Letter 1020: A welcome for a namesake student whose face and voice recall his father.

Late though it is, I now have the man I have long desired: the son of Antiochus, my namesake, because his father gave him that honor toward me, trusting that no one in the family would blame him. This namesake ought long ago to have been gathering the harvest of speeches under my eyes. Even now I was glad to see him, and as soon as I saw him I cried out, for I saw his father in his face. Later I cried out again when I heard him say a few words, for again I saw his father's voice in his tongue. His father, while alive, should have brought his son to us himself, like an athlete bringing his son to the same trainer. But it is a great thing for him to have used your letter in place of that father, who is old and unwell, as you say; the letter shows you still vigorous and strong. May the gods who have brought you to this time grant you also the chance to bring the young man here. What a sweet sight, even for the gods: this young man speaking and displaying the labors of his grandfather, while Astaphus rejoices in the fruit of his own care.