Letter 742: Agroicius and Eusebius are both former students of mine.

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 --

Ἀταρβίῳ. (362) Ἀγροίκιος καὶ Εὐσεβίος τῶν ἐμοὶ πεπλησιακότων ἐστόν· γενομένω δὲ τὼ νεανίσκω ῥήτορε γενναίω τιμῶνται μὲν ὑπ ἐμοῦ, τιμῶνται δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν δεξιωτέρων, ὥστε καὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις αὐτοῖν, εἰ ταράττοιντο, συμβαίνει τῶν βοηθησόντων εὐπορεῖν. Ἀλέξανδρος τοίνυν οὗτος οὐκ ἔμελλεν ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ περιοφθὴ- σεσθαι συνοικῶν ἐκείνοιν ἀδελφῇ· δῆλον γὰρ ἦν ὡς τῆς μὲν τούτου συμφορᾶς ἡ γυνὴ κοινωνήσει, τῆς δὲ ἐκείνης οὗτοι, τῆς δὲ τούτων λύπης ἐγώ. σὸν τοίνυν, ὦ ἄριστε, δι’ ἑνὸς τοῦ πρώτου φείσασθαι τοσούτων, τοῦ Γε τελευταίου καὶ φί- λου. καὶ μή με οἴου καθαρὸν αἰτίας ἡγεῖσθαι τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον εἶναι, καίτοι φησὶ καὶ κελεύει τῶν ἐσχάτων αὑτῷ τιμᾶν, εἴ τις ἐξελέγξειεν. ἐγὼ τοίνυν ὁ ἐλέγχων εὑρέθην αὐτὸν τὸν φεύ- γοντα μάρτυρα καθ’ αὑτοῦ λαβών. ὡς γὰρ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ σῆς ὀργῆς ἐμνήσθη, τοῦτ’ ἔφην ὁμολογίαν εἶναι τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐκείνου· σοῦ μὲν γὰρ οὐδεπώποτε τοῦτο ἅψασθαι τὸ νόσημα, τὸν δ’ ἴσως τι ῥᾳθυμήσαντα περιστῆσαί σοι τοῦ μέμφεσθαί τι τῶν ἐκείνῳ πεπραγμένων ἀνάγκην. ἤδη τοίνυν Ἀλεξάν- δρου κατεψηφισμένος Ἀταρβίου δέομαι τοῦ καλοῦ γνώμην τοιαύτην λαβεῖν, ἣ τῶν παρόντων Ἀλέξανδρον ἀπαλλάξει φό- βῶν. ὥστε καὶ ἐμοῖς ἐμοῖς πολίταις ἐγγενέσθαι μαθεῖν ὡς οὐ μάτην Ἄγκυραν ἐμαυτοῦ πατρί καλῶ πάντων ἐφεξῆς παρὰ τῶν ἐκείνης οἰκητόρων τυγχάνων.