Letter 1038: I'm doing exhausting work: I keep writing to someone who keeps not answering.

I am carrying on a task full of labor, in that I persist so often in addressing one who stays silent. On the contrary, unless I keep on prodding you and chiseling some bit of correspondence out of you, forgetfulness will creep in. Whether, then, you judge this diligent service of mine welcome or burdensome, my resolve stands firm: to keep your honored name renowned through our exchanges; so completely is there no falling-away of my old love for you. And rightly so, for nowhere have I invested the effort of friendship equally well. For this reason I complain of your silence. For a more tender affection makes the complaint more readily inclined to come forth. The mind of one who loves is soft [...]