Ep. 2.7.1Herē ā senātū Vestriciō Spurinnae prīncipe auctōre triumphālis statua dēcrēta est, nōn ita ut multīs, quī numquam in aciē stetērunt, numquam castra vīdērunt, numquam dēnique tubārum sonum nisi in spectāculīs audiērunt, vērum ut illīs, quī decus istud sūdōre et sanguine et factīs assequēbantur.Yesterday, on the emperor's proposal, the senate voted a triumphal statue to Vestricius Spurinna, not as it has to many who have never stood in the battle line, never seen a camp, never, in short, heard the sound of trumpets except at the shows, but as to those who used to win that distinction with sweat and blood and deeds. Ep. 2.7.2Nam Spurinna Bructerum rēgem vī et armīs indūxit in regnum, ostentātōque bellō ferōcissimam gentem, quod est pulcherrimum victōriae genus, terrōre perdomuit.For Spurinna installed the king of the Bructeri in his kingdom by force of arms, and by the mere display of war he subdued a most ferocious people through terror, which is the finest kind of victory. Ep. 2.7.3Et hoc quidem virtūtis praemium, illud sōlācium dolōris accēpit, quod fīliō eius Cottiō, quem āmīsit absēns, habitus est honor statuae.And this he received as the reward of his valour, and that as consolation for his grief, that the honour of a statue was granted to his son Cottius, whom he lost while he was away.
Ep. 2.7.3Rārum id in iuvene;That is rare in the case of a young man; Ep. 2.7.3sed pater hoc quoque merēbātur, cuius gravissimō vulnerī magnō aliquō fōmentō medendum fuit.but the father deserved this too, since his very grievous wound had to be healed by some great soothing remedy. Ep. 2.7.4Praetereā Cottius ipse tam clārum specimen indolis dederat, ut vīta eius brevis et angusta dēbuerit hāc velut immortālitāte prōferrī.Besides, Cottius himself had given so bright a proof of his character that his brief and narrow life ought to be prolonged by this immortality, as it were. Ep. 2.7.4Nam tanta eī sānctitās gravitās auctōritās etiam, ut posset senēs illōs prōvocāre virtūte, quibus nunc honōre adaequātus est.For he had such purity, gravity and even authority that he could challenge in virtue those old men to whom he has now been made equal in honour. Ep. 2.7.5Quō quidem honōre, quantum ego interpretor, nōn modo dēfūnctī memoriae, dolōrī patris, vērum etiam exemplō prōspectum est.By this honour, as far as I understand it, provision has been made not only for the memory of the dead and the grief of the father but also for an example.
Ep. 2.7.5Acuent ad bonās artēs iuventūtem adulēscentibus quoque, dignī sint modo, tanta praemia cōnstitūta;Such great rewards, established for young men too, provided only they are worthy, will spur the youth on to good pursuits; Ep. 2.7.5acuent prīncipēs virōs ad līberōs suscipiendōs et gaudia ex superstitibus et ex āmissīs tam glōriōsa sōlācia.they will spur leading men to raise children, through the joys they bring if they survive, and such glorious consolations if they are lost. Ep. 2.7.6Hīs ex causīs statuā Cottī pūblicē laetor, nec prīvātim minus.For these reasons I rejoice at Cottius' statue on the public account, and no less privately. Ep. 2.7.6Amāvī cōnsummātissimum iuvenem, tam ardenter quam nunc impatienter requīrō.I loved that most accomplished young man as ardently as I now impatiently miss him. Ep. 2.7.6Erit ergō pergrātum mihi hanc effigiem eius subinde intuērī subinde respicere, sub hāc cōnsistere praeter hanc commeāre.It will therefore be a great pleasure to me to gaze at this likeness of his again and again, to look back at it again and again, to stand beneath it and to walk past it.
Ep. 2.7.7Etenim sī dēfūnctōrum imāginēs domī positae dolōrem nostrum levant, quantō magis hae quibus in celeberrimō locō nōn modo speciēs et vultus illōrum, sed honor etiam et glōria refertur!For if the images of the dead placed at home lighten our grief, how much more do these, by which, in the most frequented place, not only their appearance and features but their honour and glory too are brought back! Ep. 2.7.7Valē.Farewell.