Marcus Cornelius Fronto→Antoninus Pius|c. 149 AD|Marcus Cornelius Fronto|From Rome (career hub)|To Rome (career hub)|AI-assisted
Fronto to Antoninus Pius Augustus.
With a part of my own life, Emperor, I would gladly strike the bargain to embrace you on this most blessed and most longed-for day, the anniversary of your accession to power, a day which I reckon as the birthday of my well-being, my standing, and my security. But a severe pain in my shoulder, and one far more severe in my neck, has so afflicted me that even now I can scarcely bend, or straighten, or turn myself: such an immovable neck do I have to manage. Yet before my Lares and Penates [the household guardian and ancestral gods] and my family gods I have both paid and undertaken my vows, and I have prayed that in the coming year I might embrace you twice on this day, twice kiss your breast and your hands, discharging at once the duty of the past year and of the present one.
? 148–149 A.D. to Antoninus Pius Augustus. More dearly than with a portion of my life would I bargain to embrace you on this most happy and wished-for anniversary of your accession, a day which I count as the birthday of my own health, reputation, and safety. But severe pain in my shoulder, and much more severe in my neck, have so crippled me, that I am still scarcely able to bend, sit upright, or turn myself, so rigid must I keep my neck. But before my Lares, Penates, and household gods have I discharged and renewed my vows, and prayed that next year I might embrace you twice on this anniversary, twice kiss your neck and hands, fulfilling at once the office of the past and the present year.
ad Anton.Pium 5 [164 Hout; 1.226 Haines]
Antonino Pio Augusto Fronto.
Vitae meae parte depicisci cupio, imperator, ut te complecterer felicissimo et optatissimo initi imperii die, quem ego diem natalem salutis, dignitatis, securitatis meae existimo. Sed dolor umeri gravis, cervicis vero multo gravissimus ita me adflixit, ut adhuc usque vix inclinare me vel erigere vel convertere possim: Ita immobili cervici utor. Sed apud lares, penates deosque familiares meos et reddidi et suscepi vota et precatus sum uti anno insequenti bis te complecterer ista die, bis pectus tuum et manus exoscularer praeteriti simul et praesentis anni vicem persequens.
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Fronto to Antoninus Pius Augustus.
With a part of my own life, Emperor, I would gladly strike the bargain to embrace you on this most blessed and most longed-for day, the anniversary of your accession to power, a day which I reckon as the birthday of my well-being, my standing, and my security. But a severe pain in my shoulder, and one far more severe in my neck, has so afflicted me that even now I can scarcely bend, or straighten, or turn myself: such an immovable neck do I have to manage. Yet before my Lares and Penates [the household guardian and ancestral gods] and my family gods I have both paid and undertaken my vows, and I have prayed that in the coming year I might embrace you twice on this day, twice kiss your breast and your hands, discharging at once the duty of the past year and of the present one.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
ad Anton.Pium 5 [164 Hout; 1.226 Haines] Antonino Pio Augusto Fronto. Vitae meae parte depicisci cupio, imperator, ut te complecterer felicissimo et optatissimo initi imperii die, quem ego diem natalem salutis, dignitatis, securitatis meae existimo. Sed dolor umeri gravis, cervicis vero multo gravissimus ita me adflixit, ut adhuc usque vix inclinare me vel erigere vel convertere possim: Ita immobili cervici utor. Sed apud lares, penates deosque familiares meos et reddidi et suscepi vota et precatus sum uti anno insequenti bis te complecterer ista die, bis pectus tuum et manus exoscularer praeteriti simul et praesentis anni vicem persequens.