Letter 6037: So it turns out that the friendship we professed was false — or at least, your silence suggests as much.

Falsely then is it believed that love is returned to diligence, and that souls interrogate each other in silent conversations, that the faith of minds is asserted by the senses, so that what we bestow should be owed to us by reciprocal report? The secrets of the mountains restore a voice, and mute things converse in the service of humanity: but it has befallen your greatness, in contempt of me, to render silence in place of writing, and in attestation of an artful genius to suppress the stubbornness of nature's garrulity by abstaining from pages, the law of nature trampled underfoot. Far be it from my ways to follow what I grieve has been committed and to relieve faults by imitating them. Behold, again I address one who fosters the holiday of his tongue and I pursue him in longer writings, holding the memory of promised love. My lord, as above, offering most generous greeting, I ask that the importunity of this demand may now exact the debt of gratitude, while provision is made that you satiate the ardor of my desire with extended conversations.

XXXVII. ENNODIVS IOHANNI. Ergo falso creditur amorem reddi diligentiae et tacitis animas se interrogare colloquiis, fidem mentium sensus adserere, ut quod inpendimus uicaria nobis relatione debeatur? uocem montium secreta restituunt et in obsequio humanitatis muta fabulantur: sed magnitudinem tuam in contemptu mei contigit silentium pro scriptione redhibere et in astipulatione artificis genii temperando a paginis pertinaciam garrulitatis obprimere naturae lege calcata. facessat a moribus meis sequi quod admissum doleo et subleuare culpas imitando. ecce iterum 8 Iac. 5, 16 XXXVI. 2 presbitero B 3 religionis b 5 postolare B 9 qaod drb B (um s. I. m. rec.), quoddam b obtinere T 10 dudum mihi T 12 sanctum] secundum b dominum di B (dominum 8. I . m. rec.), dominum b 14 postolanda B 15 domine B b XXXVII. 19 amatorem B \'20 adsereret b 21 debetur T1 23 famulantur LTV 24 redibere BLTV, reddere b et B m. rec. 8. l . 26 nature B 27 imittando T, emittendo B, euitando b et B s. I. tn. rec . appello linguae ferias fouentem et in longioribus persequor, habens promissae caritatis memoriam. domine, ut supra salutationem largissimam offerens quaeso, ut debitum gratiae uel nunc exigat inportunitas, dum prouidetur, quatenus ardorem desiderii prolixis satietis alloquiis.