plinys letter

cum sis pietatis exemplum, filiam fratris tui ut tuam diligis nec tantum amitae ei affectum repraesentas verum etiam patris amissi. maxime igitur gaudebis, cum cognoveris eam dignam patre, dignam te, dignam avo evadere. summum est acumen, summa frugalitas; amat me, quod castitatis indicium est. praeterea studium litterarum ex mei caritate concepit. meos libellos habet, lectitat, ediscit etiam. quanta sollicitudine afficitur cum ego acturus sum, quanto gaudio cum egi! disponit qui nuntient sibi quem assensum quos clamores excitaverim, quem eventum iudicii tulerim. eadem si quando recito in proximo discreta velo sedet laudesque meas avidissimis auribus excipit. versus quidem meos cantat formatuque cithara non artifice aliquo docente sed amore qui magister est optimus. his ex causis in spem certissimam adducor perpetuam nobis maioremque in dies futuram esse concordiam. non enim aetatem meam aut corpus, quae paulatim occidunt ac senescunt, sed gloriam diligit. nec aliud decet puellam tuis manibus educatam, quae amare me ex tua predicatione consueverit. ergo tibi gratias agimus, ego quod illam mihi, lla quod me sibi dederis. vale.

since you are a model of family love you care for your brother’s daughter as [though she were] your own and show her not only the affection of an aunt but also that of her late father. you will therefore be delighted when you learn that she is turning out to be worthy of her father, worthy of you, and worthy of her grandfather. She shows great intelligence [and] great care with money. she loves me, which is a [sure] sign of faithfulness. in  addition, from her love for me she has developed an interest in literature. she keep my writings, she reads them again and again, [and]even learns them by heart! what great anxiety she feels whenever i am about to speak in court, and what great delight when i have finished! she sends [people] out to tell her what support and what applause i have produced, and what result i have achieved in the trial. she even whenever i’m giving a recital, sits nearby, hidden by a curtain, and listens with the most eager ears to the praise i receive. she even signs my poetry and sets it to music on the lyre- without any expert teaching her but lover, which is the best teacher. for these reasons i am led to a very firm hope that our harmony will last forever and will become stronger day by day. for it is not my age or my physique that she loves ([things] which gradually grow old and decay), but my reputation. nothing could more befitting a girl brought up in your care, who has grown to love me from your recommendation. therefore we are [both] grateful to you- i because [you gave] her to me, she because you gave me to her.

goodbye.