Letter 1039: ...if you press too hard on something delicate, it bruises like a lily.
...if you press too hard on something delicate, it bruises like a lily. I remember reading that "even a stern judge might take offense at devotion expressed by mere looks" — what would he make of your unbroken silence and your complete neglect of the duty of correspondence?
I trust you'll weigh these words seriously. I couldn't in good conscience hide what was troubling me. For just as my heart hangs on you entirely, so I long with all my being for the active warmth of our friendship. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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I'm well. That should always be the opening line of a letter, since it's what the reader most wants to hear.