Letter 321: To Κληματἰῳ. (358)

To Κληματἰῳ. (358) Best of all is to enjoy a good wife, but a beautiful one is no bad thing either, since even the wiser heads count that worth something. Learning her character from you gave me pleasure; seeing her beauty in person, I congratulated both her parents and you — them for what they produced, you for what you possess. She would satisfy even Delos-born Homer, who adorned women with likenesses to golden Aphrodite. Remembering how you suffered the year before last at being separated from your wife — feelings I did not praise then — I now find I cannot praise them enough: so great was your longing. See to it, then, that you become a father quickly, so that since you honored me by showing me your wife, I may repay you with the labors that children bring. As for your mother-in-law, hold her as dear as your own mother. She has a fine mind and considers you a son rather than a son-in-law. Apart from everything else, the length of the journey she undertook deserves your respect. And the greatest thing: she left behind a husband who needed her and a household, and came bringing you her daughter — delighting in the praise she hears of you and counting such words worth more than great possessions.

Κληματἰῳ. (358) Κράτιστον μὲν ἀγαθῆς ἀπολαύειν γυναικός, οὐ χεῖρον δὲ καὶ καλῆς, ἐπειδὴ καὶ rovro παρὰ τοῖς σοφωτέροις ἐν λό- γῳ. τῆς δὲ σῆς τοὺς μὲν τρόπους παρὰ σοῦ μανθάνων ἔχαι- ρον, τὴν δὲ ὥραν ἰδὼν τοῖς τε γονεῦσιν αὐτῆς καὶ σοὶ συνή- σθην, τοῖς μέν, οἕαν ἔφυσαν, σοὶ δέ, οἴαν ἔχεις. Δήλῳ δή ποτε τοῖον καὶἰκέληχρυσῇἈφροδίτῃκαὶοἷςἐκόσμησε γυναῖκας Ὅμηρος πάντα ἂν δέξαιτο ἀναμιμνησκόμενος οὖν, ὅπως ἤλγεις προπέρυσι τῷ τῆς γυναικὸς ἀφεστάναι, ἐφ’ οἶς σε τότε οὐκ ἐπῄνουν, νῦν ἐπαινεῖν οὐκ ἔχω πρὸς ἀξίαν· οὕτω μέγα ἐπόθεις. σκόπει οὖν ὅπως ἔσῃ ταχέως πατήρ, ἴν’, ἐπειδή με ἐτίμησας τῷ τὴν γυναῖκα δειΜ, ἔχοιμί σε ἀμείψασθαι τοῖς περὶ τοὺς παῖδας πόνοις. ἡ πενθερὰ δέ σοι τίμιον ὥσπερ ἡ μήτηρ ἔστω. φρένες τε γὰρ ἀγαθαὶ καὶ σὲ παῖδα μᾶλλον ἢ κηδεστὴν ἡγεῖται. καὶ χωρὶς τῶν ἄλλων τῆς ὁδοῦ τὸ μῆκος ἣν ἔπεισιν ἄξιον αἰδεσθῆναι. καὶ τὸ μέ- γιστον, ἄνδρα γὰρ αὐτῆς δεόμενον καὶ οἶκον ἀφεῖσα σοὶ τὴν θυγατέρα ἄγουσα ἔρχεται τερπομένη τε οἷς ἐπαινῇ καὶ τὸ τοιαῦτα ἀκούειν τοῦ πολλὰ κεκτῆσθαι πρότερον ποιουμένη.