Letter 720: I was pleased to see your sons -- one come for oratory, the other leading his brother to it.

I was pleased to see your sons -- one come for oratory, the other leading his brother to it. This pursuit is noble for anyone, I think, but for your family it is now a necessity, since the reputation you gained through Agathius's learning is something you must uphold -- to let it decay would be a kind of sacrilege. For the sake of Ancyra, to which I owe many debts of gratitude, and for your sake, and for the young man's uncle, I will bring every ounce of effort and every form of encouragement to bear. But your son too must be one of those who spur me on rather than one of those who need to be spurred. I am confident he will be eager. The season that forbade the admiration of oratory has passed, and the boy's very name is stronger than any motivational speech.

Ἀρείονι. (362) Ἡδέως εἶδόν σου τοὺς υἱούς τὸν μὲν ὑπὲρ λόγων ἥκοντα, τὸν δὲ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἐπὶ λόγους ἄγοντα· παντὶ μὶν γάρ, οἶμαι, τὸ πρᾶγμα καλόν, ὑμῖν δὲ ἤδη καὶ ἀναγκαῖον, εἰ δὴ τὸ τὴν γενομένην ὑμῖν δόξαν ἐκ τῆς Ἀγαθίου σοφίας φυλάττειν μὲν πρέπον, διαφθείρειν δὲ οὐχ ὅσιον. ἐγὼ μὶν οὖν καὶ δι’ Ἄγκυραν, ᾗ πολλὰς ὀφείλω χάριτας, καὶ διὰ σὲ καὶ διὰ τὸν θεῖον τοῦ νέου πάσῃ μὲν προθυμίᾳ, πάσῃ δὲ παρακλήσει χρήσομαι· δεῖ δὲ καὶ τὸν σὸν υἱὸν τῶν κινούν- των με μᾶλλον ἢ τῶν κινεῖσθαι δεομένων γενέσθαι. πείθο- μαι δὲ ὡς ἔσται τῶν ἐπιθυμούντων ὅ τε γὰρ οὐκ ἐῶν θαυ- μάζεσθαι λόγους καιρὸς παρελήλυθε τό τε ὄνομα τῷ παιδὶ παντὸς ἰσχυρότερον προτρεπτικοῦ.