Delphi Complete Works of Sidonius Apollinaris, page 90
[3] illud in te adfectum principaliter universitatis accendit, quod, quos olim Latinos fieri ex- egeras, barbaros deinceps esse vetuisti. non enim potest umquam civicis pectoribus elabi, quem te quantumque nuper omnis aetas ordo sexus e semirutis murorum aggeribus conspicabantur, cum interiectis aequoribus in adversum perambulatis et vix duodeviginti equitum sodalitate comitatus aliquot milia Gothorum non minus die quam campo medio, quod difficile sit posteritas creditura, transisti.
[3] Nothing so kindled their universal regard for you as this, that you first made Romans of them and never allowed them to relapse again. And how should the vision of you ever fade from any patriot’s memory as we saw you in your glory upon that famous day, when a crowd of both sexes and every rank and age lined our half-ruined walls to watch you cross the space between us and the enemy? At midday, and right across the middle of the plain, you brought your little company of eighteen safe through some thousands of the Goths, a feat which posterity will surely deem incredible.
[4] ad nominis tui rumorem personaeque conspectum exercitum exercitatissimum stupor obruit ita ut prae admiratione nescirent duces partis inimicae quam se multi quamque te pauci comitarentur. subducta est tota protinus acies in supercilium collis abrupti, quae cum prius applicata esset oppugnatione te viso non est explicata congressui. interea tu caesis quibusque optimis, quos novissimos agmini 1 non ignavia sed audacia fecerat, nullis tuorum certamine ex tanto desideratis solus planitie quam patentissima potiebare, cum tibi non daret tot pugna socios quot solet mensa convivas.
[4] At the sight of you, nay, at the very rumour of your name, those seasoned troops were smitten with stupefaction; their captains were so amazed that they never stopped to note how great their own numbers were and yours how small. They drew off their whole force to the brow of a steep hill; they had been besiegers before, but when you appeared they dared not even deploy for action. You cut down some of their bravest, whom gallantry alone had led to defend the rear. You never lost a man in that sharp engagement, and found yourself sole master of an absolutely exposed plain with no more soldiers to back you than you often have guests at your own table.
[5] hinc iam per otium in urbem reduci quid tibi obviam processere officiorum plausuum, fletuum gaudiorum, magis temptant vota conicere quam verba reserare, siquidem cernere erat refertis capacissimae domus atriis illam ipsam felicissimam stipati reditus tui ovationem, dum alii osculis pulverem tuum rapiunt, alii sanguine ac spumis pinguia frena suscipiunt, alii sellarum eques-trium madefacta sudoribus fulcra resupinant, alii de concavo tibi cassidis exituro flexilium lamminarum vincla diffibulant, alii explicandis ocrearum nexibus implicantur, alii hebetatorum caede gladiorum latera dentata pernumerant, alii caesim atque punctim foraminatos circulos loricarum digitis livescentibus metiuntur.
[5] Imagination may better conceive than words describe the procession that streamed out to you as you made your leisurely way towards the city, the greetings, the shouts of applause, the tears of heartfelt joy. One saw you receiving in the press a veritable ovation on this glad return; the courts of your spacious house were crammed with people. Some kissed away the dust of battle from your person, some took from the horses the bridles slimed with foam and blood, some inverted and ranged the sweat-drenched saddles; others undid the flexible cheek-pieces of the helmet you longed to remove, others set about unlacing your greaves. One saw folk counting the notches in swords blunted by much slaughter, or measuring with trembling fingers the holes made in cuirasses by cut or thrust.
[6] hic licet multi complexibus tuorum tripudiantes adhaerescerent, in te maximus tamen laetitiae popularis impetus congerebatur; tandemque in turbam inermem quidem veneras sed de qua te nec armatus evolveres; ferebasque nimirum eleganter ineptias gratulantum et, dum inruentum tumultuoso diriperis amplexu, eo condicionis accesseras piissimus publici amoris interpres ut necesse esset illi uberiorem referre te gratiam qui tibi liberiorem fecisset iniuriam.
[6] Crowds danced with joy and hung upon your comrades; but naturally the full brunt of popular delight was borne by you. You were among unarmed men at last; but not all your arms would have availed to extricate you from them. There you stood, with a fine grace suffering the silliest congratulations; half torn to pieces by people madly rushing to salute you, but so loyally responsive to this popular devotion that those who took the greatest liberties seemed surest of your most generous acknowledgements.
[7] taceo deinceps collegisse te privatis viribus publici exercitus speciem parvis extrinsecus maiorum opibus adiutum et infreniores 1 hostium ante discursus castigatis cohercuisse populatibus. taceo te aliquot superventibus cuneos mactasse turmales e numero tuorum vix binis temisve post proelium desideratis et tantum calamitatis adversae parti 1 inopinatis certaminibus inuictum ut occulere caesorum. numerositatem consilio deformiore meditarentur. siquidem quos humari nox succincta prohibuerat decervicatis liquere cadaveribus, tamquam minoris indicii foret quam villis 2 agnosci crinitum dimisisse truncatum.
[7] And finally I shall say nothing of the service you performed in raising what was practically a public force from your private resources, and with little help from our magnates. I shall not tell of the chastisement you inflicted on the barbaric raiders, and the curb imposed upon an audacity which had begun to exceed all bounds; or of those surprise attacks which annihilated whole squadrons with the loss of only two or three men on your side. Such disasters did you inflict upon the enemy by these unexpected onsets, that they resorted to a most unworthy device to conceal their heavy losses. They decapitated all whom they could not bury in the short night-hours, and let the headless lie, forgetting in their desire to avoid the identification of their dead, that a trunk would betray their ruin just as well as a whole body.
[8] qui postquam luce revoluta intellexerunt furtum ruinae suae crudeli vilitate patuisse, tum demum palam officiis exsequialibus occupabantur, non magis cladem fraude quam fraudem festinatione celantes; sic tamen quod nec ossa tumultuarii caespitis mole tumulabant, quibus nec elutis vestimenta nec vestitis sepulchra tribuebant, iuste sic mortuis talia iusta solventes. iacebant corpora undique locorum plaustris convecta rorantibus, quae, quoniam perculsis indesinenter incumberes, raptim succensis conclusa domiciliis culminum superlabentum rogalibus fragmentis funerabantur.
[8] When, with morning light, they saw their miserable artifice revealed in all its savagery, they turned at last to open obsequies; but their precipitation disguised the ruse no better than the ruse itself had concealed the slaughter. They did not even raise a temporary mound of earth over the remains; the dead were neither washed, shrouded, nor interred; but the imperfect rites they received befitted the manner of their death. Bodies were brought in from everywhere, piled on dripping wains; and since you never paused a moment in following up the rout, they had to be taken into houses which were then hurriedly set alight, till the fragments of blazing roofs, falling in upon them, formed their funeral pyres.
[9] sed quid ego istaec iusto plusculum garrio, qui laborum tuorum non ex asse historiam texere sed pro parte memoriam facere praesumpsi, quo magis crederes votis tuorum, quorum exspectationi aegrescenti nulla salubrius ociusque quam tui adventus remedia medicabuntur? igitur, si quid nostratium precatibus adquiescis, actutum in patriam receptui canere festina et adsiduitatem tuam periculosae regum familiaritati celer exime, quorum consuetudinem expertissimus 1 quisque flammarum naturae bene comparat, quae sicut paululum a se remota inluminant, ita satis sibi admota comburunt. vale.
[9] But I run on beyond my proper limits; my aim in writing was not to reconstruct the whole story of your achievements, but to remind you of a few among them, to convince you how eagerly your friends here long to see you again; there is only one remedy, at once quick and efficacious, for such fevered expectancy as theirs, and that is your prompt return. If, then, the entreaties of our people can persuade you, sound the retreat and start homeward at once. The intimacy of kings is dangerous; court it no more; the most distinguished of mankind have well compared it to a flame, which illuminates things at a short distance but consumes them if they come within its range. Farewell.
Sidonius Felici suo salutem
IV.
To his friend Magnus Felix A.D. 473
[1] Gozolas natione Iudaeus, cliens culminis tui, cuius mihi quoque esset persona cordi, si non esset secta despectui, defert litteras meas, quas granditer anxius exaravi, oppidum siquidem nostrum quasi quandam sui limitis obicem circumfusarum nobis gentium arma terrificant. sic aemulorum sibi in medio positi lacrimabilis praeda populorum, suspecti Burgundionibus, proximi Gothis, nec impugnantum ira nec propugnantum caremus invidia.
[1] THE bearer of this is Gozolas, a Jew, and a client of your excellency, a man I should like if I could only overcome my contempt for his sect. I write in great anxiety. Our town lives in terror of a sea of tribes which find in it an obstacle to their expansion and surge in arms all round it. We are exposed as a pitiful prey at the mercy of rival peoples, suspected by the Burgundians, almost in contact with the Goths; we have to face at once the fury of our assailants and the envy of our defenders.
[2] sed istinc alias, interea, si vel penes vos recta sunt, bene est. neque enim huiusmodi pectore sumus, ut, licet apertis ipsi poenis propter criminum occulta plectamur, non agi prospere vel ubicumque velimus, nam certum est non minus vitiorum quam hostium esse captivum, qui non etiam inter mala tempora bona vota servaverit, vale.
[2] But of this more later. Only let me know that all goes well with you, and I shall be content. For though we may be punished in the sight of all men for some obscure offence, we are still generous enough of heart to desire for others all prosperity. If a man cannot wish others well in evil times he is no better than a captive; the enemy that takes him is his own unworthy nature. Farewell.
Sidonius Hypatio suo salutem
V.
To his friend Hypatius A.D. 473
[1] Si vir spectabilis morumque vestrorum suspector adrniratorque Donidius solam rationem domesticae utilitatis habuisset, satis abundeque sufficeret fides vestra commodis suis, etsi nullus intercessor accederet, sed amore meo ductus est, ut, quod ipse per se impetraverat, me faceret postulare, itaque nunc honori vestro hic quoque cumulus accrescit, quod duo efficimur debitores, cum tamen unus e nobis beneficium consequatur.
[1] THE excellent Donidius admires and respects your character; and had he no other aim than his own family advantage, he might safely confide in your acknowledged reputation, and feel no need of another’s advocacy. But he thinks so well of me, that he would have me ask for him what he could certainly obtain alone. Consequently, you will acquire a crowning title of distinction in making both of us your debtors, though one alone will reap the material benefit.
[2] Eborolacensis praedii etiam ante barbaros desolatam medietatem, quae domus patriciae iura modo respicit, suffragio vestro iuri 1 suo optat adiungi. neque ad hanc nundinationem stimulo cupiditatis sed respectu avitae recordationis adducitur. siquidem fundi ipsius 2 integritas familiae suae dominium usque in obitum vitrici nuper vita decedentis aspexit; nunc autem vir alieni non appetens, sui parcus possessionis antiquae a se alienatae non tam damno angitur quam pudore; quam ut redimere conetur non avaritiae vitio sed verecundiae necessitate compellitur.
[2] He seeks to acquire the other moiety of the estate of Eborolacum, abandoned even before the barbarian came, but now in possession of a patrician family; his rights are clear, but the added weight of your support would be very welcome. Respect for the memory of his ancestors, and no mere greed, inclines him to this purchase, for down to the recent death of his stepfather the whole property belonged to his family. He is of an economical turn of mind, but not the man to covet his neighbour’s goods; the loss of a former possession in itself troubles him little; the point of honour decides him; it is not avarice which prompts his action, but the shame of inactivity.
[3] tribuere dignare votis suis, precibus meis, moribus tuis, ut ad soliditatem ruris istius te patrocinante perveniat, cui rem parentum sibique non solum notam verum etiam inter laetantis infantiae rudimenta reptatam sicut recepisse parum fructuosum, sic non emeruisse nimis videtur ignavum, ego vero tantum obstringar indultis ac si meae proficiat peculiariter proprietati, quicquid meus aetate frater professione filius, loco civis fide amicus acceperit, vale.
[3] Deign therefore to consider what you owe to your own credit, to his honourable desire, to my friendly intercession; help to secure for him this chance of rounding off the estate. These paternal acres are not just casually known to him; he crawled upon them as an infant hardly weaned. He will make little profit by their recovery; but he feels that it would have been too contemptible not to make the effort. Whatever favour you may be able to accord to one whom I regard as a brother in years, a son by profession, a fellow citizen by origin, and a friend by loyalty, I shall be as much beholden as if the matter turned to my own particular advantage. Farewell.
Sidonius Eutropio suo Salutem.
VI.
To his friend Eutropius A. D. 470 (?)
[1] Si veteris commilitii, si deinceps innovatae per dies gratiae bene in praesentiarum fides vestra reminiscitur, profecto intellegitis ut vos ad dignitatum sic nos ad desideriorum culmina ascendere. ita namque fascibus vestris gratamur omnes, ut erectam per illos non magis vestram domum quam nostram amicitiam censeamus. testis est ille tractatus in quo exhortationis meae non minimum incitamenta valuerunt.
[1] IF kind memories still remain to you of our old comradeship and of an intimacy ever and again renewed, you will readily understand that our soaring wishes will follow your ascent to each new height of office. We rejoice with you over your insignia, believing that thereby your house and our friendship are alike promoted. In proof whereof I remind you of my letter of exhortations, which I think had no small share in this result.
[2] quibus vix potuistis adduci ut praefecturam philosophiae iungeretis, cum vos consectanei vestri Plotini dogmatibus inhaerentes ad profundum intempestivae quietis otium Platonicorum palaestra rapuisset, cuius disciplinae tunc fore adstruxi liberam professionem, cum nil familiae debuisses. 1 porro autem desidiae vicinior putabatur contemptus ille militiae, ad quam iactitant Ii vidi bonarum partium viros non posse potius quam nolle conscendere.
[2] But what trouble I had in persuading you that a man might be a philosopher and a prefect at the same time! You were deep in the tenets of Plotinus, and the Platonic school had seduced you into a quietism unsuited to your age. I maintained that only a man without family obligations was free to profess a philosophy of that nature. Most people ascribed your scorn for public service to simple indolence; malignant tongues added that our nobles fail to rise in the state less from disinclination than incapacity.
[3] igitur, quod loco primore fieri par est, agimus gratias uberes Christo, qui statum celsitudinis tuae ut hactenus parentum nobilitate decorabat, ita iam nunc titulorum parilitate fastigat; simul et animorum spebus erectis fas est de cetero sperare meliora, certe creber provincialium sermo est annum bonum de magnis non tam fructibus quam potestatibus existimandum. qua de re vestrum est, domine maior, exspectationem nostram competentibus dispositionibus munerari. nam memor originis tuae nobilium sibi persuasit universitas, quamdiu nos Sabini familia rexerit, Sabmiani familiam non timendam. vale.
[3] Now, therefore, as a Christian should, I begin by rendering unstinted thanks to Our Lord who has raised you to an official rank befitting your exalted birth; our hopes are also raised, so that we may fairly look for even better things to come. It is a common saying with provincials that a good year really depends less on ample crops than on a good administration; it must be yours, honoured lord, to crown all our expectations by such measures as the present occasion demands. Our nobles do not forget the stock from which you spring; they are sure that so long as the family of Sabinus controls their destinies, they have nothing to fear from the house of Sabinianus. Farewell.
Sidonius Felici suo salutem
VII.
To his friend [Magnus] Felix A.D. 474
[1] Longum a litteris temperatis. igitur utrique nostrum mos suus agitur: ego garrio, vos tacetis. unde etiam, vir ad reliqua fidei officia insignis, genus reor esse virtutis tanto te otio non posse lassari. ecquid numquamne 1 respectu movebere familiaritatis antiquae, ut tandem a continuandi 2 silentii proposito pedem referas? aut 3 nescis quia garrulo non respondere convicium est? tu retices vel bybliothecarum medius vel togarum et a me officium paupertini sermonis exspectas, cui scribendi, si bene perspicis, magis est facilitas quam facultas.
[1] You are very sparing in your correspondence. Each of us obeys his own temperament: I gossip, you hold your peace. And since in other obligations of friendship you are beyond reproach, I am driven to the conclusion that this indefatigable love of ease must itself be a kind of virtue. But, seriously, will no thought of old acquaintance ever lift you from the rut of this interminable silence? Or are you really unaware that it is nothing short of insult to refuse a talkative man an answer? You bury yourself in the depths of a library or office and give no sign of life, yet all the while expect the attention of a line now and then from me; and this though you know quite well that mine is rather a ready than a gifted pen.
[2] certe vel metus noster materiam stilo tuo faciat, mementoque viatorum manus gravare chartis, quatinus amicorum cura relevetur, et indicare festina, si quam praevio deo quaestor Licinianus trepidationi mutuae ianuam securitatis aperuerit, persona siquidem est, ut perhibent, magna exspectatione maior adventu, relatu sublimis inspectione sublimior et ob omnia felicitatis naturaeque dona monstrabilis.
