Quintus Aurelius Symmachus→Ausonius Corrector|c. 383 AD|symmachus
[This entry contains both a continuation of Symmachus's letter and Ausonius's famous reply.]
SYMMACHUS TO AUSONIUS:
...at the same time, since you never do anything for the sake of showing off, I hesitate to praise your genuine qualities for fear they'll sound like flattery. But know this one thing as undoubted truth: there is no one alive I cherish more than you. That's how firmly your honorable affection has bound me.
Yet you seem overly modest in one respect: you accuse me of having leaked your book. But it's easier to hold hot coals in your mouth than to keep a brilliant work secret! Once a poem has left your hand, you've given up all rights to it. Published speech is a free thing.
Or are you afraid of some hostile reader gnawing at your book with sharp teeth? You alone, of all men I know, owe nothing to favoritism and have suffered nothing from envy. The resentful and the fair-minded alike find you praiseworthy. So banish these empty fears and keep writing — even if it means being "found out" again.
And do dedicate some instructional or encouraging poem to me. Test my discretion — though I confess I can't quite promise to keep it quiet. I know the itch to share a work one admires. In comedy, the playwright gets the credit, but Roscius and Ambivius [famous Roman actors] won fame too.
---
AUSONIUS TO SYMMACHUS:
Now I understand what a honeyed thing eloquence is — how beguiling, how persuasive. You almost convinced me that the letter of mine you received at Capua wasn't entirely awful. But only for as long as I was reading your letter, which led me on like nectar-coated bait. The moment I put the page down and questioned myself, my own writing tasted of wormwood again, and I recognized the honey was all yours.
And yet — as I keep doing — whenever I go back to your letter, I fall under the spell again. And every time I stop reading, that delicious fragrance of your prose vanishes, and the weight of your praise proves too sweet to be trusted.
And you dare rank me among the most eloquent? You, who've surpassed all correction? No one shines so brightly that he wouldn't look dull beside you. Who approaches Aesop's charm, Isocrates' polished arguments, Demosthenes' force, Cicero's richness, or our own Virgil's precision? Who matches any one of these as you embody them all? What are you but perfection assembled from every branch of the liberal arts?
These words, my dear Symmachus, I say without fear of sounding more flattering than truthful. You tested my honesty when we served together at court — I an old veteran, you a young man already earning a veteran's rewards. At court, where men's faces are open but their minds are hidden, you found me to be father, friend, and something dearer than both.
But enough — lest this reminiscence begin to sound like the scene in Plautus where Sosia worries he's lost himself.
And what's this pretense of asking me to send you some didactic work or essay of encouragement? Should I teach you, when I still need teaching myself — if I were young enough to learn? Should I spur on a man as sharp and energetic as you?
One mistake is enough: something of mine got published against my wishes, and by good luck it landed among friends. If it hadn't, you couldn't persuade me it was any good.
Let this serve as my reply to your letter. The rest I'll spare you — this letter is already long enough. But if you want to know more about my affairs, I commend to you Julianus, a friend of your family. Farewell.
rachum] M{Il)y brachium V 5 uetustatero] /uretttf, uenustatem UVM uergeret] H, uigeret VMiF]
tune] Af, tunc VIT 6 lldie VM oUmpium V[II) mironis VM{II) 7 buoulam] Af, ba-
eulam 27, boculam V Polycleti canephoras iur«tiM, pole liticane forus V, policane forus Z7, proleti oeno-
forum M rudea UV artes V, arte U 12 uale om. V
cito] (77), scio V^ sero M uidebitur rusticus V, rusticus om, M
22 A B contensiu eodicvm Au9onianorum; A^ a VoMtanw 111 aaee. Vllll; A^ ms Paris. 8600 saee. XI III
simacus ausonio Ai, epta symmachi ad ausonium A^, symmachus aui F, om. V 23 mQrum A^V, ue-
rum UFA^ mici gaudium A^, gaudium mihi VF tu escripta A^ 1 m. 25 snie uictus id du-
bito A^ incertus — 26 quippe ita fa parUm in ratura partim in margine A^ 2 m. 26 ceteris om. F
formido — 27 conprobas in margine add. A^ 1 m. 27 uenigne A^ 1 m, 28 mutum A^ sed corr.
scabere] A^ 1 m. F, scalpere A^ 2 m., scribere VA^ tui esse corr. ex tuisse A<
simul qnod ipse nihil ostentandi gratia faeis, yerendum est genuina in te bona tam- VFA
quam affectata laudare. unum hoc tamen a nobis indubitata veritate cognosce : nemi-
nem esse mortalium, quem prae te diligam ; sic vadatnm me honorabili amore tenuisti.
set in eo mihi verecundus nimio plus videre, quod libelli tui arguis proditorem. nam 2
5 £Btciliu8 est ardentes favillas ore comprimere quam luculenti operis servare secretum.
cum semel a te profectum carmen est, ius omne posuisti. oratio publicata res libera
est an yereris aemuli venena lectoris, ne libellus tuus admorsu duri dentis uratur?
tibi uni adhoc locorum nihil gratia praestitit aut dempsit invidia. ingratis scaevo
cuique proboque laudabilis es. proinde cassas dehinc seclude formidines et indnlge
10 stilo, ut saepe prodaris. certe aliquod didascalicum seu protrepticum nostro quoque
nomini carmen adiudica. fac periculum silentii mei, quod etsi tibi exhibere opto, 3
tamen spondere non audeo. novi ego, quae sit prurigo emuttiendi operis, quod pro-
baris; nam quodam pacto societatem laudis affectat, qui aliena bene dicta primus
enuntiat. ea propter in comoediis summatim quidem gloriam scriptores tulerunt ; Roscio
15 tamen adque Ambivio ceterisque actoribus fama non defuit. ergo tali negotio expende
otium tuum et novis voluminibus ieiunia nostra sustenta. quod si iactantiae fugax
garrulum indicem pertimescis, praesta etiam tu silentium mihi, ut tuto simulem nostra
esse, quae scripseris. vale.
XXXn (XXVI) post a. 378.
20 AVSONIVS SYMMACHO.
Modo intellego, quam mellea res sit oratio, quam delenifica et quam suada facun-
dia. persuasisti mihi, quod epistulae meae aput Capuam tibi redditae concinnatio
inhumana non esset, set hoc non diutius, quam dum epistulam tuam legi, quae me
blanditiis inhiantem tuis velut suco nectaris delibuta perducit. ubi vero chartulam
2s pono et me ipsum interrogo , tum absinthium meum resipit et circumlita melle tuo
pocula deprehendo. si vero, id quod saepe facio, ad epistulam tuam redii, rursus 2
inlicior ; et rursum ille suavissimus, ille floridus tui sermonis adflatus deposita lectione
vanescit et testimonii pondus prohibet inesse dulcedini. hoc me velnt a^rius bratteae
fncus aut picta nebula non longius, quam dum videtur, oblectat chamaeleontis bestio-
30 lae vice, quae de subiectis sumit colorem. aliut sentio ex epistula tna, aliut ex con-
scientia mea. et tu me audes facundissimorum hominum laude dignari? tu, inquam, 3
honorauili A^ 1 m. amor Ai, a morte V 4 mici A^ nereoundius V plns nimio uideris F
5 fabiUa Ai 1 m. ad comprimere cuiicr, in mg, continere /7 serbare A^ 1 m, 6 perdidisti F
res om. A 7 a^ morsu Ai, ad morsum F, a morsu F 8 nicil A* prestitit A^ de-
pressit F ignatis A2, ingratus II VF 9 proboque cofY. ex probo A* es om. F deinc A* I m.
bere obto A^ 1 m. 12 emutiendi A^F qod A* probatur F 14 «ummatem gloriam qui-
dem V 15 ambibio AVF, ambio /7 auctoribus A^ deflcit V 16 tuum corr. ex tum A^
nobia A^ 1 m. geionia A^ 1 m. 17 iudicem II pertimescea V presta A^ selen-
tium Ai i m. mici Ai simUem V 18 uale om. VF
21 deUniflca A^ 1 m. et om. F facunda Ai 1 m. 22 mici A^ epistolae Ai 23 hu-
mana A^ epistola tna A* 1 m. mae A^ 24 iniantem A^ 1 m. tibi uero KF, ubi enim A^,
ubi non A^ cartolam A^ 1 m. 25 cum F absintium A^ respicio F 26 depr^endo A^
bero A* 1 m. sepe A^ Qpistolam A^ 27 in licio retrorsum V^(/^), illicior retrorsum F inlicior
persuadeor A^ 2 m, in marg. suabissimus A^ afl^atus F 28 euanescit F proibet A^ 1 m.
brattee A^, bractee A^, bractea VF 29 nondum longius V cameleontis AVF uestiole A^ l m. V
30 Qpistola Ai
Q. AVKBLIVS Stmmaohts. 3
1 8 SYMMACHI EPISTVLAE
VFA mihi ista, qni te ultra emendationem omninm protnlisti. haut quisqaam ita nitet, nt
conparatns tibi non sordeat. quis ita Aesopi venustatem, quis sophisticas Isocratis
conclusiones? quis ita ad enthymemata Demosthenis aut opulentiam Tullianam aut
proprietatem nostri Maronis accedat? quis ita affectet singula, ut tu imples onmia? quid
4 enim aliut es quam ex omni bonarum artium ingenio collecta perfectio? haec, domine &
mi fili Symmache , non vereor , ne in te blandius dicta videantur esse quam verius.
et expertus es fidem meam mentis adque dictorum , dum in comitatu degimus ambo
aevo dispari, ubi tu veteris militiae praemia tiro meruisti, ego tirocinium iam veteranus
exercai. in comitatu tibi verus fui, nedum me peregre existimes conposita fabulari; in
comitatn, inquam, qui frontes hominum aperit, mentes tegit, me tibi etpa- lo ^
5 rentem et amicum et si quid utroque carius est, cariorem fuisse sensisti. set abeamus ab ^.
his, ne ista haec conmemoratio ad illam Sosiae formidinem videatur accedere. illud
quod paene praeterii, qua adfectatione addidisti, ut ad te didascalicum aliquod opus-
culum aut sermonem protrepticum mitterem? ego te docebo docendus adhuc, si essem
id aetatis, utdiscerem? aut ego te vegetum adque alacrem commonebo? eadem opera i5
et Musas hortabor, ut canant, et maria, ut efQuant, et auras, ut vigeant, et ignes,
ut caleant, admonebo, et si quid invitis quoque nobis natura fit, superfluus instigator
0 agitabo. sat est unius erroris, quod aliquid meorum me paenitente vulgatum est, quod
bona fortuna in manus amicomm incidit. nam si contra evenisset, nec tu mihi per-
suaderes, placere me posse. haec ad litteras tuas responsa sint. cetera, quae noscere 20
aves*, conpendii faciam: sic quoque iam longa est epistula. lulianum tamen familia-
rem domus vestrae, si quid de nobis percontandum arbitraris, tibi allego, simul admoneo,
ut, cum causam adventus eius agnoveris, iuves studium, quod ex parte fovisti. vale.
XXXm (XXVn) post a. 369.
◆
[This entry contains both a continuation of Symmachus's letter and Ausonius's famous reply.]
SYMMACHUS TO AUSONIUS:
...at the same time, since you never do anything for the sake of showing off, I hesitate to praise your genuine qualities for fear they'll sound like flattery. But know this one thing as undoubted truth: there is no one alive I cherish more than you. That's how firmly your honorable affection has bound me.
Yet you seem overly modest in one respect: you accuse me of having leaked your book. But it's easier to hold hot coals in your mouth than to keep a brilliant work secret! Once a poem has left your hand, you've given up all rights to it. Published speech is a free thing.
Or are you afraid of some hostile reader gnawing at your book with sharp teeth? You alone, of all men I know, owe nothing to favoritism and have suffered nothing from envy. The resentful and the fair-minded alike find you praiseworthy. So banish these empty fears and keep writing — even if it means being "found out" again.
And do dedicate some instructional or encouraging poem to me. Test my discretion — though I confess I can't quite promise to keep it quiet. I know the itch to share a work one admires. In comedy, the playwright gets the credit, but Roscius and Ambivius [famous Roman actors] won fame too.
---
AUSONIUS TO SYMMACHUS:
Now I understand what a honeyed thing eloquence is — how beguiling, how persuasive. You almost convinced me that the letter of mine you received at Capua wasn't entirely awful. But only for as long as I was reading your letter, which led me on like nectar-coated bait. The moment I put the page down and questioned myself, my own writing tasted of wormwood again, and I recognized the honey was all yours.
And yet — as I keep doing — whenever I go back to your letter, I fall under the spell again. And every time I stop reading, that delicious fragrance of your prose vanishes, and the weight of your praise proves too sweet to be trusted.
And you dare rank me among the most eloquent? You, who've surpassed all correction? No one shines so brightly that he wouldn't look dull beside you. Who approaches Aesop's charm, Isocrates' polished arguments, Demosthenes' force, Cicero's richness, or our own Virgil's precision? Who matches any one of these as you embody them all? What are you but perfection assembled from every branch of the liberal arts?
These words, my dear Symmachus, I say without fear of sounding more flattering than truthful. You tested my honesty when we served together at court — I an old veteran, you a young man already earning a veteran's rewards. At court, where men's faces are open but their minds are hidden, you found me to be father, friend, and something dearer than both.
But enough — lest this reminiscence begin to sound like the scene in Plautus where Sosia worries he's lost himself.
And what's this pretense of asking me to send you some didactic work or essay of encouragement? Should I teach you, when I still need teaching myself — if I were young enough to learn? Should I spur on a man as sharp and energetic as you?
One mistake is enough: something of mine got published against my wishes, and by good luck it landed among friends. If it hadn't, you couldn't persuade me it was any good.
Let this serve as my reply to your letter. The rest I'll spare you — this letter is already long enough. But if you want to know more about my affairs, I commend to you Julianus, a friend of your family. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.