Letter 5019: Your letter was trimmed to Spartan brevity but overflows with substance.
Your letter is girt with Spartan brevity, yet it overflows with substance, and although it stirs a complaint about its rarity, nevertheless by the fullness of its dutiful affection it blots out any memory of resentment. But if frequent practice should exercise such letters, they will satisfy my longing without the tedium of surfeit. Yet I see what stands in the way of your intention, what hinders your goodwill. Our friend Eusebius detains you with his stories and his cups. Once you have restored him to the care of his own gardens, I think it will come to pass that your mind, freed from these trifling amusements, may be turned to serious affairs.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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.
Latin / Greek Original
Litterae tuae Spartana bretntate succinctae sunt, sed rebus exuberant, et cum
moveant de raritate querimoniam, tamen officii plenitudine memoriam suscensionis
oblitterant. quodsi eas creber usus exerceat, desiderium meum sine fastidio satieta-
25 tis explebunt. sed video, quid obsistat animo, quid impediat voluntatem. Eusebius
te noster fabulis et poculis demoratur. quem cum reddideris curae hortorum suorum,
fore arbitror, ut animus tuus iocularibus ineptiis absolutus ad negotia seria conferatur.
cartule P l m.
ratonim luretua aiticas P 1 m. 8 aflueuti P 1 m. 9 parce V plures actutum] P 2 m. M,
plures actuum P l m. V
emersisse^ P, subitae mersisset V discordiam et PVF, lacunam indicavi 15 ac] et F 16 mea V
134 SYMMACHI EPISTVLAE
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern symmachus retranslated v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://archive.org/details/qaureliisymmach00seecgoog
Related Letters
I took the earliest opportunity of writing to the most admirable Count Terentius, thinking it better to write to him on the subject in hand by means of strangers, and being anxious that our very dear brother Acacius shall not be inconvenienced by any delay. I have therefore given my letter to the government treasurer, who is travelling by the im...
I have spoken to you many times about the long-standing friendship of the admirable Thalassius toward me, and about...
This is a letter where the social gap between us actually shapes what we write.
(Eusebius, having in response to the appeal referred to above, betaken himself to Cæsarea, the Elder Gregory, though in very feeble health, resolved to attend the Synod in person, that Basil's Election might be secured by their joint exertions, Gregory the Younger sent the following letter by his father to explain to his friend the reason why he...
You have gotten back the man you were seeking, and I am looking for the man I had.