Letter 1029: For fully expressing my affection I confess that my tongue suffices not: but your own affection will better tell you all that I feel towards you. I have heard that you are suffering from certain oppositions. But I am not greatly grieved for this, since it is often the case that a ship which might have reached the depths of the ocean had the bree...
Book I, Letter 29
To Aristobulus, Ex-Prefect and Antigraphus [a former governor now serving as an imperial auditor/secretary].
Gregory to Aristobulus.
I confess that my tongue is not equal to fully expressing my affection for you -- but your own heart will tell you better than my words what I feel.
I have heard that you are facing certain setbacks. But I am not greatly troubled by this, since it often happens that a ship which might have sailed into the open ocean with a favorable breeze is driven back by an opposing wind at the very start of its voyage -- and by being driven back, is brought safely into port.
Also, if you should happen to receive a lengthy letter of mine for translation, I ask you to translate it for the sense, not word for word. Usually, when one tries to render the exact words, the force of the ideas is lost.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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