Unknown→Lupus, close friend|c. 466 AD|sidonius apollinaris
barbarian invasioneducation bookstravel mobility
LETTER XI
Sidonius to his lord Bishop Lupus, greetings.
1. On account of the little book that you considered to have been sent not so much to you as through you, I received a letter from you written not so much to me as against me. I reply to your reproaches on the justice of my case, not on the equality of my eloquence. And yet, who am I now, or of what account, that I should dare to plead my innocence when it is you who bring the charge? Wherefore I beg that pardon be granted at once to this offense, however slight it may be, at its very outset -- confessing only the error of diffidence, not of pride.
2. For although the rigor of your censure in letters is as much to be trembled at as your rigor in morals -- both equally formidable -- yet I confess that in the opening and reading of the volume itself, the affection you profess was more of a burden to me than you pretend. And I make this inference not without reason, since it is natural to human minds that if something is done amiss, friends are less indulgent rather than more.
3. I had written a book which, as you pronounce, was full and laden with a varied mass of subjects, times, and persons. I thought I would be acting most impudently if everything had so pleased me that I should trust nothing would displease you. Furthermore, whatever the outcome of your judgment might be, I saw that the claims of devotion on my side could not be fully satisfied unless the volume were at least brought to your attention first, even if it did not appear to have been formally presented -- on this understanding: that if it happened to please, I should not be thought to have passed you over from arrogance; if otherwise, I should not be thought to have sought your judgment from impudence.
4. I did not think it would require much effort to excuse my avoidance of the occasions of embarrassment. At the same time, I knew you were well aware that modesty becomes authors in publishing their works rather than boldness, and that the hesitation of the reciter draws critical marks from stern censors more slowly than his forwardness. In any case, if there is anyone who circulates an untried work with confident presumption, he begins to owe the public expectation more and more, however much he may have already paid. Moreover, whatever you may decide about the tenor of this reply, I preferred to confess what I had done frankly rather than deny it craftily.
5. Another man might have said: "I gave no one precedence over you; I sent no special letters to anyone. The man you suspected of being preferred went away content with a single letter, and that one conveying nothing about the present matter. You, who complain of being overlooked, were burdened -- or rather nauseated -- by three extremely wordy pages, as you lingered over the empty words of an insipid reading. Add to this that even in what you perhaps did not notice, consideration was shown to your reverence and your merits: just as your see takes precedence over those of other bishops, so your name stands first in my book. His name barely sounds once on the page assigned to him; yours frequently adorns pages dedicated to others.
6. "Join to this the fact that, if anything there happens to give any pleasure, you read it through my counsel, while he will read it, eventually, through your generosity -- he who, weighed down in vain by envy of my small gift, has not yet, I suspect, come into the opportunity of reading it, while you have long since arrived at the freedom of copying it. I say this as if he would never see the original manuscript -- if indeed he even receives a copy before you have been through it first. For in any work you have handled, no one will find fault with either a lack of punctuation or a surfeit of barbarisms. In short, it is plain that the proprietary right was sent even to you, since the use was transmitted without any time limit, and you may keep the aforementioned little book as long as you wish, so that it is contained not more by your study than by your memory."
7. These and more such things another man might say. But I pass over all of it and prefer to beg pardon rather than -- if this is what is believed -- to dispute the charge. I do not even excuse the negligence of the present letter: first, because even if I wished to, I am scarcely able to write with any refinement now; and second, because with the little book finished, my mind, now eager for a holiday, declines to polish what it has ceased to care about publishing.
8. Yet, though I yield to you sufficiently and indeed deservedly in all things -- for what comparison is possible? -- you who for five full decades have been ranked above not only your contemporaries among bishops but also your predecessors whenever the comparison is made, I want you to know this: though you shake the stars with your complaints and invoke the ashes and dust of our ancestors to testify to your wounded affection, I shall not retreat from the contest if we must compete in mutual love. For in all things, and most shameful of all, it is disgraceful to be defeated in affection. Which profession of mine, whether you wish it or not, is the fitting answer to those reproaches of yours -- reproaches that certainly surpass all the honey of flattery.
9. There -- you have a letter almost as garrulous as you demanded, though all letters, wherever they may exist, are most garrulous. For whom would you not compel to boldness in speech, you who draw forth the talents of all literary men -- I say nothing of myself -- though their eyes may resist, just as the ray of the sun draws water hidden in the bowels of the earth through porous particles? And that ray penetrates not only fine sand or crumbling soil, but even if the vein of a hidden spring lies buried under the weight of a rocky mountain, the more violent nature of heavenly things opens the secret of the liquid element. So too, most sacred sir, if you perceive any among the studious who are quiet, or modest, or lurking in the recess of an obscure reputation, the brilliance of your speech, through its artful conversation, publishes them even as it addresses them.
10. But to what end do I ramble, more than is my wont? Let us return to the point. Regarding the abundant chatter of this letter, since I obey, I beg that you graciously grant pardon to one who confesses his errors through the indulgence of your clemency, though, given your holy joy and your fellowship, you would more readily be delighted if a defense of my fault were written to you rather than an apology. Deign to remember me, my lord bishop.
EPISTULA XI
Sidonius domino papae Lupo salutem.
1. Propter libellum, quem non ad vos magis quam per vos missum putastis, epistulam vestram non ad me magis quam in me scriptam recepi. ad exprobrata respondeo pro aequitate causae, non pro aequalitate facundiae. quamquam quis nunc ego aut quantus qui agere praesumam vobis imputantibus innocentem? quocirca delicto huic, quantulumcumque est, inter principia confestim supplico ignosci, diffidentiae tantum, non et superbiae fassus errorem.
2. nam cum mihi rigor censurae tuae in litteris aeque ut <in> moribus sit ambifariam contremescendus, fateor tamen in voluminis ipsius operisque reseratu illam mihi fuisse plus oneri quam praetenditis caritatem. nec citra iustum ista conicio, quandoquidem mortalium mentibus vis haec naturalitus inest, ut, si quid perperam fiat, minus indulgeant plus amici.
3. scripseram librum, sicut pronuntiatis, plenum onustumque vario causarum temporum personarumque congestu: facturus rem videbar impudentissimam, si tantum mihi cuncta placuissent, ut nulla tibi displicitura confiderem; huc item, quisquis iudicii eventus foret, vidi partibus meis nequaquam pietatis ex solido constare rationem, si non saltim vobis esset anterius allatum volumen, etsi non videretur oblatum; sub hoc scilicet temperamento, ut, si forte placuissem, non vos arrogantia praeterisse, si secus, non vos improbitas expetisse iudicaretur.
4. nec sane multo labore me credidi deprecaturum vitatas causas erubescendi. pariter illud nosse vos noveram, quod auctores in operibus edendis pudor potius quam constantia decet quodque tetricis puncta censoribus tardius procacitas recitatoris quam trepidatio excudit. alioquin, si quis est ille qui cum fiduciae praerogativa thematis ante inauditi operam pervulgat, incipit expectationi publicae, quamvis solverit multa, plura redhibere. praeterea quidquid super huiusce rescripti tenore censueris, malui factum confiteri simpliciter quam trebaciter diffiteri.
5. dixisset alius: "neminem tibi praetuli, nullas ad ullum peculiares litteras dedi: quem praelatum suspicabare, unius epistulae forma contentus abscessit, atque ea quidem nihil super praesenti negotio deferente: tu, qui te quereris omissum, tribus loquacissimis paginis fatigatus potius in nausiam concitaris, dum frequenter insulsae lectionis verbis inanibus immoraris. adde, quia etiam in hoc, quod forsitan non notasti, reverentiae tuae meritorumque ratio servata est, quod sicut tu antistitum ceterorum cathedris, prior est tuus in libro titulus. illius nomen vix semel tantum et sibi adscripta pagina sonat; tuo praeter tibi deputatas frequenter illustrantur alienae.
6. illud his iunge, quod, si quid ibi vel causaliter placet, tu per consilium meum lectitas, ille quandoque per beneficium tuum, qui munusculi mei incassum pressus invidia necdum ad facultatem legendi, ut suspicor, venit, cum iamdiu ipse perveneris ad copiam transferendi. aio, tamquam non sit autholographas membranas arbitraturus, si tamen, quod ante percurras, vel exemplar acceperit; neque enim in his, quae tractaveris, ulla culpabitur aut distinctionum raritas aut frequentia barbarismorum. nempe ad extremum palam videtur etiam tibi transmissa proprietas, cui usus absque temporis fixi praescriptione transmissus est quique supradicto tamdiu potes uti libello, ut eum non amplius zothecula tua quam memoria concludat."
7. haec et his plura fors aliquis. ego vero cuncta praetereo et malo precari veniam quam reatum, si hoc esse creditur, deprecari. praesentum quoque neglegentiam litterarum nunc nec excuso, primum quod, etsi cupiam, parum cultius scribere queo, dein quod libellari opere confecto animus tandem feriaturus iam quae propalare dissimulat excolere detrectat.
8. at tamen, cum satis tibi et quidem merito (quidnam enim simile?) in omnibus cedam, quippe qui in alio genere virtutum iam per quinquennia decem non aequaevis sacerdotibus tantum verum et antiquis, quotiens collatus, antelatus quoque sis, noveris volo, quamvis astra questibus quatias atque maiorum cineres favillasque in testimonium laesae caritatis implores, pedem me conflictui tuo, si mutuo super amore certandum est, non retracturum, quia cum in ceteris rebus tum foedissimum perquam est in dilectione superari. quae velis nolis certa professio conviciis tuis illis cuncta sane blandimentorum mella vincentibus non praeter aequum reponderatur.
9. ecce habes litteras tam garrulas ferme quam requirebas; quamquam sunt omnes, si quae uspiam tamen sunt, loquacissimae. namque in audentiam sermocinandi quem non ipse compellas? qui omnium (de me enim taceo) litteratorum, licet oculi affectent, sic ingenia producis, ut solet aquam terrae visceribus absconditam per atomos bibulas radius extrahere solaris? cuius [lucis] aculeo non sola penetratur aut harena subtilis aut humus fossilis, sed si saxei montis oppressu fontium conditorum vena celetur, aperit arcanum liquentis elementi secretorum caelestium natura violentior. ita si quos, vir sacrosancte, studiosorum senseris aut quietos aut verecundos aut in obscuro iacentis famae recessu delitescentes, hos eloquii tui claritas artifice confabulatu, dum compellat, et publicat.
10. sed quorsum + quam moris est? redeamus ad causam, super cuius abundante blateratu, quia pareo, precor, ut errata confessum veniae clementis indultu placatus impertias, licet, quae laetitia tua sancta quaeque communio, copiosius hilarere, si meae culpae defensio potius tibi scripta feratur quam satisfactio. memor nostri esse dignare, domine papa.
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LETTER XI
Sidonius to his lord Bishop Lupus, greetings.
1. On account of the little book that you considered to have been sent not so much to you as through you, I received a letter from you written not so much to me as against me. I reply to your reproaches on the justice of my case, not on the equality of my eloquence. And yet, who am I now, or of what account, that I should dare to plead my innocence when it is you who bring the charge? Wherefore I beg that pardon be granted at once to this offense, however slight it may be, at its very outset -- confessing only the error of diffidence, not of pride.
2. For although the rigor of your censure in letters is as much to be trembled at as your rigor in morals -- both equally formidable -- yet I confess that in the opening and reading of the volume itself, the affection you profess was more of a burden to me than you pretend. And I make this inference not without reason, since it is natural to human minds that if something is done amiss, friends are less indulgent rather than more.
3. I had written a book which, as you pronounce, was full and laden with a varied mass of subjects, times, and persons. I thought I would be acting most impudently if everything had so pleased me that I should trust nothing would displease you. Furthermore, whatever the outcome of your judgment might be, I saw that the claims of devotion on my side could not be fully satisfied unless the volume were at least brought to your attention first, even if it did not appear to have been formally presented -- on this understanding: that if it happened to please, I should not be thought to have passed you over from arrogance; if otherwise, I should not be thought to have sought your judgment from impudence.
4. I did not think it would require much effort to excuse my avoidance of the occasions of embarrassment. At the same time, I knew you were well aware that modesty becomes authors in publishing their works rather than boldness, and that the hesitation of the reciter draws critical marks from stern censors more slowly than his forwardness. In any case, if there is anyone who circulates an untried work with confident presumption, he begins to owe the public expectation more and more, however much he may have already paid. Moreover, whatever you may decide about the tenor of this reply, I preferred to confess what I had done frankly rather than deny it craftily.
5. Another man might have said: "I gave no one precedence over you; I sent no special letters to anyone. The man you suspected of being preferred went away content with a single letter, and that one conveying nothing about the present matter. You, who complain of being overlooked, were burdened -- or rather nauseated -- by three extremely wordy pages, as you lingered over the empty words of an insipid reading. Add to this that even in what you perhaps did not notice, consideration was shown to your reverence and your merits: just as your see takes precedence over those of other bishops, so your name stands first in my book. His name barely sounds once on the page assigned to him; yours frequently adorns pages dedicated to others.
6. "Join to this the fact that, if anything there happens to give any pleasure, you read it through my counsel, while he will read it, eventually, through your generosity -- he who, weighed down in vain by envy of my small gift, has not yet, I suspect, come into the opportunity of reading it, while you have long since arrived at the freedom of copying it. I say this as if he would never see the original manuscript -- if indeed he even receives a copy before you have been through it first. For in any work you have handled, no one will find fault with either a lack of punctuation or a surfeit of barbarisms. In short, it is plain that the proprietary right was sent even to you, since the use was transmitted without any time limit, and you may keep the aforementioned little book as long as you wish, so that it is contained not more by your study than by your memory."
7. These and more such things another man might say. But I pass over all of it and prefer to beg pardon rather than -- if this is what is believed -- to dispute the charge. I do not even excuse the negligence of the present letter: first, because even if I wished to, I am scarcely able to write with any refinement now; and second, because with the little book finished, my mind, now eager for a holiday, declines to polish what it has ceased to care about publishing.
8. Yet, though I yield to you sufficiently and indeed deservedly in all things -- for what comparison is possible? -- you who for five full decades have been ranked above not only your contemporaries among bishops but also your predecessors whenever the comparison is made, I want you to know this: though you shake the stars with your complaints and invoke the ashes and dust of our ancestors to testify to your wounded affection, I shall not retreat from the contest if we must compete in mutual love. For in all things, and most shameful of all, it is disgraceful to be defeated in affection. Which profession of mine, whether you wish it or not, is the fitting answer to those reproaches of yours -- reproaches that certainly surpass all the honey of flattery.
9. There -- you have a letter almost as garrulous as you demanded, though all letters, wherever they may exist, are most garrulous. For whom would you not compel to boldness in speech, you who draw forth the talents of all literary men -- I say nothing of myself -- though their eyes may resist, just as the ray of the sun draws water hidden in the bowels of the earth through porous particles? And that ray penetrates not only fine sand or crumbling soil, but even if the vein of a hidden spring lies buried under the weight of a rocky mountain, the more violent nature of heavenly things opens the secret of the liquid element. So too, most sacred sir, if you perceive any among the studious who are quiet, or modest, or lurking in the recess of an obscure reputation, the brilliance of your speech, through its artful conversation, publishes them even as it addresses them.
10. But to what end do I ramble, more than is my wont? Let us return to the point. Regarding the abundant chatter of this letter, since I obey, I beg that you graciously grant pardon to one who confesses his errors through the indulgence of your clemency, though, given your holy joy and your fellowship, you would more readily be delighted if a defense of my fault were written to you rather than an apology. Deign to remember me, my lord bishop.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.