Letter 5014: Don't blame the boy for the slow return.
Don't blame the boy for the slow return. My distress over Symmachus [apparently a sick family member, possibly his son] left me no time to write back, and I held off sending the messenger until there was reason for hope.
Now that his danger has turned into a proper illness [i.e., identified and treatable], I can at least mention it to you. May divine mercy, which bends its ears to the prayers of parents, grant that I can soon send you more comforting news. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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