After our appointment as ambassador to Assyria[8] had been confirmed
by the assent of the embassy[9] and approved by the emperor, you
asked to be furnished with summaries of those works which had been
read and discussed during your absence. Your idea was to have
something to console you for our painful separation, and at the same
time to acquire some knowledge, even if vague and imperfect, of the
works which you had not yet read in our company. We believe that
their number is exactly 279. Accordingly, regarding the fulfilment of
your request as a sacred obligation, we engaged a secretary, and set
down all the summaries we could recollect. No doubt we have not been
expeditious enough to satisfy your feverish eagerness and vehement
desire, but still we have been quicker than might have been expected.
The summaries will be arranged in the order in which our memory
recalls them. Certainly, it would not be difficult, if one preferred
it, to describe historical events and those dealing with different
subjects under separate headings. But, considering that nothing would
be gained by this, we have set them down indiscriminately as they
occurred to us.[10] If, during your study of these volumes, any of
the summaries should appear to be defective or inaccurate, you must
not be surprised. It is no easy matter to undertake to read each
individual work, to grasp the argument, to remember and record it;
but when the number of works is large, and a considerable time has
elapsed since their perusal, it is extremely difficult to remember
them with accuracy. As to the commonplaces met with in the course of
our reading, so simple that they can hardly have escaped your notice,
we have devoted less attention to them, and have purposely refrained
from examining them carefully. You will be better able than ourselves
to decide whether these summaries will do more than fulfil your
original expectations as to their usefulness. Certainly, such records
will assist you to refresh the memory of what you have read by
yourself, to find more readily what you want, and further, to acquire
more easily the knowledge of what has not as yet been the subject of
intelligent reading on your part.