Letter 3004: The experts in rhetoric say there's no controversy when both sides are guilty of the same thing.
The experts in rhetoric say there's no controversy when both sides are guilty of the same thing. Need an example of the principle? Never mind the well-worn fictions of courtroom exercises and the empty simulations of legal cases — our own long mutual silence is a perfect illustration. You'll accuse me of neglecting my duty? The same charge applies to you. So since we're even, this is a friendly draw — neither of us can complain about the other. Once you've granted a pardon, you've won one yourself. But why am I settling on equal terms when I've actually come out ahead, having been the first to break the spell of mutual neglect? I'll let you decide what your own reply will look like. I've restored our friendship from its accidental stupor, and I don't ask for credit. It's praise enough for me to have cleared away the stain of silence. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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