Letter 2053: My return and arrival in the city -- which is always welcome to everyone -- did not match our expectations in terms...

My return and arrival in the city -- which is always welcome to everyone -- did not match our expectations in terms of speed. If you want the reasons, here they are. First, to put public matters before private ones: the grain supply of our city is not being increased by any imports. Even hope itself -- which usually sustains spirits in adversity -- refuses to promise relief, since this barren year has not even returned the seeds entrusted to the soil. Second, to speak of domestic concerns among friends: military requisitioning is pressing upon our estate at Ostia. We invoke the empty name of the law. Let the gods see to the outcome of the case. Meanwhile, we are tormented not by fear of loss but by the injury to fairness. The Senate's deliberation, which had summoned me, has referred the choice of envoys to Africa to the eternal emperors. So the Senate's discussion is over -- let us not be called back.