Letter 202.1

To my master. [...] very many [...] [...] to his own [...] [...] I was able to excerpt a little from Sallust some time ago, a small bit from a speech of Cicero, but as if by stealth, and certainly in haste: so closely does one round of cares press upon another, while in the meantime my one rest is to take a book in hand; for our little daughters are now staying as guests with Matidia in the town. So they cannot keep coming to me in the evening on account of the chill of the air. Farewell, my lord and master. My lord my brother, and my daughters with their mother, on whose account I rejoice with too much anxiety, and [...] through [...] [...] from the heart send you their greetings. Send me something that seems to you most eloquent, for me to read, whether of your own or of Cato or of Cicero or of Sallust or of Gracchus or of some poet; for I need a rest, and this kind especially, the sort of reading that may lift me up and release me from the cares that have seized me; also, if you have any extracts of Lucretius or Ennius that are most well-sounding, full and vigorous, and wherever there are expressions of character.

Marcus Antoninus as Emperor 161 A.D. To my master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I have read a little of Coelius and of Cicero's speech, but as it were by stealth, certainly by snatches, so closely does one care tread on the heels of another, my one relaxation the while being to take up a book. For our little daughters are at present lodging with Matidia in the town, so that they cannot come to me in the evening owing to the keenness of the air. Farewell, my best of masters. The Lord my brother and my daughters with their mother, whose . . . . send you their affectionate greetings. Send me something to read which you think particularly eloquent, either of your own or Cato's or Cicero's or Sallust's or Gracchus's or some poet's, for I need relaxation, and especially of such a kind that the reading of it may uplift me and shake me free from the cares that beset me; also if you have any extracts from Lucretius or Ennius, sonorous lines if possible, and any that give the impress of character.

ad Anton.Imp. 4.1 [105 Hout; 1.300 Haines] Magistro meo. 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . plurimas il . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sal suo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . excerpere potui quondam ex Sallustio paululum ex Ciceronis oratione, sed quasi furtim, certe quidem raptim: Tantum instat aliud ex alio curarum, quom interim requies una librum in manus sumere; nam parvolae nostrae nunc apud Matidiam in oppido hospitantur: Igitur vespera ad me ventitare non possunt propter aurae rigorem. Vale, mi domine magister. Dominus meus frater et filiae cum sua matre, cujus prae nimia laetor cura et . . . . . . . . per . . avis ex animo tibi salutem dicunt. Mitte mihi aliquid, quod tibi disertissimum videatur, quod legam, vel tuum aut Catonis aut Ciceronis aut Sallustii aut Gracchi aut poetae alicujus; χρῄζω γὰρ ἀναπαύλης, et maxime hoc genus, quae me lectio extollat et diffundat ἐκ τῶν κατειληφυιῶν φροντίδων; etiam si qua Lucretii aut Enni excerpta habes εὐφωνότατα, ἁδρὰ et sicubi ἤθους ἐμφάσεις.