Letter 664: What people on shore feel when they watch others sailing through a storm — imagining the waves crashing against...

To Ulpianus. (~361 AD) What people on shore feel when they watch others sailing through a storm — imagining the waves crashing against their own bodies — that is what we have felt as we consider the times in which you have assumed your office. We are full of anxiety and turmoil, as though we ourselves were beset on every side by circumstances. But we pray for you, and you — strive to be worthy of your father, of your own nature, and of the education you have acquired. Show that even the harshness of the times is overcome by a noble spirit. I say this not to persuade someone who is already persuaded, but to encourage a fine impulse. As for the good Amphilochius: I know you will treat him well even if no one says a word on his behalf, yet I ask it all the same. He was my fellow student and your comrade-in-arms, a skilled teacher, and a father of children who do their father credit.

Οὐλπιανῷ (361) Ὅπερ οἱ τοὺς ἐν χειμῶνι πλέοντας ἀπὸ γῆς ὁρῶντις πάσχουσι καὶ τὰ κύματα τοῖς αὑτῶν ἡγοῦνται προσπίπτειν σώμασι, τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς λογιζόμενοι τὸν καιρόν, ἐν ᾧ παρεί- ληφας τὴν ἀρχήν, πεπόνθαμεν. μεστοὶ γοῦν ἐσμεν θόρυβοι καὶ ταραχῆς ὥσπερ αὐτοὶ κυκλούμενοι πανταχόθεν ὑπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων. ἀλλ’ ἡμεῖς μὲν σοὶ συνευχόμεθα, σὺ δὲ τοῦ τε πατρὸς καὶ τῆς σαυτοῦ φύσεως καὶ ὧν ἐκτήσω λόγων ἄξιος εἶναι πειρῶ καὶ δεῖξον ὡς ὑπὸ γνώμης γενναίας καὶ καιροῦ δυσκολία νικᾶται ταῦτα εἶπον οὐ πείθων τὸν πε- πεισμένον, ἀλλ’ ὁρμὴν καλὴν παρακαλῶν, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸν χρηστὸν Ἀμφιλόχιον οἶδα μὲν ὡς εὖ ποιήσεις, κἂν μηδεὶς ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ διαλέγηται, δέομαι δὲ ὅμως εὖ τι ποιεῖν. καὶ γὰρ ἐμὸς συμ- φοιτητὴς καὶ σὸς συστρατιώτης καὶ παιδευτὴς δεξιὸς καὶ παίδων πατὴρ ἀρκούντων εἰς τιμὴν πατρί.