Letter 373: I have no complaint against your household — quite the contrary, I am deeply grateful.

To Thalassios. (~358 AD) I have no complaint against your household — quite the contrary, I am deeply grateful. For not only do we receive what we request, but if we pause in giving instructions, they say they are being wronged because they have nothing to do for us. You, however — both your family and I myself reproach you, because you have placed the hope of some position of power ahead of being with your relatives and friends. And yet they say you are by no means idle in your conduct there: that you do not spend your time on laughter and ease and jokes and sleep, but that you work hard, stay sober, keep busy, take pleasure in men of good sense, and make the life of Spectatus your model. I would have expected you to behave this way once you had gone there, but I maintain that staying home would have been better than going. When a man has a good wife, and a young one, but no children yet, and a great estate — enough for any man's happiness — why should he leave all that behind instead of guarding it and preparing heirs from his own seed? What else is there to pursue? This has long been my view of what is best for you, and it still is. But you contrived your departure on the pretext of returning by summer, and then, having got hold of the Paeonians [a Balkan province], you broke your agreement.

Θαλασσίω. (358) Ἐγὼ τοῖς σοῖς ἐγκαλῶ μὲν οὐδέν, χάριν δὲ οἶδα πολλήν. οὐ γὰρ μόνον ὧν ἐπηγγέλλομεν τυγχάνομεν, ἀλλὰ κἂν διαλεί- πωμεν ἐπιτάττοντες, ἀδικεῖσθαί φασιν, ὅτι μηδὲν ὑπηρετοῦσι. σὲ μέντοι καὶ οἱ σοὶ καὶ αὐτὸς αἰτιῶμαι, ὅτι δὴ τοῦ συν- εῖναι καὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις καὶ τοῖς φίλοις πρότερον ἔθου δυνά- μεώς τινος ἐλπίδα. καίτοι φασὶν οὐκ ἀργῶς σε τοῖς ἐκεῖ προσφέρεσθαι. οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰς γέλωτα καὶ ῥᾳστώνην καὶ σκώμ- μαια καὶ ὕπνον ἀναλίσκειν τὸν χρόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πονεῖν καὶ νήφειν καὶ ἐνεργὸν εἶναι καὶ τοῖς σώφροσι χαίρειν καὶ παρά- δειγμα ποιεῖσθαι τὸν Σπεκτάτου βίον. ἐγὼ δὲ ἐλθόντα μὲν έκεῖσέ <σε> α ταῦτα ποιεῖν ἠξίουν, τοῦ δὲ ἐλθεῖν τὸ μένειν οἴκοι βέλτιον ἄγειν. ὅτῳ γὰρ γυνὴ μὲν ἀγαθὴ καὶ νέα, παῖδες δὲ οὐδέπω, μεγάλα δὲ τὰ ὄντα καὶ ὅσα ἂν εἰς εὐδαιμονίαν ἀρκέσαι, τί δεῖ τοῦτον ἀφέντα τὰ μὲν φυλάττειν, κληρονόμους δὲ ἐκ τοῦ σπέρματος ἑτοιμάζειν, ἄλλο τι θαυμά- ζεῖν; ἐμοὶ μὲν οὖν ταῦτα πάλαι <τε> α ἐδόκει συμφέρειν νῦν, σὺ δὲ ὡς μὲν ἐπανήξων τῷ θέρει τὴν ἔξοδον εὕρου, λαβό- μενος δὲ Παιόνων τὰς συνθήκας ἠτίμασας.