To Demetrius. (358/359)
Domnus has done me three favors right around the festival of the goddesses: he gives you the means to write, he carries your letters to me, and he always adds to your letters some account of you in person.
We first rescued him from the harassment connected with his impending marriage alliance, and now we have placed him in a more secure position than before, by showing a certain man how painful it would be for us if Domnus were harmed. May the gods be favorable to the man who neither refused the favor nor granted it grudgingly.
Now we have also spoken to the noble Euthalius, whose eagerness to oblige cut our request short. As for this good old man, we could compel him at this point if necessary, since the Marriage god himself has given us that right by joining our families.
So Domnus's affairs have reached a place of safety. As for this most delightful new product of your land -- I knew him as a young man, but had not seen him for a long time until now. And to make sure this rare treat does not run out too quickly, I am rationing it carefully and telling the servants to be sparing.
**To Demetrius** (358/359)
Domnus gives me three delights at once: he provides you the means to write, he carries your letters to me, and he always adds to your epistles some account of how you are doing.
We ourselves first rescued him from the harassment arising from his intended marriage alliance, and now we have established him in a security greater than before, having shown a certain powerful man how painful it would be to us if any violence were done to Domnus. And may he enjoy the favor of kindly gods — he who neither shrank from granting the favor nor gave it grudgingly.
And now we have also had words with the noble Euthalius, words he did not allow to become lengthy, so swift was he to oblige. As for this good old man, we could even compel him at this point, for this too is ours by right of the Marriage that mingled our families.
So then, Domnus's affairs have reached a point of safety. But this most delightful novelty, this fresh produce of your land — I had known of it for some time, yet only now, after a long interval, have I tasted it. And so that my long-awaited supply not run out too quickly, I am rationing it and ordering the servants to be sparing.
But delicious as it is to eat, it found an even more delightful portion in the part where you composed a kind of hippocentaur — an "Argive" one. Not an Argive one, you say, as if reproaching those who first coined the name for not discovering a fine word with a fine ring to it. Golden Herodotus, I think, would not have hesitated — he would have made every effort to work it into his histories, so as to seem a man of vast knowledge.
You surely know the fellow I mean. But you did well to fear the unpleasantness of the name. For it is a long word of five syllables, and in each syllable the second letter is an alpha, so that the man who tries to pronounce it practically bursts out laughing — such is the effect the name has on one's mouth.
Still, for one who remembers the thousand measures of Euneus's wine, it would have been quite possible to mention also the thirteen thousand bushels of Leucon.
Domnus has done me three favors right around the festival of the goddesses: he gives you the means to write, he carries your letters to me, and he always adds to your letters some account of you in person.
We first rescued him from the harassment connected with his impending marriage alliance, and now we have placed him in a more secure position than before, by showing a certain man how painful it would be for us if Domnus were harmed. May the gods be favorable to the man who neither refused the favor nor granted it grudgingly.
Now we have also spoken to the noble Euthalius, whose eagerness to oblige cut our request short. As for this good old man, we could compel him at this point if necessary, since the Marriage god himself has given us that right by joining our families.
So Domnus's affairs have reached a place of safety. As for this most delightful new product of your land -- I knew him as a young man, but had not seen him for a long time until now. And to make sure this rare treat does not run out too quickly, I am rationing it carefully and telling the servants to be sparing.
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.