Letter 6017: Friendship is measured by hearts, not by years.
Friendship is measured by hearts, not by years. So don't treat these young men as strangers just because you haven't met them face to face -- their devotion to you is long-standing. I say this so you'll know that my sons Auxentius and Marianus, the most modest of young men, count themselves among your foremost admirers. They don't need a fresh introduction -- just a renewal of the bond of love already established.
What brings them your way is a course of treatment ordered by their doctors. They want to go to Stabiae [a coastal town near modern Castellammare di Stabia] to shake off the lingering effects of a long illness with mare's milk. But they consider the greater medicine to lie in your company. So I'm assigning their recovery to you.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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