Letter 477: My previous letter was carried by the sons of Bassus, whose father is a man of distinction.

To Arabius. (356 AD) My previous letter was carried by the sons of Bassus, whose father is a man of distinction. This Malchus here has no such advantage, but he possesses in abundance the truly good qualities — self-control, fairness, a passion for learning, and the practice of eloquence. He would never presume to ask a favor by making a nuisance of himself, yet if he receives a kindness, he would sooner forget his own name than the debt of gratitude. He is so excellent a man that when, as he was asking for letters of introduction to my acquaintances there, I told him I would also give him one to you, he lowered his eyes to the ground and blushed, making clear by his silence that while he longed to receive such a letter, he considered it above his station. And it was precisely this that made me think he deserved it all the more — because he understood the value of the gift. Such, then, is the character of our Malchus. That he is also fortunate, the present occasion shows: he will see your beautiful city made still more beautiful by the divine head that governs it [i.e., your governorship], which introduces every good thing and drives out every ill.

Ἀραβίῳ. (356) Τὴν μὲν πρὸ ταύτης ἐπιστολὴν Βάσσου παῖδες ἐκόμιζον, οἷς λαμπρὸς ὁ πατήρ· Μάλχῳ δὲ τούτῳ τοιοῦτον μὲν οὐδέν, τὰ δὲ ὄντως ἀγαθὰ πάνυ πολλά, σωφροσύνη τε καὶ ἐπιείκεια καὶ λόγων ἐπιθυμία καὶ λόγων ἐργασία. οὗτος ἐνοχλήσας μὲν οὐκ ἄν εὑ παθεῖν ἀξιώσαι, παθὼν δὲ εὖ πρότερον ἂν τοῦ ὀνόματος ᾧ καλεῖται ἢ τῆς χάριτος ἐπιλάθοιτο. οὕτω δέ ἐστι βέλτιστος ὥστ’, ἐπειδὴ δεομένῳ γράμματα λαβεῖν πρὸς τοὺς ἐκεῖ μοι γνωρίμους ἔφην, ὅτι καὶ πρὸς σὲ δώσω, κύψας εἰς γῆν ἠρυθρίασε σιγῇ δῆλον ποιῶν ὡς ἐπιθυμοῖ μὲν λαβεῖν, μεῖζον δὲ αὑτοῦ τὸ λαβεῖν ἄγοι. κατ’ αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο μᾶλλον ἐδόκει μοι δίκαιος εἶναι λαβεῖν, ὅτι τὸ κέρδος οὐκ ἠγνόει. τὸν μὲν οὖν τρόπον τοιοῦτος ἡμῖν ὁ Μάλχος· ὅτι δὲ καὶ εὐτυχής, δηλοῖ τὸ παρόν. τὴν γὰρ δὴ καλὴν πόλιν ἔτι καλλίω ὄψεται τῆς θείας ἀρχούσης κεφαλῆς, ἣ πάντα μὲν εἰσάγει τὰ χρηστά, πάντα δὲ ἐζελαύνει τὰ χείρω