Introduction

Summary

Sidonius expresses his approval of Menstruanus, who was recommended to him as a friend by Pegasius, the recipient of this letter. In addition to Sidonius, there are many other people among the Avernians who are pleased with Menstruanus’ behaviour.

Addressee

Pegasius, probably a Gallic noble, is otherwise unknown; PLRE 2, 856, PCBE 4, 1459, Kaufmann (1995) 331, Mathisen (2020a) 113.

Date

There is no evidence for the date of this letter; see the Introduction, ‘2. The date and order of letters in Book 2’.

Major themes and further reading

Like Ep. 2.3 and 2.11, this letter belongs to the category of letters of friendship; see the introduction to Ep. 2.3. Fernández López (1994) 191–204 treats Ep. 2.6 and 2.12 together under ‘cartas descriptivas de lugares y personas: descripción breve’ (‘descriptive letters of places and persons: brief description’). In his overall positive behaviour, Menstruanus is an antithesis to Seronatus; see the introduction to Ep. 2.1.

Commentary

Section 1

Sidonius Pegasio suo salutem: For the simple greeting formula, see the commentary on Ep. 2.1.1 Sidonius Ecdicio suo salutem. For the addressee, Pegasius, see the introduction to this letter.

Proverbialiter celebre est saepe moram esse meliorem, sicuti et nunc experti sumus: The initial proverb (‘good things take time’) does not fit properly. It suggests that it took Menstruanus a long time to become the excellent friend he is now. But presumably Sidonius wants to emphasise that he has been observing Menstruanus for a long time; see the commentary immediately below on Ep. 2.6.1 Menstruanus amicus tuus longo istic tempore…. The adverb proverbialiter, ‘proverbially’, also appears in Ep. 7.9.19; van Waarden (2010) 505–6. For adverbs ending in -(i)ter in general, see the commentary on Ep. 2.1.1 Duo nunc pariter mala sustinent. The proverb saepe mora melior is preserved in Lactantius Placidus’ commentary on Statius’ epic Thebaid 3.719 as an epigram of Lucan (Epigrammata frg. 10); Courtney (2003) 355. Its meaning is also attested in different forms in Stat. Theb. 10.704 da spatium tenuemque moram (‘delay a little while’), Ov. Fast. 3.394 habent parvae commoda magna morae (‘short delays have great advantages’), Sen. Ag. 130 quod ratio non quit saepe sanavit mora (‘what reason cannot cure often has been cured by time’); Montone (2017) 41 n. 41. For the use of proverbs in letters in general, see Cugusi (1983) 96–8.