Letter 487: In my other letters I praised everyone for their eagerness on my behalf.

To Anatolius. (356) When writing to the others, I used to praise them for their zeal on my behalf; but as for you, that you stirred up those men as well, taking on the noble Olympius as your ally, I had already been convinced of it before anyone reported it, and indeed Antiochus reported it clearly. You will not, however, share in the praises. For the things you did in order to delight yourself, for these another person owes you no thanks. For you, being a Phoenician and spending part of your time there and part with us, in dealing with one whom you grieve at when you do not see him but rejoice over exceedingly when you do see him, were contriving that you might be where you would behold him often. Just as, therefore, if in seeking gold you turned over every stone, you would not be praised as one doing the gold a kindness, for that would be to wish to gain it for yourself, so in all the ways by which you contrived that I should remain here, everything was the work of a lover tending to his own interests. These things, then, occur to me to say in jest, so that you may have occasion to shout and laugh, as is your custom; but know that my body, through the disease about the kidneys, has come to such a state of weakness with respect to this, that even if nothing had been accomplished for us from that quarter, in any case the release would have come from the affliction. For already a year and three months this labyrinth of evil has held us, and I am afraid, indeed I am afraid, that together with the body my powers of speech may wither away, and that I may appear to you misshapen in both. I would have summoned you to us and reproached you for your absence, had I not known that you were in Italy enjoying what is not possible among others, the most excellent Datianus and his speech and judgment, in whose company there is every necessity of advancing toward wisdom; since the very memory of him makes us better and leads us toward sense.

Ἀνατολίῳ. (356) Τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἐπιστέλλων ἐπῄνουν τῆς εἰς ἐμὲ προ- θυμίας, σὺ δ’ ὅτι μὲν κἀκείνους ἐπήγειρας προσλαβὼν τὸν καλὸν Ὀλύμπιον, ἐπεπείσμην τε πρίν τινα ἀγγεῖλαι καὶ δὴ σαφῶς ἤγγειλεν Ἀντίοχος. οὐ μέντοι τῶν γε ἐπαίνων κοι- νωνήσεις. ἃ γάρ, ὅπως σαυτὸν εὐφράναις, ἐποίεις, τούτων ἕτερον οὐ δεῖ σοι χάριν εἰδέναι. σὺ γὰρ δὴ Φοῖνιξ ὢν καὶ διατρίβων τὰ μὲν ἐκεῖ, τὰ δὲ παρ’ ἡμῖν, ὃν οὐχ ὁρῶν μὲν ἀλγεῖς, ὁρῶν δὲ ὑπερχαίρεις, ἔπραττες εἶναι οὗ θεάσῃ πολλά- κις. ὥσπερ οὖν, εἰ χρυσὸν ζητῶν ἅπαντα ἐκίνεις λίθον, οὐκ ἂν ὡς τὸν χρυσὸν εὖ ποιῶν ἐπῃνοῦ, τοῦτο γὰρ ἦν ἐθέλειν αὐτὸν κερδαίνειν, οὕτω δι’ ὅσων μοι τὸ τῇδε μένειν ἐμηχανῶ, πάντα ἦν ἐρῶντος καὶ τὰ αὑτοῦ θεραπεύοντος. ταυτὶ μὶν οὖν μοι παίζειν ἔπεισιν, ὅπως εἴη σοι βοᾶν καὶ γελᾶν, οἶάπερ εἴωθας, ἴσθι δέ μοι τὸ σῶμα τῇ περὶ τοὺς νεφροὺς νόσῳ πρὸς τοῦτο ἀσθενείας ἥκειν ὥστ’, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν ἡμῖν ἐκεῖθεν ἤνυ- στο, πάντως ἆν ἐκ τῆς συμφορᾶς γενέσθαι τὴν ἀπαλλαγήν. ἐνιαυτὸν γὰρ ἤδη καὶ μῆνας τρεῖς ὁ λαβύρινθος οὗτος ἡμᾶς ἔχει τοῦ κακοῦ, καὶ δέδοικα δή, δέδοικα μὴ μετὰ τοῦ σώματος μαρανθῶσιν οἱ λόγοι καί σοι φανῶ δι’ ἀμφοτέρων ἄμορφος. ἐκάλουν δ’ ἄν σε παρ’ ἡμᾶς καὶ τὴν ἀπουσίαν ἐμεμφόμην, εἰ μή σε ᾔδειν ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ καρπούμενον, ὃ μὴ παρ’ ἄλλοις ἔνι, τὸν κράτιστον Δατιανὸν καὶ τὴν ἐκείνου φωνὴν καὶ γνώμην, ᾧ συνόντα πᾶσα ἀνάγκη πρὸς τὸ φρονεῖν ἐπι- διδόναι, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἡμᾶς ἡ περὶ αὐτοῦ μνήμη βελτίους τε ποιεῖ καὶ πρὸς νοῦν ἄγει.