Letter 640: Eudikios is said to have grieved only briefly for his father, and the reason is said to be you — you who removed...

To Maximus. (361) Eudikios is said to have grieved only briefly for his father, and the reason is said to be you — you who removed from him the very sense of his orphanhood by many great deeds, which we had the pleasure of learning from the rescued man himself in a long letter. You already receive your reward from us: applause, praise, and the knowledge that no one is ignorant of what you have done. And it is likely that greater rewards await you — of the kind the gods customarily give to good men. I once thought it necessary to exhort you, but no longer. For I see that generals rouse their soldiers with speeches before battle, but then consider the deeds themselves sufficient encouragement for what remains. This young man you have long treated well. Now you will see him sharing his father's name and his brother's character.

Μαξίμῳ. (361) Μικρὰ πενθῆσαι λέγεται Εiδkηος τὸν πατέρα, τούτου δὲ αἴτιον εἶναι σὲ τὸν τῆς ὀρφανίας αὐτῷ τὴν αἴσθησιν ἀφε- λόντα πολλοῖς καὶ μεγάλοις ἔργοις, ἃ τῶν παρόντων οὐ χεῖρον ἡμῖν ὑπῆρξε μαθεῖν αὐτοῦ τοῦ σεσωσμένου μηνύοντος ἐν ἐπι- στολῇ μακρᾷ. τὰ μὲν οὖν παρ’ ἡμῶν ἤδη κομίζῃ, κρότον καὶ ἐπαίνους καὶ τὸ μηδένα ταῦτα ἀγνοεῖν· εἰκὸς δέ σοι καὶ τοὺς μείζους ἔσεσθαι μισθούς, οὓς εἰώθασι διδόναι τοῖς ἀγα- θοῖς οἱ θεοί. παρακαλεῖν δέ σε πρότερον μὲν ᾤμην δεῖν, νῦν δὲ οὐκέτι. καὶ γὰρ ἰοὺς στρατηγοὺς ὁρῶ πρὸ μὲν τῶν ἔργων λόγῳ κινοῦντας τοὺς μαχομένους, ἔπειτα ἀρκεῖν ἡγου- μένους αὐτὰ τὰ εἰργασμένα παρακαλέσαι πρὸς τὰ λοιπά. τουτονὶ δὲ τὸν νεανίσκον πάλαι μὲν εὖ ποιεῖς, νῦν δὲ ὄψει κοινωνοῦντα τῷ μὲν πατρὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος, τῷ δὲ ἀδελφῷ τῶν τρόπων.