Letter 491: You wonder why, when you were helping us in deed and giving what aid you could, we never even wrote to say what came...

To Elias. (356) You are astonished that, although you came to our aid with action and helped with whatever you had, we did not even write to you what benefit accrued to us from the help. But I did this because I was testing the alliance over time, the only means by which its power could be seen. For it would not have been judged by the eye, but by its preventing the disease from coming on as it had before. What, then, the thing you sent accomplished, listen; and I shall say nothing greater nor anything less. The attacks it did not remove altogether, but it made them shorter in duration; for instead of seven days, and indeed more, it reduced the affliction to two, at least so far as can be judged from what has occurred. But the future, let it be left to God. Now to the physicians — and these men always disparage whatever, being outside their art, proves stronger than their art — it seems that nothing beneficial came from this source, but rather from the fact that matters concerning the table [diet] were curtailed; but no one will take this from me, that I have become better not from there, but from you. And one who is persuaded of this must of necessity love more than before, but may your body have no need of similar return services.

Ἠλίᾳ. (356) Θαυμάζεις ὅτι σὺ μὲν ἡμῖν ἐπεκούρεις ἔργῳ καὶ ὅ τι εἶχες ἐβοήθεις, ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐδὲ ὅ τι ἡμῖν ἐκ τῆς βοηθείας ὑπῆρξεν ἐγράψαμεν. τοῦτο δὲ ἐποίουν βασανίζων ἐν χρόνῳ τὴν συμ- μαχίαν, ᾧ μόνῳ τὴν δύναμιν αὐτῆς ἦν ἰδεῖν. οὐ γὰρ ὀφθαλ- μῷ γε ἐκρίνετο ἄν, ἀλλὰ τῷ κωλῦσαι τὸ νόσημα μὴ ὡς πρό- τερον ἐπελθεῖν. ὅ τι δ’ οὖν ἤνεγκεν ὃ πέπομφας, ἄκουσον· ἐρῶ δὲ μεῖζον οὐδὲν οὐδὲν οὔτ᾿ ἔλαττον. τὰς μὲν προσβολὰς ὅλως οὐκ ἀνῄρηκεν, βραχυτέρας δὲ κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ἐποίη· σεν· ἀντὶ γὰρ ἡμερῶν ἑπτὰ καὶ ἔτι πλειόνων εἰς δύο συνέστειλε τὸ πάθος, ὅσα γε ἐκ τῶν πεπραγμένων. τὸ μέλλον δὲ ἀφείσθω τῷ θεῷ. τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἰατροῖς, — ἀεὶ δὲ οὗτοι διασύρου- σιν ὅ τι ἂν αὐτῶν ἔξω τῆς τέχνης ὂν μεῖζον ἰσχύῃ τῆς τέ- χνης —, οὐκ ἐνθένδε φαίνεταί τι γεγονέναι χρηστόν, ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ κεκολάσθαι τὰ περὶ τὴν τράπεζαν· ἐμοῦ δὲ τοῦτο οὐδεὶς ἐξαιρήσεται, ὡς οὐκ ἐκεῖθεν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ σοῦ γέγονα ῥᾴων. 5, ὃ πεπεισμένον ἀνάγκη πλέον ἢ πρὸ τοῦ φιλεῖν, ἀμοιβῶν δὲ παραπλησίων μή σοι δεηθείη τὸ σῶμα.