That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.
Billroth: 'I say this (that our authority is for your edification, not destruction) lest I should seem to frighten you.' But what Paul wished to refute was, not the idea of his severity, but that of his terrifying only "by letters" (2 Corinthians 10:10), and not executing his threats in fact. 'I shall not be shamed by the non-fulfillment of my threats when present (2 Corinthians 10:8), that I may not seem as if my aim was only to frighten you with threatening letters' (2 Corinthians 10:11).