Sidonius Apollinaris: EPISTULARUM LIBRI IX

1. Diu praecipis, domine maior, summa suadendi auctoritate, sicuti es in his quae deliberabuntur consiliosissimus, ut, si quae litterae paulo politiores varia occasione fluxerunt, prout eas causa persona tempus elicuit, omnes retractatis exemplaribus enucleatisque uno volumine includam, Quinti Symmachi rotunditatem, Gai Plinii disciplinam maturitatemque vestigiis praesumptiosis insecuturus.

1. For a long time you have enjoined, my lord and elder, with the highest authority of urging, and as you are most expert in the counsels of things to be deliberated, that, if any letters have flowed somewhat more polished on various occasions, as cause, person, or time brought them forth, I should include all — the copies revised and the drafts pared clean — in one volume, intending to pursue the roundness of Quintus Symmachus and the discipline and maturity of Gaius Plinius in presumptuous footsteps.

2. nam de Marco Tullio silere melius puto, quem in stilo epistulari nec Iulius Titianus sub nominibus illustrium feminarum digna similitudine expressit. propter quod illum ceteri quique Frontonianorum utpote consectaneum aemulati, cur veternosum dicendi genus imitaretur, oratorum simiam nuncupaverunt. quibus omnibus ego immane dictu est quantum semper iudicio meo cesserim quantumque servandam singulis pronuntiaverim temporum suorum meritorumque praerogativam.

2. for concerning Marcus Tullius I think it better to be silent, whom even Julius Titianus in the epistolary style did not render with a worthy likeness under the names of illustrious women. Because of this the rest and every one of the Frontonians, as his fellow-followers emulating him, and because he imitated an old-fashioned genus of speaking, have called him the ape of orators. Of all which it is monstrous to tell how much I have ever yielded to my own judgment, and how strongly I have pronounced that to each should be preserved the prerogative of his times and of his merits.

3. sed scilicet tibi parui tuaeque examinationi has non recensendas (hoc enim parum est) sed defaecandas, ut aiunt, limandasque commisi, sciens te immodicum esse fautorem non studiorum modo verum etiam studiosorum. quam ob rem nos nunc perquam haesitabundos in hoc deinceps famae pelagus impellis.

3. but certainly I obeyed you and entrusted these to your examination not to be merely reviewed (for that is too little) but, as they say, to be purged and filed, knowing you to be an excessive patron not only of studies but even of the studious. wherefore you now drive us, very hesitant, henceforth into the sea of fame.

4. porro autem super huiusmodi opusculo tutius conticueramus, contenti versuum felicius quam peritius editorum opinione, de qua mihi iampridem in portu iudicii publici post lividorum latratuum Scyllas enavigatas sufficientis gloriae ancora sedet. sed si et hisce deliramentis genuinum molarem invidia non fixerit, actutum tibi a nobis volumina numerosiora percopiosis scaturrientia sermocinationibus multiplicabuntur. vale.

4. moreover, as to such a little opus we kept the safer silence, content with the editors’ opinion of the verses — happier rather than more skilful — about which for some time now, in the harbour of public judgment, after having sailed the Scyllas of the snarls of the envious, the anchor of sufficient glory has lain for me. but if even on these ravings envy has not fixed a genuine millstone, straightaway more numerous volumes will be poured forth to you by us, copiously gushing with sermocinationes. vale.

EPISTULA II

LETTER 2

Sidonius Agricolae suo salutem.

Sidonius. To his Agricola, greetings.

1. Saepenumero postulavisti ut, quia Theodorici regis Gothorum commendat populis fama civilitatem, litteris tibi formae suae quantitas, vitae qualitas significaretur. pareo libens, in quantum epistularis pagina sinit, laudans in te tam delicatae sollicitudinis ingenuitatem. igitur vir est et illis dignus agnosci, qui eum minus familiariter intuentur: ita personam suam deus arbiter et ratio naturae consummatae felicitatis dote sociata cumulaverunt; mores autem huiuscemodi sunt, ut laudibus eorum nihil ne regni quidem defrudet invidia.

1. You have often requested that, since the fame of Theodoric, king of the Goths, recommends his civility to the peoples, by letters his appearance’s form, the measure of his stature, and the quality of his life be made known to you. I comply willingly, insofar as the page of a letter permits, praising in you the ingenuousness of so delicate a solicitude. Therefore he is a man and worthy to be acknowledged even by those who behold him less familiarly: thus God the judge and the reason of consummate nature have heaped upon his person a dower joined to felicity; and his manners are of such a sort that in their praises not even the envy of a kingdom is lacking.

2. si forma quaeratur: corpore exacto, longissimis brevior, procerior eminentiorque mediocribus. capitis apex rotundus, in quo paululum a planitie frontis in verticem caesaries refuga crispatur. cervix non sed nervis.

2. if his shape be asked: with a well-made body, a little shorter than the very tallest, taller and more eminent than the middling. the apex of the head rounded, in which, from the plane of the brow a little toward the summit, the hair is curled back. the neck not but of sinews.

geminos orbes hispidus superciliorum coronat arcus; si vero cilia flectantur, ad malas medias palpebrarum margo prope pervenit. aurium ligulae, sicut mos gentis est, crinium superiacentium flagellis operiuntur. nasus venustissime incurvus.

A bristling arch of the brows crowns two twin orbs; but if the eyelashes are bent, the margin of the eyelids nearly reaches the middle of the cheeks. The lingulae of the ears, as the custom of the people is, are covered by the whip-like locks of the overhanging hair. The nose most gracefully curved.

labra subtilia nec dilatatis oris angulis ampliata. pilis infra narium antra fruticantibus cotidiana succisio; barba concavis hirta temporibus, quam in subdita vultus parte surgentem stirpitus tonsor assiduus genis ut adhuc vesticipibus evellit.

thin lips, not broadened at the dilated corners of the mouth. a daily shaving where hairs branch in the caverns beneath the nostrils; a beard rough in the hollowed temples, which the frequent barber, as it springs up on the lower part of the face, pulls out from the cheeks even with their vesticipibus.

3. menti gutturis colli, non obesi sed suculenti, lactea cutis, quae propius inspecta iuvenali rubore suffunditur; namque hunc illi crebro colorem non ira sed verecundia facit. teretes umeri, validi lacerti, dura brachia, patulae manus, recedente alvo pectus excedens. aream dorsi humilior inter excrementa costarum spina discriminat.

3. to the chin, the gullet of the neck, not obese but succulent, a milk-white skin which, when looked at more closely, is suffused with a youthful blush; for this colour in him is often produced not by anger but by modesty. rounded shoulders, powerful upper arms, firm forearms, broad hands, the chest projecting as the belly recedes. a lower ridge of the back marks the area between the projecting processes of the ribs.

tuberosum est utrumque musculis prominentibus latus. in succinctis regnat vigor ilibus. corneum femur, internodia poplitum bene mascula, maximus in minime rugosis genibus honor.

Each side is tuberous with muscles prominent. In the girt-up parts the vigor of the thighs reigns. A corneous femur, the internodes of the popliteal hollow well manly; the greatest honor rests in the least-wrinkled knees.

crura suris fulta turgentibus et, qui magna sustentat membra, pes modicus.

legs supported by bulging calves, and a modest foot, which sustains the large limbs.

4. si actionem diuturnam, quae est forinsecus exposita, perquiras: antelucanos sacerdotum suorum coetus minimo comitatu expetit, grandi sedulitate veneratur. quamquam, si sermo secretus, possis animo advertere, quod servet istam pro consuetudine potius quam pro ratione reverentiam. reliquum mane regni administrandi cura sibi deputat.

4. if you inquire into the prolonged action, which is displayed outwardly: he seeks the pre-dawn assembly of his priests with the smallest retinue, and venerates them with great diligence. Although, if the speech be private, you can note in your mind that he preserves that reverence more from custom than from reason. He assigns the remainder of the morning to the care of administering the kingdom.

circumsistit sellam comes armiger; pellitorum turba satellitum ne absit, admittitur, ne obstrepat, eliminatur, sicque pro foribus immurmurat exclusa velis, inclusa cancellis. inter haec intromissis gentium legationibus audit plurima, pauca respondet; si quid tractabitur, differt; si quid expedietur, accelerat. hora est secunda: surgit e solio aut thesauris inspiciendis vacaturus aut stabulis.

A comrade, an arms-bearer, stands surrounding the chair; a throng of the doorwardens’ satellites is admitted so that none of the doorwardens be absent; if they make a clamor, he ejects them, and thus, shut off before the doors with the curtains closed, enclosed by grilles. Meanwhile, with the embassies of nations having been admitted, he hears very many things, answers few; if anything is to be debated, he defers it; if anything is to be despatched, he hastens it. It is the second hour: he rises from the throne, either to inspect the treasuries or to attend the stables.

5. si venatione nuntiata procedit, arcum lateri innectere citra gravitatem regiam iudicat; quem tamen, si comminus avem feramque aut venanti aut vianti , manui post tergum reflexae puer inserit nervo lorove fluitantibus; quem sicut puerile computat gestare thecatum, ita muliebre accipere iam tensum. igitur acceptum modo insinuatis e regione capitibus intendit, modo ad talum pendulum nodi parte conversa languentem chordae vagantis laqueum digito superlabente prosequitur; et mox spicula capit, implet, expellit; quidve cupias percuti, prior admonet; eligis quid feriat: quod elegeris ferit; et, si ab alterutro errandum est, rarius fallitur figentis ictus quam destinantis obtutus.

5. If he advances to a proclaimed venation, he judges it unbecoming of royal gravity to gird the bow at his side; yet that bow, if by close contest chance () offers a bird or a beast either to the hunter or the wayfarer, the boy inserts with his hand, bent behind his back, the string with a thong flowing; which, as he reckons it boyish to wear sheathed, so he deems it now womanish to take when already drawn. Therefore, having received it he at one moment insinuates it from the region of the heads, at another pursues the languishing noose of the wandering cord toward the hanging heel, the turned part of the knot gliding over with a finger; and soon he seizes, loads, and lets fly the arrow; the foremost warns what you desire to strike; you choose what it shall strike: what you have chosen it strikes; and if error must lie with one or the other, the strike of the striker is more rarely mistaken than the aim of the one who intends.

6. si in convivium venitur, quod quidem diebus profestis simile privato est, non ibi inpolitam congeriem liventis argenti mensis cedentibus suspiriosus minister imponit; maximum tunc pondus in verbis est, quippe cum illic aut nulla narrentur aut seria. toreumatum peripetasmatumque modo conchyliata profertur supellex, modo byssina. cibi arte, non pretio placent, fercula nitore, non pondere.

6. if one comes to a convivium, which indeed on weekdays is like a private affair, there a sighing minister does not set down an unpolished heap of tarnished argent on a yielding mensa; then the greatest weight is in words, since there either no tales are told or only serious ones. Furnishings are brought forth sometimes toreumatum and peripetasmatum, sometimes conchyliate, sometimes byssina. The cibus pleases by arte, not by pretio; the fercula by nitore, not by pondere.

scyphorum paterarumque raras oblationes facilius est ut accuset sitis quam recuset ebrietas. quid multis? videas ibi elegantiam Graecam abundantiam Gallicanam celeritatem Italam, publicam pompam privatam diligentiam regiam disciplinam.

of cups and paterae, it is easier that thirst accuse the sparse offerings than that drunkenness refuse them. what need of many words? you will see there Greek elegance, Gallican abundance, Italian celerity, public pomp, private diligence, regal discipline.

de luxu autem illo sabbatario narrationi meae supersedendum est, qui nec latentes potest latere personas.

But concerning that sabbatarian luxury I must refrain from my account, for it cannot allow persons who are hidden to remain hidden.

7. ad coepta redeatur. dapibus expleto somnus meridianus saepe nullus, semper exiguus. quibus horis viro tabula cordi, tesseras colligit rapide, inspicit sollicite, volvit argute, mittit instanter, ioculariter compellat, patienter exspectat.

7. let us return to what was begun. with the repasts finished the noonday sleep is often none, always slight. in those hours, to a man fond of the table, he gathers the tesserae quickly, inspects them anxiously, turns them over shrewdly, dispatches them at once, addresses them jocularly, waits patiently.

in bonis iactibus tacet, in malis ridet, in neutris irascitur, in utrisque philosophatur. secundas fastidit vel timere vel facere, quarum opportunitates spernit oblatas, transit oppositas. sine motu evaditur, sine colludio evadit.

In good boastings he is silent, in bad ones he laughs, toward neither does he grow angry, toward both he philosophizes. He scorns prosperities—neither to fear them nor to seize them; he spurns their opportunities when offered and passes by the opposite. He comes through without motion, he escapes without collusion.

putes illum et in calculis arma tractare: sola est illi cura vincendi.

you would suppose him even in calculations to handle arms: his sole care is of winning.

8. cum ludendum est, regiam sequestrat tantisper severitatem, hortatur ad [ludum] libertatem communionemque. dicam quod sentio: timet timeri. denique oblectatur commotione superati et tum demum credit sibi non cessisse collegam, cum fidem fecerit victoriae suae bilis aliena.

8. when it is time to play, he withdraws the royal severity for so long, urges freedom and communion toward [game]. I will say what I feel: he fears being feared. Finally he delights in the agitation of the vanquished, and then at last believes that he has not failed his colleague, when another’s bile has vouched for his victory.

quodque mirere, saepe illa laetitia minimis occasionibus veniens ingentium negotiorum merita fortunat. tunc petitionibus diu ante per patrociniorum naufragia iactatis absolutionis subitae portus aperitur. tunc etiam ego aliquid obsecraturus feliciter vincor, quando mihi ad hoc tabula perit, ut causa salvetur.

and marvel that often that joy, arriving from the smallest occasions, bestows fortune upon the merits of great undertakings. Then the haven of sudden absolution is opened to petitions long before tossed by the shipwrecks of patronages. Then too I, about to beseech something, am happily overcome when for this purpose the record perishes for me, so that the cause is saved.

9. circa nonam recrudescit moles illa regnandi. redeunt pulsantes, redeunt summoventes, ubique litigiosus fremit ambitus, qui tractus in vesperam cena regia interpellante rarescit et per aulicos deinceps pro patronorum varietate dispergitur, usque ad tempus concubiae noctis excubaturus. sane intromittuntur, quamquam raro, inter cenandum mimici sales, ita ut nullus conviva mordacis linguae felle feriatur; sic tamen, quod illic nec organa hydraulica sonant nec sub phonasco vocalium concentus meditatum acroama simul intonat; nullus ibi lyristes choraules mesochorus tympanistria psaltria canit, rege solum illis fidibus delenito, quibus non minus mulcet virtus animum quam cantus auditum.

9. around the ninth hour that mass of ruling rekindles. The striking ones return, the displacing ones return, everywhere the litigious ambition roars, which, drawn out into the evening with the royal supper interrupting, grows thin and is thence scattered among the courtiers according to the variety of patrons, until the time of the night's couch, about to keep watch. Certainly, though rarely, mime witticisms are admitted while dining, so that no guest is struck by the gall of a biting tongue; yet such that there neither hydraulic organs sound there nor, beneath the phonasco, the concert of voices intones a premeditated aria together; no there lyristes, choraules, mesochorus, tympanistria, psaltries sing — the king alone soothes them with those strings by which virtue no less fondles the spirit than song fondles the ear.

10. cum surrexerit, inchoat nocturnas aulica + gaza custodias; armati regiae domus aditibus assistunt, quibus horae primi soporis vigilabuntur. sed iam quid meas istud ad partes, qui tibi indicanda non multa de regno sed pauca de rege promisi? simul et stilo finem fieri decet, quia et tu cognoscere viri non amplius quam studia personamque voluisti et ego non historiam sed epistulam efficere curavi.

10. When he has risen, he begins the nocturnal courtly and gaza watches; armed men stand at the approaches of the royal house, at which the hours of first slumber are kept watch. But now what concern has this of mine with the particulars, since I promised you not many things to be indicated about the kingdom but a few about the king? At the same time it is fitting that an end be made with the stylus, for you wished to know the man no more than his studies and his person, and I have taken care to compose not a history but a letter.

vale.

farewell.

EPISTULA III

EPISTLE 3

Sidonius Philimatio suo salutem.

Sidonius to his Philimatius, greetings.

1. 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.

1. And now, with the senate moved to question me under the laws for ambitus, why I should apply myself, with sleepless cares, to the attainment of an hereditary dignity; to which my father, my father‑in‑law, my grandfather and great‑grandfather shone in urban and praetorian prefectures, and in Palatine and military magisteriates.

2. et ecce Gaudentius meus, hactenus tantum tribunicius, oscitantem nostrorum civium desidiam vicariano apice transcendit. mussitat quidem iuvenum nostrorum calcata generositas, sed qui transiit derogantes in hoc solum movetur, ut gaudeat. igitur venerantur hucusque contemptum ac subitae stupentes dona fortunae quem consessu despiciebant sede suspiciunt.

2. and behold my Gaudentius, hitherto only tribunician, has transcended the yawning desidia of our citizens at the vicarian apex. The trodden generosity of our youths indeed murmurs, but he who has advanced is moved by the detractors in this alone, that he rejoices. Therefore they hitherto venerate the contempt and, amazed, from their seats behold the sudden gifts of fortune which they had scorned in the assembly.

ille obiter stertentum oblatratorum aures rauci voce praeconis everberat, qui in eum licet stimulis inimicalibus excitentur, scamnis tamen amicalibus deputabuntur.

3. unde te etiam par fuerit privilegio consiliorum praefecturae, in quae participanda deposceris, antiquati honoris perniciter sarcire dispendium, ne, si extra praerogativam consiliarii in concilium veneris, solas vicariorum vices egisse videare. vale.

3. whence it would likewise have been fitting for you, by the privilege of the councils of the prefecture in which you demand to share, to swiftly mend the loss of antiquated honor, lest, if you come into the council outside the prerogative of a consiliarius, you seem to have performed only the vicarii’s duties. vale.

EPISTULA IV

EPISTLE 4

Sidonius Gaudentio suo salutem.

Sidonius to his Gaudentius, greeting.

1. Macte esto, vir amplissime, fascibus partis dote meritorum; quorum ut titulis apicibusque potiare, non maternos reditus, non avitas largitiones, non uxorias gemmas, non paternas pecunias numeravisti, quia tibi e contrario apud principis domum inspecta sinceritas, spectata sedulitas, admissa sodalitas laudi fuere. o terque quaterque beatum te, de cuius culmine datur amicis laetitia, lividis poena, posteris gloria, tum praeterea vegetis et alacribus exemplum, desidibus et pigris incitamentum; et tamen si qui sunt, qui te quocumque animo deinceps aemulabuntur, sibi forsitan, si te consequantur, debeant, tibi debebunt procul dubio, quod sequuntur.

1. Well done, most illustrious man, with the fasces as the party’s dowry of merits; in order that you might obtain their titles and pinnacles, you did not reckon on maternal inheritances, nor ancestral largesses, nor uxorial gems, nor paternal monies; for, on the contrary, at the prince’s house inspected sincerity, observed sedulity, and admitted companionship were to your praise. O thrice and four‑times blessed are you, from whose summit is given to friends joy, to the envious punishment, to posterity glory, and moreover to the vigorous and eager an example, to the idle and slothful an incitement; and yet if there are those who henceforth will emulate you with whatever spirit, they may perhaps suppose they owe it to themselves if they follow you — to you, beyond doubt, they will owe what they copy.

2. spectare mihi videor bonorum pace praefata illam in invidis ignaviam superbientem et illud militandi inertibus familiare fastidium, cum a desperatione crescendi inter bibendum philosophantes ferias inhonoratorum laudant, vitio desidiae, non studio perfectionis. **

2. I seem to behold, in the peace of the good afore-mentioned, that proud sloth beloved by the envious and that familiar weariness of soldiery to the inert, when, grown from a despair of advancement, they, philosophizing amid drinking, praise the holidays of the dishonored — a vice of desidia, not from a zeal for perfection. **

3. ** appetitus, ne adhuc pueris usui foret, maiorum iudicio reiciebatur; sic adulescentum declamatiunculas pannis textilibus comparantes intelligebant eloquia iuvenum laboriosius brevia produci quam porrecta succidi. sed hinc quia istaec satis, quod subest, quaeso reminiscaris velle me tibi studii huiusce vicissitudinem reponderare, modo me actionibus iustis deus annuens et sospitem praestet et reducem. vale.

3. ** the appetite, lest it still be of use to boys, was rejected by the judgment of the elders; thus the youths, preparing little declamations with textile cloths, understood that the speeches of young men are produced more laboriously short than when protracted they fall away. But since those things are enough for now, I beg you to remember what follows: that I wish to answer to you the vicissitude of this study, provided only that God, approving my righteous actions, grant me safety and a return. vale.

EPISTULA V

EPISTLE 5

Sidonius Heronio suo salutem.

Sidonius sends greetings to his Heronius.

1. Litteras tuas Romae positus accepi, quibus an secundum commune consilium sese peregrinationis meae coepta promoveant sollicitus inquiris, viam etiam qualem qualiterque confecerim, quos aut fluvios viderim poetarum carminibus inlustres aut urbes moenium situ inclitas aut montes numinum opinione vulgatos aut campos proeliorum replicatione monstrabiles, quia voluptuosum censeas quae lectione compereris eorum, qui inspexerint, fideliore didicisse memoratu. quocirca gaudeo te quid agam cupere cognoscere; namque huiuscemodi studium de affectu interiore proficiscitur. ilicet, etsi secus quaepiam, sub ope tamen dei ordiar a secundis, quibus primordiis maiores nostri etiam sinisteritatum suarum relationes evolvere auspicabantur.

1. I received your letters placed at Rome, in which you anxiously ask whether the undertakings of my peregrination are advancing according to common plan, and also inquire what route I took and how I completed it, which rivers I saw illustrious in the poems of the poets or cities renowned by the position of their walls or mountains famed by the opinion of divine presence or fields shown by the recurrence of battles, because you judge delightful what you have learned by reading of those who have inspected, having learned more faithfully by memory. Wherefore I rejoice to know what you wish me to do; for such a zeal proceeds from inner affection. Be it so, and although some things may be otherwise, yet by the help of God I will begin with the second parts, with which our ancestors, at the beginnings, even ventured to unfold accounts of their own misfortunes.

2. egresso mihi Rhodanusiae nostrae moenibus publicus cursus usui fuit utpote sacris apicibus accito, et quidem per domicilia sodalium propinquorumque; ubi sane vianti moram non veredorum paucitas sed amicorum multitudo faciebat, quae mihi arto implicita complexu itum reditumque felicem certantibus votis conprecabatur. sic Alpium iugis appropinquatum, quarum mihi citus et facilis ascensus et inter utrimque terrentis latera praerupti cavatis in callem nivibus itinera mollita.

2. having departed from the walls of our Rhodanusia, a public route served me, as one summoned by sacred apices, and indeed through the domiciles of comrades and kinsmen; where certainly the delay in travel was made not by a paucity of guides but by the multitude of friends, who, closely interwoven in a narrow embrace, with competing vows besought a fortunate going and returning. Thus the ridges of the Alps were neared, whose ascent was to me swift and easy, and whose precipitous flanks on either side, hollowed in the snow into a way, softened the journeys.

3. fluviorum quoque, si qui non navigabiles, vada commoda vel certe pervii pontes, quos antiquitas a fundamentis ad usque aggerem calcabili silice crustatum crypticis arcubus fornicavit. Ticini cursoriam (sic navigio nomen) escendi, qua in Eridanum brevi delatus cantatas saepe comissaliter nobis Phaethontiadas et commenticias arborei metalli lacrimas risi.

3. of rivers too, where any are not navigable, convenient shallows or at least passable bridges, which antiquity from the foundations up to the embankment paved with treadable flint and vaulted with subterranean arches, fashioned. I boarded the swift craft of the Ticini (thus the vessel’s name), by which, carried briefly into the Eridanum, I often, in convivial mood, laughed at the sung Phaethontian tales and the contrived tears of wood and metal.

4. ulvosum Lambrum caerulum Adduam, velocem Athesim pigrum Mincium, qui Ligusticis Euganeisque montibus oriebantur, paulum per ostia adversa subvectus in suis etiam gurgitibus inspexi; quorum ripae torique passim quernis acernisque nemoribus vestiebantur. hic avium resonans dulce concentus, quibus nunc in concavis harundinibus, nunc quoque in iuncis pungentibus, nunc et in scirpis enodibus nidorum strues imposita nutabat; quae cuncta virgulta tumultuatim super amnicos margines soli bibuli suco fota fruticaverant.

4. I beheld the foaming Lambrum, the cerulean Addua, the swift Athesim and the sluggish Mincium, which arose in the Ligustic and Euganean mountains, pushed a little back toward their mouths and even viewed in their own eddies; whose banks and shores were everywhere clad in alder and maple groves. Here the sweet concert of birds rang out, now in hollow reeds, now likewise in prickly rushes, now in knotty sedges the nests of scents placed were rocking; all those thickets had in tumult grown up over the riverine margins, the soil nourished by its thirsty sap producing shrubs.

5. atque obiter Cremonam pervectus adveni, cuius est olim Tityro Mantuano largum suspirata proximitas. Brixillum dein oppidum, dum succedenti Aemiliano nautae decedit Venetus remex, tantum, ut exiremus, intravimus, Ravennam paulo post cursu dexteriore subeuntes; quo loci veterem civitatem novumque portum media via Caesaris ambigas utrum conectat an separet. insuper oppidum duplex pars interluit Padi, + certa pars alluit; qui ab alveo principali molium publicarum discerptus obiectu et per easdem derivatis tramitibus exhaustus sic dividua fluenta partitur, ut praebeant moenibus circumfusa praesidium, infusa commercium.

5. and meanwhile I was conveyed and came to Cremona, whose once, to Tityrus of Mantua, the longed-for proximity is ample. Then the little town Brixillum, while the Venetian rower yields to the succeeding Aemilian sailor, we entered only so far as to make our exit; thereafter we approached Ravenna by a slightly more rightward course; where the midway way of Caesar makes it ambiguous whether it connects the ancient city and the new port or separates them. moreover the town is double-washed by the Po, + one part certainly inundates; which, having been cut off from the main channel by the projection of public piers and drained off through those same diverted conduits, thus parcels its divided currents, so that they afford the walls a surrounding bulwark and pour commerce into it.

6. huc [cum] peropportuna cuncta mercatui; tum praecipue quod esui competeret deferebatur; nisi quod, cum sese hinc salsum portis pelagus impingeret, hinc cloacali pulte fossarum discursu lyntrium ventilata ipse lentati languidus lapsus umoris nauticis cuspidibus foraminato fundi glutino sordidaretur, in medio undarum sitiebamus, quia nusquam vel aquaeductuum liquor integer vel cisterna defaecabilis vel fons inriguus vel puteus inlimis.

6. hither all things most suitable for commerce were brought; then especially whatever was fit for eating was conveyed; except that, when [when] from here the salty sea thrust against the gates, from here the sewerly pottage of the ditches, stirred by the running of the drains, being ventilated, the sluggish slip of moisture itself soiled the ships’ bottoms—perforated, caulked with pitch—by the nautical prows, we remained thirsty in the midst of the waves, because nowhere was there whole aqueduct water, nor a cistern fit to be emptied, nor an irrigating spring, nor a well free from filth.

7. unde progressis ad Rubiconem ventum, qui originem nomini de glarearum colore puniceo mutuabatur quique olim Gallis cisalpinis Italisque veteribus terminus erat, cum populis utrisque Hadriatici maris oppida divisui fuere. hinc Ariminum Fanumque perveni, illud Iuliana rebellione memorabile, hoc Hasdrubaliano funere infectum: siquidem illic Metaurus, cuius ita in longum felicitas uno die parta porrigitur, ac si etiam nunc Dalmatico salo cadavera sanguinulenta decoloratis gurgitibus inferret.

7. whence, having advanced, we came to the Rubicon, which took the origin of its name from the punicean color of its gravels and which once was the boundary to the Cisalpine Gauls and the ancient Italians, when the towns of both peoples were divided by the Adriatic Sea. From there I reached Ariminum and Fanuum, that one memorable for the Julian rebellion, this infected by the Hasdrubalian funeral: for there the Metaurus, whose felicity is thus extended far by a single day gained, and as if even now the blood-stained corpses were borne by the Dalmatian sea in its discolored gulfs.

8. hinc cetera Flaminiae oppida, statim, ut ingrediebar, egressus laevo Picentes, dextro Umbros latere transmisi; ubi mihi seu Calaber Atabulus seu pestilens regio Tuscorum spiritu aeris venenatis flatibus inebriato et modo calores alternante, modo frigora vaporatum corpus infecit. interea febris sitisque penitissimum cordis medullarumque secretum depopulabantur; quarum aviditati non solum amoena fontium aut abstrusa puteorum, quamquam haec quoque, sed tota illa vel vicina vel obvia fluenta id est vitrea Velini gelida Clitumni, Anienis caerula Naris sulpurea, pura Fabaris turbida Tiberis, metu tamen desiderium fallente, pollicebamur.

8. from there the remaining towns of the Flaminian road; immediately, as I was entering, having set out I passed the Picentes on the left and the Umbrians on the right; where either the Calabrian Atabulus or the pestilential region of the Tusci, intoxicated by the breath of the air with poisonous blasts, and now alternating heats, now colds, struck my vaporous body. Meanwhile fever and thirst were wasting to the utmost the innermost secret of the heart and the marrow of the bones; to whose craving we promised not only the pleasant springs or the hidden wells—though these also—but all those streams near or beside the way, that is the glassy Velinus, the cold Clitumnus, the blue Anio, the sulphurous Naris, the pure Fabaris, the turbid Tiber, desire deceiving us, yet fear betraying the hope.

9. inter haec patuit et Roma conspectui; cuius mihi non solum formas verum etiam naumachias videbar epotaturus. ubi priusquam vel pomeria contingerem, triumphalibus apostolorum liminibus affusus omnem protinus sensi membris male fortibus explosum esse languorem; post quae caelestis experimenta patrocinii conducti devorsorii parte susceptus atque etiam nunc istaec inter iacendum scriptitans quieti pauxillulum operam impendo.

9. meanwhile Rome also lay open to my sight; of which I seemed about to quaff not only the forms but even the naumachiae. When, ere I could even touch the pomerium, being poured upon by the triumphal thresholds of the Apostles I straightway felt that a languor, blown out from my ill-strong limbs, had burst forth; after which I was seized as if in the part of a caelestial experiment of patronage, a contracted devorsor, and even now, writing these things while lying down, I bestow a little care upon rest.

10. neque adhuc principis aulicorumque tumultuosis foribus obversor. interveni etenim nuptiis patricii Ricimeris, cui filia perennis Augusti in spem publicae securitatis copulabatur. igitur nunc in ista non modo personarum sed etiam ordinum partiumque laetitia Transalpino tuo latere conducibilius visum, quippe cum hoc ipso tempore, quo haec mihi exarabantur, vix per omnia theatra macella, praetoria fora, templa gymnasia Thalassio Fescenninus explicaretur, atque etiam nunc e contrario studia sileant negotia quiescant, iudicia conticescant differantur legationes, vacet ambitus et inter scurrilitates histrionicas totus actionum seriarum status peregrinetur.

10. nor yet do I frequent the tumultuous doors of the prince and his courtiers. For I came into the wedding of the patrician Ricimer, to whom the daughter of the perpetual Augustus was being joined in the hope of public security. Therefore now, in that rejoicing not only of persons but also of orders and factions, it seemed more fitting to lie on your Transalpine flank, especially since at that very time in which these things were being written by me scarcely throughout all the theatres, markets, praetorian fora, temples, and gymnasia could the Thalassian and Fescennine rites be performed; and even now, on the contrary, pursuits are silent, business is at rest, judgments are hushed, legations are deferred, canvassing lies fallow, and amid buffooneries and theatrical antics the whole sequence of public acts wanders abroad.

11. iam quidem virgo tradita est, iam coronam sponsus, iam palmatam consularis, iam cycladem pronuba, iam togam [senator] honoratus, iam paenulam deponit inglorius, et nondum tamen cuncta thalamorum pompa defremuit, quia necdum ad mariti domum nova nupta migravit. qua festivitate decursa cetera tibi laborum meorum molimina reserabuntur, si tamen vel consummata sollemnitas aliquando terminaverit istam totius civitatis occupatissimam vacationem. vale.

11. now indeed the virgin is handed over, now crowned as bride, now bestowed the consular palm, now the cyclade as pronuba, now honored with the toga as senator, now he lays aside the inglorious paenula, and yet not all the pomp of the bridal chambers has sounded forth, because the newly-wedded has not yet migrated to the husband’s house. When that festivity has run its course the remaining burdens of my labors will be opened to you, if indeed even the consummated solemnity will at some time terminate that most-occupied vacation of the whole city. Farewell.

EPISTULA VI

EPISTLE 6

Sidonius Eutropio suo salutem.

Sidonius to his Eutropius, greeting.

1. Olim quidem scribere tibi concupiscebam, sed nunc vel maxime impellor, id est cum mihi ducens in urbem Christo propitiante via carpitur. scribendi causa vel sola vel maxima, quo te scilicet a profundo domesticae quietis extractum ad capessenda militiae Palatinae munia vocem.

1. Once indeed I longed to write to you, but now I am urged most of all, that is, since the road leading me into the city, Christ being propitious, is being taken. The cause of writing is either the sole or the greatest: namely, to summon you, plucked from the depths of domestic quiet, to take up the duties of the Palatine militia.

2. ** his additur, quod munere dei tibi congruit aevi corporis animi vigor integer; dein quod equis armis veste sumptu famulicio instructus solum, nisi fallimur, incipere formidas et, cum sis alacer domi, in aggredienda peregrinatione trepidum te iners desperatio facit; si tamen senatorii seminis homo, qui quotidie trabeatis proavorum imaginibus ingeritur, iuste dicere potest semet peregrinatum, si semel et in iuventa viderit domicilium legum, gymnasium litterarum, curiam dignitatum, verticem mundi, patriam libertatis, in qua unica totius orbis civitate soli barbari et servi peregrinantur.

2. ** to these is added that by the gift of God you possess an unimpaired vigor of body and mind for your age; then that, furnished only with horses, arms, clothing, expense, and servile attendance, unless we are mistaken, you begin to dread, and although you are lively at home, inert despair makes you anxious in undertaking a peregrination; if nevertheless a man of senatorial seed, who daily is invested by the trabea with the images of his forebears, can rightly call himself a traveler, if once even in youth he has seen the dwelling of the laws, the gymnasium of letters, the curia of dignities, the summit of the world, the fatherland of liberty, in which alone among all the cities of the whole orb only barbarians and slaves peregrinate.

3. et nunc, pro pudor, si relinquare inter busequas rusticanos subulcosque ronchantes. quippe si aut campum stiva tremente proscindas aut prati floreas opes panda curvus falce populeris aut vineam palmite gravem cernuus rastris fossor invertas, tunc tibi est summa votorum beatitudo. quin potius expergiscere et ad maiora se pingui otio marcidus et enervis animus attollat.

3. and now, for shame, that you should be left among rustic ploughs and snorting furrows. for if either you cleave the field with a trembling stake, or with a curved sickle lay open the flowery riches of the meadow, or, bent low, as a digger overturn with rakes a vine heavy with shoots, then to you is the highest beatitude of wishes. nay rather, wake up, and let your spirit, languid and enervated by fat otium, lift itself to greater things.

num minus est tuorum natalium viro personam suam excolere quam villam?

Is it any less, on your natal days, for a man to cultivate his person than his villa?

4. ad extremum, quod tu tibi iuventutis exercitium appellas, hoc est otium veteranorum, in quorum manibus effetis enses robiginosi sero ligone mutantur. esto, multiplicatis tibi spumabunt musta vinetis, innumeros quoque cumulos frugibus rupta congestis horrea dabunt, densum pecus gravidis uberibus in mulctram per antra olida caularum pinguis tibi pastor includet: quo spectat tam faeculento patrimonium promovisse compendio et non solum inter ista sed, quod est turpius, propter ista latuisse? nonne quid concilii tempore post sedentes censentesque iuvenes inglorium rusticum, senem stantem latitabundum, pauperis honorati sententia premat, cum eos, quos esset indignum si vestigia nostra sequerentur, videris dolens antecessisse?

4. at last, what you call the exercise of youth — this is the leisure of veterans, in whose hands swords made blunt are in late years changed by the file into rusty tools. Be it so: with your vines multiplied the must will foam, and overflowing barns will give innumerable heaps of fruits piled up by the reaper; a dense flock with teats heavy with milk your shepherd will shut up for you in the fatty stalls smelling of dung: to what end does this filthy patrimony seem to have been advanced by thrift and to have lain hidden not only among these things but, which is uglier, for the sake of these things? Is it any less to polish a man’s person at the cost of your children’s birthdays than a villa? Or at the time of council, when seated and counting, will the unglorious rustic press down the old man lurking and the honored poor by their judgment, when you have seen with pain those whom it would be unworthy to follow your steps precede you?

5. sed quid plura? si pateris hortantem, conatuum tuorum socius adiutor, praevius particeps ero. sin autem inlecebrosis deliciarum cassibus involutus mavis, ut aiunt, Epicuri dogmatibus copulari, qui iactura virtutis admissa summum bonum sola corporis voluptate determinat, testor ecce maiores, testor posteros nostros, huic me noxae non esse confinem.

5. but what more? If you permit me exhorting, I will be a fellow helper of your endeavours, a beforehand sharer. But if, wrapped in the enticing boxes of delights, you prefer, as they say, to be coupled to the dogmas of Epicurus — who, virtue having been abandoned, determines the highest good by sole bodily pleasure — I testify, behold, I testify to our ancestors, I testify to our posterity, that I am not a confine to this harm.

vale.

farewell.

EPISTULA VII

EPISTULA 7

Sidonius Vincentio suo salutem.

Sidonius sends his greetings to his Vincentius.

1. Angit me casus Arvandi nec dissimulo, quin angat. namque hic quoque cumulus accedit laudibus imperatoris, quod amare palam licet et capite damnatos. amicus homini fui supra quam morum eius facilitas varietasque patiebantur.

1. The misfortune of Arvandus troubles me, and I do not conceal it—why should it not trouble me? For here too another increment is added to the emperor’s praises: that it is permitted to love openly even those condemned to death. I was a friend to the man beyond what the looseness and variability of his character could bear.

testatur hoc propter ipsum nuper mihi invidia conflata, cuius me paulo incautiorem flamma detorruit.

He bears witness to this on his own account, for recently envy was kindled against me, whose flame burned me a little more unguardedly.

2. sed quod in amicitia steti, mihi debui. porro autem in natura ille non habuit diligentiam perseverandi: libere queror, non insultatorie, quia fidelium consilia despiciens fortunae ludibrium per omnia fuit. denique non eum aliquando cecidisse sed tam diu stetisse plus miror.

2. but that I stood by him in amity, I owed to myself. furthermore, in his nature he had no diligence for persevering: I complain freely, not tauntingly, for, despising the counsels of the faithful, he was in all things Fortune’s mockery. finally, I marvel not that he once fell but rather that he stood on so long.

o quotiens saepe ipse se adversa perpessum gloriabatur, cum tamen nos ab affectu profundiore ruituram eius quandoque temeritatem miseraremur, definientes non esse felicem qui hoc frequenter potius esse quam semper iudicaretur!

o how often he himself boasted that he had endured adversities, while yet we, from a deeper affect, pitied that his rashness would at sometime break forth, deciding that he was not happy who would judge this to be rather frequent than always!

3. sed damnationis suae ordinem exposcis. salva fidei reverentia, quae amico debetur etiam afflicto, rem breviter exponam. praefecturam primam gubernavit cum magna popularitate consequentemque cum maxima populatione.

3. but you demand the order of his condemnation. With the reverence of faith preserved, which is owed to a friend even when afflicted, I will briefly set forth the matter. He governed his first prefecture with great popularity, and the subsequent one with the largest population.

pariter onere depressus aeris alieni metu creditorum successuros sibi optimates aemulabatur. omnium colloquia ridere, consilia mirari, officia contemnere, pati de occurrentum raritate suspicionem, de assiduitate fastidium, donec, odii publici mole vallatus et prius cinctus custodia quam potestate discinctus, captus destinatusque pervenit Romam, ilico tumens, quod prospero cursu procellosum Tusciae litus enavigasset, tamquam sibi bene conscio ipsa quodammodo elementa famularentur.

Equally crushed by the burden of another’s debt and fearing his creditors, he envied that the optimates would succeed him. He laughed at everyone’s conversations, admired counsels, scorned duties, suffered suspicion because of the rarity of those who met him, disgust at assiduity, until, hemmed in by the weight of public hatred and earlier girded by custody rather than by power, unbound, he was seized and doomed and reached Rome—there swelling, because with a prosperous course he had sailed the stormy Tuscan shore, as if the very elements in some way served him, well conscious of it to himself.

4. in Capitolio custodiebatur ab hospite Flavio Asello, comite sacrarum largitionum, qui adhuc in eo semifumantem praefecturae nuper extortae dignitatem venerabatur. interea legati provinciae Galliae, Tonantius Ferreolus praefectorius, Afranii Syagrii consulis e filia nepos, Thaumastus quoque et Petronius, maxima rerum verborumque scientia praediti et inter principalia patriae nostrae decora ponendi, praevium Arvandum publico nomine accusaturi cum gestis decretalibus insequuntur.

4. in the Capitol he was kept under guard by the guest Flavius Asellus, comes of the sacred largesses, who still venerated in him the half-smoldering dignity of the prefecture lately extorted. Meanwhile the legates of the province of Gaul — Tonantius Ferreolus, of praefectorian rank, the consul Afranius Syagrius’s nephew by his daughter, Thaumastus also and Petronius, endowed with the greatest knowledge of affairs and words and among those to set the principal honors of our fatherland — pursue the aforesaid Arvandus, about to accuse him in the public name with decretal acts as their proofs.

5. qui inter cetera, quae sibi provinciales agenda mandaverant, interceptas litteras deferebant, quas Arvandi scriba correptus dominum dictasse profitebatur. haec ad regem Gothorum charta videbatur emitti, pacem cum Graeco imperatore dissuadens, Britannos super Ligerim sitos impugnari oportere demonstrans, cum Burgundionibus iure gentium Gallias dividi debere confirmans, et in hunc ferme modum plurima insana, quae iram regi feroci, placido verecundiam inferrent. hanc epistulam laesae maiestatis crimine ardere iurisconsulti interpretabantur.

5. who, among other things which the provincials had entrusted to them to be done, were carrying intercepted letters, which Arvandus’s scriba, having been seized, professed that his dominus had dictated. This charta seemed to have been sent to the king of the Goths, dissuading peace with the Greek imperator, showing that the Britons seated beyond the Ligerim ought to be attacked, confirming that Gaul ought to be divided with the Burgundiones by the law of nations, and in this sort very many insanities, which would bring wrath to a fierce rex and shame to a placid one. The iurisconsulti interpreted that this epistula burned with the crime of laesa maiestas.

6. me et Auxanium, praestantissimum virum, tractatus iste non latuit, qui Arvandi amicitias quoquo genere incursas inter ipsius adversa vitare perfidum barbarum ignavum computabamus. deferimus igitur nil tale metuenti totam per machinam, quam summo artificio acres et flammei viri occulere in tempus iudicii meditabantur, scilicet ut adversarium incautum et consiliis sodalium repudiatis sibi soli temere fidentem professione responsi praecipitis involverent. dicimus ergo, quid nobis, quid amicis secretioribus tutum putaretur.

6. this treatment did not escape me and Auxanium, a most preeminent man, which we reckoned the perfidious, cowardly barbarian to have attempted by any kind of means—to win Arvandi’s friendships amid his very adversities in order to avoid them. we therefore report nothing of this kind in fear, the whole per machination, which keen and flame‑hearted men were devising with the utmost art to hide until the time of judgment, namely that they might precipitously involve the unwary adversary—his comrades’ counsels cast off and he himself rashly trusting solely to his own profession of answer. thus we say what we thought safe for ourselves and for our more secret friends.

suademus nil quasi leve fatendum, si quid ab inimicis etiam pro levissimo flagitaretur; ipsam illam dissimulationem tribulosissimam fore, quo facilius exc<uterent> sciscitan<do incautam persua>sionis securitatem.

We advise that nothing be confessed as though light, if the enemies even demanded anything concerning the very slightest charge; that very dissimulation itself would be most treacherous, whereby they might the more easily, by questioning, unsettle the unsuspecting security of persuasion.

7. quibus agnitis proripit sese atque in convicia subita prorumpens: 'abite, degeneres', inquit, 'et praefectoriis patribus indigni, cum hac superforanea trepidatione; mihi, quia nihil intellegitis, hanc negotii partem sinite curandam; satis Arvando conscientia sua sufficit; vix illud dignabor admittere, ut advocati mihi in actionibus repetundarum patrocinentur.' discedimus tristes et non magis iniuria quam maerore confusi; quis enim medicorum iure moveatur, quotiens desperatum furor arripiat?

7. when these things were recognized he rushed forth and, bursting into sudden insults, cried: 'Depart, degenerate men,' he says, 'and unworthy of the praefectal fathers, with this utterly foreign alarm; leave this part of the affair to me to be cared for, since you understand nothing; Arvandus's own conscience is sufficient for Arvandus; I will scarcely deem it worthy to permit that advocates plead for me in actions of extortion.' We departed sorrowful and confounded by grief no less than by injustice; for who is moved by the right of physicians whenever desperate fury seizes?

8. inter haec reus noster aream Capitolinam percurrere albatus; modo subdolis salutationibus pasci, modo crepantes adulationum bullas ut recognoscens libenter audire, modo serica et gemmas, et pretiosa quaeque trapezitarum involucra rimari et quasi mercaturus inspicere prensare, depretiari devolvere et inter agendum multum de legibus, de temporibus, de senatu, de principe queri, quod se non prius, quam discuterent, ulciscerentur.

8. meanwhile our defendant, clad in white, runs through the Capitoline area; now to be fed with sly salutations, now to listen gladly to the creaking bullae of adulation, now to peer into the silk and gems and every costly wrapping of the money-changers and, as if about to trade, to inspect and handle and appraise, and meanwhile much complaining about the laws, the times, the senate, the prince, that they would not be avenged before they had been examined.

9. pauci medii dies: it in tractatorium frequens senatus (sic post comperi; nam inter ista discesseram); procedit noster ad curiam paulo ante detonsus pumicatusque, cum accusatores semipullati atque concreti nuntios a decemviris opperirentur et ab industria squalidi praeripuissent reo debitam miserationem sub invidia sordidatorum. citati intromittuntur: partes, ut moris est, e regione consistunt. offertur praefectoriis ante propositionis exordium ius sedendi: Arvandus iam tunc infelici impudentia concito gradu mediis prope iudicum sinibus ingeritur; Ferreolus, circumsistentibus latera collegis verecunde ac leviter in imo subselliorum capite consedit, ita ut non minus legatum se quam senatorem reminisceretur, plus ob hoc postea laudatus honoratusque.

9. a few middle days: he goes into the frequentating senate dining-room (thus I learned afterwards; for meanwhile I had gone away); our man advances to the curia a little shorn and pumiced, while the accusers, partly stained and encrusted, awaited and had, by an industry of squalor, seized away from the defendant the pity due him, under the disesteem of the sordid. the summoned are admitted: the parties, as is the custom, take their places by region. to the praefects before the opening of the proposition is offered the right of sitting: Arvandus even then, roused by an unhappy impudence and with a forward step, is borne in almost into the folds of the judges' benches; Ferreolus, with colleagues pressing his flanks, sat down modestly and lightly at the lower head of the benches, so that he remembered himself no less as legate than as senator, and for this afterwards was more praised and honoured.

10. dum haec, et qui procerum defuerant affuerunt: consurgunt partes legatique proponunt. epistula post provinciale mandatum, cuius supra mentio facta, profertur; atque, cum sensim recitaretur, Arvandus necdum interrogatus se dictasse proclamat. respondere legati quamquam nequiter constare, quod ipse dictasset.

10. while these things were happening, and those of the nobles who had been absent arrived: the parties stood up and the legates presented themselves. A letter, following the provincial mandate of which mention was made above, was brought forward; and, as it was being read slowly, Arvandus, not yet questioned, proclaimed that he had spoken. The legates answered that, although shamefully admitting it, it was certainly true that he had said it.

at ubi se furens ille quantumque caderet ignarus bis terque repetita confessione transfodit, acclamatur ab accusatoribus, conclamatur a iudicibus reum laesae maiestatis confitentem teneri. ad hoc et milibus formularum iuris id sancientum iugulabatur.

but when that furious man, ignorant how greatly he would fall, ran himself through two or three times after the confession had been repeated, he was shouted at by the accusers, and the judges proclaimed that the defendant, confessing to laesa maiestas, was held. moreover, by a thousand formulas of law that which was to be sanctioned was being slaughtered.

11. tum demum laboriosus tarda paenitudine loquacitatis inpalluisse perhibetur, sero cognoscens posse reum maiestatis pronuntiari etiam eum, qui non affectasset habitum purpuratorum. confestim privilegiis geminae praefecturae, quam per quinquennium repetitis fascibus rexerat, exauguratus et, plebeiae familiae non ut additus sed ut redditus, publico carceri adiudicatus est. illud sane aerumnosissimum, sicut narravere qui viderant, quod, quia se sub atratis accusatoribus exornatum ille politumque iudicibus intulerat, paulo post, cum duceretur addictus, miser nec miserabilis erat.

11. then at last he is said to have grown pale from the laborious, tardy remorse of loquacity, late perceiving that one may be pronounced guilty of treason even he who had not assumed the habit of the purpurates. Immediately, stripped of the privileges of the twin prefecture, which he had ruled for five years with the repeated fasces, and of plebeian family — not as added but as restored — he was adjudged to the public prison. That most sorrowful thing, as those who saw related, was that, because he had presented himself to the judges decked and polished by black-robed accusers, a little later, when he was being led off as condemned, he was wretched and pitiable.

quis enim super statu eius nimis inflecteretur, quem videret accuratum delibutumque lautumiis aut ergastulo inferri?

for who, indeed, would be overly affected by his state, when he saw him, made neat and washed, to be led into the lautumiis or into the ergastulo?

12. sed et iudicio vix per hebdomadam duplicem comperendinato capite multatus in insulam coniectus est serpentis Epidauri, ubi usque ad inimicorum dolorem devenustatus et a rebus humanis veluti vomitu fortunae nauseantis exsputus, nunc ex vetere senatusconsulto Tiberiano triginta dierum vitam post sententiam trahit, uncum et Gemonias et laqueum per horas turbulenti carnificis horrescens.

12. but after a trial scarcely lasting a fortnight, condemned to death, he was cast upon the isle of the Serpent, Epidaurus, where, to the very sorrow of his enemies, he was made charmingly popular and, as if vomited forth by a nauseous fortune, spat out from human affairs; and now, by an old senatus consultum of Tiberius, he draws out a life of 30 days after the sentence, trembling at the hook and the Gemonian steps and the noose through the hours of the turbulent executioner.

13. nos quidem, prout valemus, absentes praesentesque vota facimus, preces supplicationesque geminamus, ut suspenso ictu iam iamque mucronis exerti pietas Augusta seminecem quamquam publicatis bonis vel exilio muneretur. illo tamen, seu exspectat extrema quaeque seu sustinet, infelicius nihil est, si post tot notas inustas contumeliasque aliquid nunc amplius quam vivere timet. vale.

13. We, then, as far as we are able, make vows for him both absent and present, doubling our prayers and supplications, that with the blow suspended and the blade’s point drawn now, now, Augusta pietas would grant at least a half‑life, even if bestowed by confiscation of goods or by exile. Yet nothing is more unfortunate than he, whether he awaits or endures every extremity, if after so many branded marks and insults he now fears anything more than living. Vale.

EPISTULA VIII

EPISTLE 8

Sidonius Candidiano suo salutem.

Sidonius sends greetings to his Candidianus.

1. Morari me Romae congratularis; id tamen quasi facete et fatigationum salibus admixtis: ais enim gaudere te, quod aliquando necessarius tuus videam solem, quem utique perr Arari ~~inspexerim. nebulas ergo mihi meorum Lugdunensium exprobras et diem quereris nobis matutina caligine obstructum vix meridiano fervore reserari.~~

1. You congratulate me on lingering in Rome; yet that, as if facetiously and mingled with the salts of fatigue: for you say indeed that you rejoice that I may at last see your necessary sun, which certainly I have beheld as one who has drunk deeply of the Arar. Therefore you reproach to me the clouds of my Lugdunenses and complain that the day for us is shut in by morning fog, scarcely opened again by meridian heat.

2. et tu istaec mihi Caesenatis furni potius quam oppidi verna deblateras? de cuius natalis tibi soli vel iucunditate vel commodo quid etiam ipse sentires, dum migras, indicavisti; ita tamen, quod te Ravennae felicius exulantem auribus Padano culice perfossis municipalium ranarum loquax turba circumsilit. in qua palude indesinenter rerum omnium lege perversa muri cadunt aquae stant, turres fluunt naves sedent, aegri deambulant medici iacent, algent balnea domicilia conflagrant, sitiunt vivi natant sepulti, vigilant fures dormiunt potestates, faenerantur clerici Syri psallunt, negotiatores militant milites negotiantur, student pilae senes aleae iuvenes, armis eunuchi litteris foederati.

2. and do you declaim these things to me more as an oven of Caesena than as a town-born verna? Concerning whose birthday you alone signalled, whether from pleasure or from convenience, what you yourself would also feel while you travel — whom, in truth, I have scarcely ever looked upon, a drinker at the Arar — so much so, however, that a talkative throng of municipal frogs, exiling you more happily from Ravenna and with their ears pierced by the Padanian gnat, leaps about you. In that marsh, in a perpetual inversion of all order, walls fall and waters stand, towers flow and ships sit, the sick walk and the physicians lie down, baths are frozen and homes burn, the living thirst and the buried swim, thieves keep watch and the authorities sleep, clerics are usured and Syrians chant psalms, merchants serve as soldiers and soldiers traffic in commerce, old men practise the ball and the young men gamble at dice, eunuchs are armed and men are allied by letters.

3. tu vide, qualis sit civitas, ubi tibi Lar familiaris incolitur, quae facilius territorium potuit habere quam terram. quocirca memento innoxiis Transalpinis esse parcendum, quibus caeli sui dote contentis non grandis gloria datur, si deteriorum collatione clarescant. vale.

3. See, what sort of city it is, where your Lar familiaris is lodged, which could more easily possess a territory than land. Wherefore remember to spare the harmless Transalpines, to whom, content with the gift of their sky, no great glory is given, unless they shine by comparison with the worse. Vale.

EPISTULA IX

EPISTLE 9

Sidonius Heronio suo salutem.

Sidonius to his Heronius, greeting.

1. Post nuptias patricii Ricimeris id est post imperii utriusque opes eventilatas tandem reditum est in publicam serietatem, quae rebus actitandis ianuam campumque patefecit. interea nos Pauli praefectorii tam doctrina quam sanctitate venerandis Laribus excepti comiter blandae hospitalitatis officiis excolebamur. porro non isto quisquam viro est in omni artium genere praestantior.

1. After the marriage of the patrician Ricimer, that is, after the resources of both empires were dispersed, at last there returned to public life a seriousness which opened the door and the field for conducting affairs. Meanwhile we were received by Paul the prefect, venerable alike in learning and in sanctity, and courteously cultivated by the gentle offices of hospitality in his household shrines. Moreover, in every kind of the arts no one is more outstanding than that man.

deus bone, quae ille propositionibus aenigmata, sententiis schemata, versibus commata, digitis mechanemata facit! illud tamen in eodem studiorum omnium culmen antevenit, quod habet huic eminenti scientiae conscientiam superiorem. igitur per hunc primum, si quis quoquo modo aulam gratiae aditus, exploro; cum hoc confero, quinam potissimum procerum spebus valeret nostris opitulari.

dear God, what enigmas he fashions with propositions, what schemata with sententiae, what commas in verses, what mechanemata with his fingers! yet that surpasses in the very summit of all studies: that he possesses a conscience superior to this eminent science. therefore, by him first, if anyone by any manner gains access to the court of grace, I probe; with this I compare who most especially among the proceres might be able to succor our hopes.

2. nec sane multa cunctatio, quia pauci, de quorum eligendo patrocinio dubitaretur. erant quidem in senatu plerique opibus culti genere sublimes, aetate graves consilio utiles, dignitate elati dignatione communes, sed servata pace reliquorum duo fastigatissimi consulares, Gennadius Avienus et Caecina Basilius, prae ceteris conspiciebantur. hi in amplissimo ordine seposita praerogativa partis armatae facile post purpuratum principem principes erant.

2. and indeed there was not much delay, since there were few about whom one would hesitate in choosing a patron. For in the senate most were cultivated by riches, lofty by birth, weighty in age, useful in counsel, uplifted in dignity and common in ambition; but, peace being kept with the rest, two most eminent consulares, Gennadius Avienus and Caecina Basilius, were conspicuous above the others. These, in the most ample order, with the praerogative of the armed party set aside, after the purpled prince were readily chiefs among the leaders.

sed inter hos quoque quamquam stupendi tamen varii mores et genii potius quam ingenii similitudo. fabor namque super his aliqua succinctius.

but among these also, though wondrously various in manners, there was a likeness more of genii (temperament) than of ingenii (intellect). i will speak, for i shall treat somewhat more succinctly concerning these things.

3. Avienus ad consulatum felicitate, Basilius virtute pervenerat. itaque dignitatum in Avieno iucunda velocitas, in Basilio sera numerositas praedicabatur. utrumque quidem, si fors Laribus egrediebantur, artabat clientum praevia pedissequa circumfusa populositas; sed longe in paribus dispares sodalium spes et spiritus erant.

3. Avienus had reached the consulship by felicity, Basilius by virtue. Thus in Avienus a pleasing swiftness of dignities, in Basilius a late accumulation of honors was proclaimed. Indeed each, if by chance they departed from the Lares, was pressed by a popularity poured around him, the vanguard of clients and attendant retainers; but by far, though equal in rank, the hopes and spirits of their comrades were unequal.

Avienus, si quid poterat, in filiis generis fratribus provehendis moliebatur; cumque semper domesticis candidatis destringeretur, erga expediendas forinsecus ambientum necessitates minus valenter efficax erat.

Avienus, insofar as he could, strove to advance his sons, sons‑in‑law, and brothers of his house; and because he was always tied up with domestic candidates, he was less vigorously effective in procuring the necessities for those soliciting patronage from abroad.

4. et in hoc Corvinorum familiae Deciana praeferebatur, quod qualia impetrabat cinctus Avienus suis, talia conferebat Basilius discinctus alienis. Avieni animus totis et cito, sed infructuosius, Basilii paucis et sero, sed commodius aperiebatur. neuter aditu difficili, neuter sumptuoso; sed si utrumque coluisses, facilius ab Avieno familiaritatem, faccilius a Basilio beneficium consequebare.

4. and in this the Decian branch of the Corvini family was preferred, because the things Avienus, cinctus, obtained for his own, such things Basilius, discinctus, conferred on strangers. Avienus’s animus opened to all and quickly, but more fruitlessly; Basilius’s to few and late, but more conveniently. neither by a difficult approach, nor by a costly one; but if you had cultivated both, you would more easily win familiarity from Avienus, more easily secure a beneficium from Basilius.

5. quibus diu utrimque libratis id tractatus mutuus temperavit, ut reservata senioris consularis reverentia, in domum cuius nec nimis raro ventitabamus, Basilianis potius frequentatoribus applicaremur. ilicet, dum per hunc amplissimum virum aliquid de legationis Arvernae petitionibus elaboramus, ecce Kalendae Ianuariae, quae Augusti consulis mox futuri repetendum fastis nomen opperiebantur.

5. by which, long balanced on both sides, that mutual handling moderated it, so that, with the elder’s consular reverence reserved, we attached ourselves rather to the Basilian frequenters in the house of which we did not too rarely make visits. indeed, while by means of this most eminent man we worked out something of the petitions of the Arvernian legation, behold the Kalends of January, which were awaiting the repetition in the fasti of the name of Augustus, soon to be consul.

6. tunc patronus: 'heia', inquit, 'Solli meus, , quamquam suscepti officii onere pressaris, exeras volo in obsequium novi consulis veterem Musam votivum quippiam vel tumultuariis fidibus carminantem. praebebo admittendo aditum recitaturoque solacium recitantique suffragium. si quid experto credis, multa tibi seria hoc ludo promovebuntur.' parui ego praeceptis; favorem ille non subtraxit iniunctis et impositae devotionis adstipulator invictus egit cum consule meo, ut me praefectum faceret senatui suo.

6. then the patron: 'heia,' he said, 'my Sollus, , although you are pressed by the burden of the office you have undertaken, I wish to train you into the service of the new consul — the old Muse composing something votive or singing with tumultuous strings. I will furnish by admitting access and by the reciter's recital a solace and a support to the reciter. If you trust anything to experience, many serious things will be advanced to you by this performance.' I obeyed the precepts; he did not withhold favour from what was enjoined and, an invincible supporter of the imposed devotion, he acted with my consul so that he made me prefect of his senate.

7. sed tu, ni fallor, epistulae perosus prolixitatem voluptuosius nunc opusculi ipsius relegendis versibus immorabere. scio, atque ob hoc carmen ipsum loquax in consequentibus charta deportat, quae pro me interim, dum venio, diebus tibi pauculis sermocinetur. cui si examinis tui quoque puncta tribuantur, aeque gratum mihi, ac si me in comitio vel inter rostra contionante ad sophos meum non modo lati clavi sed tribulium quoque fragor concitaretur.

7. but you, if I am not mistaken, hating the prolixity of letters, would now linger more enjoyably over rereading the verses of the little opus itself. I know, and because of this the very loquacious sheet carries off the poem in what follows, which meanwhile, while I come, will converse a little with you on my behalf in the few days. If to that are also allotted the points of your critique, it will be equally pleasing to me as if, in the comitium or while I speak from the rostra, not only the broad purple stripe but also the roar of the crowd were raised for my sophos.

sane moneo praeque denuntio quisquilias istas Clius tuae hexametris minime exaeques. merito enim conlata vestris mea carmina non heroicorum phaleris sed epitaphistarum neniis comparabuntur.

I certainly advise and even forewarn: those trifles, Clius, do by no means equal your hexameters. For rightly, when compared with yours, my poems will be likened not to the phalerae of heroes but to the ditties/neniae of epitaph-writers.

8. attamen gaude, quod hic ipse panegyricus, etsi non iudicium, certe eventum boni operis accepit. quapropter, si tamen tetrica sunt amoenanda iocularibus, volo paginam glorioso id est quasi Thrasoniano fine concludere Plautini Pyrgopolinicis imitator. igitur cum ad praefecturam sub ope Christi stili occasione pervenerim, iubeas ilicet pro potestate cinctuti undique omnium laudum convasatis acclamationibus ad astra portare, si placeo, eloquentiam, si displiceo, felicitatem.

8. yet rejoice that this very panegyric, although not judgment, at least has had the event of a good work. Wherefore, if gloomy things are to be made pleasant by jests, I wish to close the page with a glorious—that is, as it were Thrasonian—ending, imitating Plautus’ Pyrgopolinices. Therefore, since I have come to the prefecture under the aid of Christ and by occasion of the pen’s style, command at once, by the authority with which you are girded on every side, that with all praises assembled in acclamations they carry to the stars, if I please, eloquence, if I displease, felicity.

videre mihi videor, ut rideas, quia perspicis nostram cum milite comico ferocisse iactantiam. vale.

I seem to see, so that you may laugh, because you perceive our boastful fierceness with a comic soldier. Farewell.

EPISTULA X

LETTER 10

Sidonius Campaniano suo salutem.

Sidonius to his Campanian, greetings.

1. Accepi per praefectum annonae litteras tuas, quibus eum tibi sodalem veterem mihi insinuas iudici novo. gratias ago magnas illi, maximas tibi, quod statuistis de amicitia mea vel praesumere tuta vel illaesa credere. ego vero notitiam viri familiaritatemque non solum volens sed et avidus amplector, quippe qui noverim nostram quoque gratiam hoc obsequio meo fore copulatiorem.

1. I received by the prefect of the grain supply your letters, by which you present him to me as an old companion for the new judge. I give great thanks to him, greatest thanks to you, because you have resolved to deem my friendship either safe to presume or unassailed. I indeed embrace the acquaintance and intimacy of the man not only willingly but eagerly, since I know that our favour too will be made the more closely linked by this service of mine.

2. sed et tu vigilantiae suae me id est famae meae statum causamque commenda. vereor autem, ne famem populi Romani theatralis caveae fragor insonet et infortunio meo publica deputetur esuries. sane hunc ipsum e vestigio ad portum mittere paro, quia conperi naves quinque Brundusio profectas cum speciebus tritici ac mellis ostia Tiberina tetigisse, quarum onera exspectationi plebis, si quid strenue gerit, raptim faciet offerri, commendaturus se mihi, me populo, utrumque tibi.

2. but you likewise entrust to his vigilance — that is, the state and cause of my reputation. I fear, however, lest the roar of the Roman people’s theatrical cavea resound and public hunger be assigned to my misfortune. Indeed I am preparing to send him straightaway from the scene to the port, for I have learned that five ships bound for Brundusium, with consignments of wheat and honey, touched the Tiberine wharves; the cargoes of which, for the expectation of the plebs, if any man acts vigorously, will be hastily offered up — he commending himself to me, I to the people, and both to you.

vale.

farewell.

EPISTULA XI

LETTER 11

Sidonius Montio suo salutem.

Sidonius to his Montio, greetings.

1. Petis tibi, vir disertissime, Sequanos tuos expetituro satiram nescio quam, si sit a nobis perscripta, transmitti. quod quidem te postulasse demiror; non enim sanctum est, ut de moribus amici cito perperam sentias. huic eram themati scilicet incubaturus id iam agens otii idque habens aevi, quod iuvenem militantemque dictasse praesumptiosum fuisset, publicasse autem periculosum?

1. You ask, most eloquent man, that some satire — I know not what, intent on your Sequani — if it be written by me, be sent to you. I am indeed amazed that you should have requested this; for it is not right that you should quickly judge amiss concerning a friend's morals. Was I, then, about to brood upon that theme, now exercising leisure and possessing the age which would have made it presumptuous for a young and militant man to have spoken it, and yet dangerous to have published it?

cui namque grammaticum vel salutanti Calaber ille non dixit:

for to whom, then, did that Calabrian not say “grammaticum” or “to the salutant”:

'si mala condiderit in quem quis carmina, ius est

'if anyone has composed bad things about someone in whose regard another writes verses, it is lawful.'

iudiciumque?'

and judgment?'

2. sed ne quid ultra tu de sodali simile credas, quid fuerit illud, quod me sinistrae rumor ac fumus opinionis afflavit, longius paulo sed ab origine exponam. temporibus Augusti Maioriani venit in medium charta comitatum, sed carens indice, versuum plena satiricorum mordacium, sane qui satis invectivaliter abusi nominum nuditate carpebant plurimum vitia, plus homines. inter haec fremere Arelatenses, quo loci res agebatur, et quaerere, quem poetarum publici furoris merito pondus urgeret, his maxime auctoribus, quos notis certis auctor incertus exacerbaverat.

2. but lest you believe anything further similar concerning my sodalis, I will set forth a little more at length from the origin what that thing was which a sinister rumor and the smoke of opinion breathed upon me. In the times of Augustus Maiorianus a charta of comites came into the open, but lacking a signature, full of the mordacity of satiric verses — certainly which, invectively enough having displayed the nakedness of names, assailed vices most of all, rather than people. Among these the Arelatenses thundered, where the matter was being carried on, and sought to discover which of the poets the weight of public fury justly pressed, especially those authors whom an uncertain auctor had inflamed with certain marks.

3. accidit casu, ut Catullinus inlustris tunc ab Arvernis illo veniret, cum semper mihi tum praecipue commilitio recenti familiaris. saepe enim cives magis amicos peregrinatio facit. igitur insidias nescienti tam Paeonius quam Bigerrus has tetenderunt, ut plurimis coram tamquam ab incauto sciscitarentur, hoc novum carmen an recognosceret.

3. it happened by chance that Catullinus, then illustrious and come from the Arverni, was present, who especially at that time was a recent familiar comrade of mine in service. for often travel away makes citizens into closer friends. therefore Paeonius and Bigerrus laid these ambushes against him who did not know, so that before very many they, as if from an unsuspecting man, asked whether he would acknowledge this new poem.

et ille: 'si dixeritis'. cumque frustra diversa quasi per iocum effunderent, solvitur Catullinus in risum, intempestivoque suffragio clamare coepit dignum poema, quod perennandum apicibus auratis iuste tabula rostralis acciperet aut etiam Capitolina.

and he: "if you have said it." And when they in vain poured forth varied replies as if in jest, Catullinus breaks into laughter, and with untimely applause began to cry aloud that the poem was worthy to be made perennal on gilded apices, to receive justly a rostral tablet or even a Capitoline one.

4. Paeonius exarsit, cui satiricus ille morsum dentis igniti avidius impresserat, atque ad adstantes circulatores: 'iniuriae communis', inquit, 'iam reum inveni. videtis ut Catullinus deperit risu: apparet ei nota memorari. nam quae causa festinam compulit praecipitare sententiam, nisi quod iam tenet totum qui de parte sic iudicat?

4. Paeonius flared up, upon whom that satiric man's bite of a fiery tooth had been pressed more eagerly, and to the bystanding circulatores: "a common injury," he said, "I have now found a defendant. Do you see how Catullinus perishes with laughter: it is plain that a mark is being recalled to him. For what cause drives one to hasten and precipitate judgment, unless he already holds the whole case who thus judges from one side?"

atqui Sidonius nunc in Arverno est: unde colligitur auctore illo, isto auditore rem textam.' itur in furias inque convicia absentis nescientis innocentisque; conscientiae, fidei, quaestioni nil reservatur. sic levis turbae facilitatem, qua voluit, traxit persona popularis.

and yet Sidonius is now in Arvernum: whence it is gathered that the matter was composed by that author, and heard by that listener.' one is set upon furies and upon the insults of the absent, the ignorant, and the innocent; nothing is spared for conscience, for faith, for inquiry. thus the fickle compliance of the crowd drew along, as it wished, the facility afforded by a popular personage.

5. erat enim ipse Paeonius populi totus, qui tribuniciis flatibus crebro seditionum pelagus impelleret. ceterum si requisisses: 'qui genus, unde domo?', non eminentius quam municipaliter natus quemque inter initia cognosci claritas vitrici magis quam patris fecerat, identidem tamen per fas nefasque crescere affectans pecuniaeque per avaritiam parcus, per ambitum prodigus. namque ut familiae superiori per filiam saltim quamquam honestissimam iungeretur, contra rigorem civici moris splendidam, ut ferunt, dotem Chremes noster Pamphilo suo dixerat.

5. for Paeonius himself was the whole of the populace, who with tribunician blasts would often drive forward the sea of seditions. moreover, if you had asked, 'what rank, from what house?', no one more distinguished than municipally born — whose prominence at the outset had been made more by the distinction of his stepfather than by his father — yet ever striving to grow by right and wrong, sparing in money through avarice, prodigal through canvass and ambition. for so that he might at least be joined to the superior family through a daughter, albeit most-honest, against the strictness of civic custom he had promised, as they say, a splendid dowry, our Chremes to his Pamphilus.

6. cumque de capessendo diademate coniuratio Marcelliana coqueretur, nobilium iuventuti signiferum sese in factione praebuerat, homo adhuc novus in senectute, donec aliquando propter experimenta felicis audaciae natalium eius obscuritati dedit hiantis interregni rima fulgorem. nam vacante aula turbataque republica solus inventus est, qui ad Gallias administrandas fascibus prius quam codicillis ausus accingi mensibus multis tribunal inlustrium potestatum spectabilis praefectus escenderet, anno peracto militiae extremae terminum circa vix honoratus, numerariorum more seu potius advocatorum, quorum cum finiuntur actiones, tunc incipiunt dignitates.

6. and when a Marcellian conspiracy was being brewed to seize the diadem, he had made himself the standard-bearer in the faction of the noble youth, a man still new in senescence, until at last through the trials of the felicitous audacity of his birth he lent a gleam to the obscurity of his origins in the yawning fissure of the interregnum. For with the palace vacant and the republic thrown into turmoil he alone was found who, before daring to gird himself with fasces rather than with codicils to administer the Gauls, after many months ascended the tribunal as a notable prefect of illustrious powers; having finished the year about the end of his last military service he was scarcely honoured, in the manner of numerarii or rather of advocati — whose dignities, when their actions are brought to a close, then begin.

7. igitur iste sic praefectorius, sic senator, cuius moribus quod praeconia competentia non ex asse persolvo, generi sui moribus debeo, multorum plus quam bonorum odia commovit adhuc ignoranti mihi, adhuc amico, tamquam saeculo meo canere solus versu valerem. venio Arelate, nil adhuc (unde enim?) suspicans, quamquam putarer ab inimicis non affuturus, ac principe post diem viso in forum ex more descendo. quod ubi visum est, ilico expavit, ut ait ille, nil fortiter ausa seditio.

7. therefore that man, so prefectorial, so a senator, whose virtues — the praises fitting I do not pay in full — I must ascribe to the manners of his lineage, kindled the hatred of many rather than of good men against me, while I was still ignorant, still a friend, as if I alone could prevail to sing a verse for my age. I come to Arles, yet suspecting nothing (whence indeed?), although I was thought not to be absent from his enemies, and after I had seen the prince the next day I descended into the forum according to custom. When this was seen, immediately he was struck with fear, as the man says, having dared no bold sedition.

alii tamen mihi plus quam deceret ad genua provolvi; alii, ne salutarent, fugere post statuas, occuli post columnas; alii tristes, vultuosique iunctis mihi lateribus incedere.

others, however, prostrated themselves at my knees more than was seemly; others, lest they should greet me, fled behind statues, their eyes peering from behind columns; others, sad, and with faces pressed close to my sides, walked along beside me.

8. hic ego, quid sibi haec vellet in illis superbiae nimiae, nimiae in istis humilitatis forma, mirari nec ultro tamen causas interrogare, cum subornatus unus e turba factiosorum dat sese mihi consalutandum. tum procedente sermone: 'cernis hos?' inquit. et ego: 'video', inquam, 'gestusque eorum miror equidem nec admiror'. ad haec noster interpres: 'ut satirographum te', inquit, 'aut exsecrantur aut reformidant'. 'unde?

8. there I, marveling what this might mean in those an excess of pride, in these an excess of humility, yet not of my own accord asking the causes, when one, contrived from the crowd of factiosi, offers himself to be greeted by me. Then, with his speech advancing: "Do you see these?" he says. And I: "I see," I said, "and indeed I wonder at their gestures, but I do not admire." To this our interpreter: "that you be made a satirist," he said, "either they curse or they dread." "Whence?"

cur? quando?' respondi: 'quis crimen agnovit? quis detulit?

'why? when?' I replied: 'who recognized the crime? who reported it?'

quis probavit?' moxque subridens: 'perge', inquam, 'amice, nisi molestum est, et tumescentes nomine meo consulere dignare, utrumnam ille delator aut index, qui satiram me scripsisse confinxit, et perscripsisse confinxerit; unde forte sit tutius, si retractabunt, ut superbire desistant'.

"Who proved it?" and soon, smiling slightly: "Proceed," I said, "friend, unless it is troublesome, and deign to consult those swelling because of my name, whether that accuser or informer, who fabricated that I had written a satire, and who will have fabricated that he transcribed it; whence perhaps it will be safer, if they retract, that they cease to be proud."

9. quod ubi nuntius rettulit, protinus cuncti non modeste neque singuli sed propere et catervatim oscula ac dexteras mihi dederunt. solus Curio meus, in transfugarum perfidiam invectus, cum advesperasceret, per cathedrarios servos vespillonibus tetriores domum raptus ac reportatus est.

9. when the messenger brought back that, immediately all, not modestly nor singly but hurriedly and in a throng, gave me kisses and right hands. Only my Curio, inveighing against the perfidy of deserters, as evening was falling, through the cathedrarii servants, more sullen than undertakers, was seized and carried back home.

10. postridie iussit Augustus, ut epulo suo circensibus ludis interessemus. primus iacebat cornu sinistro consul ordinarius Severinus, vir inter ingentes principum motus atque inaequalem reipublicae statum gratiae semper aequalis; iuxta eum Magnus, olim ex praefecto, nuper ex consule, par honoribus persona geminatis, recumbente post se Camillo, filio fratris, qui duabus dignitatibus et ipse decursis pariter ornaverat proconsulatum patris, patrui consulatum; Paeonius hinc propter atque hinc Athenius, homo litium temporumque varietatibus exercitatus. hunc sequebatur Gratianensis, omni ab infamia vir sequestrandus, qui Severinum sicut honore postibat, ita favore praecesserat.

10. On the next day Augustus ordered that we attend his banquet while the circus games were in progress. First at the left cornu lay the ordinary consul Severinus, a man amid the vast motions of princes and always equal in grace despite the unequal state of the republic; next to him Magnus, once from the praefect, lately from the consul, equal in honors, a person doubled in rank, with Camillo, son of his brother, reclining behind him, who, the two dignities likewise having run their course, had equally adorned his father's proconsulate and his uncle's consulship; Paeonius here and Athenius there, a man practiced in the varieties of lawsuits and times. After him followed Gratianensis, a man to be sequestered from all infamy, who, just as he placed Severinus after him in honor, so had he gone before him in favor.

ultimus ego iacebam, qua purpurati latus laevum margine in dextro porrigebatur.

I lay last, where the left flank of the purple-clad man was stretched out toward the right margin.

11. edulium multa parte finita Caesaris ad consulem sermo dirigitur, isque succinctus; inde devolvitur ad consularem; cum quo saepe repetitus, quia de litteris factus, ad virum inlustrem Camillum ex occasione transfertur in tantum, ut diceret princeps: 'vere habes patruum, frater Camille, propter quem me familiae tuae consulatum unum gratuler contulisse.' tunc ille, qui simile aliquid optaret, tempore invento: 'non unum', inquit, 'domine Auguste, sed primum.' summo fragore, ut nec Augusti reverentia obsisteret, excepta sententia est.

11. at the banquet, after much of it had been finished, the conversation turned from Caesar to the consul, and it was brief; thence it fell upon the consular topic; which, often repeated with him because it had been composed from letters, was by chance transferred to the illustrious man Camillus so far that the prince said: 'truly you have an uncle, brother Camillus, on account of whom I rejoiced to have conferred one consulship upon your family.' Then he, who would wish for something like that, with the opportunity found, said: 'not one, lord Augustus, but the first.' With the greatest uproar, so that not even reverence for Augustus could resist it, the remark was received.

12. inde nescio quid Athenium interrogans superiectum Paeonium compellatio Augusta praeteriit, casu an industria ignoro. quod cum turpiter Paeonius aegre tulisset, quod fuit turpius, compellato tacente respondit. subrisit Augustus, ut erat auctoritate servata, cum se communioni dedisset, ioci plenus, per quem cachinnum non minus obtigit Athenio vindictae, quam contigisset iniuriae.

12. then, asking somehow of Athenian, an Augustan rebuke hurled at Paeonius passed by — whether by chance or by design I do not know. When Paeonius bore it ill, which was more disgraceful, being addressed he answered nothing. Augustus smiled, his auctoritas preserved, having given himself to the common jest, full of jocularity; by that loud laugh Athenio no less a vindication befell than an injury had befallen him.

colligit itaque sese trebacissimus senex et, ut semper intrinsecus aestu pudoris excoquebatur, cur sibi Paeonius anteferretur: 'non miror', inquit, 'Auguste, si mihi standi locum praeripere conetur qui tibi invadere non erubescit loquendi.'

Thus the most trembling old man collects himself, and, as he was always inwardly seethed by the heat of modesty, wondering why Paeonius was preferred to him: 'I do not wonder, Auguste, if he who is not ashamed to assail you by speaking attempts to snatch away beforehand from me the place to stand.'

13. et vir illustris Gratianensis: 'multus', inquit, 'hoc iurgio satiricis campus aperitur.' hic imperator ad me cervice conversa: 'audio', ait, 'comes Sidoni, quod satiram scribas.' 'et ego', inquam, 'hoc audio, domine princeps.' tunc ille, sed ridens: 'parce vel nobis.' 'at ego', inquam, 'quod ab inlicitis tempero, mihi parco.' post quae ille: 'et quid faciemus his', inquit, 'qui te lacessunt?' et ego: 'quisquis est iste, domine imperator, publice accuset: si redarguimur, debita luamus supplicia convicti; ceterum obiecta si non inprobabiliter cassaverimus, oro, ut indultu clementiae tuae praeter iuris iniuriam in accusatorem meum quae volo scribam.'

13. and the illustrious man Gratianensis: "much," he said, "by this quarrel a satiric field is opened." Then the emperor, his neck turned toward me: "I hear," he said, "Count Sidonius, that you write satire." "And I," I said, "hear this, lord princeps." Then he, but laughing: "spare even us." "But I," I said, "because I temper myself from illicit things, spare me." After which he: "and what shall we do to those," he said, "who provoke you?" And I: "Whoever that man is, lord emperor, let him accuse publicly: if we are rebuked, let us suffer the due penalties as convicted; moreover, if we have not improbably refuted the objections, I beg that, by the indulgence of your clemency and apart from injury to the law, I may write against my accuser what I wish."

14. ad haec ipse Paeonium conspicatus nutu coepit consulere nutantem, placeretne condicio. sed cum ille confusus reticuisset princepsque consuleret erubescenti, ait: 'annuo postulatis, si hoc ipsum e vestigio versibus petas.' 'fiat', inquam; retrorsumque conversus, tamquam aquam manibus poscerem, tantumque remoratus, quantum stibadii circulum celerantia ministeria percurrunt, cubitum toro reddidi. et imperator: 'spoponderas te licentiam scribendae satirae versibus subitis postulaturum.' et ego:

14. to this Paeonius himself, having caught sight of him, began with a nod to consult the nodding man whether the condition would please. But when he, abashed, had held his peace and the prince asked the one blushing, he said: "I grant what you request, provided you seek this very leave from the outset in verses." "So be it," I said; and turning back, as if I asked for water with my hands, and delayed only so much as the hastening ministrations run the circuit of the couch, I returned my elbow to the cushion. And the emperor: "you have pledged that you will demand permission to write satire by sudden verses." And I:

'scribere me satiram qui culpat, maxime princeps,
hanc rogo decernas aut probet aut timeat.'

'that he who blames me for writing satire, most excellent prince,
this I ask that you adjudge — either to approve it or to make him fear.'

15. secutus est fragor, nisi quod dico iactantia est, par Camillano, quem quidem non tam carminis dignitas quam temporis brevitas meruit. et princeps: 'deum testor et statum publicum, me de cetero numquam prohibiturum, quin quae velis scribas, quippe cum tibi crimen impactum probari nullo modo possit; simul et periniurium est sententiam purpurati tribuere privatis hoc simultatibus, ut innocens ac secura nobilitas propter odia certa crimine incerto periclitetur.' ad hanc ipse sententiam cum verecunde capite demisso gratias agerem, contionatoris mei coeperunt ora pallere, in quae paulo ante post iram tristitia successerat; nec satis defuit, quin gelarent tamquam ad exertum praebere cervices iussa mucronem.

15. a crash followed, unless what I say is mere vainglory, like Camillanus', which indeed was owed not so much to the dignity of the poem as to the brevity of the time. And the princeps: 'I swear by the gods and by the public state, that henceforth I will never forbid you from writing whatever you wish, since a charge laid against you cannot in any way be proved; and besides it is perjury to attribute the opinion of the man in purple to private persons by these enmities, so that innocent and secure nobility may be endangered by certain hatreds with an uncertain crime.' To this sentiment, while I was returning thanks with my head modestly bowed, the faces of my assembly began to grow pale, into which a little before, after anger, sadness had succeeded; nor did it fail that they froze, as if ordered to present their necks to the drawn point.

16. vix post haec alia pauca: surreximus. paululum ab aspectu imperatoris processeramus atque etiamnunc chlamydibus induebamur, cum mihi consul ad pectus, praefectorii ad manus cadere, ipse ille meus amicus crebro et abiecte miserantibus cunctis humiliari, ita ut timerem, ne mihi invidiam supplicando moveret, quam criminando non concitaverat. dixi ad extremum pressus oratu procerum conglobatorum sciret conatibus suis versu nil reponendum, derogare actibus meis in posterum tamen si pepercisset; etenim sufficere debere, quod satirae obiectio famam mihi parasset, [sed] sibi infamiam.

16. scarcely after these things a few other words: we rose. We had advanced a little from the emperor’s sight and even now were being wrapped in cloaks, when the consul fell upon my breast, the praefect upon my hands, that very friend of mine himself frequently and abjectly humbling me to all who pitied me, so that I feared lest by supplication he might stir up envy against me, which by accusing he had not provoked. At last, pressed by the entreaty of the assembled nobles, I said that he should know that nothing was to be answered to his efforts by a verse, that he should be denied credit for my acts in the future, however, if he had spared me; for it ought to suffice that the charge of satire had won fame for me, [but] infamy for him.

17. in summa perculi quidem, domine maior, non assertorem calumniae tantum quantum murmuratorem. sed cum mihi sic satisfactum est, ut pectori meo pro reatu eius tot potestatum dignitatumque culmina et iura summitterentur, fateor exordium contumeliae talis tanti fuisse, cui finis gloria fuit. vale.

17. in short, truly, O great lord, I was not so much the author of the calumny as its murmurer. But since I was so satisfied that upon my breast, as for his guilt, were laid so many summits and rights of powers and dignities, I confess the outset of such an affront was so great that its end was glory. Farewell.