Letter 348: Why should I not tell you the things with which I delight myself?

To Spectatus. (358/59) Why should I not tell you the things with which I delight myself? I delight myself by imagining I see your affairs and exclaiming at each one: "Now our Spectatus is not far from the emperor! Now he is very close! Now he is at the emperor's side, narrating his journey to Persia — the rivers he crossed, the lands he traversed, the peoples, his manner of life, the speeches he delivered on his embassy." And the emperor, with a gentle expression showing his pleasure, praises the rhetorician and, seeking an honor for him, finds none greater than to send him again. Spectatus reluctantly agrees, but then remembers a certain rhetorician who is his friend, to whom he makes splendid promises but does not deliver even small ones, persuading himself that a laugh and a kiss on the head are enough, and the charge is settled. Such are the things over which I partly rejoice and partly complain without vexation. As for the pepper — I had the highest hopes for it, received the least of it, and laugh heartily, seeing you as a student of the general Chares, at least when it comes to promises. But that horse you gave to Bassianus proves me a slanderer. Indeed! For it is one of those whose ancestor is Boreas [the North Wind]. Naturally it needs a gale to move, and unless a strong wind hits, it stays put like a stone. I believe it will even do what Xanthus [Achilles' horse] did — under a multitude of blows, let out a human voice. Such is the quality of horseflesh you have found for us.

Σπεκτάτῳ. (358/58) Οἷς οὖν ἐμαυτὸν τέρπω, τί οὐ καὶ πρὸς σὲ λέγω; τέρπω τοίνυν ἐμαυτὸν ὁρᾶν τε τὰ σὰ δοκῶν καὶ φθεγγόμενος ἐφ’ ἑκάστῳ· νῦν ἡμῖν ὁ Σπεκτάτος οὐ πόρρω βασιλέως, νῦν ἐγγύτατα, νῦν παρ’ αὐτῷ διηγεῖται τὴν ὡς τὸν Πέρσην ὁδόν, ποταμοὺς οὓς διέβη, γῆν ἣν ἐπῆλθεν, ἔθνη, δίαιταν, τοὺς περὶ ὧν ἐπρέσβευε λόγους. ὀ δὲ ἡμέρῳ τε τῷ προσέπῳ καὶ μηνύοντι τὴν ἡδονὴν ἐπαινεῖ τὸν ρήτορα καὶ τιμὴν αὐτῷ ζη- τῶν οὐχ εὑρίσκει μείζονα τοῦ πέμψαι πάλλιν. ὁ δὲ μόλις μέν, ἀναμιμνήσκεται δὲ σοφιστοῦ τινος οἰ- κείου, ᾧ λαμπρὰ μὲν ὑπισχνεῖται, πράττει δὲ οὐδὲ μικρὰ πείθων αὑτὸν ὡς ἀρκεῖ τε γελάσαι καὶ φιλῆ- σαι κεφαλήν, καῖ τὸ ἔγκημα λέλυται. τοισῦτα μέν ἐστιν ἐφ’ οἷς τὰ μὲν ὑπερχαίρω, τὰ δ’ αἰτιώμενος οὐκ ἄχθομαι, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ πέπερι μάλιστα μὲν ἐλπίσας, ἥκιστα δὲ λαβὸν πάνυ γελῶ μαθητὴν ὁρῶν σε τοῦ στρατηγοῦ Χάρητος, ὅσα γε εἰς ὑποσχέσεις. ἀλλὰ ἵππος ἐκεῖνος, ῳ Βασσια- νὸν ἐδωρήσω, δείκνυσί με συκοφάντην. μάλιστά γε. καὶ γάρ ἐστιν ἀπ’ ἐκείνων, οἷς ὁ Βορέας πρόγονος. τοιγαροῦν δεῖται τοῦ Βορέου πρὸς τὸ κινεῖσθαι, κἂν μὴ σφοδρὸν ἐμ- πέσῃ πνεῦμα, κατὰ τοὺς λίθους μένει. πιστεύω δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ τοῦ Ξάνθου ποιήσειν, ὑπὸ πλήθους πληγῶν φωνὴν ἀφήσειν ἀνθρωπίνην· τοιαύτην ἡμῖν ἀρετὴν ἵππων ἐξεῦρες.