To Bassus. (358 AD)
You took from us something very great and gave something in return — not small, I would not say that, but not equal to what you took. For by summoning your son you sent us a letter. His presence meant as much to me as your own company, and though the letter was welcome, it was second to him.
May Calliopius find good teachers and preserve the foundation he received here. But now I ask you a favor I wish I had not been compelled to ask.
Cyrinus has a son, Honoratus. Cyrinus held three governorships and came away from all of them poorer than before. In rhetoric he advanced as far as anyone could who had studied under Hermes himself [i.e., the best possible teacher].
This man, once father of many children, now has only Honoratus — and may he prove worthy, noble as he is, of so noble a father.
A disease fell upon this excellent young man and dragged on — this is now the tenth month. It defeated the wisdom of many doctors over a long time, and the whole city watched in sleepless anxiety, for Honoratus is a treasure we all share. But now the good Marcellus has turned the illness, and Honoratus is beginning to walk again — something beyond what we had dared hope.
Why have I told you all this? Not to distress you, but because I hear that all those under your authority have been summoned there — and he is one of them — and I want you to understand that he is not yet well.
Even suppose the young man were healthier than Croton [proverbially the healthiest of cities]: would I not still have had grounds to plead with you? "Best of men, Bassus — Honoratus is devoted to his studies, he is his parents' sole consolation, and at an age when he still needs a father's watchful eye. Do not uproot him now; he will come when the time is better." Would you not have granted this if I had asked?
You who would have given the favor then — will you not now reckon with the necessity? I believe so. And I confidently predict this too: that even in his absence, Honoratus will receive what those present enjoy from the admirable Bassus, who takes pride in doing well by Cyrinus and by me — from whom his reward is no small thing: the praise his deeds deserve.
You took from us something very great and gave something in return — not small, I would not say that, but not equal to what you took. For by summoning your son you sent us a letter. His presence meant as much to me as your own company, and though the letter was welcome, it was second to him.
May Calliopius find good teachers and preserve the foundation he received here. But now I ask you a favor I wish I had not been compelled to ask.
Cyrinus has a son, Honoratus. Cyrinus held three governorships and came away from all of them poorer than before. In rhetoric he advanced as far as anyone could who had studied under Hermes himself [i.e., the best possible teacher].
This man, once father of many children, now has only Honoratus — and may he prove worthy, noble as he is, of so noble a father.
A disease fell upon this excellent young man and dragged on — this is now the tenth month. It defeated the wisdom of many doctors over a long time, and the whole city watched in sleepless anxiety, for Honoratus is a treasure we all share. But now the good Marcellus has turned the illness, and Honoratus is beginning to walk again — something beyond what we had dared hope.
Why have I told you all this? Not to distress you, but because I hear that all those under your authority have been summoned there — and he is one of them — and I want you to understand that he is not yet well.
Even suppose the young man were healthier than Croton [proverbially the healthiest of cities]: would I not still have had grounds to plead with you? "Best of men, Bassus — Honoratus is devoted to his studies, he is his parents' sole consolation, and at an age when he still needs a father's watchful eye. Do not uproot him now; he will come when the time is better." Would you not have granted this if I had asked?
You who would have given the favor then — will you not now reckon with the necessity? I believe so. And I confidently predict this too: that even in his absence, Honoratus will receive what those present enjoy from the admirable Bassus, who takes pride in doing well by Cyrinus and by me — from whom his reward is no small thing: the praise his deeds deserve.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.