Letter 82: Procopius asks his brothers to help John and jokes that Theodore has again postponed sailing.

Good John has two claims on your goodwill: kinship, and the fact that he studied with me. He is the son of Leontius, if you know Dionysius, the husband of my aunt. John's father is Dionysius's brother; I remind you of the man though you know him already. Even without that family tie, you would surely count him as one of my own company, a member of the chorus trained here with me. Do not delay, then, in helping the young man, since goodwill is owed to him from every side. I pass over his character, though it wins over everyone who sees him: he knows how to blush before he speaks, how to speak with moderation, how to measure words by the occasion, and how to possess a mind beyond his years. As for wicked Theodore, after stretching out the sailing date for us, he has slipped away again. Perhaps he condemned himself, fearing that if he promised anything he might actually tell the truth and bring the matter to completion.

Ζαχαρίαι καὶ Φιλίππωι Ὁ καλὸς Ἰωάννης κἀκ τοῦ γένους ὑμᾶς ἀπαιτήσει τὴν εὔνοιαν, κἀκ τῆς παρ' ἐμοὶ συμφοιτήσεως· ἔστι γὰρ Λεοντίου παῖς, εἰ Διονύσιον ἴστε τῆς ἡμετέρας τήθης τὸν ἄνδρα. τούτου πέφυκεν ἀδελφὸς ὁ τούτου πατήρ, ἵνα καίπερ εἰδότας ὑπομνήσω τὸν ἄνθρωπον. εἰ δὲ καὶ μὴ ταῦτα προσῆν, πάντως ἂν οἰκεῖον ἡγήσασθε θιασώτην ἡμέτερον καὶ τὸν παρ' ἐμοὶ χορὸν ἐκπληρώσαντα. οὐκοῦν μὴ μέλλετε τὸν νέον εὖ ποιεῖν ἔχοντα πανταχόθεν ὀφειλομένην τὴν εὔνοιαν· σιωπῶ γὰρ λέγειν ὡς καὶ τῷ τρόπῳ τοὺς ὁρῶντας ἐπάγεται, ἐρυθριᾶν εἰδὼς πρίν τι καὶ λέγειν, καὶ φθέγγεσθαι μέτρια, τῷ καιρῷ τοὺς λόγους μετρῶν καὶ τὸν νοῦν ὑπὲρ τὴν ἡλικίαν κτησάμενος. ὁ δὲ μιαρὸς Θεόδωρος τὸν πλοῦν ἡμῖν ἐπανατείνας πάλιν ἀνέδυ, τάχα καταγνοὺς ἑαυτοῦ εἴπερ τι προειπὼν ἀληθεύσειε καὶ πρὸς πέρας ἐνέγκοι τὸν λόγον.