Letter 236: If I were able to share in the journey and the other exertions with Eustochius, you would certainly have me in...

If it had been possible for me to share with Eustochius both the journey and his other exertion, you would certainly have had me in person instead of my letter; but since I am not able to move about—and you know the reason why—I beg you to become for this man such as you would have been had I been present. And consider that you will not only be doing me a favor, but will yourself also be gaining a friend. Having gained him myself, I have congratulated myself, not only on account of his eloquence and his knowledge of the laws—in both of which the man is inferior to none—but also because, of the things that are difficult, nothing is so difficult that it does not appear to him perfectly easy when a friend gives the order; or rather, even if the friend has need but hesitates to give the order, he himself gives himself over to the tasks. And if he had now arrived to you from some other place, he would have to recount to you his earlier labors; but as it is, let the very matter for which he has come, and for which you must help him, serve as your proof of his character. And do not be surprised if, although I have many friends there, I have written to you alone; for the affair does not need many to join in praying for it, but one who knows how to act. And you are this man who knows how to act, and upon your willing there has followed, doing fine work, the being able as well—a capacity that existed even long ago, but now has been increased; for there are, there are, those who report it. Send back, then, our comrade to announce more of the things he has heard from us.

Κλεάρχῳ. (360?) Εἰ μὲν οἷός τε ἦν καὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ τῆς ἄλλης σπουδῆς Εὐστοχίῳ κοινωνῆσαι, πάντως ἄν με εἶχες ἀντὶ τῶν ἐμῶν γραμ- μάτων· ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐκ ἔστι μοι κινεῖσθαι, δι’ ὃ δέ, ἐπίστασαι, δέομαί σου γενέσθαι τοιοῦτον εἰς τοῦτον, οἷος ἂν ἐγένου παρ- όντος ἐμοῦ. νόμιζε δὲ μὴ μόνον ἐμοὶ δώσειν χάριν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς κτήσεσθαι φίλον. ὃν καὶ ἐγὼ κτησάμενος συνήσθην ἐμαυτῷ οὐ μόνον τῶν τε λόγων εἵ εκα καὶ τῶν νόμων, ἐν οἷς ἀμφοτέροις οὐδενὸς ἁνὴρ ὕστερος, ἀλλ’ ὅτι καὶ τῶν ὄντων χα- λεπῶν οὐδὲν οὕτω χαλεπὸν ὡς μὴ τῷδε φανῆναι ῥᾷστον ἐπι- τάττοντος φίλου, μᾶλλον δέ, κἂν ὁ φίλος χρῄζῃ μέν, ὀκνῇ δὲ ἐπιτάττειν, αὐτὸς αὑτὸν δίδωσι τοῖς ἔργοις. καὶ εἰ μὲν ἀπ’ ἄλλης ἀφῖκτο νῦν ὡς ὑμᾶς, ἄθλους ἂν ἴδει σοι διηγεῖσθαι προτέρους, νῦν δ’ αὐτὸ δι’ ὅπερ ἥκει καὶ πρὸς ὃ δεῖ σε βοη- θεῖν ἔστω σοι δεῖγμα τῶν τρόπων. μὴ θαυμάσῃς δὲ εἰ πολλοὶ μὲν ἐκεῖ μοι φίλοι, σοὶ δὲ ἐπέσταλκα μόνῳ· τὸ πρᾶγμα γὰρ οὐ πολλῶν συνευχομένων, ἀλλ’ ἑνὸς δεῖται πράττειν εἰδό- 5 τος. σὺ δὲ οὗτος ὁ πράττειν εἰδώς, τῷ δὲ βούλεσθαι τὸ δύ- νασθαι καλῶς ποιοῦν ἠκολούθηκεν ὑπάρχον μὲν καὶ πάλαι, νῦν δὲ ηὐξημένον· εἰσὶ γάρ, εἰσὶν· οἱ μηνύοντες. ἀπό- πεμπε δὴ τὸν ἑταῖρον ὧν ἤκουσε παρ’ ἡμῶν ἀγγελοῦντα πλείω.