Ep. 1.22.1Diū iam in urbe haereō et quidem attonitus.For a long time now I have been stuck in the city, and indeed in a state of shock. Ep. 1.22.1Perturbat mē longa et pertināx valētūdō Titī Aristōnis, quem singulāriter et mīror et dīligō.I am deeply troubled by the long and stubborn illness of Titius Aristo, whom I both admire and love in a special way. Ep. 1.22.1Nihil est enim illō gravius sānctius doctius, ut mihi nōn ūnus homō sed litterae ipsae omnēsque bonae artēs in ūnō homine summum perīculum adīre videantur.For there is no one more serious, more upright, more learned than he, so that it seems to me that not one man but literature itself and all the liberal arts are facing the utmost danger in one man. Ep. 1.22.2Quam perītus ille et prīvātī iūris et pūblicī!How expert he is in both private and public law! Ep. 1.22.2quantum rērum, quantum exemplōrum, quantum antīquitātis tenet!How much history, how many precedents, how much antiquity he commands! Ep. 1.22.2Nihil est quod discere velīs quod ille docēre nōn possit;There is nothing you might wish to learn which he could not teach; Ep. 1.22.2mihi certē quotiēns aliquid abditum quaerō, ille thēsaurus est.to me at any rate, whenever I am looking for something obscure, he is a treasure-house.
Ep. 1.22.3Iam quanta sermōnibus eius fidēs, quanta auctōritās, quam pressa et decōra cūnctātiō!Then again, what trustworthiness there is in his conversation, what authority, how restrained and dignified his hesitation! Ep. 1.22.3quid est quod nōn statim sciat?What is there that he does not know at once? Ep. 1.22.3Et tamen plērumque haesitat dubitat, dīversitāte ratiōnum, quās ācrī magnōque iūdiciō ab orīgine causīsque prīmīs repetit discernit expendit.And yet often he hesitates and doubts, because of the conflict of reasons, which with keen and great judgement he traces back to their origin and first causes, distinguishes and weighs. Ep. 1.22.4Ad hoc quam parcus in vīctū, quam modicus in cultū!Besides, how sparing he is in his diet, how moderate in his dress! Ep. 1.22.4Soleō ipsum cubiculum illīus ipsumque lectum ut imāginem quandam prīscae frūgālitātis adspicere.I often look at his bedroom itself and his very bed as a kind of image of old-fashioned frugality. Ep. 1.22.5Ōrnat haec magnitūdō animī, quae nihil ad ostentātiōnem, omnia ad cōnscientiam refert rēctēque factī nōn ex populī sermōne mercēdem, sed ex factō petit.These qualities are crowned by a greatness of mind which refers nothing to display, everything to conscience, and seeks the reward of a good deed not from the talk of the people but from the deed itself.
Ep. 1.22.6In summā nōn facile quemquam ex istīs quī sapientiae studium habitū corporis praeferunt, huic virō comparābis.In short, you will not easily compare with this man any of those who parade their pursuit of wisdom by their outward appearance. Ep. 1.22.6Nōn quidem gymnasia sectātur aut porticūs, nec disputātiōnibus longīs aliōrum ōtium suumque dēlectat, sed in togā negōtiīsque versātur, multōs advocātiōne plūrēs cōnsiliō iuvat.He does not, indeed, haunt the gymnasia or the colonnades, nor does he entertain the leisure of others and his own with long disputations, but he is engaged in public life and business, helping many with his advocacy and more with his counsel. Ep. 1.22.7Nēminī tamen istōrum castitāte pietāte, iūstitiā, fortitūdine etiam prīmō locō cesserit.Yet he would yield first place to none of them in purity, piety, justice, and even courage. Ep. 1.22.7Mīrārēris sī interessēs, quā patientiā hanc ipsam valētūdinem toleret, ut dolōrī resistat, ut sitim differat, ut incrēdibilem febrium ardōrem immōtus opertusque trānsmittat.You would marvel, if you were there, with what patience he endures this very illness, how he resists pain, how he puts off thirst, how he lets the incredible heat of his fevers pass, motionless and covered up.
Ep. 1.22.8Nūper mē paucōsque mēcum, quōs maximē dīligit, advocāvit rogāvitque, ut medicōs cōnsulerēmus dē summā valētūdinis, ut sī esset īnsuperābilis sponte exīret ē vītā;Recently he called me and a few others whom he especially loves, and asked us to consult the doctors about the outcome of his illness, so that if it were incurable he might depart from life of his own accord; Ep. 1.22.8sī tantum difficilis et longa, resisteret manēretque: dandum enim precibus uxōris, dandum fīliae lacrimīs, dandum etiam nōbīs amīcīs, nē spēs nostrās, sī modo nōn essent inānēs, voluntāriā morte dēsereret.but if it were merely difficult and long, he would resist and remain: for he must yield to the prayers of his wife, yield to his daughter's tears, yield even to us his friends, so as not to desert our hopes, if only they were not vain, by a voluntary death. Ep. 1.22.10Id ego arduum in prīmīs et praecipuā laude dignum putō.This I consider especially hard and worthy of particular praise. Ep. 1.22.10Nam impetū quōdam et īnstīnctū prōcurrere ad mortem commūne cum multīs, dēlīberāre vērō et causās eius expendere, utque suāserit ratiō, vītae mortisque cōnsilium vel suscipere vel pōnere ingentis est animī.For to rush to death on some impulse and instinct is something shared with many, but to deliberate and weigh its reasons, and to take up or lay aside the plan of life or death as reason has advised, is the mark of a mighty spirit.
Ep. 1.22.11Et medicī quidem secunda nōbīs pollicentur: superest ut prōmissīs deus adnuat tandemque mē hāc sollicitūdine exsolvat;And the doctors indeed promise us a good outcome: it remains for a god to assent to their promises and at last release me from this anxiety; Ep. 1.22.11quā līberātus Laurentīnum meum, hoc est libellōs et pugillārēs, studiōsumque ōtium repetam.once freed from it, I shall return to my Laurentine house, that is, to my books and writing-tablets and studious leisure. Ep. 1.22.11Nunc enim nihil legere, nihil scrībere aut assidentī vacat aut ānxiō libet.For now, sitting by his bed, I have no time to read or write anything, and anxious as I am I have no wish to. Ep. 1.22.12Habēs quid timeam, quid optem, quid etiam in posterum dēstinem: tū quid ēgerīs, quid agās, quid velīs agere invicem nōbīs, sed laetiōribus epistulīs scrībe.You have what I fear, what I hope, what I even plan for the future: you in turn write to me what you have done, what you are doing and what you want to do, but in happier letters.
Ep. 1.22.12Erit cōnfūsiōnī meae nōn mediocre sōlācium, sī tū nihil quereris.It will be no small comfort in my distress if you have nothing to complain of. Ep. 1.22.12Valē.Farewell.