Letter 26: It was only right that your brother should be honored in this way by you and my friend by me.

To Demetrius. (358/59) It was only right that your brother should be honored in this way by you and my friend by me. That the time you spent mourning him was painful is no surprise -- even things that are not deeply distressing become hard for those in such a state. Now that you have left the acorns behind and have your wheat -- to borrow your own comparison -- I will follow you, imitating you in one respect but falling short in another. For when your letter arrived, sweet as honey, I matched it with a letter of my own, but when I looked for something to match your gift, I found nothing except praise for the gift itself. And that "Attic" quality of yours is not just a name; it truly comes from the labors of bees on Mount Hymettus [famous for its honey]. Fine as it was, though, that honey was surpassed by the pleasure your letter gave me.

**To Demetrius** (358/59) It was only right that he should be honored with such an honor — as your brother by you, and as my friend by me. That the time of his illness proved difficult for you is no wonder, for even things not terribly painful become hard to bear for those in such a state. Now, however, since you have let go of the acorn and taken hold of the wheat — for that is the very image you yourself use — I shall follow you, imitating you in one respect while being outdone in another. For when a letter arrived from your end along with honey, in writing back I do something equal to the letter, but when I searched for what I might offer you in return for your gift, I found nothing — except to praise the gift itself. For "Attic" is no mere name in this case; it is truly and simply the product of the labors on Hymettus, where the bees toil upon the mountain. Yet fine as it was, even that honey was surpassed by the sweetness you gave us to taste in what you wrote.

Δημητρίῳ. (358/59) Ἔδει γὰρ καὶ τοιαύτη τιμηθῆναι τιμῇ παρά τε σοῦ τὸν ἀδελφὸν παρά τε ἐμοῦ τὸν φίλον. δυσχερῆ δέ σοι γενέσθαι τὸν ἐπ’ ἐκείνῳ χρόνον οὐ θαῦμα· καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὰ μὴ λίαν ἀλ- γεινὰ τοῖς ὧδε ἔχουσι χαλεπά. νῦν οὖν ἐπειδὴ τῆς δρυὸς ἀφέμενος ἔχῃ τῶν πυρῶν, οὕτω γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπεικάζεις, ἕψομαι τὸ μὲν μιμούμενος, ἐν δὲ τῷ νικώμενος. ἡκόντων γὰρ ἐκεῖθεν γραμμάτων καὶ μέλιτος γράφων μὲν ἴσον τι ποιῶ τοῖς γράμμασιν, ὅ τι δ’ ἂν ἀντὶ τοῦ δώρου γένοιτό σοι ζητῶν οὐχ εὗρον πλὴν ὅσον ἐπαινέσαι τὸ δῶρον. οὐ γὰρ ὄνομα ἄλλως τὸ Ἀττικόν, ἀλλ’ ἀτεχνῶς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν Ὑμηττῷ πόνων οὓς ἐν τῷ ὄρει πονοῦσιν αἱ μέλιτται. τοιοῦτον δὲ ὂν ὅμως ἡττᾶτο τῆς ἡδονῆς ἧς ἡμᾶς ἐν οἷς ἐπέστελλες ἔγευσας.