Letter 3020: You've chosen the easier topic.
You've chosen the easier topic. Complaint comes more naturally to human speech than gratitude. That's why, I think, you've scolded me for silence, even though I've been steadily keeping up my duty of greeting and reply. Not that I mind — in fact, I welcome it. A man who accuses another of neglecting his correspondence is really promising to do better himself.
Your reproach amounts to a pledge. I won't compose clever phrases or hunt for witty sentences. If you sin by going silent, your own letters will be your accuser. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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