Letter 304: The matter is urgent, the man is honest, and the case is just.
To Modestus. (361?)
Let nothing of yours remain incomplete. Do not then let Hyperechius be known or called half a soldier. For this is the sort of name his mockers use...
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Μοδέστῳ. (361?)
Μηδὲν ἔστω τῶν σῶν ἀτελές. μὴ τοίνυν μηδ’ Ὑπερέχιος
ἥμισυ στρατιώτου μήτε ἴστω μήτε καλείσθω. τοιαῦτα γὰρ
ἐπισκώπτοντες ὀνομάζουσιν αὐτὸν οἱ μέχρι τίνος προὔβη τὸ
πρᾶγμα εἰδότες.
ἴν’ οὖν ἐκείνους τε παύσωμεν τῶν σκωμ-
μάτων καὶ τούτῳ τι γένηται τέλειον ἀγαθόν, γράφε πρὸς τὸν
ἄρχοντα Γαλατῶν, τὸν χρηστὸν Ἀκάκιον, ἃ σὲ περὶ τούτου
γράφειν εἰκός· ὡς τὴν προτέραν ἐπιστολὴν οὐκ ἐτολμήσαμεν
Ἐκδικίῳ δεῖξαι δείσαντες μὴ περὶ τὴν ὕφαλον ῥαγῇ τὸ σκάφος.
πολλὰ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος τοιαῦτα ποιῶν ηὐφραίνετο καὶ δὴ καὶ
τούτῳ δῆλος ἦν ποιήσων ἕλκος. ἀλλ’ οὐχ ὁ νῦν ἄγων τὸ
ἔθνος ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ δικαίου λόγον καὶ τοῦ σοὶ χαρίζεσθαι
ποιούμενος οὐδὲν διαστρέψας τῆς ἀληθείας δώσει τὰς ἀφορ-
μὰς τῷ τέλει.
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I would not beg you to do well by Heraclides -- I command you.