Letter 671: I knew well that you would hold to the agreement about the parchment; and what you ask to be arranged for you—we...

To Mariane. (~361 AD) I knew well that you would hold to the agreement about the parchment; and what you ask to be arranged for you—we will see to it that it happens quickly, for any failure to act lies with the one who will not act. Our city, though settled by the sea, is battered by many waves, and if you ask about friends, many claim to know, but in fact no one does. Let us pray, then, that the Eileithyiai [goddesses of childbirth] attend Alexandra with favor, wherever the moment requires.

Μαριανῇ. (361) Εὖ ᾔδειν ὅτι ταῖς συνθήκαις ἐμμένεις ταῖς περὶ τῆς διφθέρας· ἃ δὲ γενέσθαι σοι κελεύεις ὅπως καὶ ἔσται ταχέως, ἐπιμελησόμεθα· τὸ γὰρ ἀπότευγμα τοῦ μὴ ποιήσοντός ἐστιν ἡ πόλις δὲ ἡμῖν καὶ ταῦτα ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ᾠκισμένη πολ- λοῖς πλήττεται τοῖς κύμασι, κἂν ἔρῃ τι περὶ τῶν φίλων, πολ- λοὶ μὲν οἱ φάσκοντες εἰδέναι, οἶδε δὲ οὐδείς. εὐχώμεθα δὴ μετ’ εὐμενείας Ἀλέαι νδρᾳ παραστῆναι τὰς Εἰλειθυίας, ὅπου- περ ἂν ὁ καιρὸς ἐπείγῃ.