Letter 24

...long days on the road, rough lodgings, the creeping cold, the shrinking daylight, and all the other hazards of the season — I avoided them all. If you judge me by my heart rather than my feet, I ask you to accept these excuses graciously. Perhaps we'll manage to win back your old goodwill. For now, it would be enough just to escape your displeasure.

longas et mansiones asperas, tnm accessiones frigomm et decessiones diemm qnae- qne aUa snnt noxae opportnna, vitavi. si snm tibi spectatus ab animo, qnaeso nt aeqnns sis mihi atque has adlegationes boni consnlas. fors fuat, an optineamus apnd 10 te veterem gratiam ; nnnc qnod satis est, elnctemnr offensam. XXI (XVI) a. 379.