Letter 2020: I come to the aid of my conscience, which will not allow me to remain indebted to the services of friends.
I come to the aid of my conscience, which will not allow me to remain indebted to the services of friends. My brothers Romanus and Magnillus, distinguished men, bound me to them long ago by the merits of their devotion. Though they do not demand the rewards that lesser fortune usually expects, they press their claims on my conscience through the sheer decency of their character. I would be lying if I said their goodness had not made me eager to serve them. Receive them with the warmth they deserve. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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