Letter 598: I care for this Olympius here for many reasons.
To Mygdonius. (357)
I care for this Olympius here for many reasons. I love him as a fellow citizen and return his love as a friend. He has both intelligence and charm, and as a judge of eloquence he is not the finest, but far from poor.
He became a soldier instead of an orator, compelled by poverty. Yet even in this he has not become rich instead of poor — unable to flatter, and finding no one enamored of his character.
But you — be that person for him. First, grant him this: that his long absence not become a charge against him. Then let something come to him that is easy for you but useful to him. For it is only right that I benefit from your influence with Musonius, and that he benefit from mine with you.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Μυγδονίῳ. (357)
Ὀλυμπίου τουτουὶ πολλαχόθεν κήδομαι. καὶ γὰρ ὡς
πολίτην φιλῶ καὶ ὡς φίλον ἀντιφιλῶ. καὶ νοῦν ἔχει καὶ
χάριν, καὶ λόγων κριτὴς οὐκ ἄκρος μέν, οὐ φαῦλος δέ.
γέγονε δὲ στρατιώτης ἀντὶ ῥήτορος πενίᾳ βιασθείς. ἀλλ’
οὐδὲ ἐν τούτῳ μέντοι πλούσιος ἀντὶ πένητος γεγένηται κο-
λακεῦσαι μὲν οὐ δυνηθείς, ἐραστὴν δὲ τῶν αὑτοῦ τρόπων
οὐχ εὑρών
ἀλλ’ οὗτος αὐτῷ σὺ γενοῦ. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν
αὐτῷ χάρισαι τὸ μὴ τὸ μῆκος τῆς ἀπουσίας ἔγκλημα αὐτῷ
καταστῆναι. ἔπειτα τῶν σοὶ μὲν ῥᾴστων, τούτῳ δὲ χρησίμων
γενέσθω τι. τῆς τε γὰρ παρὰ Μουσωνίῳ δυνάμεως δίκαιον
ἀπολαύειν ἐμὲ τοῦτόν τε τῆς ἐμῆς παρὰ σοί.
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