Letter 2049: On the third day before the Nones of October [October 5], I replied to your letter at first light.
On the third day before the Nones of October [October 5], I replied to your letter at first light. Given the distance that now separates us, you should have received it before midday. But as the letter delivered to me in the evening revealed, the slowness of the letter-carrier has delayed both my duty and your concern. Still, I cannot be angry at this delay, since without it you would have had no reason to write again. My letter has, I trust, already been delivered -- unless perhaps some rich man from the city, blocking the roads as usual, has stolen our correspondence. May the gods punish them with their own minds!
Now, to answer your question: the mucus that had settled in our little one's chest, causing a troublesome cough, has largely subsided. The passages of his throat are clear and no longer make any wheezing sound. May God's goodness set the progress of his recovery on a firm footing. Just as we have taken a breath of relief from present fears, so we fortify the future with our prayers.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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