Psellos wrote to Ioannes Mauropous of the meeting of two heavenly bodies, one wise and one holy. He rejoiced that Ioannes' letter had honoured a text of his own. Their dialogue would come to a happy end, hopefully reaching the ideal of common action. A second letter containted an elaborate eulogy of Mauropous, placing him (and Psellos) in the history of philosophy (with ancient parallels), and ending with Psellos dumbfounded by the power of Mauropous' letters, unable to reply, and adopting Pythagorean silence. A third letter discussed linguistic problems of distant friendship. He also inquired simply after Mauropous, praised him as his teacher and asked if he was happier now in the public eye. He wrote because of a rumour, wishing him a ripe old age. A fourth letter registered a complaint from Psellos over Mauropous' philosophical rigidity, forming Psellos in his own image, calmly gazing down from above the clouds - unlike Plato's methods. As for isolation, Psellos would give up many companions for Mauropous, a true Hellene, as would a Briton or Italian for fellow-countrymen. Both Psellos and Mauropous wrote exaggerated praise of the other. Myron was working hard on the letters, which would soon be bound. A fifth letter suggested that affection must be measured by quality, not results, and by peaks, not troughs. Psellos' axe can help but it cannot cut everything, and his moderate power to help his friends must wait for a time when the emperor is receptive