Letter 6080: I got ahead of your inquiry -- knowing you'd be worried when you heard I'd fallen ill -- and although I'd already...
I got ahead of your inquiry -- knowing you'd be worried when you heard I'd fallen ill -- and although I'd already written to say my condition was improving, I'm writing again now to dispel your anxiety (which, among people who truly care, is always slow to believe good news). If Fortune's spite doesn't jinx my words: I'm on the mend.
But the pleasures of the coast haven't sunk in yet. Just as a man who steps ashore after a long rough voyage takes time to find his steady legs again, I need time before the departure of such a severe illness leaves room for enjoyment. So for now I'm taking no pleasure in the Formian shore or in my building project. But all of this, I hope, will return along with my health, and my pen will soon share the good news with your spirits. Farewell.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
Anteveni inquisitionem , cum vos sollicitos fore, quod essem morbo adtemptatus,
15 adverterem, et quamvis ultro scripserim, doloris mei adversa tenuari, abolendae ta-
men sollicitudinis vestrae causa, quae apud amantes semper incredula est, nunc quo-
que nuntio, si dictum nullus Fortunae livor effascinet, in concordiam me cum sanitate
redire. sed nondum sensum meum penetrat amoenitas litoralis. nam ut ex longa
maris iactatione stabilis gressus sero reparatur, sic tempore opus est, ut tanti mali
20 decessio locum faciat voluptati. ergo neque Formianae orae neque aedificationis meae
tantisper ullam capio dulcedinem. sed haec, ut spero, omnia cum bono valetudinis
revertentur moxque ad laetitiam vestri animi stilo meo communicata pervenient.
Lxxvm (Lxxvim).
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