Letter 257: You wrote what a father naturally would, but your letter has not made me any better.
To Eusebius. (358)
You wrote what a father naturally would, but your letter has not made me any better. For what another man would do in response to such a letter, I was already doing before it arrived. When a man is already using every ounce of his strength and then receives an exhortation, he has no way to grant the exhorter's wish -- since he is already doing everything.
Since you are thinking of repayment, look for a kind that suits me. And the right kind is this: if you ever receive anything fine from us, say a good word about me. As for money, if I had craved a great deal, I would not now have so little.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
Εὐσεβίῳ. (358)
Σὺ μὲν ἃ πατέρα εἰκὸς ἐπέσταλκας, ἐγὼ δὲ οὐδὲν βελ-
τίων ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς γεγένημαι. ἃ γὰρ ἂν ἄλλος ἐπὶ τοῖς
γράμμασιν ἔπραττε, ταῦτ’ ἐποίουν ἐγὼ πρὶν ἥκειν τὰ γράμμα-
τα. ὅστις δὲ ἁπάσῃ τῇ ῥώμῃ χρώμενος εἶτα παρακαλεῖται, τὸ
χαρίσασθαι τοῖς παρακαλοῦσιν οὐκ ἔχει.
μεμνημένος δὲ
ἀμοιβῶν ζήτει καὶ τὰς ἐμοὶ πρεπούσας. αἱ δέ εἰσιν εἰπεῖν τι
περὶ ἐμοῦ βέλτιον, εἴ τί σοι γένοιτο παρ’ ἡμῶν καλόν. χρη-
μάτων δὲ εἰ πολλῶν ἐπεθύμουν, οὐκ ἂν ἦν μοι νῦν ὀλίγα.
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