Letter 87
Every time I receive a letter from you, a kind of image of your actual presence appears before my eyes. That's why the pleasure is so rich — I feel the force of both your devotion and my own place in your esteem.
But to keep this generous attention flowing, I've taken the initiative of writing first. I've learned from experience that the affection of a loyal heart is best stirred by the incentive of reciprocity.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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