Letter 128: Eudaemon the Egyptian, who lives among you but has sent his reputation everywhere, adorns Egypt no less than your city.

Eudaemon the Egyptian, who lives among you but has sent his reputation everywhere, adorns Egypt no less than your city. His knowledge of the poets and his own poetic skill -- those he got from Egypt. His knowledge of the orators and his own oratorical ability -- those he got from you. So he's bound to love the city that educated him, and you ought to support him in all his labors, since you gave him both his eloquence and everything else. I think in writing to you I'm writing to the whole city. You're the one who sustains it through your benefactions, and the city knows it and acknowledges it with pleasure. So let the city, through you, grant Eudaemon a favor. And what favor is that? The emperor honors our school with an imperial food allowance. We want to convert it to cash, and we've looked to your city, realizing that the sale requires Eutocius's generosity. Be true to your nature and act quickly, so that things work out well for us. And expect from a man who knows how to speak a eulogy in place of payment.

**To Eutokios** (359/60) Eudaimon the Egyptian, who lives among you but has sent his reputation everywhere, adorns your city no less than Egypt. For his knowledge of the poets and his becoming a poet he owes to that land, but his knowledge of the rhetoricians and his becoming an orator he owes to you. He, then, is bound to love the city that educated him, and it is only right that you in turn should assist in other matters the man to whom you gave the gift of eloquence. And I believe that in writing to you I am addressing the entire city — for it is you who sustain it by your benefactions, and the city neither fails to recognize this nor hesitates to acknowledge it with pleasure. Let the city, then, through you, grant Eudaimon a favor. And what is this favor? The emperor honors our teacher with an imperial food allowance. Wishing to convert this into silver for him, we looked to you, reflecting that the sale requires the generosity of Eutokios. Be true to yourself, then, and act with all speed so that our affairs may prosper — and expect from a man who knows how to speak praise in return for your money.

Εὐτοκίῳ. (359/60) Εὐδαίμων ὁ Αἰγύπτιος ὁ παρ’ ὑμῖν μὲν οἰκῶν, παντα- χῆ δὲ τὴν δόξαν ἀπεσταλκὼς οὐ μᾶλλον Αἴγυπτον ἢ τὴν ὑμε- τέραν κοσμεῖ. τὸ μὲν γὰρ τὰ τῶν ποιητῶν ἐπίστασθαι καὶ γε- νέσθαι ποιητὴν ἐκεῖθεν αὐτῷ, τὸ δὲ τὰ τῶν ῥητόρων εἰδέναι καὶ γενέσθαι ῥήτορα παρ’ ὑμῶν αὐτῷ. τοῦτόν τε οὖν ἀνάγ- κη τὴν παιδεύουσαν φιλεῖν ὑμᾶς τε εἰκὸς ᾧ δεδώκατε τοὺς λόγους καὶ τὰ ἄλλα συμπονεῖν. οἶμαι δὲ πρὸς σὲ γράφων πρὸς ὅλην ἐπιστέλλειν τὴν πόλιν. σὺ γὰρ αὐτὴν εὖ ποιῶν ἀνέχεις, ἡ δὲ οὔτε ἀγνοεῖ τοῦτο καὶ ὁμολογεῖ σὺν ἡδονῇ. δότω τοί- νυν ἡ πόλις διὰ σοῦ χάριν Εὐδαίμονι. τίς δὲ αὕτη; τιμᾷ τὸν παιδευτὴν ἡμῖν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῇ βασιλικῇ τροφῆ. ταύτην δὲ ἡμῖν ἀργυρίου βουλόμενοι γενέσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἴδομεν ἐνθυ- μηθέντες, ὡς ἡ πρᾶσις δεῖται τῆς Εὐτοκίου φιλοτιμίας. ἀκο- λούθει δὴ σαυτῷ καὶ πρᾶττε τὴν ταχίστην, ὅπως ἡμῖν ἕξει καλῶς, καὶ προσδέχου παρ’ ἀνδρὸς εἰδότος λέγειν ἔπαινον ἀντὶ τῶν χρημάτων.