Letter 256: What you write is neither true nor flattering to us -- you who wrestled with our teaching for so long.

To Iphicrates. (358/359) What you write is neither true nor flattering to us -- you who wrestled with our teaching for so long. Whether anything of value resides in our school, I cannot say, but what we do have is more freely available to those who want it than the waters of a fountain. And among my students, the one who is loved most is the one who gives me the most work to do. As for Philopatris, if he can persuade himself that eloquence is a fine possession, he will come back to you carrying the kind of thing that will make you happy. You, meanwhile, have already made me happy by telling me that the governor really is what his title says he is. I am grateful to Eutherius because he is a good man, and to you because you report such things about him.

Ἰφικράτει. (358/59) Οὔτ᾿ ἀληθῆ γράφεις οὔθ’ ἡμῖν κεχαρισμένα, ὃς τοσοῦ- τον ἡμῖν προσεπάλαισας χρόνον. παρ’ ἡμῖν δὲ εἰ μέν τι κεῖ- τᾶι χρηστόν, οὐκ οἶδα, τῶν δὲ ὄντων ἀπολαῦσαι πρόκειται τοῖς ἐθέλουσι μᾶλλον ἢ κρηνῶν. καὶ τῶν νέων οὗτος φιλεῖται πλέον ὅστις αἴτιος μοι πλείω πονεῖν. Φιλόπατρις δὲ εἰ πεί- σειεν αὑτὸν κτῆμα καλὸν εἶναι τοὺς λόγους, ἥξει φέρων ὑμῖν ἐφ’ οἷς ἡδίω σε ποιήσει. σὺ μέντοι με ἤδη πεποίηκας ἡδίω τὸν ἄρχοντα φάσκων εἶναι τοῦτο ὃ καλεῖται. καὶ ἔχω χάριν Εὐθηρίῳ μέν, ὅτι ἐστὶν ἀγαθός, σοὶ δέ, ὅτι τοιαῦτα περὶ Εὐ- θηρίου μηνύεις.