Letter 359: To the same. (~358 AD)

To the same. (~358 AD) This Domnus had a good father and an even better father-in-law — for he married the daughter of Celsus, thanks to whom Syrians are not strangers to the Italian language. But Domnus himself is the kind of man who, even without either of those connections, would rightly be honored for his character alone. Living in a soldier's dress, he displays a disposition finer than that life's usual boldness — free from recklessness, incapable of cunning, regarding unjust gain as a loss, ready to grant a favor and to repay one received, more inclined to smile than to frown. In short, he has given no one cause for blame on any count, but many people cause for praise on a great many. He has completed his service here and now transfers by regulation to a higher military post. His one hope of faring well there rests on your influence — and he does have reason to hope for that influence. For two things are sung among us: that you wish to help those who come from here, and that your power matches your will. What Domnus now hears, he will soon tell others from experience.

Τῷ αὐτῶ. (358) Δόμνῳ τούτῳ πατήρ τε ἦν ἀγαθὸς καὶ κηδεστὴς βελτίων· γαμεῖ γὰρ θυγατέρα Κέλσου, δι’ ὃν οὐκ ἄμοιροι Σύροι τῆς Ἰταλῶν φωνῆς. ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Δόμνος τοιοῦτος, οἶος, εἰ καὶ μηδέτερον ὧν ἔφην εἶχεν, ἀπὸ τῶν τρόπων εἰκότως ἂν τιμᾶσθαι. ζῶν γὰρ ἐν στρατιώτου σχήματι καλλίω γνώμην παρέχεται τοῦ βίου θράσους ἀπηλλαγμένος, πανουργεῖν οὐκ εἰδώς, κέρδος ἄδικον βλάβην ἡγούμενος, χάριν ἕτοιμος μὲν δοῦναι, λαβὼν δὲ ἀποδοῦναι, μᾶλλον μειδιῶν ἢ σκυθρωπάζων, ἁπλῶς μέμψεως μὲν οὐδενὶ δοὺς ἐπ’ οὐδενὶ πρόφασιν, ἐπαίνου δὲ πολλοῖς ἐπὶ πάνυ πολλοῖς. τὴν μὲν οὖν τῇδε διακονίαν πεπλήρωκε, νόμῳ δὲ πρὸς τὴν μείζω στρατείαν μεθίσταται. τοῦ δ’ ὡς ἄριστα πράξειν ἐκεῖ μίαν ἐλπίδα τὴν σὴν ἔχει ῥο- πή ἔχει δέ γε καὶ τῆς ῥοπῆς αὐτῆς ἐλπίδας. δύο γὰρ δὴ ταῦτα παρ’ ἡμῖν ᾄδεται, ὡς ἐθέλεις τε τοῖς ἐνθένδε βοηθεῖν καὶ δύναμις ἴση τῇ γνώμῃ. ἃ νῦν ἀκούων Δόμνος ἐπὶ τοῖς ἕργοις πρὸς ἄλλους ἐρεῖ.