Letter 2050: I haven't felt like writing until now — not with the complaints of my various ailments making such a racket, and I...

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusUnknown|c. 388 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
illnessimperial politics

I haven't felt like writing until now — not with the complaints of my various ailments making such a racket, and I preferred not to advertise them. That's why your letters beat mine to the punch.

Now that, by divine help, I'm enjoying the blessing of restored health, the urge to correspond has returned. So here's a letter — late, I admit, but in keeping with your wishes and my intentions. And since it was so long delayed, let the proof of my recovery make up for the waiting. Farewell.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.

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