Ep. 10.87.1Nymphidium Lupum, domine, prīmipīlārem commīlitōnem habuī, cum ipse tribūnus essem ille praefectus: inde familiāriter dīligere coepī.Nymphidius Lupus, sir, a chief centurion, was my fellow soldier when I was a tribune and he a prefect: from that time I began to feel a close affection for him. Ep. 10.87.1Crēvit posteā cāritās ipsa mūtuae vetustāte amīcitiae.Afterwards that affection grew with the length of our mutual friendship. Ep. 10.87.2Itaque et quiētī eius iniēcī manum et exēgī, ut mē in Bīthȳniā cōnsiliō īnstrueret.And so I laid hands on his retirement and insisted that he help me with his advice in Bithynia. Ep. 10.87.2Quod ille amīcissimē et ōtiī et senectūtis ratiōne postpositā et iam fēcit et factūrus est.This he has done and will continue to do in the friendliest way, setting aside the claims of his leisure and his old age. Ep. 10.87.3Quibus ex causīs necessitūdinēs eius inter meās numerō, fīlium in prīmīs, Nymphidium Lupum, iuvenem probum industrium et ēgregiō patre dignissimum, suffectūrum indulgentiae tuae, sīcut prīmīs eius experīmentīs cognōscere potes, cum praefectus cohortis plēnissimum testimōnium meruerit Iūlī Ferōcis et Fuscī Salinātōris clārissimōrum virōrum.For these reasons I count his relatives among my own, his son above all, Nymphidius Lupus, an upright, hard-working young man, most worthy of his excellent father, who will prove equal to your indulgence, as you can learn from his first trials, since as prefect of a cohort he earned the fullest testimony of Julius Ferox and Fuscus Salinator, most distinguished men.
Ep. 10.87.3Meum gaudium, domine, meamque grātulātiōnem fīliī honōre cumulābis.You will crown my joy, sir, and my rejoicing with the son's advancement.