To Atarbius, governor. (362)
Agroicius and Eusebius are both former students of mine. Having become fine young rhetoricians, they are honored by me and by all the better sort of people, so that whenever their relatives are in trouble, there is no shortage of helpers.
Alexander here was never going to be ignored by me, since he is married to their sister. For it was obvious that his misfortune would be shared by his wife, hers by her brothers, and their grief by me.
It falls to you, then, best of men, to spare so many by sparing the first -- and the last of the chain is also your friend. Do not imagine that I think Alexander is free of blame. He himself says so and insists he deserves the harshest punishment if anyone can prove it.
I, for my part, turned out to be the one to convict him -- using the defendant himself as witness against himself. For when he mentioned your anger in conversation, I said that was itself a confession of his offense. This sickness of provoking anger has never touched you -- but Alexander may have been somewhat careless and given you reason to find fault with something he did.
Now that Alexander has --
Agroicius and Eusebius are both former students of mine. Having become fine young rhetoricians, they are honored by me and by all the better sort of people, so that whenever their relatives are in trouble, there is no shortage of helpers.
Alexander here was never going to be ignored by me, since he is married to their sister. For it was obvious that his misfortune would be shared by his wife, hers by her brothers, and their grief by me.
It falls to you, then, best of men, to spare so many by sparing the first -- and the last of the chain is also your friend. Do not imagine that I think Alexander is free of blame. He himself says so and insists he deserves the harshest punishment if anyone can prove it.
I, for my part, turned out to be the one to convict him -- using the defendant himself as witness against himself. For when he mentioned your anger in conversation, I said that was itself a confession of his offense. This sickness of provoking anger has never touched you -- but Alexander may have been somewhat careless and given you reason to find fault with something he did.
Now that Alexander has --
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.