Ep. 9.9.1Ūnicē probō quod Pompeī Quīntiānī morte tam dolenter afficeris, ut āmissī cāritātem dēsīderiō extendās, nōn ut plērīque quī tantum vīventēs amant seu potius amāre sē simulant, ac nē simulant quidem nisi quōs flōrentēs vident;I warmly approve of your being so grievously affected by the death of Pompeius Quintianus that you prolong your affection for the man you have lost by your longing for him, unlike most people, who love only the living, or rather pretend to love them, and do not even pretend except with those whom they see prospering; Ep. 9.9.1nam miserōrum nōn secus ac dēfūnctōrum oblīvīscuntur.for they forget the unfortunate just as they forget the dead. Ep. 9.9.1Sed tibi perennis fidēs tantaque in amōre cōnstantia, ut fīnīrī nisi tuā morte nōn possit.But your loyalty is lasting, and your constancy in love so great that it cannot be ended except by your own death. Ep. 9.9.2Et herculē is fuit Quīntiānus, quem dīligī deceat ipsīus exemplō.And, by Hercules, Quintianus was a man whom it is fitting to love after his own example. Ep. 9.9.2Fēlīcēs amābat, miserōs tuēbātur, dēsīderābat āmissōs.He loved the fortunate, protected the unfortunate, longed for those he had lost.
Ep. 9.9.2Iam illa quanta probitās in ōre, quanta in sermōne cūnctātiō, quam parī lībrā gravitās cōmitāsque!And then what integrity there was in his face, what deliberation in his speech, how evenly balanced his seriousness and his affability! Ep. 9.9.2quod studium litterārum, quod iūdicium!what devotion to literature, what judgement! Ep. 9.9.2quā pietāte cum dissimillimō patre vīvēbat!with what dutifulness he lived with a father utterly unlike him! Ep. 9.9.2quam nōn obstābat illī, quō minus vir optimus vidērētur, quod erat optimus fīlius!how little it stood in the way of his seeming the best of men that he was the best of sons! Ep. 9.9.3Sed quid dolōrem tuum exulcerō?But why do I inflame your grief? Ep. 9.9.3Quamquam sīc amāstī iuvenem ut hoc potius quam dē illō silērī velīs, ā mē praesertim cuius praedicātiōne putās vītam eius ōrnārī, memoriam prōrogārī, ipsamque illam quā est raptus aetātem posse restituī.And yet you loved the young man so much that you would rather have this than silence about him, especially from me, by whose praise you think his life can be adorned, his memory prolonged, and that very youth from which he was snatched away restored.
Ep. 9.9.3Valē.Farewell.