Letter 516: Dulcitius belongs to the powerful faction, as you well know, but he would rather earn your esteem through decency...
To Cataphronius.
Dulcitius belongs to the powerful faction, as you well know, but he would rather earn your esteem through decency than through influence.
Let it be proof of that that he trusts a letter from me more than whatever credentials his official position provides. And the same thing strengthens his case and reflects well on you: it shows you respect rhetoricians more than you fear governors.
I am grateful to him for giving me the chance to address you. If you are inclined to reciprocate, show it in action. At the very least, it will be enough for Dulcitius to let the Egyptians know that you know who he is.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Καταφρονίῳ. (356)
Δουλκίτιός ἐστι μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς ἰσχυούσης ὅσον οἶσθα
συμμορίας, βούλοιτο δ’ ἂν ἐπιεικείᾳ μᾶλλον ἢ τῷ δύνασθαι
δόξαι τῆς παρὰ σοῦ τιμῆς τυγχάνειν.
γινέσθω δέ σοι ση-
μεῖον τὸ τοῖς παρ’ ἡμῶν αὐτὸν μᾶλλον πιστεῦσαι γράμμασιν
ἢ ὅσα τῆς ἀρχῆς ἔρχεται φέρων. τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ τούτῳ τε ἰσχυρὸν
καὶ σοί τις ἔπαινος, εἰ φαίνοιο τοὺς σοφιστὰς μᾶλλον αἰδού-
μένος ἢ τοὺς ἄρχοντας φοβούμενος.
ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν οἶδα
τούτῳ χάριν, ὅτι μοι προσειπεῖν ἔδωκέ σε· σὺ δ’ εἰ τοῦ λαβεῖν
ἔχεις, δεῖξον ἔργῳ. πάντως δὲ ἀρκέσει Δουλκιτίῳ γνῶναι
τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ὡς ἄρα αὐτὸν ἐπίστασαι.
Related Letters
The Lord, Who reveals hidden things, and makes manifest the counsels of men's hearts, has given even to the lowly knowledge of devices apparently hard to be understood. Nothing has escaped my notice, nor has any single action been unknown. Nevertheless I neither see nor hear anything but the peace of God and all that pertains to it.
A Decree concerning Physicians.
1. It has been reported to me by Actiacus the deacon, that certain men have moved you to anger against me, by falsely stating me to be ill-disposed towards your excellency. I cannot be astonished at a man in your position being followed by certain sycophants.
We're only human, and no better than our neighbors.
Will you never stop treating trifles as treasures and worthless things as priceless?