To Zeno. (359/60)
It is good of you to consider me a friend and to write, even though we have never met in person. I too have loved you for a long time, having been won over by your students. I was struck by your misfortune -- a man of such quality suffering such things -- and I have often prayed to Fortune to make peace with you and restore you to your former condition.
And it seems she is listening and is ready to be reconciled. Word has reached us that the whole conspiracy is about to be resolved. So take heart from this hope, and wait for the deed to follow.
The man who delivered your letters confessed he had arrived late and blamed the winds. Blame the winds yourself, instead of blaming anyone else.
**To Zenon** (359/60)
You do well to consider me a friend and to write to me, even though we have never yet met in person — for I too have long held you in affection, having come to know you through your students, and I was struck by your misfortune: what a man you are, and what things you have suffered! Many times I have beseeched Fortune to make peace with you and restore you to your former station.
And it seems she is listening and is being reconciled: word has come that the whole affair contrived against you will shortly be resolved. Take heart, then, in this hope, and await the outcome.
As for the man who delivered your letters to us, he was slow to admit he had arrived, and he blamed the — but blame the winds yourself instead of those who blame the winds.
It is good of you to consider me a friend and to write, even though we have never met in person. I too have loved you for a long time, having been won over by your students. I was struck by your misfortune -- a man of such quality suffering such things -- and I have often prayed to Fortune to make peace with you and restore you to your former condition.
And it seems she is listening and is ready to be reconciled. Word has reached us that the whole conspiracy is about to be resolved. So take heart from this hope, and wait for the deed to follow.
The man who delivered your letters confessed he had arrived late and blamed the winds. Blame the winds yourself, instead of blaming anyone else.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.