Letter 382: I ran into Martialis — the good fellow — one evening; we were both on horseback.

To Honoratus. (358) We met one another in the evening, I and the excellent Martialis, both riding on horseback, and he, recognizing me first - perhaps because he sees more sharply, perhaps too having gathered this from my threadbare cloak - shouted and rode off, and I do the same. And telling me where he was coming from and where he was going, he said, "Write to the man who loves you" - meaning you, of course. But I asked him to correct the expression and not to say that a thing long since ceased still exists now. For that you, by your affection toward me, very nearly surpassed even Aristaenetus, I both knew myself and have taught many others. But when you put an end to this I can say; for what reason, I cannot tell. For when there came to you the office here - I mean the greater one - and to me a return that was not in all respects fortunate (for I make no complaint about the other things, but my body has been utterly ruined for me) - then, accordingly, when that storm had been stirred up, it was not in your power to do for us all that you had intended, and I was deprived of many good things and came to the experience of many terrible ones. Let it be set down, then, that these things belonged to the circumstances of the time. After this, you, being summoned from Cilicia to a more brilliant power, having written to Theophilus that you were setting out, added in the margin that I should be greeted, and my name was an appendix to a letter addressed to another. This first disturbed me and gave me cause to suspect that the old ties had indeed been shaken. And you appeared to me, by not having written to me, to have changed, and by mentioning me in a letter to another, to be willing to dissolve little by little the ties toward me, so that men might not be astounded at the change. I thought I ought to bear this too, and not yet to consider that everything had been cut off. The rule of the western Gauls, and the summons of Quirinus into a partnership of labors, and letters to that man, but to me none. What, then, ought the man to think who was formerly preferred before all others, but later held of no account? Now then, I urged Quirinus to obey, even though I myself was being slighted; but, I think, his fear concerning his child prevailed over my advice. And hearing of you the many and great things - for if in small matters you were [great], what would you be driving so great a chariot? - though I still loved, I rejoiced together with the man who had ceased to love. You step out then again into private life with the same eagerness with which you always laid down ruling, and setting foot in Bithynia you were not moved even by the place to remembrance of us. In which place you received from us small songs, yet perhaps not paltry ones. But a long time afterward there arrives a certain Galatian, a decent man, a kinsman of Arsacius. He had a lawsuit, and needed the goodwill of the one who would judge. This man brings me letters that were yours and not yours. For they were, I think, of your hand, but they were not of your mind - or rather, of this second mind of yours; so completely was nothing of that old familiarity imprinted in them, but they were bitter and savage and showed that you had been compelled, and that you were vexed at the compulsion. I, then, found fault with the letter, but he did not find fault with my readiness. From these things I had resolved to be silent - for what need is there to write to one who is unwilling? But Martialis, by his bidding, did not permit me to refuse. But you, if you are willing to state the real cause that changed you, would not need long speeches; but concealing that, you will forever be speaking, and forever you will have need of words. Thus you will not dissolve the charge. Do you wish to learn what occurred to your friends as they guessed? They think that a certain Eurymus did these things. And that Eurymus slandered his brother to Castor, but Castor did not keep silent; rather, the one spoke out, and Polydeuces proved a good boxer against Eurymus.

Ὁνωράτῳ. (358) Ἐνετύχομεν ἀλλήλοις ἑσπέρας ἐγώ τε καὶ Μαρτιάλης ὁ χρηστὸς ἐφ’ ἵππων φερόμενοι, καί με πρότερος ἐπιγνούς, ἴσως μὲν ὀξύτερον ὁρῶν, ἴσως δὲ καὶ παρὰ τοῦ τρίβωνος τοῦτο λαβών, βοήσας ἀπέβη, κἀγὼ ταὐτὸ ποιῶ. εἰπὼν δὲ ὅθεν τε ἤκοι καὶ πορεύοιτο γράψον ἔφη τῷ φιλοῦντι σὲ δὴ λέγων. ἐγὼ δὲ αὐτὸν ἠξίουν διορθοῦσθαι τὸ ῥῆμα καὶ μὴ πρᾶγμα πάλαι πεπαυμένον ἔτι νῦν εἶναι λέγειν. σὺ γὰρ ὅτι μὲν τῷ πρὸς ἐμὲ φίλτρῳ μικροῦ καὶ τὸν Ἀρισταίνετον παρ- ῆλθες, οἶσά τε καὶ πολλοὺς ἐδίδαξα. τοῦτο δὲ πότε μὲν κατέ- λυσας, ἔχω λέγειν, ἀνθ’ ὅτου δέ, εἰπεῖν οὐκ ἔχω. γενο- μένῃς γὰρ σοὶ μὲν τῆς ἐνταῦθα ἀρχῆς, τῆς μείζονος λέγω, ἐμοὶ δὲ τῆς οὐ πάντα εὐτυχοῦς ἐπανόδου, — τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλα οὐκ αἰτιῶμαι, τὸ σῶμα δέ μοι διόλωλε — τότ’ οὖν ἐκείνου τοῦ χειμῶνος ἐγηγερμένου σοί τε οὐχ ὑπῆρξεν ὅσα διενοοῦ πρᾶξαι περὶ ἡμᾶς ἐγώ τε πολλῶν μὲν ἀγαθῶν ἀπεστερήθην, πολλῶν δὲ δεινῶν εἰς πεῖραν ἦλθον. κείσθω δὴ ταῦτα εἶναι τοῦ και- ροῦ. μετὰ ταῦτα σὺ καλούμενος ἐκ Κιλικίας ἐπὶ λαμπρο- τέραν δύναμιν γράψας πρὸς Θεόφιλον ὡς ἀπαίροις προσπαρέ- γραψας ἐμὲ προσαγορεύειν, καὶ ἦν τοὐμὸν ὄνομα προσθήκη τῆς πρὸς ἄλλον ἐπιστολῆς τοῦτό με πρῶτον ἐτάραξε καὶ παρεῖχεν ὑπονοεῖν, ὡς ἄρα τἀρχαῖα κεκίνηται. καὶ ἐφαίνου δή μοι τῷ μὲν μὴ πρὸς ἐμὲ γεγραφέναι μεταβεβλῆσθαι, τῷ δὲ ἐν τῇ πρὸς ἄλλον ἐπιστολῇ μνησθῆναι κατὰ μικρὸν λύειν ἐθέλειν τὰ πρὸς ἐμὲ τοῦ μὴ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐκπλαγῆναι τῇ μετα- στάσει. φέρειν ᾤμην δεῖν καὶ τοῦτο καῐ μήπω πάντα ἡγεῖ σθαι διακεκόφθαι Γαλατῶν ἀρχὴ τῶν ἑσπερίων, καὶ Κυ- ρἰνου κλῆσις εἰς κοινωνίαν πόνων καὶ γράμματα πρὸς ἐκεῖ- νον, ἐμοὶ δὲ οὔ. τί δὴ νομίζειν ἐχρῆν τὸν πάλαι μὲν πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων, ὕστερον δὲ ἐν οὐδενὶ λόγῳ; Κυρίνῳ μὲν οὖν παρῄνουν ὑπακούειν καὶ ταῦτα ἀτιμαζόμενος, ἀλλ’, οἶμαι, τῆς ἐμῆς ἐκράτει συμβουλῆς ὁ περὶ τῷ παιδὶ φόβος. ἀκούων δέ σου τὰ πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα, εἰ γὰρ ἐν μικροῖς σὺ μέ- ίας, τίς ἂν ἦσθα τηλικοῦτον ἅρμα ἐλαύνων; φιλῶν ἔτι τῷ λήξαντι τοῦ φιλεῖν συνηδόμην. ἐκβαίνεις δὴ πάλιν εἰς ἰδιώτην διὰ σπουδῆς, μεθ’ ἦς ἀεὶ τὸ ἄρχειν ἀπέθου, καὶ Βι- θυνίας ἐπιβὰς οὐδ’ ὑπὸ τοῦ χωρίου πρὸς μνήμην ἡμῶν ἐκι- νήθης. ἐν ᾧ δὴ χωρίῳ μικρὰς μὲν ἐδέξω παρ’ ἡμῶν ᾠδάς, ἴσως δὲ οὐ φαύλας. ἀλλὰ χρόνοις ὕστερον ἀφικνεῖταί τις Γαλάτης, ἐπιεικὴς ἄνθρωπος, Ἀρσακίου συγγενής. δίκη δὲ ἦν αὐτῷ καὶ ἔδει τῆς τοῦ κρινοῦντος εὐνοίας. οὗτός μοι κο- μίζει γράμματα σά τε καἰ οὐ σά. τῆς μὲν γὰρ σῆς ἦν, οἶμαι, χειρός, τῆς δὲ σῆς οὐκ ἦν διανοίας, μᾶλλον δὲ τῆς σῆς ταυ- τῇσί τῆς δευτέρας· οὕτως οὐδὲν τῆς συνηθείας ἐκείνης ἐνετε- τύπωτο, ἀλλὰ πικρά τε ἦν καὶ ἄγρια καὶ δηλοῦντα, ὡς ἄρα ἀναγκασθείης καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀνάγκην ἄχθοιο. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἐμεμψάμην τὴν ἐπιστολήν, ἐκεῖνος δὲ τὴν ἐμὴν οὐκ ἐμέμ- ψατο προθυμίαν. ἀπὸ τούτων ἐγνώκειν μὲν σιωπᾶν, τί γὰρ δεῖ μὴ βουλομένῳ γράφειν; Μαρτιάλης δὲ κελεύων οὐκ ἐπέ- τρεπεν ἀρνεῖσθαι. σὺ δὲ ἂν μὲν τὴν οὖσαν ἐθέλῃς αἰτίαν εἰπεῖν, ἥ σε μετέστησεν, οὐκ ἂν δέοιο μακρῶν λόγων· κρύ- πτων δὲ ἐκείνην ἀεὶ μὲν ἐρεῖς, ἀεὶ δὲ δεήσῃ λόγων. οὕτως οὐ λύσεις τὴν αἰτίαν. βούλει μαθεῖν ἃ τοῖς φίλοις εἰκά- ζοῦσι παρέστη; νομίζουσιν Εὔρυμόν τινα ταῦτα εἰργάσθαι. ὁ δὲ Εὔρυμος ἐκεῖνος διέβαλλε τῷ Κάστορι τὸν ἀδελφόν, ἀλλ’ οὐχ ὁ Κάστωρ ἐσίγησεν, ἀλλ’ ὁ μὲν ἔφρασεν, ὁ δὲ Πολυδεύ- κης ἀγαθὸς ἐγένετο πύκτης ἐπὶ τὸν Εὔρυμον.