Letter 19

19. To Gregory, his friend

A letter came to me the other day from you, exactly yours, not so much by the character of the hand as by the peculiar quality of the letter. For the words were few, yet they presented much thought. To these we did not at once reply, because we ourselves were away from home, and the letter-carrier, having handed the letter to one of our friends, went off and departed. But now, through Peter, we address you, at once paying off the debt of greeting, and at the same time furnishing an occasion for a second letter. And surely there is no toil in a laconic letter, such as those are which come to us from you on every occasion.