Pliny, Letter 7.31

Ep. 7.31.1Claudius Polliō amārī ā tē cupit dignus hōc ipsō quod cupit, deinde quod ipse tē dīligit;Claudius Pollio wishes to be loved by you, deserving it by the very fact that he wishes it, and then because he himself loves you; Ep. 7.31.1neque enim ferē quisquam exigit istud nisi quī facit.for hardly anyone demands that unless he does it himself. Ep. 7.31.1Vir aliōquī rēctus integer quiētus ac paene ultrā modum - sī quis tamen ultrā modum - verēcundus.He is besides an upright man, honest, quiet, and modest almost beyond measure — if indeed anyone can be so beyond measure. Ep. 7.31.2Hunc, cum simul mīlitārēmus, nōn sōlum ut commīlitō īnspēxī.When we served in the army together, I observed him not merely as a fellow soldier. Ep. 7.31.2Praeerat alae mīliāriae;He commanded a cavalry squadron a thousand strong; Ep. 7.31.2ego iussus ā lēgātō cōnsulārī ratiōnēs alārum et cohortium excutere, ut magnam quōrundam foedamque avāritiam, neglegentiam parem, ita huius summam integritātem, sollicitam dīligentiam invēnī.I, ordered by the consular legate to examine the accounts of the cavalry squadrons and cohorts, found in some great and shameful greed and equal negligence, but in him the highest integrity and anxious care.

Ep. 7.31.3Posteā prōmōtus ad amplissimās prōcūrātiōnēs, nūllā occāsiōne corruptus ab īnsitō abstinentiae amōre dēflexit;Later, promoted to the most important procuratorships, corrupted by no opportunity, he never swerved from his inborn love of honesty; Ep. 7.31.3numquam secundīs rēbus intumuit;he never grew puffed up in prosperity; Ep. 7.31.3numquam officiōrum varietāte continuam laudem hūmānitātis īnfrēgit, eādemque firmitāte animī labōribus suffēcit, quā nunc ōtium patitur.he never let the variety of his posts interrupt his continuous reputation for kindness, and he was equal to his labours with the same firmness of mind with which he now endures leisure. Ep. 7.31.4Quod quidem paulisper cum magnā suā laude intermīsit et posuit, ā Corelliō nostrō ex līberālitāte imperātōris Nervae emendīs dīvidendīsque agrīs adiūtor assūmptus.This leisure, indeed, he interrupted and laid aside for a while, to his great credit, when he was taken on by our friend Corellius as an assistant in purchasing and distributing land under the generosity of the emperor Nerva. Ep. 7.31.4Etenim quā glōriā dignum est, summō virō in tantā ēligendī facultāte praecipuē placuisse!For what glory it deserves, to have particularly pleased so great a man when he had so wide a choice!

Ep. 7.31.5Īdem quam reverenter, quam fidēliter amīcōs colat, multōrum suprēmīs iūdiciīs, in hīs Annī Bassī gravissimī cīvis, crēdere potes, cuius memoriam tam grātā praedicātiōne prōrogat et extendit, ut librum dē vītā eius - nam studia quoque sīcut aliās bonās artēs venerātur - ēdiderit.How respectfully and how faithfully he cherishes his friends you can believe from the last wills of many, among them that of Annius Bassus, a most venerable citizen, whose memory he prolongs and extends with such grateful praise that he has published a book on his life — for he reveres literature too, like the other good arts. Ep. 7.31.6Pulchrum istud et rāritāte ipsā probandum, cum plērīque hāctenus dēfūnctōrum meminerint ut querantur.That is a fine thing and to be commended for its very rarity, since most people remember the dead only so far as to complain of them. Ep. 7.31.7Hunc hominem appetentissimum tuī, mihi crēde, complectere apprehende, immō et invītā, ac sīc amā tamquam grātiam referās.This man, who is most eager for your friendship, embrace, believe me, and take hold of him, or rather invite him, and love him as if you were returning a favour.

Ep. 7.31.7Neque enim obligandus sed remūnerandus est in amōris officiō, quī prior coepit.For in the duty of friendship the one who began first is not to be put under obligation but to be repaid. Ep. 7.31.7Valē.Farewell.