Letter 773: I know what you call my reputation: not a thousand or ten thousand or twice that many people, but Acacius the orator...

To Athanasius. (362) I know what you call my reputation: not a thousand or ten thousand or twice that many people, but Acacius the orator and the mouth of Acacius — worth far more to me than twenty thousand mouths, though not entirely free from suspicion on account of his excessive friendship. Nevertheless, Gaius shall enjoy whatever we have to give, and with the same eagerness as if he were the son of the man who created that reputation. For you are worthy of honor, and Acacius commands it — calling your boy his own son, and describing in detail how the child is cherished by you and how his mother could hardly be parted from him, clinging to him all the way to the city gates. This we shall always remember, and you will say that the boy could receive no more from his own father, were he still alive, than he receives from my art.

Ἀθανασίῳ. (362) Οἶδα ὃ καλεῖς τὴν περὶ ἐμοῦ φήμην· οὐκ ἀνθρώπους χιλίους ἢ μυρίους ἢ δὶς τοσούτους, ἀλλ’ Ἀκάκιον τὸν ῥήτορα καὶ τὸ Ἀκακίου στόμα πολλῷ μὲν ἐμοὶ κάλλιον δισμυρίων στομάτων, οὐκ ἔξω δὲ ὑποψίας διὰ τὴν ἄγαν φιλίαν. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ’ ὧν ἔχομεν ὁ Γάϊος ἀπολαύσεται καὶ τοσαύτης γε προθυμίας ὅσης ὁ παῖς ἐκείνου τοῦ τὴν φήμην πεποιηκότος. ὑμεῖς τε γὰρ ἄξιοι τιμῆς ἐκεῖνός τε ταῦτα κελεύει παῖδα μὲν αὑτοῦ τὸν ὑμέτερον καλῶν, διηγούμενος δὲ καὶ τἄλλα, ὡς εἴη τε ὑμῖν ἀγαπητὸς καὶ μόλις ἡ μήτηρ ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ διαλυθείη μέχρι τῶν ὅρων εἰλημμένη. ταῦτ᾿ οὖν ἀεί τε μεμνησό- μεθα καὶ φήσεις οὐκ ἂν αὐτῷ γίγνεσθαι παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς πλέον, εἴπερ ἐτύγχανε ζῶν ᾖπερ ἐγὼ τέχνῃ.