Letter 3009: You expect longer letters from me.
You expect longer letters from me. I'm flattered by the compliment — wanting more is a form of praise for the writer. But I'd rather you were critical of the quantity. What is a speech supposed to do when there's nothing to fill it? I hate long robes on a small frame. The garment that fits properly is the one that doesn't trail in the dust or drag on the ground. Write me something I can respond to at length — though even as I say it, I realize I'm making a rash promise, given that I've just been preaching brevity. We'll see how your experiment turns out. Just remember: I promised you abundance, not refinement. Farewell.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
*<> Expectas a me litteras largiores. delector iudicio tuo; laus enim est ingenii, cum
desideratur ubertas. sed velim tibi verborum copiam displicere. nam quid agat, quo
se vertat, ubi inmoretur cassa rebus oratio ? odi in parvo corpore longa velamina. illa
vestis decenter indutui est, quae non trahit pulverem nec in humum demissa calcatur.
scribe ergo aliquid, quod rescribendo producam; quamquam religione decipior, qui
»s tibi uberes epistulas audeo polliceri. videro, quis sit futurus eventus sententiae tuae.
tu memento non electionem me tibi sed copiam spopondisse. vale.
XI.
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