Letter 5026: In a letter sweeter than any reproach, you scold me for my neglected duty, and I thank you for it.
In a letter sweeter than any reproach, you scold me for my neglected duty, and I thank you for it. I'd been thinking that spontaneous conversation carries more weight than obligatory replies. But your latest letter has left me so charmed that I honestly can't tell whether you were paying a debt or giving a gift.
Now consider how delightful your letters will be when you send them unasked, if even these — written out of obligation — please me so much.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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