Letter 648: That man who sold portions of the farmland — when we wished to buy, he claimed he was selling Thessaly and Boeotia,...
Δημητρίῳ. (361)
Ὁ τὰ μέρη τῶν ἀγρῶν ἀποδόμενος ἐκεῖνος, ὅτε μὶν
ἡμεῖς ἠξιοῦμεν ὠνεῖσθαι, Θετταλίαν ἔφασκε καὶ Βοιωτίαν
πωλεῖν, καὶ ἦν οὐδὲν ἐν τῇ τιμῇ μέτριον, ὥστε ἐφεύγομεν·
ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸν δεῖνα ἴδει πρίασθαι, καὶ τὸ μικρὸν ἡγήσατο μέγα
βλάψας μὲν αὐτὸς αὑτόν, θεὶς δὲ ἐφ’ ἡμῖν νόμον· μνησθῆναι
γὰρ ἴσως οὐκ ἔνεστι πλείονος ἢ τοῦ παραδείγματος ἀκούειν
ἀνάγκη.
δοκεῖ οὖν μοι χρῆναι χρήσασθαι μὲν μερισμῷ τὸ
νῦν τοῦ μὴ τὸ πᾶν ἀντὶ τοῦ μέρους εἶναι τῷ πριαμένῳ, τιμὴν
δὲ τὴν πείθουσαν ὁ διδοὺς εἰ φανείη, πωλεῖν. ὁ γὰρ κοινω-
νὸς παραινεῖ.
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This is what good neighbors do — they help those living nearby in times of misfortune.
Second attempts are better, they say — or, if you prefer, luckier.
Leontios is indeed an excellent man and not unworthy of the praise you heaped on him.
We enjoy your company no less than our own, thanks to these frequent messengers.
You sent that letter as a refutation — to show that I had given you too grand a title by calling you first among Greeks.