Letter 3047: It is true that rumor is swift, but I will not agree with the Mantuan poet [Virgil] beyond that point.

It is true that rumor is swift, but I will not agree with the Mantuan poet [Virgil] beyond that point. He described Fame as a monster that grows by traveling -- I find that rumor often diminishes with distance, losing accuracy as it gains speed. Still, in your case the reports that have reached me are uniformly good, and I trust they are accurate. When good news is consistent across many sources, even a skeptic must believe it.

Vera res est, famam esse velocem: sed non ultra adsentior Mantuano, qui eam putat in malis debere numerari. nam quid hac praeclarius, cum laetis nuntiis rigat 10 aures et mentem bonorum? mihi certe oppido grata est, postquam purgationis tuae prima vexit indicium. ruri eram maestus animi ob amissam parentem; eo me secuta fama curis, quas de te gerebamus, absolvit. nec fides defuit. ilico enim credidi verum esse, quod noveram et tuae innocentiae et aequitati temporum convenire. ac- cesserunt etiam litterae tuae tam lepidae ac venustae, ut in re iam cognita novum 15 mihi putarem de te gaudium nuntiari. erat in illis fiducia conscientiae bonae sed cum laude iustitiae publicae. nam et principibus maximis gratias ut absolutus egisti, et de sola fortuna ut innocens questus es. verum quid ultra? quando Romam, quando