Lorenzo Valla to Giacomo Moro,
Letter ca. March 1433:
Your letter seemed to me so decorous, so serious, so stuffed with the noblest sentiments, that I didn’t dare to write back to you before now. And so, you ought to be mad with and chalk the fault up to your own excessive elegance rather than to my excessive negligence. Who would dare to look at the rays of the sun? In just such a way, your letter did a number on my eyes with its overpowering light. Now, after a long time, as if I had regained my sight and strength, I am writing back to you.
Littere tue ita ornate, ita graves, ita optimis sententiis referte vise sunt, ut adhuc scribere ad te non sim ausus. Itaque debes magis succensere et imputare tue nimie elegantie quam mee nimie neglegentie. Quis enim audeat in solis radios inspicere? Ita tue littere pernimio fulgore oculos meos perstrinxerunt. Nunc itaque post longum tempus quasi resumpto visu recuperatisque viribus ad te scribo.
