Letter 2022: I have long been hoping to restore the health of my poor body, if only I could enjoy the healthful air of the...

I would long since have repaired the health of my poor little body, if only I had been able to enjoy the wholesomeness of the countryside. But now the suburban district is unsafe because of brigandage, and therefore it is better to waste away in the leisure of the city than to fall into the dangers of the country. Nevertheless, I perceive my health profiting from your letters, in which you frequently enumerate the benefits of our lord Theodosius and affirm that your merits are pressed forward with great rewards. And for rendering thanks to him, indeed, your tongue will suffice; I, for my part, according to the modesty of my talent, have paid the tribute of praise to that most excellent man, the partner of our prayers on behalf of Flavianus. But now it is time that you allow that very man to return, the man to whom we are bound. How long will you keep the magistracy of a distant province for your own consolation? There is no excuse on the score of your wife's womb, since the timely birth has discharged the awaiting of it.