Letter 364: Well now — what was long in the stitching has finally come together.

To Themistius. (358 AD) Well now — what was long in the stitching has finally come together. You have taken Harpocration's tongue from us and given it to people who had no need of it, and you have loosed a knot harder to untie than the Gordian — or rather, you cut it, like that man who could not untie it either. Had you accomplished this by persuasion, I would say you had loosed it; but since you used force, I say you cut it. And now you smile, proud of your great power — drag along whatever you please. But that Zeus of yours — your patron, from whom you descended and to whom you shall return — though it was well within his power to haul up earth and sea and leave them dangling, he only threatened and never did it. You, without any chain, with a mere nod, hold whatever you wish in your hands. You will say, I suppose, that in loving your own daughter you do no wrong. But in handing over an Egyptian body to Thracian winds, consider what you are doing. I received your speech — the one that showed how greatly your embassy benefited the city — and then, learning that you were summoning rhetoricians, I said: "The great Themistius is looking for students." For who is still a rhetorician when you produce work like this? Telemachus did not resemble his father in form as much as you resemble Demosthenes in your speeches — speeches you possessed long ago but only now brought forth. The embassy deserves praise on many grounds, not least because it gave these works occasion to come before the public. So keep producing fine things, and send your speeches not only to those in power but also to those who hold no office yet perhaps still have ears.

Θεμιστίῳ. (358) Ἴδου σοι, τὸ πάλαι ῥαπτόμενον ἐπὶ τέλος ἥκει· τὴν Ἁρ- ποκρατίωνος ἡμᾶς ἀφελόμενος γλῶτταν ἔδωκας τοῖς οὐδὲν δεο- μένοις καὶ δεσμὸν χαλεπώτερον εἰς λύσιν τοῦ Γορδίου λέλυ- κἀς, μᾶλλον δέ, ἔτεμες κατ’ ἐκεῖνον τὸν οὐ δυνηθέντα λῦσαι. εἰ μὲν γὰρ πείσας εἶχες, ἔφην ἄν σε λελυκέναι, νῦν δέ, ἐβιάσω γάρ, φημί σε τεμεῖ καὶ μειδιᾷς δὴ μεγάλα φρονῶν ἐπὶ με- γάλῃ τῇ δυνάμει καὶ πᾶν ὅ τι ἂν ἐθέλῃς ἕλκε ὁ Ζεὺς δὲ ἐκεῖνος, ὁ σὸς προστάτης καὶ παρ’ οὗ κατέβης καὶ πρὸς ὃν ἄπει, πρόχειρον ὂν γῆν καὶ θάλατταν ἀνασπάσαι καὶ κρεμά- σαντα ἀφεῖναι μετεώρους ἠπείλησε μέν, οὐκ ἔδρασε δέ. σὺ δὲ ἄνευ σειρᾶς ἀπὸ νεύματος ἐν χεροῖν ἔχεις ὅ τι ἂν δόξη. τὴν μὶν οὖν σαυτοῦ φιλῶν φήσεις οὐκ ἀδικεῖν, σῶμα δὲ Αἰγύ- πτιον παραδοὺς Θρᾳκίοις πνεύμασιν ὅρα τί δράσεις. λόγον δέ σου λαβών, ὃς ὅσα τῇ πρεσβείᾳ τὴν πόλιν ὤνησας ἴΜεν, εἶτα γνοὺς ὡς μεταπέμποιο σοφιστάς, μαθητὰς ἔφην ὁ καλὸς ζητεῖ Θεμίστιος. τίς γὰρ ἔτι ῥήτωρ σοῦ τοιαῦτα δημιουργοῦντος; οὐχ οὕτως ὁ Τηλέμαχος ἐῴκει τῷ πατρὶ τὴν μορφήν, ὡς σὺ τῷ Δημοσθένει τοὺς λόγους, οὓς πάλαι κεκτη- μένος ὀψέ ποτε ἐξήνεγκας. τῇ τε οὖν ἄλλῃ δεῖ τὴν πρε- σβείαν ἐπαινεῖν καὶ ὅτι τούτοις ἔδωκεν ἀφορμὴν εἰς μέσον ἐλ- θεῖν. ποίει δὴ πολλὰ τὰ καλὰ καὶ πέμπε τοὺς λόγους μὴ τοῖς ἄρχουσι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἷς ἀρχὴ μὲν οὐκ ἔστιν, ὦτα δὲ ἴσως.