Letter 19: Aeneas wants Gessius to treat his painful illness.

Procopius is mine; let the son of Elpidius be yours. I wish he were still alive, because through him medicine flourished among us. But it is hard to labor over learning and keep the body in good condition. I described what I have suffered, and you became spectators of the illness. What am I to do? The kidney pains are heavy and sharp, and you, it seems, are slow to grant a favor. How long have I been writing? For a sick person, even one day is the circuit of many years. Is illness not hardest of all for someone who tries to live philosophically? Is the art not with you? Is the preparation of the remedy not ready? What stands in the way, unless you have forgotten goodwill? It is better to be judged ignorant than malicious. A judge is angry not with someone who acts from ignorance, but with someone who willingly does harm. This feels like betrayal by dearest friends: the disease is still with me, the remedy still with you, and even while I speak I am struck by the pain.