DCXLVI (A XII, 9)
TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)
Astura (27 July)
Yes indeed, I should have been very comfortable here,
and more so every day, had it not been for the reason
which I mentioned to you in my previous letter. Nothing
could be pleasanter than the solitude of this place, except
for the occasional inroads of the "son of Amyntas."[1] What
a bore he is with his endless babble! In other respects
don't imagine that anything could be more delightful than
this villa. But all this doesn't deserve a longer letter, and
I have nothing else to say and am very sleepy.
DCXLVII (F XI, 22)
TO TIRO (AT ROME)
Astura (27 July)
I hope from your letter that you are better, at any rate I
desire it. Devote your whole energies to that, and don't
have any uneasy feeling that you are acting against my
wishes in staying away. You are with me if you are taking
care of yourself. Therefore I would rather you were doing
duty to your health than to my eyes and ears. For though
it gives me pleasure both to hear and see you, it will give
me much more pleasure if you are well. I am being idle
here, because I don't write without an amanuensis; but I
find extreme pleasure in reading. As you are on the spot,
- ↑ L. Marcius Philippus, step-father of Augustus. He calls him in jest the "son of Amyntas," the name of the father of Philip king of Macedonia. See pp. 202, 203.
