Letter 8020: If I could follow you in body, I would spare myself the trouble of words.
Ennodius to Agnellus.
If I could follow you in body, I would spare myself the trouble of words. But since I cannot, this letter must serve as my substitute — a poor one, I admit, but the best I can manage at this distance.
Travel safely. Know that my thoughts go with you, even when my feet cannot. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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