. So those who have some bodily injury, ugliness, or deformity might reasonably pray that lovers should come to be theirs; for they would not be tended by any others than those who approach them under the madness and compulsion of love. But you, with such beauty as yours, there is nothing more that you will reap from love. For those who do not love you need you no less.
7. Lovers are useless to those who are truly beautiful no less than flatterers are to those who are justly praised; whereas virtue, reputation, honor, gain, and adornment [come to the beautiful from us]. To the sea it is sailors and steersmen and trierarchs [naval captains] and merchants and the others who sail upon it - not, by Zeus, the dolphins, for whom life is impossible except in the sea - [who bring honor]; and to the beautiful it is we who praise and welcome them disinterestedly, not the lovers, for whom life would be unlivable if deprived of their darlings. And you would find, if you looked into it, that the lovers are the cause of the greatest disgrace; and disgrace all those of sound mind must flee, and the young most of all, upon whom the evil, falling at the beginning of a long life, will lie the longer.
8. Just as, then, in the case of sacred rites and sacrifice, so also in the case of life, it most befits those who are beginning it to take care for a good name ............... of the ............ into the uttermost disgrace .. these worthy lovers, indeed, though it is possible if ..... five and ......... [...] ........ a thing ... to lovers ... [...] ............... [...] ............... [...] ........ [extensive lacuna] ........ strong ....... [...] ...... [...] ............... [the bulk of this section is lost] ............... and indeed the lovers, through such offerings, do not honor those boys, but rather boast and make a display of themselves and, so to speak, dance out their love. And your lover, as they say, composes certain amatory writings about you, intending to lure you and draw you to himself and capture you above all by this means; but these things are shameful and reproachful and a kind of licentious cry sent forth under the goad of frenzy - such as the cries of beasts or cattle, bellowing or neighing or lowing or howling from love. To these the songs of lovers are like. If, then, you were to permit your lover to use you where and whenever he wished, he would wait for neither a fitting occasion nor place nor leisure nor solitude, but, like a beast under the madness, would straightway rush to do whatever he was eager to do, ashamed of nothing.
9. I will add this one thing more and bring my discourse to a close: that of all the gifts and works of the gods which have come for the use and delight and benefit of men, some are wholly and in every way divine - I mean earth and sky and sun and sea - and these we are by nature disposed to hymn and to wonder at, but not to love; while in the case of certain beautiful things of meaner sort, which have been allotted a less honorable portion, these now are touched by envy and love and jealousy and longing. And some men are in love with gain, others again with rich food, others with wine. It is in such a number and category that beauty is placed by lovers, like gain and food and drunkenness; but by us, who wonder at it but do not love it, it is placed like the sun and sky and earth and sea - for such things are too great and too lofty for any love.
10. One thing more besides I will tell you, by which you too, speaking it to the other boys, will seem persuasive. It is likely that you are not unaware - either from your mother or from those who reared you - that there is a flower which is in love with the sun and suffers the experiences of lovers: lifting itself up as he rises, turning round as he travels, and turning about as he sets; yet it gains nothing more by it, nor does it find the sun any more favorable on account of its love. At any rate it is the most dishonored of plants and flowers, being taken up neither for the festal feasts of those who keep holiday nor for the garlands of gods or of men.
11. You seem, my boy, to wish to see this flower; well, I will show it to you, if we walk both together along the wall toward the Ilissus [the small river at Athens, the setting of Plato's Phaedrus].
............... [...] ........ doubtful ............ [...] ............... [...] ............... [...] ........ to no one ............... [...]
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.