Letter 177
To Albanius, former student. (360)
I am no prophet, but I can foresee certain things by reasoning. And so I see and predict that much good will come to both of you from each other. You will share in plans, labors, and achievements, and you will astonish those who expected otherwise -- I might add, you will pain them too.
How do I come to say this? Because even in your quarrel you were never driven to anything irreparable. That feud of yours was more a playful imitation of a quarrel than a real one. What will you be like when you are in harmony, given that you did not entirely gratify those who set you against each other?
On that subject, you will soon be writing to confirm my prophecy. But you, Albanius -- you cause me pain by neither writing nor having yet settled on a course in life. Proof that you are still adrift: your sons are still here with us.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.