Letter 186

To Acacius Presbyter. (360) Titianus should have been stirred to action by a letter from you, but it seems the rumor is true -- you are unwell. So I have heard, though by God's grace it is also said that you have recovered. You must be preserved, both for many other reasons and because the heavens have silted up so many of our harbors, and those in whom we place our confidence are few. Among those few, this man is the foremost -- and he is also the foremost in eloquence. Surely, if you know yourself, you know whom I mean. Your son has come to bring you relief. I kept going back and forth -- now urging him to hurry, now holding him back. On one hand, I knew that seeing him would ease your suffering; on the other, I wanted him to gain more from his studies. He is one of those students who are sharpened by rhetorical exercises and have learned much in a short time. But in the end, your need won out. I have sent the boy as consolation for the present crisis. He will tend to you doubly: as a son and as a student.

Ἀκακίῳ. (360) Ἔδει μὲν καὶ νῦν ὑπὸ σῶν κεκινῆσθαι Τιτιανὸν γραμ- μάτων, νῦν δ’ ἔοικεν ἀληθὲς εἶναι τὸ λεχθέν, ὡς ἀρρώστως ἔχεις. εἴρηται γάρ, ἀλλὰ θεοῦ γε διδόντος ὡς καὶ ἀνέστης, εἴρηται. δεῖ γάρ σε τῶν τε ἄλλων εἵνεκα σώζεσθαι καὶ ὅτι πολλοὺς ἡμῖν τῶν λιμένων προσέχωσε τὸ δαιμόνιον καὶ οἷς θαρροῦμεν ὀλίγοι τῶν δὲ ὀλίγων ὅτιπερ κεφάλαιον οὗτος, ὃς καὶ τῶν ἐν λόγοις ὅτιπερ κεφάλαιον. πάντως δέ, εἰ σαυτὸν οἷσθα, οἶσθα ὃν λέγω ὁ μὶν οὖν υἱὸς ἥκει σὲ κουφιῶν, ἐγὼ δὲ αὐτὸν νῦν μὲν ἤπειγον θεῖν, νῦν δὲ κατεῖχον τὸ μὲν εἰς σὲ βλέπων εἰδώς, ὅτι σε ποιήσει ῥᾴω φανείς, τὸ δ’ ὅπως πλείω προσλάβοι. καὶ γάρ ἐστι τῶν ἐν ταῖς καλουμέναις με- λέταις θηγομένων καὶ πολλὰ ἐν οὐ πολλῷ μεμαθηκότων χρό- νῳ. ἀλλ’ ὅμως ἐνίκα τὸ σόν, καὶ ἔπεμψα τὸν παῖδα παρα- μυθίαν εἰς τὰ παρόντα. ὁ δέ σε διπλῆ θεραπεύσει, τοῦτο μὲν ὡς πατέρα, τοῦτο δὲ ὡς παιδευτήν.