Letter 13: I had heard of the island of Lesbos and of its cities — Mytilene, Methymna, and the rest — but I knew nothing of the...

To Cyrus. I had heard of the island of Lesbos and of its cities — Mytilene, Methymna, and the rest — but I knew nothing of the wine it produces. Thanks to your thoughtfulness, I have now made its acquaintance, and I admire both its color and its delicate flavor. Perhaps time will improve it further, unless time turns it sour — for wine, like the human body, and like plants and buildings and all things made by hand, is in the end undone by time. If it really prolongs the life of those who drink it, as you say, I am not sure it will be of much use to me; I have no desire to live a long life, when the storms of life are as many and as hard as they are. I was very glad to hear that the monk is recovering well. My worry for him had become quite painful, and I had been blaming the doctors unfairly — his condition called for exactly the treatment they prescribed. I have sent you a small jar of honey, made by the bees of Cilicia from storax blossoms.

Letter 13