Abigail encourages her son to travel and be diligent by appealing to his affection for her and by flattering him using pathos. She opens the letter with “my dear son,” to institute that she doesn’t intend to reprimand him but to guide him. The maternal and sensitive tone of the letter is a way for Abigail to show her son that, although she is being formal, she cares. The sense of pathos comes from phrases like, “. . . Render your parents supremely happy, particularly your ever affectionate mother.” Abigail also compliments his language skills, and she enforces her compliment by suggesting his need to improve. She then again flatters him in line 26 by accentuating his vast natural talent, but, also highlights the necessity of engaging his gifts
