Letter 3003: It's perfectly reasonable for you to demand frequent letters from me — but it's not reasonable to jump to dark...

It's perfectly reasonable for you to demand frequent letters from me — but it's not reasonable to jump to dark conclusions from my silence. Because I haven't written until now, you've decided I've forgotten you. But is my loyalty really so uncertain, or your own standing so slight, that such an opinion of me should have any footing? Our mutual friendship has suffered more injury from your suspicion than from my silence. It's a lesser fault to neglect a duty out of necessity than to rush to judgment. You probably think I'm about to trot out the standard excuses: "I've been away, I spent a long time at my country estate doing nothing, there were no letter-carriers available." These may usually be true, but they've been worn so thin by overuse that they've started to sound like lies. My troubles are of an unusual kind — hardly commonplace. A new family connection has descended on my affairs, contrary to the laws, the spirit of the times, the consent of the parents, and the agreements of our ancestors. But I'll restrain myself and dwell no further on these grievances — the letter-carrier, if he's an honest man, will explain everything. That way you'll get the full story, and I'll seem to have hinted at my pain rather than belabored it.

Decet, nt litteras meas frequenter efflagites, nec tamen eonvenit, ut de silentio grave qnidpiam Buspiceris. oblitum me tui, quod in hanc diem silueram, censuisti. & an ita vel mei animi fides fclara est vel tui meriti angusta momenta sunt, ut huic de me opinioni locus esse debuerit? quare amicitia communis plus accepit iniuriae ex tua suspicione quam ex silentio meo. minus est enim necessitate officium deserere quam voluntate praepropera iudicare. putas me sollemni genere defensionis levare 2 peccatum: ^diu afui, longa otia in secessu ruris exegi, tabellarii defuerunt'. haec 10 si vera plerumque sunt, tamen adsiduitate detrita in invidiam mendacii reciderunt. ^ meae occupationes ab usu remotae nihil mediocre protendunt, cuius rem familiarem nova incessit adfinitas contra rationem legum felicitatem temporum consensum paren- tum pacta maiorum. sed reprimam me neque his querellis ulterius inmorabor, quas tabellariuB, si veritati amicus est, explicabit. ita fiet, ut et tibi cognitio gestorum i^ plena proveniat, et ego excusationem meam potius indicasse videar quam dolorem. V ante a. 388.