Letter 3: If anyone has told you there is something more delightful or more profitable for the human race than pursuing...

To Eumenius and Pharianus. If anyone has told you there is something more delightful or more profitable for the human race than pursuing philosophy in undisturbed leisure, that person is deluded and trying to delude you. But if the old passion for learning still burns in you — if it has not been snuffed out like a brilliant flame — then I count you genuinely blessed. Four years and almost three months have passed since we parted. I would love to see how far you have progressed. As for my own progress — if I can still so much as speak Greek, it is a miracle, given what a barbarian I have become from living in these places [Julian was governing Gaul, and considered Latin culture and the Gallic frontier decidedly inferior to Greek civilization]. Do not neglect the study of language. Do not be careless about rhetoric. Do not stop reading poetry. But devote even more attention to serious studies, and let your whole effort be directed toward mastering Aristotle and Plato. Let this be your foundation, your walls, and your roof. Everything else is secondary — though I know you pursue those secondary subjects with more dedication than some people give to the essentials. I call sacred Justice to witness: I give you this advice because I love you like brothers. You were my fellow students and my very good friends. If you follow my advice, I will love you the more. If I see you disregard it, I will grieve. And grief, if it lasts, usually leads to something that — for the sake of a happier omen — I will not name.

To Eumenius and Pharianus 1 [359 From Gaul] If anyone has persuaded you that there is anything more delightful or more profitable for the human race than to pursue philosophy at one's leisure without interruptions, he is a deluded man trying to delude you. But if your old-time zeal still abides in you and has not been swiftly quenched like a brilliant flame, then I regard you as peculiarly blest. Four years have already passed, yes and almost three months besides, since we parted from one another. It would give me pleasure to observe how far you have progressed in this period. As for my own progress, if I can still so much as speak Greek it is surprising, such a barbarian have I become because of the places I have lived in.2 Do not despise the study of mere words or be careless of rhetoric or fail to read poetry. But you must devote still more attention to serious studies, and let your whole effort be to acquire understanding of the teachings of Aristotle and Plato. Let this be your task, the base, the foundation, the edifice, the roof. For all other studies are by the way, though they are completed by you with greater zeal than some bestow on really important tasks. I call sacred Justice to witness that I give you this advice because I love you like brothers. For you were my fellow-students and my very good friends. If therefore you follow my advice I shall love you the more, but if I see that you disregard it I shall grieve. And grief, if it lasts, usually results in something that, for the sake of a happier augury, I forbear to mention. 1 Julian went to Gaul in 355; he probably knew these students in Athens, earlier in the same year. 2 Like all the sophists Julian recognises only Greek culture, and for him Latin literature or the culture of Gaul did not exist.

[Πρός: Εὐμενίῳ καὶ Φαριανῷ] Εἴ τις ὑμᾶς πέπεικεν, ὅτι τοῦ φιλοσοφεῖν ἐπὶ σχολῆς ἀπραγμόνως ἐστὶν ἥδιον ἢ λυσιτελέστερόν τι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἠπατημένος ἐξαπατᾷ· εἰ δὲ μένει παρ’ ὑμῖν ἡ πάλαι προθυμία καὶ μὴ καθάπερ φλὸξ λαμπρὰ ταχέως ἀπέσβη, μακαρίους ἔγωγε ὑμᾶς ὑπολαμβάνω. τέταρτος ἐνιαυτὸς ἤδη παρελήλυθε καὶ μὴν οὑτοσὶ τρίτος ἐπ’ αὐτῷ σχεδόν, ἐξότε κεχωρίσμεθα ἡμεῖς ἀλλήλων. ἡδέως δ’ ἂν σκεψαίμην, ἐν τούτῳ πόσον τι προεληλύθατε. τὰ δὲ ἐμά, εἰ καὶ φθεγγοίμην Ἑλληνιστί, θαυμάζειν ἄξιον· οὕτως ἐσμὲν ἐκβεβαρβαρωμένοι διὰ τὰ χωρία. μὴ καταφρονεῖτε τῶν λογιδίων, μηδὲ ἀμελεῖτε ῥητορικῆς μηδὲ τοῦ ποιήμασιν ὁμιλεῖν. ἔστω δὲ τῶν μαθημάτων ἐπιμέλεια πλείων, ὁ δὲ πᾶς πόνος τῶν Ἀριστοτέλους καὶ Πλάτωνος δογμάτων ἐπιστήμη. τοῦτο ἔργον ἔστω, τοῦτο κρηπίς, θεμέλιος, οἰκοδομία, στέγη· τἆλλα δὲ πάρεργα, μετὰ μείζονος σπουδῆς παρ’ ὑμῶν ἐπιτελούμενα ἢ παρά τισι τὰ ἀληθῶς ἔργα. ἐγὼ νὴ τὴν θείαν Δίκην ὑμᾶς ὡς ἀδελφοὺς φιλῶν ταῦτα ὑμῖν συμβουλεύω· γεγόνατε γάρ μοι συμφοιτηταὶ καὶ πάνυ φίλοι. εἰ μὲν οὖν πεισθείητε, πλέον στέρξω, ἀπειθοῦντας δὲ ὁρῶν λυπήσομαι. λύπη δὲ συνεχὴς εἰς ὅ ποτε τελευτᾶν εἴωθεν, εἰπεῖν παραιτοῦμαι οἰωνοῦ κρείττονος ἕνεκα.