To Modestus. (361 AD)
If I knew how to revolve around the doors of the powerful, I would myself be one of the powerful. As it is, I am weak — but not in the least ashamed. Singing is enough for me, as it is for the nightingale.
I didn't think I should send you many letters, given how much business you handle and how many letters you receive. Ships already heavy with freight should not have more cargo added. But since you want abundance — know that you're challenging a Lydian onto his own plain. [A proverbial expression for picking a fight on the opponent's home ground.]
I am grateful to you for the letter you sent to Acacius: it showed a man who was earnest and wanted to see results, while another would have perfunctorily dismissed the matter. As for the stoa, you'll need to consider how favorable things may be said of it — taking care not to appear to be pleasing Dionysus at the cost of grieving Dionysus's father, Zeus.
If I knew how to revolve around the doors of the powerful, I would myself be one of the powerful. As it is, I am weak — but not in the least ashamed. Singing is enough for me, as it is for the nightingale.
I didn't think I should send you many letters, given how much business you handle and how many letters you receive. Ships already heavy with freight should not have more cargo added. But since you want abundance — know that you're challenging a Lydian onto his own plain. [A proverbial expression for picking a fight on the opponent's home ground.]
I am grateful to you for the letter you sent to Acacius: it showed a man who was earnest and wanted to see results, while another would have perfunctorily dismissed the matter. As for the stoa, you'll need to consider how favorable things may be said of it — taking care not to appear to be pleasing Dionysus at the cost of grieving Dionysus's father, Zeus.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.