Letter 6001: On matters that are plain and obvious, it's better to consult the facts than listen to gossip.
On matters that are plain and obvious, it's better to consult the facts than listen to gossip. So let us acknowledge the credit due to divine providence for our city's modest food supply — not from the mouth of the crowd, but from the reasoning of sound judgment. Those who are slow to appreciate blessings inevitably feel a belated gratitude when hardship follows plenty. Our common people, previously stirred into hostility toward so great a citizen by the efforts of a few troublemakers, now openly show their change of heart. As for your colleagues, their notorious and stubborn jealousy won't let them admit what the truth compels them to think. So they blush in silence, and like men convicted in court, they cannot bring themselves to say about you what they are forced to feel.
But there's no need to go on at length. It is enough that public opinion has come back around in favor of your reputation. May you live long — finding comfort in your father's celebrated memory, and may he find renewal in your well-being. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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