Letter 201: I long to meet you for many reasons, that I may have the benefit of your advice in the matters I had in hand, and that on beholding you after a long interval I may have some comfort for your absence. But since both of us are prevented by the same reasons, you by the illness which has befallen you, and I by the malady of longer standing which has...
I've been wanting to see you for a number of reasons — both to get your counsel on some matters I've been dealing with, and simply because it's been too long, and seeing you would ease the ache of your absence. But it seems we're both stuck in place for the same basic reason: you're down with your illness, and I'm still not free of my own longstanding health problems [Basil suffered chronic liver and digestive illness throughout his life]. So let's agree to forgive each other the delay, and spare ourselves any guilt over it.
Human translation — New Advent (NPNF / ANF series)
Latin / Greek Original
[Πρός: Αμφιλοχίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ Ἰκονιόυ.]
Πολλῶν ἕνεκεν ἐπιθυμῶ συντυχεῖν σοι, ἵνα καὶ συμβούλῳ χρήσωμαι περὶ τῶν ἐν χερσὶ πραγμάτων, καὶ ὅλως ἵνα διὰ μακροῦ θεασάμενός σε ἔχω παραμυθίαν τινὰ τῆς ἀπολείψεως. ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὰ αὐτὰ ἀμφοτέρους ἐπέσχεν, ἥ τε ὑμῖν συμβᾶσα ἀσθένεια, καὶ ἡ παλαιοτέρα ἡμῶν ἀρρωστία, μήπω ἀπολείψασα, ἀμφοτέροις δῶμεν συγγνώμην, εἰ βούλει, ἀμφότεροι, ὥστε δι’ ἑαυτῶν ἀλλήλους ἀφεῖναι τοῦ ἐγκλήματος.
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