Ep. 3.3.1Cum patrem tuum gravissimum et sānctissimum virum suspexerim magis an amāverim dubitem, tēque et in memoriam eius et in honōrem tuum ūnicē dīligam, cupiam necesse est atque etiam quantum in mē fuerit ēnītar, ut fīlius tuus avō similis exsistat;Since I am in doubt whether I looked up to your father, a man of the greatest dignity and integrity, more than I loved him, and since I am singularly fond of you, both for his memory and for your own honour, I must needs wish, and even strive as far as lies in me, that your son may turn out like his grandfather; Ep. 3.3.1equidem mālō māternō, quamquam illī paternus etiam clārus spectātusque contigerit, pater quoque et patruus illūstrī laude cōnspicuī.for my part I would rather it were his maternal grandfather, although he has been blessed with a paternal one too who was famous and of proven worth, and his father and uncle are also conspicuous for illustrious renown. Ep. 3.3.2Quibus omnibus ita dēmum similis adolēscet, sī imbūtus honestīs artibus fuerit, quās plūrimum rēfert ā quō potissimum accipiat.He will grow up like all of these only if he has been steeped in honourable studies, and it matters greatly from whom above all he receives them.
Ep. 3.3.3Adhūc illum pueritiae ratiō intrā contubernium tuum tenuit, praeceptōrēs domī habuit, ubi est errōribus modica vel etiam nūlla māteria.Until now the requirements of boyhood have kept him within your household, and he has had teachers at home, where there is little or even no occasion for going astray. Ep. 3.3.3Iam studia eius extrā līmen prōferenda sunt, iam circumspiciendus rhētor Latīnus, cuius scholae sevēritās pudor in prīmīs castitās cōnstet.Now his studies must be carried beyond the threshold, now we must look round for a Latin rhetorician whose school is marked by strictness, decency and, above all, purity. Ep. 3.3.4Adest enim adulēscentī nostrō cum cēterīs nātūrae fortūnaeque dōtibus eximia corporis pulchritūdō, cui in hōc lūbricō aetātis nōn praeceptor modo sed custōs etiam rēctorque quaerendus est.For our young man has, along with the other gifts of nature and fortune, exceptional beauty of body, and at this slippery time of life one must seek for him not only a teacher but also a guardian and guide. Ep. 3.3.5Videor ergō dēmōnstrāre tibi posse Iūlium Genitōrem.I think, then, that I can point out Julius Genitor to you.
Ep. 3.3.5Amātur ā mē;He is loved by me; Ep. 3.3.5iūdiciō tamen meō nōn obstat cāritās hominis, quae ex iūdiciō nāta est.yet my affection for the man, which was born from my judgement, does not stand in the way of my judgement. Ep. 3.3.5Vir est ēmendātus et gravis, paulō etiam horridior et dūrior, ut in hāc licentiā temporum.He is a man of blameless life and serious, even a little rough and stern for this licentious age. Ep. 3.3.6Quantum ēloquentia valeat, plūribus crēdere potes, nam dīcendī facultās aperta et exposita statim cernitur;How much he is worth in eloquence you may believe from many people, for the gift of speaking is open and exposed and is seen at once; Ep. 3.3.6vīta hominum altōs recessūs magnāsque latebrās habet, cuius prō Genitōre mē spōnsōrem accipe.but a man's life has deep recesses and great hiding-places, and for Genitor's life take me as guarantor. Ep. 3.3.6Nihil ex hōc virō fīlius tuus audiet nisi prōfutūrum, nihil discet quod nescīsse rēctius fuerit, nec minus saepe ab illō quam ā tē mēque admonēbitur, quibus imāginibus onerētur, quae nōmina et quanta sustineat.Your son will hear nothing from this man that will not profit him, will learn nothing that it would have been better not to know, and he will be reminded by him no less often than by you and me of the ancestral portraits that weigh upon him, of the names he has to uphold, and how great they are.
Ep. 3.3.7Proinde faventibus dīs trāde eum praeceptōrī, ā quō mōrēs prīmum mox ēloquentiam discat, quae male sine mōribus discitur.So, with the gods' favour, hand him over to a teacher from whom he may learn first morals, then eloquence, which is ill learned without morals. Ep. 3.3.7Valē.Farewell.