Letter 566: This man is the son of Himerius, nephew of Sopater, namesake of Iamblichus [the famous Neoplatonist philosopher],...

To Aristainetus. This man is the son of Himerius, nephew of Sopater, namesake of Iamblichus [the famous Neoplatonist philosopher], and both my kinsman and my friend. The moment you have him, consider him your friend too. Do not warm to the young man gradually -- throw open all your resources to him the instant you read this letter. Do not judge his character by his age; judge by his character, and count this young man among the elders. He loves me as a mother does, feels shame before me as a son would, and fears me as a servant might. But the greatest thing about him is this: believing that the strongest compulsion toward virtue is the worship of the gods, he would rather become Irus [the proverbially poor beggar in Homer's Odyssey] than abandon that worship to become Cinyras [the mythically rich king]. Having inherited his father's estate and his father's friends, he has enlarged the circle of friends while refusing to bother about the estate. He quotes Euripides approvingly -- "a true friend is worth buying with a great deal of money" -- and in acquiring that possession, he spends what he has. When you learn who invited him, on what errand, and in what spirit he travels, you will admire his indifference to wealth, praise the wisdom with which he tries to escape what he does not consider honorable, and call him blessed for his judgment in matters of religion. So welcome his noble nature, pray with him for his release, and send him on his way -- toward Italy, or rather, toward Syria.

Ἀρισταινέτῳ. (357) Τὸν Ἱμερίου μὲν υἱόν, Σωπάτρου δὲ ἀδελφιδοῦν, Ἰαμ- βλίχῳ δὲ ὁμώνυμον, ἐμὸν δὲ καὶ συγγενῆ καὶ φίλον ἔχων εὐθὺς ἡγοῦ καὶ σαυτοῦ φίλον καὶ μὴ κατὰ βραχὺ συγκεράννυ τῷ νεανίσκῳ σαυτόν, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τοῖς γράμμασιν ἀναπέτασον αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ πράγματα μὴ τῇ ἡλικίᾳ κρίνων τὸν τρόπον, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ τρόπου τὸν νέον τιθεὶς εἰς γέροντας. οὗτος ἐμὲ φιλεῖ μὲν ὥσπερ ἡ μήτηρ, αἰσχύνεται δὲ ὥσπερ υἱός, φοβεῖται δὲ ὡς ἂν οἰκέτης. τὸ δὲ μέγιστον τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ, νο- μίζων τὴν μεγίστην ἀνάγκην εἰς ἀρετῆς ἄσκησιν εἶναι θεοὺς τιμῶν δέξαιτ’ ἂν Ἶρος γενέσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ μὴ τιμῶν Κινύρας. κληρονομήσας δὲ πατρῴας οὐσίας καὶ φίλων τὸ μὲν τῶν φίλων ηὔξησε μέρος, τὸ δὲ ἐκείνης οὐκ ἠξίωσεν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπαι- νῶν Εὐριπίδην λέγοντα τοῦν ἔχοντος εἶναι φίλον πρίασθαι χρημάτων πολλῶν σαφῆ, τοῦτο τὸ κτῆμα κτώμενος ἀναλίσκει τῶν ὄντων. ἀκούσας δέ, τίς μὲν αὐτὸν ὁ καλῶν, ἐφ’ ὃ δὲ καλούμενος τίνι γνώμῃ πορεύεται, θαυμάσῃ μὲν αὐτοῦ τὸ μὴ θαυμάσαι πλοῦτον, ἐπαινέσῃ δὲ τὴν σοφίαν, ᾗ πειρᾶται δια- φεύγειν ἃ μὴ μομίζει καλά, μακάριον δὲ ἡγήσῃ τῆς περὶ τὰ θεὶα κρίσεως. ξενίσας οὖν τὴν γενναίαν φύσιν καὶ συνευ- ξάμενος αὐτῷ λυθῆναι πέμπε ἐπ’ Ἰταλίας, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐπὶ Συρίας.