Letter 239: Well, the dreams did a fine job of prompting you -- though I know perfectly well you would have done the same thing...

To Demetrius. (360?) Well, the dreams did a fine job of prompting you -- though I know perfectly well you would have done the same thing even without dreams. You began long ago, sending things from my own estates. For I must call those estates mine and these ones yours, since you seem to feel you would be committing an injustice if you enjoyed anything that I did not share. And since there is no fending off your gifts, accept from me a dream in return for a dream. I told my slave to light the lamp so I could write to you. But before he could do it, I fell asleep and dreamed I was visiting your city and looking for you. Someone was leading me through a lofty theater, and an old woman, guessing our purpose, pointed out a pleasanter road. Following it, we found you sitting beside a temple and a garden. The stairway up to the temple -- no small number of steps -- was occupied by young men leaping about, amazed at how I was competing with a speech of Demosthenes, one of the Philippics. You saw us and stood up, but did not stop speaking, so that we too heard something. And there the night wronged me: I could not hold on to what was said. If you have had any such dream, send it along and give me joy.

Δημητρίῳ. (360?) Ἀλλὰ καλῶς μὲν ἐποίησε τὰ ὀνείρατα κινήσαντά σε, εὖ μέντοι οἶδα, ὡς καὶ ὀνειράτων ἄνευ τοῦτ’ ἂν ἐποίεις, ὃ πάλαι ἤρξω ποιεῖν ἀπὸ τῶν χωρίων τῶν ἐμῶν. δεῖ γὰρ ἐκεῖνά τε ἐμὰ καλεῖν καὶ ταῦτα σά. δοκεῖς γάρ μοι νομίζειν ἀδικήσειν, εἴ τινος ἀπολαύσεις οὗ μὴ καὶ ἐγώ. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰ δῶρά σου οὐκ ἔστιν ἀμύνασθαι, δέχου παρ’ ἡμῶν ἐνύπνιον ἀντ’ ἐνυπνίου. τὸν παῖδα κελεύσας ἅπτειν λύχνον, ὡς ἐπιστείλαιμί ἐπει- δὴ ἔμελλε, κατέδαρθον καὶ ἔδοξα παρ’ ὑμῖν τε εἶναι καὶ σὲ ζη- τεῖν. ἄγειν οὖν μέ τινα δι’ ὑψηλοῦ θεάτρου, γραῦν δέ τινα γνοῦσαν ἐφ’ ᾧπερ ἐχωροῦμεν ὁδὸν ἑτέραν ἐκείνης ἡδίω Μαὶ, καθ’ ἣν ἰόντας ἐντυχεῖν σοι καθημέ ῳ πρός τινι νεῷ καὶ κή- πῳ, τὴν δὲ ἀνάβασιν τὴν εἰς τὸν νεών, βαθμοὺς οὐκ ὀλίγους, ὑπὸ νέων πηδώντων κατέχεσθαι θαυμαζόντων ὅπως ἡμιλλῶ πρὸς Δημοσθένους λόγον τούτων δὴ τώ κατὰ τοῦ Φιλίππου, σὲ δ’ ἰδόντα μὶν ἡμᾶς ἀναστῆναι, τοῦ λέγειν δὲ οὐκ ἀποστῆ- ναι, ὥστε τι καὶ ἡμᾶς ἀκοῦσαι. ἴν με ἠδίκησεν ἡ νύξ· οὐκ ἐφύλαξα τὸ ῥηθέν. σοὶ δ’ εἴ τι τοιοῦτον ἐστι, πέμπε καὶ ὑπερ- ευγραινε.