Letter 656: When I heard that you turned your troubles into an occasion for philosophy, I nearly praised the man who wronged you.
To Sarpedon. (361 AD)
When I heard that you turned your troubles into an occasion for philosophy, I nearly praised the man who wronged you. But when I met the excellent Mariane and experienced her character firsthand, I was amazed you hadn't made the change sooner, living as you do with such a woman. But it was fated, it seems, that your happiness would come late.
Hold to your present course, hoping to accomplish something great, but counting even small gains in such matters as great. Consider this my repayment for the time you saved my life — when, after drinking a purgative, I was rushing to the baths at the wrong hour and you stopped me.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Σαρπηδόνι. (361)
Ἀκούσας ὅτι οἷς ἠνιάθης ἀφορμῇ πρὸς φιλοσοφίαν
ἐχρήσω, μικροῦ τὸν λυπήσαντα ἐπῄνεσα· ὡς δὲ εἶδον τὴν
ἀρίστην Μαριανὴν καὶ πεῖραν τῆς γνώμης ἔλαβον, ἐθαύμασα
ὡς οὐ πάλαι τὴν μετάστασιν ἐποιήσω τοιαύτη γυναικὶ συν-
οικῶν. ἀλλ’ εἵμαρτο, ὡς ἔοικε, βραδέως ἐν εὐδαιμονίᾳ γε-
νέσθαι.
ἔχου δὴ τῆς παρούσης τάξεως ἐλπίζων μέν τι καὶ
μέγα δράσειν, καὶ τὸ μικρὸν δὲ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἡγούμενος
μέγα. ταῦτά σοι μισθὸς ἀντὶ τῆς σωτηρίας ἥν με ἔσωσας, ὅτε
ἐπὶ φαρμάκου πόσει πρὸς βαλανεῖον οὐκ ἐν ὥρᾳ θέων ὑπὸ
σοῦ διεκωλύθην.
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