— go to next extract
— go back to list of extracts
Then she changed her attitude, and became much more the matron. ‘I also came, Crito, ‘because I am anxious about you. You have lost a lot of weight, you seem listless, you even seem to have lost interest in your work as a teacher, as I hear it.
‘You should retreat a while from the world you know, go to a remote place, to regain your forces. Yes, for a while, you should retreat. Perhaps to one of the Greek settlements in Gaul. I have heard that some of them are welcoming and peaceful, and sometimes go-ahead. Meanwhile, I have brought you this.’
She opened a bag which she had brought with her, and took out a quite large cylindrical package. ‘These,’ she said, ‘are notes which Philodemus kept on papyrus during his times with you. I think that he would have liked you to have them.’
I unwrapped the large roll, and unwound the beginning. I recognized, with a catch in my throat, the elegant writing of Philodemus. A film of tears prevented me from reading what I saw. ‘My lady,’ I said, ‘I cannot find words to thank you for this gift.’
‘If you make your retreat and recover yourself, that will be thanks enough. And it would surely have pleased Philodemus. When you return, you will be welcome in our house. By then, if the heavens smile on us, my husband will be more like his normal self.’
(3/3)