Synesius, Letter 024

Synesius of Cyrene (c.370-c.413) was a Neo-Platonic philosopher who became bishop of Ptolemais in the Cyrenaica. He left behind a small corpus of texts that offer much information about daily life in Late Antiquity, and about the christianization of the Roman world.

The addressee of letters 130, 24 (written in 408), and 28 was an officer who served in Cyrenaica, went to Constantinople and became one of the most important commanders in the Empire. He appears to have had an interest in Synesius' literary works.

This letter is offered in a translation by A. Fitzgerald.

Letter 24: A Complaint

[1] To Simplicius

Assuredly it is fitting that one's sentiments should not be exalted by turns of fortunes, nor should the memory of one's past friends be deemed of less consequence then one's present dignities.

[2] You have been forgetful of us for a long time; this is not at all right, when one considers the strong affection which so intimately united us aforetime.