Letter 10: To the Philosopher [Hypatia, the famous mathematician, astronomer, and Neoplatonist philosopher in Alexandria, later...

To the Philosopher [Hypatia, the famous mathematician, astronomer, and Neoplatonist philosopher in Alexandria, later murdered by a Christian mob in 415]. I salute you, and I beg you to salute your fortunate circle of companions for me, august Mistress. I have reproached you for a long time now for not thinking me worthy of a letter, but I realize that you all look down on me — not for any wrongdoing of mine, but simply because I am unlucky. And I have been unlucky in every way a man can be. If I could only have had letters from you and learned that you were all well and flourishing — I am sure you are — I would have been relieved of half my troubles just by sharing in your happiness. But your silence has only added to my sorrows. I have lost my children, my friends, and everyone's goodwill. But the greatest loss is the absence of your divine intellect. I had hoped that would always remain to me — enough to overcome both the whims of fortune and the cruelty of fate.

Letter 10: Losing contact with the outer world [1] To the Philosopher note [Hypatia.] I salute you, and I beg of you to salute your most happy comrades for me, august Mistress. I have long been reproaching you that I am not deemed worthy of a letter, but now I know that I am despised by all of you for no wrongdoing on my part, but because I am unfortunate in many things, in as many as a man can be. [2] If I could only have had letters from you and  learnt how you were all faring - I am sure you are happy and enjoying good fortune - I should have been relieved, in that case, of half of my own trouble, in rejoicing at your happiness. But  now your silence has been added to the sum of my sorrows. [3] I have lost my children, my friends, and the goodwill of everyone. The greatest loss of all, however, is the absence of your divine spirit. I had hoped that this would always remain to me, to conquer both the caprices of fortune and the evil turns of fate.