Decimus Magnus Ausonius→Theon of Medoc|c. 390 AD|Decimus Magnus Ausonius|From Bordeaux|To Medoc|AI-assisted
AUSONIUS TO THEON
I, Ausonius the consul, return the greeting of Theon the poet.
You send golden apples, Theon, but leaden verses; who would suppose that these two kinds came from a single lump of ore? Both bear one name, yet there is a distinction between the two: just as you call the fruit "apples" [Latin mala, also meaning "bad things"], so turn your songs into bad ones [a pun: the same word mala is both the noun "apples" and the adjective "bad"].
Farewell, Theon, you whose name comes from the blessed gods [a play on the Greek theon, genitive plural "of the gods"]—though that very participle [theon, the Greek present participle of "to run"] often signifies one who is running.
I, AUSONIUS the Consul, return greeting to Theon the Bard.
Apples of gold thou sendest, Theon, but verse of lead: who would think these species were of the same substance? Both have one name, but both have differences: to call your apples quinces, alter your quinsied verse.3
Farewell, Theon, whose name is from the blessed gods, but often as a participle it means one running.4
AUSONIUS THEONI
AUSONIUS consul vatem resaluto Theonem.
Aurea mala, Theon, set plumbea carmina mittis;
unius massae quis putet has species?
unum nomen utrisque, set est discrimen utrisque:
poma ut mala voces, carmina verte mala.
Vale beatis nomen a divis Theon,
metoche set ista saepe currentem indicat.
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AUSONIUS TO THEON
I, Ausonius the consul, return the greeting of Theon the poet.
You send golden apples, Theon, but leaden verses; who would suppose that these two kinds came from a single lump of ore? Both bear one name, yet there is a distinction between the two: just as you call the fruit "apples" [Latin mala, also meaning "bad things"], so turn your songs into bad ones [a pun: the same word mala is both the noun "apples" and the adjective "bad"].
Farewell, Theon, you whose name comes from the blessed gods [a play on the Greek theon, genitive plural "of the gods"]—though that very participle [theon, the Greek present participle of "to run"] often signifies one who is running.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
AUSONIUS THEONI AUSONIUS consul vatem resaluto Theonem. Aurea mala, Theon, set plumbea carmina mittis; unius massae quis putet has species? unum nomen utrisque, set est discrimen utrisque: poma ut mala voces, carmina verte mala. Vale beatis nomen a divis Theon, metoche set ista saepe currentem indicat.