To Barbatio.
People find it puzzling that you never shy away from doing things on my behalf, yet will not add a letter -- the easiest thing in the world -- to all those deeds.
As for me: those I can fool, I tell that I do receive letters from you. Those who would catch me out if I pretended, I tell the truth: it is your nature to act, and mine to write. Neither, it seems, has much effect on the other.
I never bore this deprivation well before, but since I learned that Clematius had arrived and I still could not get a letter -- I cannot easily describe how annoyed I was. That man told me the moment he saw you that he would get one for me, and he lied. If he forgot, there is hope. If he simply chose not to, well, I will not say anything harsh.
Letoius shares my feelings about you: he wants you to prosper, and anyone who praises you is his friend. The city prays for him just as he prays for you -- a man who has never once caused it grief and has often brought it joy from his own family resources.
So, honoring the community in this man, send him home happy.
People find it puzzling that you never shy away from doing things on my behalf, yet will not add a letter -- the easiest thing in the world -- to all those deeds.
As for me: those I can fool, I tell that I do receive letters from you. Those who would catch me out if I pretended, I tell the truth: it is your nature to act, and mine to write. Neither, it seems, has much effect on the other.
I never bore this deprivation well before, but since I learned that Clematius had arrived and I still could not get a letter -- I cannot easily describe how annoyed I was. That man told me the moment he saw you that he would get one for me, and he lied. If he forgot, there is hope. If he simply chose not to, well, I will not say anything harsh.
Letoius shares my feelings about you: he wants you to prosper, and anyone who praises you is his friend. The city prays for him just as he prays for you -- a man who has never once caused it grief and has often brought it joy from his own family resources.
So, honoring the community in this man, send him home happy.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.