Letter 348: Why should I not tell you the things with which I delight myself?

To Spectatus. The things with which I delight myself, why should I not say them also to you? I delight myself, then, by seeming to behold your affairs and by exclaiming at each one: now for us Spectatus is not far from the emperor, now he is very close, now standing beside him he recounts his journey to the Persian, the rivers he crossed, the land he traversed, the nations, the manner of living, the speeches he made on the matters of his embassy. And the king, with a gentle countenance that reveals his pleasure, praises the orator, and seeking an honor for him finds none greater than to send him again. But he, reluctantly, calls to mind a certain sophist of his own household, to whom he makes splendid promises but performs not even small things, persuading himself that it is enough to laugh and to kiss a head, and the charge is discharged. Such are the matters in which I rejoice exceedingly over some things, while over others, though I find fault, I am not grieved; since even as for the pepper - which I most of all hoped for, but least of all received - I laugh heartily, seeing you a disciple of the general Chares, at least as far as promises go. But that horse, which you presented to Bassianus, proves me a slanderer. Most certainly. For indeed it is descended from those whose ancestor is the North Wind. Therefore it needs the North Wind in order to move, and unless a violent blast falls upon it, it remains rooted to the spot like the stones. And I believe it will also do the deed of Xanthus, and under a multitude of blows will utter a human voice: such an excellence of horses you have discovered for us.

Σπεκτάτῳ. (358/58) Οἷς οὖν ἐμαυτὸν τέρπω, τί οὐ καὶ πρὸς σὲ λέγω; τέρπω τοίνυν ἐμαυτὸν ὁρᾶν τε τὰ σὰ δοκῶν καὶ φθεγγόμενος ἐφ’ ἑκάστῳ· νῦν ἡμῖν ὁ Σπεκτάτος οὐ πόρρω βασιλέως, νῦν ἐγγύτατα, νῦν παρ’ αὐτῷ διηγεῖται τὴν ὡς τὸν Πέρσην ὁδόν, ποταμοὺς οὓς διέβη, γῆν ἣν ἐπῆλθεν, ἔθνη, δίαιταν, τοὺς περὶ ὧν ἐπρέσβευε λόγους. ὀ δὲ ἡμέρῳ τε τῷ προσέπῳ καὶ μηνύοντι τὴν ἡδονὴν ἐπαινεῖ τὸν ρήτορα καὶ τιμὴν αὐτῷ ζη- τῶν οὐχ εὑρίσκει μείζονα τοῦ πέμψαι πάλλιν. ὁ δὲ μόλις μέν, ἀναμιμνήσκεται δὲ σοφιστοῦ τινος οἰ- κείου, ᾧ λαμπρὰ μὲν ὑπισχνεῖται, πράττει δὲ οὐδὲ μικρὰ πείθων αὑτὸν ὡς ἀρκεῖ τε γελάσαι καὶ φιλῆ- σαι κεφαλήν, καῖ τὸ ἔγκημα λέλυται. τοισῦτα μέν ἐστιν ἐφ’ οἷς τὰ μὲν ὑπερχαίρω, τὰ δ’ αἰτιώμενος οὐκ ἄχθομαι, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ πέπερι μάλιστα μὲν ἐλπίσας, ἥκιστα δὲ λαβὸν πάνυ γελῶ μαθητὴν ὁρῶν σε τοῦ στρατηγοῦ Χάρητος, ὅσα γε εἰς ὑποσχέσεις. ἀλλὰ ἵππος ἐκεῖνος, ῳ Βασσια- νὸν ἐδωρήσω, δείκνυσί με συκοφάντην. μάλιστά γε. καὶ γάρ ἐστιν ἀπ’ ἐκείνων, οἷς ὁ Βορέας πρόγονος. τοιγαροῦν δεῖται τοῦ Βορέου πρὸς τὸ κινεῖσθαι, κἂν μὴ σφοδρὸν ἐμ- πέσῃ πνεῦμα, κατὰ τοὺς λίθους μένει. πιστεύω δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ τοῦ Ξάνθου ποιήσειν, ὑπὸ πλήθους πληγῶν φωνὴν ἀφήσειν ἀνθρωπίνην· τοιαύτην ἡμῖν ἀρετὴν ἵππων ἐξεῦρες.