Synesius of Cyrene→Heliodorus|c. 403 AD|synesius cyrene
To Heliodorus.
The power of love's spell only grows stronger in me as I age. The same is true for you — but if your countless responsibilities are such an obstacle that you can never spare a moment to honor with a letter those who deserve one, if you cannot snatch even a brief interval from affairs of state to write — at the very least, greet me through someone else's pen. Any word from you is better than silence.
Letter 25: A Reproach
To Heliodorus
[1] The power of love's spell grows stronger in me with my advancing years. Now it is the same with you, but if your innumerable occupations are such an obstacle in its way that you leave no time duly to honor now and again with a letter those to whom a letter is due; if you cannot snatch a moment from your affairs of state to write such a letter, at all events let me know that such is the case. [2] If, on the other hand, you admit that a suspicion of your forgetfulness is justifiable, right the matter at once by your repentance, and restore yourself to us once more.
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To Heliodorus.
The power of love's spell only grows stronger in me as I age. The same is true for you — but if your countless responsibilities are such an obstacle that you can never spare a moment to honor with a letter those who deserve one, if you cannot snatch even a brief interval from affairs of state to write — at the very least, greet me through someone else's pen. Any word from you is better than silence.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.