Delphi Complete Works of Sidonius Apollinaris, page 116
[11] He was strangled by his own slaves in his own house; choked and throttled he died the death of Scipio of Numantia, if not quite that of Lentulus, Jugurtha, and Sejanus. The one relieving feature in the cruel business was the discovery of crime and criminal as soon as the day broke. The first sight of the body was enough to show a fool or a blind man that death had come by violence.
12. etenim protinus argumento fuere livida cutis, oculi protuberantes et in obruto vultu non minora irae vestigia quam doloris. inventa est quidem terra tabo madefacta deciduo, quia post facinus ipsi latrones ad pavimentum conversa defuncti ora pronaverant, tamquam sanguinis eum superaestuans fluxus exinanisset. sed protinus capto qui fuerat ipsius factionis fomes incentor antesignanus ceterisque complicibus oppressis seorsumque discussis criminis veritatem de pectoribus invitis tormentorum terror extraxit.
[12] The livid hue, the protruding eyes, the distorted features with their look of mingled fury and anguish, all were so many proofs of what had happened. The floor was wet about his lips, because the scoundrels had turned him with his face to the ground when the deed was done, as if to suggest that life had left him with a sudden haemorrhage. The source, inciter, and ringleader of the conspiracy was first captured; next his accomplices were seized and separately confined till the terror of torture drew the truth from their unwilling breasts.
13. atque utinam hunc finem, dum inconsulte fidens vana consultat, non meruisset excipere! nam quisque praesumpserit interdicta secreta vetita rimari, vereor huius modi
[13] Would we could say that our friend had not deserved his end by his rash and ill-advised resort to vain advisers. But I fear that he who presumes to probe forbidden secrets sets himself beyond the pale of the Catholic faith; he deserves the lot of all who put unlawful questions and receive replies that point to doom. His death was avenged, it is true, but only the survivors gain by that, for the execution of a murderer cannot mend the mischief; it only affords a certain satisfaction of revenge.
14. longiuscule me progredi amor impulit, cuius angorem silentio exhalare non valui. tu interim, si quid istic cognitu dignum, citus indica, saltim ob hoc scribens, ut animum meum tristitudine gravem lectio levet. namque confuso pectori maeror, et quidem iure, plurimus erat, cum paginis ista committerem sola. neque enim satis mihi aliud hoc tempore manu sermone consilio scribere loqui volvere libet. vale.
[14] My attachment to the dead man has led me to write at too great length; such a grief I could not vent in silence. I will end by begging you to give me any news you can, if only a line or two, to relieve the burden of my melancholy. For the relation of this sad story with all its horror has naturally troubled me, and filled my mind with mournful thoughts; indeed, for the time being I can neither think, speak, nor write on any other subject. Farewell.
* An abridged translation is given by Hodgkin, ii. 331 ff.
Sidonius Trygetio suo salutem.
XII.
To his friend Trygetius A. D. 461-7
1. Tantumne te Vasatium civitas non caespiti imposita sed pulveri, tantum Syrticus ager ac vagum solum et volatiles ventis altercantibus harenae sibi possident, ut te magnis flagitatum precibus, parvis separatum spatiis, multis exspectatum diebus attrahere Burdigalam non potestates, non amicitiae, non opimata vivariis ostrea queant? an temporibus hibernis viarum te dubia suspendunt et, quia solet Bigerricus turbo mobilium aggerum indicia confundere, quoddam vereris in itinere terreno pedestre naufragium?
[1] HAS Bazas, built on dust in place of good green earth, such charms, have lands sandy as Syrtes, and moving soil and dunes bandied by retorting winds such hold upon you, that neither earnest prayers of invitation, nor force of friendships, nor even the most succulent oysters of our pools, suffice to bring you this trifling distance in to Bordeaux, where we have been expecting you all these days? Is it that the hardships of a winter journey deter you? those wild winds of Bigorre will often obliterate the soft tracks, and perhaps you dread a kind of shipwreck upon land?
2. ubi, quaesumus, animo tam celeriter excessit vestigiis tuis nuper subacta Calpis? ubi fixa tentoria in occiduis finibus Gaditanorum? ubi ille Trygetio meo idem qui Herculi quondam terminus peregrinandi? tantumne a te ipso ipse tu discrepas, ut totus in desidiae iura concesseris, quo peragrante secreta regionum fabulosarum prius defuit actio laboris quam fatigationis intentio?
[2] If so, your memory is short; how long ago was it that Gibraltar was conquered by your bold foot? or that your camp was pitched on the uttermost shores of Cadiz? or the last goal of great wanderings reached, common to Hercules and to my Trygetius? Are you grown such a traitor to your proper nature as to abandon yourself wholly to sloth, you who once ranged the lands of mystery and fable, you whose limbs might fail, but never your indefatigable purpose?
3. et post haec portum Alingonis tam piger calcas, ac si tibi nunc esset ad limitem Danuvinum contra incursaces Massagetas proficiscendum, vel si nunc etiam tuae navi stagna Nilotidis aquae per indigenas formidata crocodillos transfretarentur. et cum nec duodecim milium obiectu sic retarderis, quid putamus cum exercitu Marci Catonis in Leptitana Syrte fecisses?
[3] Yet with such a record, you come down to Langon harbour crawling with no less reluctance than one bound for the Danube to resist the all-invading Massagetae, or for the dull flood of Nile with all its awful crocodiles. If a bare twelve miles can so delay you, what would you have done had you been with Marcus Cato on his marches through the deserts of Leptis?
4. sed quamlibet sola hiemalium mensium nomina tremas, tam clemens est facies caeli, tam tepida, tam suda et sic auras mage quam ventos habet, ut te non valeat enixius retinere tempus quam invitare temperies. sed si epistulam spernis evocatoriam, credo, vel versibus non reluctaberis impulsoribus blandis et desiderii mei, quantum suspicor, strenuis executoribus, quorum in te castra post biduum commovebuntur.
[4] You shiver, it seems, at the mere name of the winter months; but I can assure you we enjoy the gentlest, mildest, and clearest skies, where the lightest breezes serve as winds; so nominal a winter season should less deter than the temperate reality attract. But if my letter of invitation leaves you still obdurate, you shall not resist the verses which in two days’ time shall go forth to the attack, more insidious in persuasion, yet I trust none the less strenuous agents of my wishes.
5. ecce Leontius meus, facile primus Aquitanorum, ecce iam parum inferior parente Paulinus ad locum quem supra dixi per Garumnae fluenta refluentia non modo tibi cum classe verum etiam cum flumine occurrent. hic tuas laudes modificato celeumate simul inter transtra remiges, gubernatores inter aplustria canent. hic te aedificatus culcitis torus, hic tabula calculis strata bicoloribus, hic tessera frequens eboratis resultatura pyrgorum gradibus expectat; hic, ne tibi pendulum tinguat volubilis sentina vestigium, pandi carinarum ventres abiegnarum trabium textu pulpitabuntur; hic superflexa crate paradarum sereni brumalis infida vitabis.
[5] My friend Leontius, first of all our Aquitanians, with Paulinus, worthy son of worthy sire, are to meet you with the falling tide on the Garonne at the appointed place; so that not only the boats, but the very river itself shall come out with them to greet you. The oarsmen at the thwarts, the steersmen on the poops, shall tune their chants to sing your praises. They shall pile high for you a couch of cushions, there shall be a board set with men of two colours; the dice shall await you, ready to be thrown and thrown again from the ivory steps of the boxes. A pine-wood grating shall be fixed across the bottom of the boat so that the bilge flowing to and fro shall never wet your dangling foot; a wicker screen above shall protect you from the treacherous winter sun.
6. quid delicatae pigritiae tuae plus poterit impendi, quam ut te pervenisse invenias, cum venire vix sentias? quid mussitas? quid moraris? ipsae mihi tuum videntur adventum reptiles cocleae cum domibus nativis antecessurae. est praeterea tibi copiosissima penus aggeratis opipare farta deliciis, modo sit eventilando par animus impendio.
[6] What more could the most pampered of the indolent expect than to find himself at his destination before he seemed well under weigh? A truce to your objections and delays; I could swear that the snail with his house on his back would easily outstrip you. And to think that there is a store-room at your command crammed with piles of the most exquisite delicacies and only wanting an enterprise to do it justice!
7. quid multa? veni ut aut pascaris aut pascas; immo, quod gratius, ut utrumque; veni cum mediterraneo instructu ad debellandos subiugandosque istos Medulicae supellectilis epulones. hic Aturricus piscis Garumnicis mugilibus insultet; hic ad copias Lapurdensium lucustarum cedat vilium turba cancrorum.
[7] Come, then, to be entertained or to entertain; or, best of all, to do both; come with all your armoury of Mediterranean fare to crush and subjugate the finely equipped gourmets of Médoc. On our battle-ground let us see the fish of Adour triumph over the mullets of Garonne, and our coarse crew of crabs fall back before the lobster-armies of Bayonne.
8. tu tamen etsi ceteris eris in hoc genere pugnandi dimicaturus, si quid iudicio meo censes adquiescendum (neque enim iniustum est credere experto), senatorem nostrum, hospitem meum, conflictui huic facies exsortem; cuius si convivio tectoque succedas, dapes Cleopatricas et loca lautia putas. nam quamvis super hoc studio tam ipse quam patria confligant, olim lata sententia est, quod ille transeat ceteros cives, licet et illa ceteras civitates. vale.
[8] Join battle after this wise with the rest of us; but if you value my opinion, take a veteran’s advice as a wise man should, and leave my senatorial host out of the contest; if you once come beneath his hospitable roof, you will feast as if you enjoyed continual feasts or the banquets of a Cleopatra. His own and his country’s honour will be involved in the competition; and it is generally agreed that he surpasses all his rivals just as far as his city leaves all other cities behind. Farewell.
Sidonius domino papae Nunechio salutem.
XIII.
To the Lord Bishop Nunechius A.D. 472-4
1. Multa in te genera virtutum, papa beatissime, munere superno congesta gaudemus. siquidem agere narraris sine superbia nobilem sine invidia potentem, sine superstitione religiosum sine iactantia litteratum, sine ineptia gravem sine studio facetum, sine asperitate constantem sine popularitate communem.
[1] No one, most blessed father, rejoices more than I over the number and variety of virtues with which you are so richly endowed by Heaven. You are described as a man of birth who is never arrogant, a man of influence who makes a blameless use of power, a man of piety untouched by superstition. You are praised as one who is learned without airs and serious without fatuity; one whose wit is never rehearsed, who is courteous, but knows his mind, and sociable without any love of popularity.
2. praeterea his hoc praestantissimum bonis Fama superaggerat, quod te asserit hasce tot gratias fastigatissimae caritatis arce transcendere; Fama, inquam, quae de laudibus tuis cum canat multa, plus reticet. nam longius constitutis actionum tuarum propositum potest assignare, non numerum. quarum relatione succensus ultro primus, ut longe inferiorem decet, ad solvenda officia procurro nec vereor garrulitatis aliquando argui, qui potui taciturnitatis hucusque culpari.
[2] And not content with allowing you these qualities, Fame crowns them with another of yet higher degree, the supreme gift of charity — Fame who, however she may sing your praises, must leave the greater part unsung. For though she can explain to distant friends the aim of your good deeds, their number is beyond the powers of her relation. The tale of them fires me now to make you a first advance, as a conscious inferior should. I therefore proceed to pay my homage; hitherto I might so justly have been accused of backwardness, that I have no apprehension now of being considered forward.
3. commendo Promotum gerulum litterarum, vobis quidem ante iam cognitum, sed nostrum nuper effectum vestris orationibus contribulem; qui cum sit gente Iudaeus, fide tamen praeelegit censeri Israelita quam sanguine, et municipatum caelestis illius civitatis affectans occidentemque litteram spiritu vivificante fastidiens, pariter huc iustis praemia proposita contemplans, huc, nisi faceret ad Christum de circumcisione transfugium, praevidens sese per aeterna saecula aequiterna supplicia passurum, patriam sibi maluit Ierusalem potius quam Hierosolymam computari.
[3] I commend to your kindness the bearer Promotus, whom you already know, and whom your prayers have now made my fellow penitent. Though by birth a Jew, he has preferred to be numbered with those chosen by faith rather than blood; he has sought the franchise of the heavenly city; by grace of the Spirit which makes alive he has rejected the letter that kills. Considering, on the one hand, the rewards laid up for the just, on the other the punishment, endless as eternity, awaiting him who dares not desert the Circumcision for the camp of Christ, he has made up his mind to be accounted no longer a citizen of the Solyma on earth, but a son of the Holy Jerusalem which is above.
4. quibus agnitis adventantem Abrahae nunc filium veriorem maternis ulnis spiritalis Sara suscipiat. namque ad Agar ancillam pertinere tunc desiit, cum legalis observantiae servitutem gratiae libertate mutavit. de cetero, quae ipsi fuerit isto causa veniendi, praesentaneo conducibilius idem poterit explicare memoratu. nobis vero propter quae supra scripsi carissimus habetur; quod ideo significo, quia is efficacissime quemque commendat, qui meras causas iustae commendationis aperuerit. memor nostri esse dignare, domine papa.
[4] Which thing perceiving, let now the spiritual Sara take to her maternal arms the truer son of Abram; for he ceased to belong to the handmaid Hagar when he exchanged the servitude of conformity according to law for the freedom which comes of grace. The special reason for his journey you will more conveniently learn from his own lips. To me he will always be very dear for the cause above related; I have dwelled upon it because the most effective introduction of all is that which simply sets forth a man’s indisputable claim to be well received. Deign to hold us in remembrance, my Lord Bishop.
Sidonius domino papae Principio salutem.
XIV.
To the Lord Bishop Principius A. D. 472-4
1. Iamdiu nobis, papa venerabilis, etsi necdum vester vultus aspectus, tamen actus inspectus est. namque sanctorum laus diffusa meritorum stringi spatiis non est contenta finalibus. hinc est quod, quia bonae conscientiae modus non ponitur, nec bonae opinioni terminus invenitur.
[1] THOUGH I have never seen your face, venerable father, for a long time I have seen the effect of your activities. The praise of such saintliness as yours is widely spread; it overleaps mere bounds of space; and just as the influence of a great character knows no bound, so no term is set to the range of a noble reputation.
2. quae loquor falsa censete, nisi professioni meae competens adstipulator accesserit, satis in illo quondam coenobio Lirinensi spectabile caput, Luporum concellita Maximorumque et parsimoniae saltibus consequi affectans Memphiticos et Palaestinos archimandritas. is est episcopus Antiolius, cuius relatu, qui pater vobis, quique qualesque vos fratres, qua morum praerogativa pontificatu maximo ambo fungamini, sollicitus cognoscere studui, gaudens cognovisse me memini.
[2] You will put this all down as my exaggeration unless I adduce in support of my statement some competent witness. I therefore cite a revered member of the famous brotherhood at Lerins, a contemporary there with Maximus and Lupus, one who went such lengths in renunciation that he might claim to rival the archimandrites of Memphis or the Holy Land. I mean Bishop Antiolus, who was the first to tell me about your father and brothers, and the high example which both of you set in the exercise of your exalted functions in the Church; his account of you first kindled in me the desire to know a story, familiarity with which has ever since been my delight.
3. cui patri quondam, videlicet vos habenti, vix domus Aaron pontificis antiqui merito compararetur; quem licet primum in medio plebis heremitidis sanctificationis oleo legiferi fratris dextra perfuderit, filios eius in similis officii munia vocans, tamen ipsius super Ithamare et Eleazaro felicitatem Nadab et Abiu fulminibus afflati decoloravere; quorum quamlibet interemptorum credamus absolvendas animas, punitas tamen scimus esse personas.
[3] One might almost compare your father to Aaron the High Priest of old, whom his brother, the Lawgiver, first anointed with the oil of sanctification in the midst of the people in the wilderness, calling next his sons to the same sacred office. But Aaron’s happiness in Ithamar and Eleazar was marred when Nadab and Abihu were destroyed by lightning; they were cut off and punished in the flesh, but we may believe that in the spirit they had absolution.
4. vos vero tacturi paginam altaris nihil, ut audio, offertis ignis alieni, sed comitantibus victimis caritatis castitatisque fragrantissimum incensum turibulis cordis adoletis. ad hoc quotiens iugum legis cervicibus superbientum per vincula praedicationis adstringitis, tunc deo tauros spiritaliter immolatis. quotiens conscientiae luxuriantis fetore pollutos ad suaveolentiam pudicitiae stimulis correctionis impellitis, hircorum vos obtulisse virulentiam Christus sibi computat.
[4] I never heard that you offer strange fire when you come to lay your hands upon the altar; rather with the censer of the heart you burn a glowing incense, offering the sacrifices of chastity and love. As often as with the cords of exhortation you bind the yoke of the law upon the necks of the proud, so often in spirit do you sacrifice bulls to the Lord. As often as with the goad of your rebuke you drive sinners polluted by the rankness of sensual indulgence to the sweet savour of a modest life, so often do you offer rank goats in the sight of Christ.
5. quotiens hortantibus vobis in quocumque conpuncto culpas suas anima poenaliter recordata suspirat, quis vos ambigat paria turturum aut binos pullos columbarum, qui duplicem substantiam utriusque hominis nostri tam numero quam gemitu assignant, mystico litasse sacrificio? quotiens vestro monitu obesum quicumque corpus aestuantemque turgidi ventris arvinam crebro ieiuniorum decoquendus igne torruerit, nulli dubium est vos tunc simulam frictam in quadam continentiae sartagine consecraturos.
