Letter 7018: I'm glad you missed hearing from me, but I reject any charge of negligence.

Quintus Aurelius SymmachusUnknown|c. 374 AD|Quintus Aurelius Symmachus|AI-assisted
illness

I'm glad you missed hearing from me, but I reject any charge of negligence. My reply was all ready -- it was your own letter-carrier who ran off, alarmed, as I understand it, by worries about your health. So you see: the reasons for my delay were genuine and not conjured from thin air. I won't belabor the point -- truth's case is brief.

I congratulate you on your recovery. After so much fear, the news brought a flood of joy into my heart. The very charm of your letter was the first sign of your returning strength. You ask me to send you [Text breaks off in source.]

AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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

Vicem sermonis mei desiderasse te gaudeo, sed amolior invidiam neglegentiae.
parata enim responsa desernit tabellarius tuus excitus, ut fando conperi, valetudinis

5 tuae dubio. agnoscis nempe infucatas esse neque ex alto trahi cessationis meae cau-
sas. non ibo longius, quia brevis est adsertio veritatis. nunc sanitatem tibi gratulor,
qua post nimium metum cognita multum diluxit in pectore meo gaudii. indicium au- 2
tcm respirantis vigoris litterarum tuarum iucunditas praetulit. petis namque, ut tibi

Related Letters