The written letter remains.

Explanation

Written instruments — contracts, deeds, statutes, constitutions — endure as evidence and bind the parties long after oral promises are forgotten; what is reduced to writing is the controlling record.

Where this applies

• A landlord claims the tenant agreed to different lease terms verbally, but the court enforces the written lease because the written letter remains and governs.
• A business partner insists that the parties had a side deal not reflected in the partnership agreement, but the court relies on the signed document because written instruments endure as the controlling record.
• A government official claims an executive order was later modified by a verbal directive, but the court holds that the written order stands until formally amended in writing.