Letter 770: I was distressed that I did not see you when you departed.

To Asclepius. (362) I was distressed that I did not see you when you departed. But you saw this clearly, and saw how it might be remedied. The moment your letter arrived, I was filled with joy and felt that something precious had been restored to me. So go on making people better — those you see, through your company; those who are absent, through your letters. For this is your particular labor, just as epic verse was the labor of those poets. Long ago, when I was ill, I rose again with your help, and the sweetest thing about my recovery was that I owed it to your care. Now, being praised by your voice, I value this more than if all humankind judged me the best of all. So, that I may become a good man and you may bestow your praises on one who deserves them, let your letters come often, and let them carry counsel.

Ἀσκληπιῷ. (362) Ἠχθόμην, ὅτι σε ἀπαίροντα οὐκ εἶδον σὺ δὲ τοῦτο καλῶς εἶδες καἰ ὅπως ἂν λυθείη. τὸ γράμμα γοῦν ὡς ἧκεν, εὐθύς τε ἡδόμην καὶ ᾤμην ἐκεῖνό μοι σεσῶσθαι. ποίει τοί νυν βελτίους, οὓς μὲν ὁρᾷς, τῇ συνουσίᾳ. τοὺς ἀπόντας δὲ ἐπιστολαῖς. οὗτος γὰρ δὴ σὸς ἆθλος, ὥσπερ ἐκείνων οἷς ἔπη. ἐγὼ δὲ πάλαι μὲν ἀρρωστῶν σοῦ βοηθοῦντος ἀνέ- στῆν καὶ ἦν μοι τῆς ὑγείας ἥδιον τὸ σοῦ φροντίζοντος ἐκεί- νης τετυχηκέναι· νῦν δὲ ἐπαινούμενος ὑπὸ τῆς σῆς φωνῆς πλέον τοῦτο τίθεμαι ἢ εἴ με πάντες ἄνθρωποι πάντωv ἄρι- στον ἦγον. ἴν’ οὖν αὐτός τε ἀγαθὸς γίγνωμαι καὶ σὺ περὶ τοιούτου τοὺς ἐπαίνους ποιῇ, πυκνά τε ἴστω τὰ γράμματα καὶ παραινέσεις κομίζοντα.