I entered upon it at the age which I have already stated at the beginning. See Isoc. 12.3 . But when I
 had written half of it, I was attacked by a malady which it is not decorous to name, Coray conjectures that the malady was dysentery. but
 which is powerful enough to carry off in the course of three or four days not only older
 people but many in the prime of life. I battled against this disease without respite for
 three years, and I passed every day of that time with such devotion to my work that those
 who knew of my industry as well as those who learned of it from them admired me more
 because of this fortitude than because of the things for which I had formerly been
 praised. When, however, I had at length given up my work both because of my illness and of my age,
 certain of those who were in the habit of paying me visits, and who had read again and
 again the portion of my discourse which I had written, begged and urged me not to leave it
 half-finished or incomplete, but to work upon it for a short time and to give my thoughts
 to what remained to be done.