Letter 25: Procopius sends Theon to Philip, expecting Theon's character to make the letter unnecessary.
For good men, character is enough to establish friendship. Yet there should also be some occasion through which they first enter conversation and then, after experience, come to admire one another. For that reason I have given this letter to the learned Theon.
At first you will look on him kindly because of the letter. Later, I think, you will consider the letter unnecessary and admire the man for himself.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
Φιλίππωι ἀδελφῶι
Τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀρκεῖ μὲν εἰς σύστασιν φιλίας ὁ τρόπος· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἀφορμὴν εἶναι προσήκει τινά, δι' ἧς δεῖ πρῶτον εἰς λόγους ἐλθεῖν, εἶτα πειραθέντας θαυμάζειν, τούτου χάριν ἐπέδωκα τῷ λογίῳ Θέωνι τὴν ἐπιστολήν. πρῶτον γὰρ διὰ ταύτην εὐμενῶς αὐτὸν ὄψει, ὕστερον δὲ περιττὰ νομίσας τὰ γράμματα δι' αὐτὸν οἶμαι θαυμάσεις τὸν ἄνδρα.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern procopius gaza batch3 matia greek v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://www.matia.gr/pisth/pdf/pg_migne/Procopius_of_Gaza_PG_87a-87c/Epistulae.pdf
Related Letters
Procopius says the fatherland itself calls Philip to repay what he owes.
Procopius tells Philip that good men must not make neglect look acceptable.
Procopius chides Philip for silence through a seasonal sequence from winter to summer.
Procopius says Philip is nearby and still does not write, making him worse than Demophon.
Philip, once devoted to philosophy, is now teased as a bridegroom captured by love.