165:1
Gre.orius n Aristobolo, expræfecto ct b antigrapho. Ad explendum affectum meum, fatcor, lingna non surnciL; sed quidquid de vobis sentio, vcs:cr vubis melius affectus dicit. Quibusdam vero vos adversitatibus laborare audiyj. Sed non hac de re valde contristor, quia p!erumqne navis, quæ pervenire ad alta pelagi per prosperitatem poterat, in ipso navigationis mitio vento adversante repellitur, sed ad portum re. pulsa revocatur. Præterea si c prolixam epistolam meam ad interpretandum accipere fortasse contigerit, rogo, non verbum ex verbo, sed sensum ex sensu transferte, quia plerumque dum proprietas verborum auenditor, sensuum virtus amittitur.
Gregory to Aristobulus, former prefect and antigrapher. To fulfil my affection, I confess, the tongue does not suffice; but whatever I feel concerning you, your own affection tells you better. But I have heard that you labour under certain adversities. Yet I am not greatly saddened concerning this matter, because very often a ship which could have reached the deep of the sea through prosperity, is at the very beginning of its voyage driven back by an adverse wind, but, driven back, is recalled to the port. Moreover, if perchance it should happen that you receive my lengthy letter for interpreting, I beg, translate not word for word, but sense for sense, because very often, while the propriety of words is attended to, the force of the meanings is lost.
貴鑑，前執政官暨繕本官阿里斯托布魯斯：我承認，言語不足以盡我的情意；但我對你所懷的一切，你自己的情意會更好地告訴你。我聽說你正因某些逆境勞苦。然而我不為此事甚是憂傷，因為常有這樣的情形：一艘船本可藉順境駛入大海的深處，卻在航行之初被逆風吹回，然而被吹回卻是被召回港口。此外，若或有機會你收到我冗長的書信要翻譯，我求你，不要逐字翻譯，而要按意翻譯，因為常有這樣的情形：當只顧字句的準確時，意思的力量反倒喪失。