Letter 688

To Acacius. (362) "Not without a god," as Homer says — and you did not write this without the hand of Asclepius. He himself clearly guided your pen. And since he is Apollo's son, it stands to reason he possesses something of his father's artistry and bestows it on whomever he pleases. How could he not assist you in a speech written on his own behalf? From the first syllable to the last, your oration is a garden of the Muses — gleaming with beauty, persuading with its arguments, and achieving its aim. Now it displays the god's power through the inscriptions of those he healed; now it dramatizes the war of the godless against the temple — the demolition, the fire, the desecrated altars, the suppliants wronged and denied relief from their sufferings. The passage about the one who proves himself superior to Hadrian in his devotion to temples is stirred by inspired artistry. And greater still is the passage on his namesake [Julian], which leaves the reader no room even to deliberate — it simply compels with its ideas and enchants with its language. The speech's very length has become its beauty, for it arrives at precisely the right moment. You seem to me a better orator now than you were before the troubles. For having received back from the gods the power of reasoning, you received it back in finer form than what was taken from you — the gods compensating for the misfortune with this addition. I believe the same happened with Pelops after the cauldron: he was restored to Tantalus more beautiful than he had been when he was carved up as a dinner for the gods. I also received a fine letter about fine things — a true sister to the works it described. And hear what happened to me: I received both letter and speech in the middle of a lecture. Titianus handed them over with a smile, knowing what he was giving. Having read the letter at once, I knew I should postpone the other until I had quiet — but I could not. No sooner had I set it down than I picked it up again, dividing myself between my students and you. And this was a gain for the students, for I spoke of you with greater flow. Keep writing on behalf of the god, and keep acting — and in your prayers, do not forget my head.

Ἀκακίῳ. (362) Οὐχ ἄνευθε θεοῦ Ὅμηρος οὐδὲ σὺ ταῦτα ἄνευ τῆς Ἀσκληπιοῦ ῥοπῆς, ἀλλ’ ἀκριβῶς αὐτὸς συνεφήπτετο τῆς γραφῆς. εἰκὸς δὲ αὐτὸν ὄντα Ἀπόλλωνος ἔχειν τι τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς μουσικῆς καὶ νέμειν οἷς ἂν ἐθέλῃ. σοὶ δὲ πῶς οὐκ ἔμελλεν ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ συλλήψεσθαι λόγοις; ἐντεῦθεν ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης μέχρι τῆς ἐσχάτης συλλαβῆς Μουσῶν ἀν- θρηνίον ὁ λόγος κάλλεΐ τε στίλβων καὶ πείθων ένθυ- μήμασι καὶ πράττων ὃ σπεύδει, νῦν μὲν τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δύνα- μιν δεικνὺς ἐκ τῶν ἐπιγραμμάτων ἃ ἦν τῶν ὑγιανάντων, νῦν δὲ τραγῳδῶν τὸν τῶν ἀθέων κατὰ τοῦ νεὼ πόλεμον, τὴν κατασκαφήν, τὸ πῦρ. τοὺς ὑβριζομένους βωμούς, τοὺς ἀδι- κουμένους ἱκέτας οὐκ ἐωμένους ἀπαλλαγῆναι κακῶν. ἀλλὰ μὴν ὅ γε βελτίων Ἀδριανοῦ τῇ περὶ τοὺς νεὼς δεικνύμενος γνώμη δαιμονίᾳ κεκίνηται τέχνῃ, τούτου δ’ αὖ μείζων ὁ ὁμώνυμος οὐδὲ βουλεύσασθαι τῷ δεχομένῳ τὴν παράκλησιν ἐπιτρέπων, ἁπλῶς δὲ πάντα ταῖς μὲν ἐννοίαις ἀναγκάζει, τοῖς δὲ ὀνόμασι θέλγει. καὶ γέγονε τῷ λόγῳ τὸ μέγεθος κάλλος· ἥκει γὰρ μετὰ τοῦ καιροῦ. καί μοι δοκεῖς ἀμείνων νῦν πεφηνέναι ῥήτωρ ἡ ἦσθα πρὸ τῆς ταραχῆς. ἀπολαβὼν γάρ, οἶμαι, τὸ λογίζεσθαι παρὰ τῶν θεῶν κάλλιον ἀπέλαβες ἢ ἀφῃρέθης παραμυθουμένων τῇ προσθήκῃ τὸ ουμβάν· ὃ καὶ περὶ τὸν Πέλοπα πείθομαι γενέσθαι μετὰ τὸν λέβητα · χαρι- έστερον γὰρ ἀποδοθῆναι τῷ Ταντάλῳ τὸν υἱὸν ἢ οἷος ἦν, ὅτε εἰς δεῖπνον τοῖς θεοῖς κατετέμνετο. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐπι- στολὴν καλὴν περὶ καλῶν ἔλαβον ἀδελφὴν ἀτεχνῶς ἐκείνων, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐβούλετο δηλοῦν. καὶ ὅ γε ἔπαθον, ἄκουσον· ἔλαβον μὲν ἄμφω μέσον τῆς συνουσίας, ἐδίδου δὲ Τιτιανὸς μειδιῶν εἰδὼς ἃ ἐδίδου τὴν ἐπιστολὴν δὲ εὐθὺς ἀναγνοὺς ἔγνων μὲν ἀναβαλέσθαι θάτερον εἰς ἡσυχίαν, οὐ μὴν ἐδυνήθην, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἔφθην καταθέμενος καὶ ἀνειλόμην εἷτ᾿ ἐμέριζον ἐμαυτὸν εἰς τε τοὺς νέους καὶ σέ. καὶ ἦν τοῦτο κέρδος τοῖς νέοις. μείζειν γὰρ ἔρρεον περὶ σοῦ. γράφε τοίνυν ὑπὲρ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πρᾶττε κἀν ταῖς εὐχαῖς μὴ τῆς ἐμῆς ἀμνημόνει κεφαλῆς.