Letter 218: You ask me to be honest about your latest speech, and I shall try -- though honesty between friends in matters of...
Γερμανῷ. (360?)
Ἄλλῳ μὲν ἄρχοντι μὴ ἐπιστέλλοντι τοῖς φίλοις συγγνοίην
ἄν, ἐπικλύζονται γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν πραγμάτων, σὺ
δέ, κρείττω γὰρ ἔχεις φύσιν ἢ τοῦτο παθεῖν, οὐκ ἔστιν ὅπως
ἂν ἀποφύγοις τὴν αἰτίαν.
ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τῶν ἐπιστολῶν
βουλεύσῃ καὶ ἴσως ἐπιστελεῖς κωλύων μὴ μείζω σοι γενέσθαι
τὰ ἐγκλήματα, τὸν φέροντα δὲ τὴν ἐπιστολὴν εἰ δεῖ τι παρὰ
σοῦ παθεῖν ἀγαθόν, μὴ βουλεύσῃ· δεῖ γὰρ τοῦτο εὐθὺς κε-
κρίσθαι, τὸ δεῖν αὐτὸν εὖ παθεῖν.
τῶν τε γὰρ περὶ τὸν
ὕπαρχον ῥητόρων οὐδενὸς ὕστερος τῇ τε τῶν τρόπων ἐπιεικείᾳ
πρῶτος ἁπάντων ἐμέ τε οὕτω φιλεῖ καὶ χαίρει τιμῶν, ὡς ἄν
τις ἕτερος τιμώμενος.
ὅπως οὖν ἐπὶ δυοῖν ἀγκύραιν ὁρμεῖν
ἔχη, μὴ σαυτὸν δίδου μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ἄριστον Ἰουλιανὸν
σαυτῷ ποίει παραπλήσιον. πάντως ἀρκεῖ σοι γράμμα περὶ τοῦ
νεανίσκου καὶ γέγονεν εὐμενής.
Related Letters
If it were proper to send you something lesser, I would have sent it already.
You ask whether I still remember you.
I am sending you what you asked for, though not without misgivings.
So is this a law for governors now -- that they must not write to their friends simply because they are governing?
You spoke ill of us, and we spoke well of you -- but no one will believe either of us.