To Eudaemon. (361 AD)
The man who brought me your letter but brought you accusations against me instead of a letter from me was, I suspect, a poor messenger. He did not act on the judgment of someone who wanted to receive a letter, but on the mere appearance of wanting one. So do not trust him in his accusations; let the length of our friendship carry more weight than his words.
As for you, I would not claim to be surprised that, being a poet, you seized upon Egypt and forgot the pleasures of the Bosporus. After all, if someone had led Cassandra to Delphi and brought her into the oracular sanctuary, I think she would no longer have valued any of the splendors of Troy above the beauties of Delphi.
And now something more has been added: Gerontius governs the Egyptians — a man who possesses eloquence and honors those who possess it. This means the tribute owed to you has doubled. For not even if someone sang the songs of Telles [a proverbially bad poet] would he be able to draw you away to himself.
The man who brought me your letter but brought you accusations against me instead of a letter from me was, I suspect, a poor messenger. He did not act on the judgment of someone who wanted to receive a letter, but on the mere appearance of wanting one. So do not trust him in his accusations; let the length of our friendship carry more weight than his words.
As for you, I would not claim to be surprised that, being a poet, you seized upon Egypt and forgot the pleasures of the Bosporus. After all, if someone had led Cassandra to Delphi and brought her into the oracular sanctuary, I think she would no longer have valued any of the splendors of Troy above the beauties of Delphi.
And now something more has been added: Gerontius governs the Egyptians — a man who possesses eloquence and honors those who possess it. This means the tribute owed to you has doubled. For not even if someone sang the songs of Telles [a proverbially bad poet] would he be able to draw you away to himself.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.