Letter 409: I know a letter from me delights you.
I know a letter from me delights you. You were the one who used to fly to hear me speak and then fly again with excitement during the lectures, rushing to every session and doing everything to take it all in.
It was obvious, then, that you would not dishonor a letter from someone whose speeches you honor. And I repay you with pride -- pride that you are well regarded by the wise Olympius, a man who visits the sick and restores them to health, and who is so true a friend that he would march against the Gorgons themselves for a friend's sake.
You will see him doing remarkable things in the struggles he undertakes on our behalf -- struggles in which you will surely join, even if no one urges you to.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
Ἱταλικιαῷ (355)
Οἶδ’ ὅτι σε εὐφραίνει γράμμα ἐμόν. σὺ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ὁ
πετόμενος μέν, ὅπως ἂν ἡμῶν ἀκούσαις, πετόμενος δὲ αὖθις
όπὸ τῶν λόγων έν τῷ συλλόγῳ, καὶ σπεύδων τε ἐπ’ ἀκρόασιν
καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ πάντα δρῶν.
ἦν οὖν δῆλον ὡς οὐκ ἀτιμάσεις
ἐπιστολὴν οὖ τιμᾷς τοὺς λόγους. ἀμείβομαι δέ σε τῷ μέγα
φρονεῖν, ὅτι δοκεῖς εἶναι καλὸς Ὀλυμπίῳ τῷ σοφῷ, ὃς βαδίζει
μὲν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀρρωστοῦντας καὶ ἐμπίμπλησι. φίλος γε μὴν οὕτω
σαφὴς ὥστε κἂν ἐπὶ τὰς Γοργόνας φίλῳ συστρατεύσαι.
ὄψει
δὲ αὐτὸν θαυμαστὰ ἐργαζόμενον ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἄθλοις,
ὧν κοινωνήσεις δήπου, κἂν μηδεὶς ἐπεγείρῃ.
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