Letter 644: To Φουρτουνατιανῷ. (361)

To Φουρτουνατιανῷ. (361) Your servants seem to be only half competent: they know perfectly well how to deliver your letters to the right people, but as for taking letters back to you from those same people, they wouldn't do it even under compulsion. I wrote back at once to your first letter and told them to collect my reply. The man said there was still plenty of time, nothing was pressing, and he certainly wouldn't be so negligent as to make me appear idle or cause you annoyance. While he was saying this, a second letter of yours arrived — Celsus coming in between with the correspondence — about which I ought to have answered first, so now I'm behind on both. Forgive the delay and blame your messenger. My goodwill toward you is, as always, prompt.

Φουρτουνατιανῷ. (361) Ἐξ ἡμισείας ἔχειν ἔοικας ἀγαθοὺς οἰκέτας, οἱ τὰ μὲν παρὰ σοῦ γράμματα καλῶς ἴσασιν οἷς δοῦναι δεῖ, τὰ δὲ πὰρ ἐκείνων ὥστε σοὶ φέρειν οὐδ’ ἂν ἀναγκαζόμενοι λάβοιεν. ἴγωγέ τοι πρὸς τὴν προτέραν ἐπιστολὴν εὐθὺς ἀντεπιστεί- λας ἐκέλευον λαμβάνειν, ὁ δὲ μέλλειν ἔφησεν ἔτι καὶ οὐδὲν κατεπείγειν, πάντως δὲ οὐχ οὕτως ἔσεσθαι κακὸς ὡς ἐμὲ μὲν ἀργὸν ἐθελῆσαι δεῖξαι, σὲ δὲ ἀνιᾶσαι. τοιαῦτα ἐκείνου λἐ- γοντος ἧκεν ἐπιστολὴ δευτέρα Κέλσου μέσου τῶν ἐπιστολῶν ἥκοντος περὶ μὲν γὰρ ἐκείνης ἤκουε παρ’ ἐμοῦ, ταύτην δὲ ἐνεχείριζεν αὐτὸς ἐν βαλανείῳ περὶ μεσημβρίαν ’ τοιαῦτα γάρ μοι νομοθετεῖ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἡ νόσος. θαυμάζω δὲ εἰ τὸ τῶν νέων ἀποκεκρίσθαι με νῦν ὀνομάζεις σχολὴν ὥσπερ οὐκ ἐννοῶν ὅτι τοῦτ’ αὐτὸ τοὺς ἄλλους ἡμῖν ἐπάγει τὸ τὰ τῶν νέων ἡσυχάζειν. οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰς ἐκείνους ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἀναχωρεῖν, ἀλλ’ ἀνάγκη τρέχειν ἢ πονηρὸν εἶναι δοκεῖν. ὥσπερ οὖν ἅτερος τοῖν σκοπέλοιν ὧν Ὅμηρος ἐμνήσθη καλύπτεται τὴν κορυφὴν διηνεκεῖ νεφέλῃ, οὕτως ἐμοὶ πραγμάτων ὄχλος Μὁε σοὶ δ’, εἰ μὲν ἀνθ’ ἡμῶν ἀρκεῖ τὰ δένδρα, σκόπει πρὸς σαυ- τὸν εἰ καλῶς ἀρκεῖ· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἡ τοῦ Μήδου πλάτανος δευ- rέρα τῶν φίλων, ἴργῳ δεῖξον.