Introduction

Summary

While in Ep. 2.2 Sidonius describes his own villa, in Ep. 2.9 he describes two adjoining villas: Prusianum, owned by Tonantius Ferreolus, and Vorocingus, owned by Apollinaris. Whereas in Ep. 2.2 Sidonius concentrated on the architecture of his villa and the surrounding landscape, here he focuses on the different activities in the countryside and the question of how to spend one's otium with friends. Like Pliny, Sidonius thus integrates various villa letters in his collection to highlight the different aspects of otium in the countryside. Sidonius frames his second villa letter in response to Donidius’ question as to why it took him so long to travel to Nemausus, present-day Nîmes. The reason is that he had a pleasant stay at the estates of his uncles Tonantius Ferreolus and Apollinaris, who outbid each other to entertain him and to make him feel at home. Not only did they have messengers ambush him on the road to lead him to their homes, but they also arranged a contest every morning to see who could feed him. Sidonius describes a series of activities that fill his day: ball games, dice games, reading books, scholarly conversations and an excursion to the well stocked library at one of the villas. These activities are interrupted only by the cook, who calls for lunch, during which entertaining and educational stories are told. Lunch is followed by a siesta and then a bath together. As Tonantius Ferreolus and Apollinaris, unlike Sidonius, do not have functioning baths, Sidonius devotes two sections to the makeshift facilities in which he bathes with his hosts. At the end of the letter, as in his first long letter, 2.2, about his own villa, he apologises for the length of the letter and announces to Donidius that he will tell him about the dinners he enjoyed with Tonantius Ferreolus and Apollinaris at the meal he and Donidius will have together as soon as they finally meet.

Addressee

As Giannotti (2016) 37 shows, there are many parallels between Books 2 and 3, including the addressees of the letters; see the introductions to Ep. 2.1 and 2.3. The addressee of Ep. 2.9, Donidius, is also subject in Ep. 3.5.1 and mentioned as a vir spectabilis there (and as venerabilis in Ep. 6.5.1); on the honorary titles, see the commentary on Ep. 2.4.1 Vir clarissimus Proiectus….