Letter 770
To Asclepius. (362)
I was distressed that I did not see you when you departed. But you saw this clearly, and saw how it might be remedied. The moment your letter arrived, I was filled with joy and felt that something precious had been restored to me.
So go on making people better — those you see, through your company; those who are absent, through your letters. For this is your particular labor, just as epic verse was the labor of those poets.
Long ago, when I was ill, I rose again with your help, and the sweetest thing about my recovery was that I owed it to your care. Now, being praised by your voice, I value this more than if all humankind judged me the best of all.
So, that I may become a good man and you may bestow your praises on one who deserves them, let your letters come often, and let them carry counsel.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.