Letter 497
To Olympios. (356/57)
It seems I am using unreliable couriers for my letters, if after sending many on top of many I am accused of never having written at all.
You are right to be hurt at not receiving them. But to let the couriers off and accuse me instead — to prosecute me before your uncle — that is bitter revenge indeed. For you know that he commands my respect, and he would not wish me to be unjustly accused.
And perhaps you think it a small thing to have set the Gorgon upon me. See to it, then, that he knows I did write to you, and don't be diligent in reporting the worst while lazy about the better news.
Know this too: frequent letters can be prevented by many things — illness, business, and travelers who claim they want to carry letters more than they actually want to. But remembering you and admiring you among ourselves — this we have never once failed to do.
And this is what I believe about friends: even when they do not write, they have not ceased to love.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.