To Modestus. (359)
Domnus -- the man whose penalty you deferred by advising him to appeal to the emperor's mercy for relief -- has done so and has received that mercy. But he needs you to confirm it.
So keep your own principle -- or, if you prefer, the principle of Zeus himself, which is that promises should be free of deceit -- and preserve Domnus's farm for him. That farm is the source of all his hopes for food.
**To Modestus** (359)
That Domnus, for whom you deferred the penalty by ordering him to take refuge in the emperor's clemency for his relief — he has done so, and has obtained mercy. But he needs you to confirm that mercy for him.
Keep, then, your own law — or if you prefer, the law of Zeus — which is that promises be free of deceit, and preserve for Domnus his estate, from which come his hopes of sustenance.
Domnus -- the man whose penalty you deferred by advising him to appeal to the emperor's mercy for relief -- has done so and has received that mercy. But he needs you to confirm it.
So keep your own principle -- or, if you prefer, the principle of Zeus himself, which is that promises should be free of deceit -- and preserve Domnus's farm for him. That farm is the source of all his hopes for food.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.