Letter 44: "Entreat kindly the guest in your house, but speed him when he would be going" [Homer, Odyssey 15.
To Eustathius.
"Entreat kindly the guest in your house, but speed him when he would be going" [Homer, Odyssey 15.74]. So decreed wise Homer. But the friendship between us two is stronger than that between guest and host, because it is founded on the best education and on our shared devotion to the gods. No one could fairly have accused me of breaking Homer's rule if I had insisted you stay longer.
But I see that your frail health needs more care than my company can provide, so I have given you permission to go home. Travel by whatever conveyance you prefer — the imperial post is at your disposal. May the gods preserve you in health and bring you back to us soon.
Human translation — Tertullian Project
Latin / Greek Original
[Πρός: Εὐσταθίῳ φιλοσόφῳ]
Χρὴ ξεῖνον παρεόντα φιλεῖν, ἐθέλοντα δὲ πέμπειν Ὅμηρος ὁ σοφὸς ἐνομοθέτησεν· ἡμῖν δὲ ὑπάρχει πρὸς ἀλλήλους ξενικῆς φιλίας ἀμείνων ἥ τε διὰ τῆς ἐνδεχομένης παιδείας καὶ τῆς περὶ τοὺς θεοὺς εὐσεβείας, ὥστ’ οὐκ ἄν μέ τις ἐγράψατο δικαίως ὡς τὸν Ὁμήρου παραβαίνοντα νόμον, εἰ καὶ ἐπὶ πλεῖόν σε μένειν παρ’ ἡμῖν ἠξίωσα. ἀλλὰ σοι τὸ σωμάτιον ἰδὼν ἐπιμελείας πλείονος δεόμενον ἐπέτρεψα βαδίζειν εἰς τὴν πατρίδα, καὶ ῥᾳστώνης ἐπεμελήθην τῆς πορείας. ὀχήματι γοῦν ἔξεστί σοι δημοσίῳ χρήσασθαι, πορεύοιεν δέ σε σὺν Ἀσκληπιῷ πάντες οἱ θεοί, καὶ πάλιν ἡμῖν συντυχεῖν δοῖεν.
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