Letter 10019: Ad Galactorium comitem
More to Count Galactorius of Bordeaux
You have come at last to what you deserved, friend — a count by merit before the honor was given. You were Bordeaux's beloved, and also when its defender: you were considered worthy of ruling both these worthy things.
By the king's judgment you have grown in worth as a judge — and the royal tongue gave what fame had merited. Even the powerful one owes it [the king owes it to you] so that you might still be able to grow well: that he who remains as your peak should provide the weapons of a general — so that you, wisely, might both cultivate your homeland's borders and protect it, giving safety to those who come.
Now that the honor matches the man — now that Bordeaux has its count as well as its defender — may the administration of your province reflect the wisdom you have always shown. The people who trusted your character before they knew your rank will not be disappointed now that the rank has come. And the king who gave you the honor has made a good investment in a man who already deserved it.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
XIX
Ad Galactorium comitem
Venisti tandem ad quod debebaris, amice,
ante comes merito quam datus esset honor.
Burdegalensis eras et, cum defensor, amator:
dignus habebaris haec duo digna regens.
iudicio regis valuisti crescere iudex,
famaque quod meruit regia lingua dedit.
debet et ipse potens, ut adhuc bene crescere possis,
praestet ut arma ducis, qui tibi restat apex,
ut patriae fines sapiens tuearis et urbes,
adquiras ut ei qui dat opima tibi,
Cantaber ut timeat, Vasco vagus arma pavescat
atque Pyrenaeae deserat Alpis opem.
aut (quasi grande loquor) facit hoc sacer unicus auctor:
a domino erigitur parvus et altus homo.
de tirone ducis venit, et de milite princeps,
ut reliquos taceam, Iustinianus erat.
hoc et in ecclesia Christo tribuente refertur:
de exorcista aliquo pontificalis honor.
egregius merito Martinas testis habetur,
qui fuit ante sacer quam sacra iura daret.
hoc agit omnipotens, totum qui condidit orbem,
magnaque sola putes quae facit ipse potens.
laetior ergo, precor, maneas in culmine rector,
maiora sperans, vir ratione sagax,
rege sub hoc florens aeternaque regna requirens
iustitia ac pietas tecum comitata coruscet:
illa tuum pectus protegat, ista latus.
alta fides etiam, dilectio fida nitescat,
et Fortunato sis, comes, amplus amor.
Revision history
- 2026-03-20v2.1.0-import
Initial corpus import from Unspecified import source.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://data.mgh.de/openmgh/bsb00000790.zip
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