Letter 464: The moment has come for you to do a service to all of Hellenism.
Γοργονίῳ. (355/56)
Ἥκει σοι καιρὸς παρέχων εὖ ποιῆσαι ἅπαν τὸ Ἑλληνικόν.
Ἱμερίῳ γὰρ βίος μέν ἐστι παιδεύειν, τόπος δὲ τῆς συνουσίας
Ἀθῆναι, κτήματα δὲ ἐν Ἀρμενίᾳ.
τιμῆς δὲ τῆς μὲν ἄκρας
ἄξιος ἁνήρ, τυγχάνει δὲ οὐδὲ μικρᾶς, ἀλλ’ ἐπιθέμενοι Δυκοῦρ-
γοί τινες ἐλαύνουσι Διόνυσον καὶ γέγονεν αὐτῷ τἀκει Μυ-
σῶν λεία. καίτοι τῷ μὲν εἰς χρήματα ἡ βλάβη, οἱ δὲ εἰς τὸν
θεὸν ὃς ἔδωκε λόγους ἀσεβοῦντες οὐκ αἰσθάνονται.
σοὶ
τοίνυν πρέπει τῶν ταῦτα κωλυόντων, οὐ τῶν ποιούντων ἴνα
γενέσθαι. ῥᾴδιον δέ σοι παρεδρεύοντι καἰ κοινωνοῦντι τῆς
ἀρχῆς.
δεῖξον δὴ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς τῶν Μουσῶν ὅτι εἰσί τινες
καὶ φίλοι ταῖς Μούσαις τῶν ἐχθρῶν δυνατώτεροι, καὶ πράξει
μιᾷ χάρισαι μὲν θεοῖς Ἑλληνίοις, χάρισαι δὲ τῷ τε ἐπιστέλ-
λοντι καὶ περὶ οἱ, τὰ γράμματα, δίδαξον δὲ τὸν υἱὸν Ἀκύλαν
ὡς οὐκ ἄτιμον οἱ λόγοι.
Related Letters
Herodotus said that men's ears are less trustworthy than their eyes.
Are you then forgetful of us?
1. Oh that I had wings like a dove for then would I fly away to you, and satisfy my longing to meet you. But now it is not only wings that I want, but a whole body, for mine has suffered from long sickness, and now is quite worn away with continuous affliction.
1. I do not wish you joy, for there is no joy for the wicked. Even now I cannot believe it; my heart cannot conceive iniquity so great as the crime which you have committed; if, that is, the truth really is what is generally understood.
You ask how my affairs stand but say nothing about the state of your own health -- as if I cared less about that...