"At nostra longe condicio dispar": the aspect of suggestion in the letter of Sidonius Apollinaris

The article is focused on the letter of Gallo-Roman aristocrat Sidonius Apollinaris (с. 430 - с. 486) to his friend Leo of Narbonne, the counselor of the Visigothic king Euric. The article is an attempt of the hermeneutic interpretation of Sidonius’ text. The sense of the article is the revealing of Sidonius’ intentions in the letter and the marking of social functions of the text. The following tasks were done for this purpose: translation of the letter; placing the letter in historical context of its creation; consideration about the reason for its writing; analysis of the letter structure; analysis of tropes and images in the letter; semantic interpretation of the source layers for the revealing of the purposes of its author. Sidonius’ text interpreted through the prism of the hypothetical assumption of its suggestive nature. The term «suggestion» in the title of the article means the latent motivation for certain actions of the recipient of the letter, not spelled out explicitly in the text, however, implied by its structure, composition, and semantic content. This hypothesis derives from the thesis of the dedication and sophistication of antique letters, which is a common point for modern understanding of the Roman epistolography. For Sidonius, Leo of Narbonne was a resource of political capital first of all, based on which Sidonius could expect the growth of his own status. Apparently differences in political preferences and participation in warring factions were not a hindrance. This indicates that Sidonius considered corporate or cultural Romanesque groupness more important than political leanings. The purpose of the letter was the actualization of this groupness in the mind of Leo of Narbonne, pushing him into action to rehabilitate Sidonius and to bring him to Euric royal court. Since this goal is not directly articulated but implemented through the construction of a series of images caused sympathy, pity, personal guilt and a desire to make amends, this letter can be viewed as an attempt of suggestion. The attempt failed, judging from the known Sidonius biography. His social and political authority not increased, he was not admitted to the court and did not get any other exceptional support from Leo.