Letter 9
For some time now the silent Lucrine waters have been longing for you, and the smooth bay of Baiae, and Puteoli [modern Pozzuoli] still busy with visitors, and Bauli in its grand silence. But there you sit at rustic Cora or at barren Formiae.
Come, if it's worth the trip! Hit the road and see for yourselves what better country looks like — where deep quiet reigns far from the crowds, where there's no limit to how long you can enjoy your holiday:
Where ivy-crowned Bacchus
covers the heights of Gaurus,
where Vulcan in his steaming
caverns cooks the middle depths,
where Thetis, rich with fish,
holds the deep, sister to Baiae,
where the wave runs hot, the air blows cool,
and gliding over it all in her dance,
smiling, the goddess born at Amathus —
mistress of salt spray and steam,
flower of the stars, Venus herself.
Do I sound like a man drunk on luxury, rambling into poetry? I don't care about literary reputation — it was the place, not my talent, that inspired this little exercise. But if my words are at all inviting, get moving. Come be happy with what's here, and let our luck hold for getting what we want. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
Related Letters
O faithful man of solitary life, and practiser of true religion, learn the lessons of the evangelic conversation, of mastery over the body, of a meek spirit, of purity of mind, of destruction of pride. Pressed into the service, add to your gifts, for the Lord's sake; robbed, never go to law; hated, love; persecuted, endure; slandered, entreat. ...
When I turn my gaze upon the world, and perceive the difficulties by which every effort after good is obstructed, like those of a man walking in fetters, I am brought to despair of myself. But then I direct my gaze in the direction of your reverence; I remember that our Lord has appointed you to be physician of the diseases in the Churches; and ...
On meeting this man, I heartily thanked God that by means of his visit He had comforted me in many afflictions and had through him shown me clearly your love. I seem to see in one man's disposition the zeal of all of you for the truth. He will tell you of our discourses with one another.