Letter 464: The man who cannot be corrected has made himself into a finished product before he is finished.
To Diogenes the Deacon: Since genuine and sincere friendship is recognized by its fearlessness, for what reason did you throw into manifest danger those entrusted to you by your friends? But perhaps, being without taste or initiation in sincere friendship, you did this.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
ΥΣΔ. – ΔΙΟΓΕΝΕΙ ΔΙΑΚΟΝΟ.
Τῆς γνησίας καὶ εἰλικρινοῦς φιλίας τὸ ἀδεὲς ἐγαγνωμένης, δι' ἣν αἰτίαν αὐτὸς τοὺς ἐμπιστευθέντας σοι παρὰ τῶν φίλων εἰς προῦπτον ἔῤῥιψας κίνδυνον ;
'Aλλ' ἴσως φιλίας εἰλικρινοῦς ἄγευστος ὧν καὶ ἀτέλεστος τοῦτο διεπράξω.
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