Letter 3058: I don't mind writing to Your Excellency often, even though I've received nothing in return.

Quintus Aurelius Symmachusyour Excellency our son Ruffinus, Provost of Cirta|c. 391 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
barbarian invasionfriendshipmonasticism

I don't mind writing to Your Excellency often, even though I've received nothing in return. I answer for you myself: amid the cares of military life, there's no room for leisurely correspondence. I just hope my steady stream of greetings doesn't start to feel like an intrusion.

I'd almost consider it a favor returned if I simply knew that what I write doesn't bore you.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.

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