Letter 17: Epistle 17. To Eusebius, Archbishop of Cæsarea. I did not write in an insolent spirit, as you complain of my letter, but rather in a spiritual and philosophical one, and as was fitting, unless this too wrongs your most eloquent Gregory.
I did not write in an insolent spirit, as you suggest. I wrote in a spiritual and philosophical one — as was fitting, unless even that offends Your Eloquence.
You outrank me, I know. But surely you can grant me a small measure of liberty and honest speech.
So be kinder to me. But if you regard my letter as that of a servant who has no right even to look you in the face — then I'll accept the punishment and won't even shed a tear. Will you blame me for that too? That would be beneath you.
It's the mark of a great soul to accept a friend's frankness more readily than an enemy's flattery.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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