Letter 737
To Ecdicius, friend. (362)
The sons of a dear friend have come to a dear friend through a dear friend. I was immediately pleased with them because of their father, and as time went on, because of their own natures.
I commend the elder for his late arrival and for the fact that he loves you yet reproaches you for not having arranged things sooner. A man who counts the time he has lost as a real loss clearly intends to make the most of the time ahead.
Something has already been accomplished in this short interval -- perhaps more than the interval would suggest. Trust me on this, and trust the old man. He looks after these boys no less than his own grandchildren, and he is a fine judge of oratory -- being a poet himself -- and would never deceive a friend to gratify another.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.