Letter 494: By admitting your wrong in not writing, you have stripped yourself of the right to accuse.

To Seleucus. (356 AD) By admitting your wrong in not writing, you have stripped yourself of the right to accuse. For I now belong to the party of those who retaliate, not those who offend — since retaliation is sanctioned by law. Besides, my silence was precisely what would move you to write. Had I written to you while you sent nothing, you would have luxuriated in your ease and I would have gone on wanting what I desired. As it is, by not writing I punished you, and with my silence I put an end to yours. When you claim to have become "barbarized," you are clearly being ironic and slandering your Muse [Mēnas], whom I am sure still attends you. Just as I would not tolerate cicadas claiming they had become barbarians — creatures whose very nature as cicadas stems from their love of music — so Seleucus will never convince me that his eloquence has deteriorated. Whether you labor at your speeches or not, you are winged by words. This, I believe, is nature's gift to you: to flow always, and with beauty at that. The proof is this very letter, written with consummate art.

Σελεύκῳ. (356) Ὁμολογῶν ἀδικεῖν τῷ μὴ γράψαι σαυτὸν ἀφῄρησαι τὸ κατηγορεῖν ἔχειν. ἐγὼ γὰρ ἤδη γίνομαι τῶν ἀμυνομένων, οὐ τῶν ἠδικηκότων, εἴ γε τὸ ἀμύνεσθαι νόμῳ δέδοται. πρὸς δὲ καὶ οὕτω σε κινήσειν ἔμελλον εἰς τὰ γράμματα σιγήσας. εἰ γὰρ ἔγραφον οὐκ ἐπιστέλλοντι, σὺ μὲν ἐτρύφας ἄν, ἐγὼ δὲ ὧν ἐπεθύμουν ἠπόρουν νῦν δέ σε τῷ μὴ γράψαι κακῶν τῇ ἐμαυτοῦ σιγῇ τὴν σὴν ἔπαυσα. βεβαρβαρῶσθαι δὲ ὅταν λέγης, εἰρωνεύῃ σαφῶς καὶ καταψεύδῃ τῆς Μηνὰς, ἣν δή σοι παρεῖναι πείθομαι ὥσπερ οὖν τῶν τεττίγων οὐκ ἂν ὴνε- σχόμην λεγόντων ὅτι ἄρα γένοιντο βάρβαροι, οὓς αὐτὸ τοῦτό γε τέττιγας ἐποίησε τὸ θαυμάσαι μουσικήν, οὕτως οὐδὲ Σέ- λευκος πείσει με φάσκων αὑτῷ χείρω γεγονέναι τὴν φωνήν. σὺ γὰρ δὴ καὶ πονῶν εἰς λόγους καὶ μὴ πονῶν ἐπτέρωσαι τοῖς λόγοις δῶρον, οἶμαι, τοῦτο παρὰ τῆς φύσεως ἔχων ῥεῖν ἀεὶ καὶ μετὰ κάλλους γε τοῦτο ποιεῖν. μαρτύριον δὲ τὰ γράμ- ματα αὐτὰ πάση γεγραμμένα τέχνῃ.