Letter 194: First, you must overcome.
If what has been reported about you is true, you will perhaps construct a plausible defense, but you will not speak the truth. If it is false, write the defense, and we shall establish it in the ears of those who mock you. But if you would cease from the luxury that rushes toward every irrational impulse, I believe even before the defense they will change their tune. Action speaks louder than any apology.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
ΨΔ΄. – ΙΩΑΝΝΗ ΔΙΚΑΣΤΗ
ΠΑΛΛΑΔΙΩ ΔΙΑΚΟΝΟ.
Εἱ μὲν ἀληθῆ τὰ ἀπαγγελθέντα περὶ σοῦ, πιθανὴν
μὲν ἴσως ἀπολογίαν λογοποιήσεις, ἀληθῆ δὲ οὐ φρά-
σεις εἰ δὲ ψευδή, γράψε δὴ τὴν ἀπολογίαν, ἥντινα
ἡμεῖς ταῖς ἀκοαῖς τῶν κωμῳδούντων σε ἐγκαθιδρύ -
σωμεν. Εἰ δὲ παύσοιο τῆς τρυφῆς τῆς εἰς πᾶσαν
ἄλογον όρμὴν χωρούσης, καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἀπολογίας
οἶμαι αὐτοὺς παλινῳδίας ᾄσειν.
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