Letter 39
...if you press too hard on something delicate, it bruises like a lily. I remember reading that "even a stern judge might take offense at devotion expressed by mere looks" — what would he make of your unbroken silence and your complete neglect of the duty of correspondence?
I trust you'll weigh these words seriously. I couldn't in good conscience hide what was troubling me. For just as my heart hangs on you entirely, so I long with all my being for the active warmth of our friendship. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
Related Letters
Jerome writes to Marcella in the name of Paula and Eustochium, describing the charms of the Holy Land, and urging her to leave Rome and to join her old companions at Bethlehem. Much of the letter is devoted to disposing of the objection that since the Passion of Christ the Holy Land has been under a curse. The date of the letter is A.D.
I am really ashamed of sending you the Cappadocians one by one. I should prefer to induce all our youths to devote themselves to letters and learning, and to avail themselves of your instruction in their training. But it is impracticable to get hold of them all at once, while they choose what suits themselves.