Letter 342: All who are attached to the rose, as might be expected in the case of lovers of the beautiful, are not displeased even at the thorns from out of which the flower blows. I have even heard it said about roses by some one, perhaps in jest, or, it may be, even in earnest, that nature has furnished the bloom with those delicate thorns, like stings of...
Everyone attached to the rose -- as you would expect from lovers of beauty -- does not mind the thorns from which the flower grows. I have even heard someone say about roses (perhaps in jest, or perhaps in earnest) that nature provided those delicate thorns, like stings of love, to excite those who pluck them to more intense desire through these cunningly placed pricks.
Why do I bring the rose into my letter? You do not need to be told, when you remember your own. Your letter had the bloom of the rose and opened all of springtime to me through its fair words. But it was armed with certain pointed criticisms and charges against me. Even the thorn of your words is sweet to me, though, for it only kindles a greater longing for your friendship.
Human translation - New Advent (NPNF / ANF series)
Latin / Greek Original
[Πρός: Βασίλειος Λιβανίῳ]
Οἱ πρὸς τὸ ῥόδον ἔχοντες, ὡς τοὺς φιλοκάλους εἰκός, οὐδὲ πρὸς αὐτὰς τὰς ἀκάνθας, ὧν τὸ ἄνθος ἐκφύεται, δυσχεραίνουσι. καί τινος ἤκουσα τοιοῦτόν τι περὶ αὐτῶν, παίζοντος τάχα ἢ καὶ σπουδάζοντος, ὅτι, καθάπερ ἐρωτικά τινα κνίσματα τοῖς ἐρασταῖς, τὰς λεπτὰς ἐκείνας ἀκάνθας ἡ φύσις τῷ ἄνθει προσέφυσε, πρὸς μείζονα πόθον τοῖς εὐπλήκτοις κέντροις τοὺς δρεπομένους ὑπερεθίζουσα.
Τί βούλεταί μοι τὸ ῥόδον τοῖς γράμμασιν ἐπεισαγόμενον; πάντως οὐδὲν δεῖ σε διδαχθῆναι τῆς ἐπιστολῆς μεμνημένον τῆς σῆς, ἣ τὸ μὲν ἄνθος εἶχε τοῦ ῥόδου, ὅλον ἡμῖν τὸ ἔαρ τῇ εὐγλωττίᾳ διαπετάσασα, μέμψεσι δέ τισι καὶ ἐγκλήμασι καθʼ ἡμῶν ἐξηκάνθωτο. ἀλλʼ ἐμοὶ τῶν σῶν λόγων καθʼ ἡδονήν ἐστι καὶ ἡ ἄκανθα, πρὸς μείζονα πόθον τῆς φιλίας ἐκκαίουσα.
Revision history
- 2026-03-20v2.1.0-import
Initial corpus import from New Advent / NPNF.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit/blob/master/data/tlg2040/tlg004/tlg2040.tlg004.perseus-grc2.xml
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