Letter 229: You hardly seem to be away from us at all.

To Apolinarius and Gemellus. (360?) You hardly seem to be away from us at all. Writing with such skill is not at all the mark of absent friends but, I would say, of people still in our company. So while I was pleased that you wrote, I was even more pleased at how well you write. As for the eunuch who delivered the letter -- since I assumed he had come from you, and he said he had been staying here all along, I called him a rascal. But then I immediately cleared him of the charge and turned my complaint on you instead, realizing it was your neglect that caused him to stay behind. And yet, after your own natural abilities, this man is responsible for the fine reputation you have earned -- standing guard like a watchdog against those who would do you harm. You enjoyed his services fully, and now that the time for repayment has come, you have cast him aside. Come now, my boys, look after this tutor of yours -- either by summoning him to Cilicia or by sending him something from there. And let the man who carries this letter persuade you to be generous with your money, even without my many urgings. His uniform marks him as a soldier, but his deeds enroll him among philosophers -- for he has imitated Socrates in the midst of opportunities for profit: the good Ammianus.

Ἀπολιναρίῳ καὶ Γεμέλλῳ. (360?) Οὐ μάλα ἡμῶν ἐοίκατε ἀπεῖναι, τὸ γὰρ οὕτω τεχνικῶς ἐπιστέλλειν οὐ πάντως ἐστὶν ἀπόντων, ἀλλ’, ὡς ἐμὲ λέγειν, συνόντων. ὥστ’ ἔγωγε ἡσθείς, ὅτι ἐγράψατε, πλέον ἥσθην, ὅτι οὕτως ἔχετε γράφειν. τὸν εὐνοῦχον δὲ παρ’ ὑμῶν ἥκειν ἡγούμενος, ὃς ἐδίδου τὴν ἐπιστολήν, ἐπειδὴ ἔφασκε τῇδε με- μενηκέναι, πονηρὸν ἐκάλουν. εἶτ’ εὐθὺς τὸν μὲν ἀπέλυον αἰ- τίας, ὑμῖν δὲ ἐνεκάλουν γνοὺς ὑφ’ ὑμῶν αὐτὸν ἀμεληθέντα μεῖναι. καίτοι τοῦ δόξαν ὑμᾶς κτήσασθαι καλὴν μετά γε τὰς φύσεις οὗτος αἴτιος ἀντὶ κυνὸς ἐπὶ τοὺς οὐκ ἀγαθοὺς ἀρ- κῶν. ὑμεῖς δὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐκκαρπωσάμενοι τοῦ καιροῦ τῶν ἀμοιβῶν ἥκοντος ἀπερρίψατε. ἀλλ’, ὦ παῖδες, ἐμοὶ θερα- πεύσατε τὸν παιδαγωγὸν ἢ καλέσαντες εἰς Κιλικίαν ἤ τι πέμ- ψαντες τῶν ἐκεῖθεν. πειθέτω δὲ ὑμᾶς χρημάτων καταφρονεῖν ἄνευ τῶν ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ πολλάκις εἰρημένων ὁ τὰ γράμματα φέρων, ὃς ὑπὸ μὲν τοῦ σχήματος εἰς στρατιώτας, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν ἔργων εἰς φιλοσόφους ἐγγέγραπται τὸν Σωκράτην ἐν μέσοις μιμησά- μενος κέρδεσιν, ὁ καλὸς Ἀμμιανός.