Letter 663: If Julian were not my friend, I would envy him his fortune — that he had your company here with us before, and now...

To Eusebius. (361) Were Julian not a friend of mine, I would even envy him his fortune, because he had you here together with us, and now again has you without us; but as it is, I envy him least of all, and rather count you most blessed, both for being in his company and for being loved by him. For you do not define friendship by words and the table, but whomever you have deemed worthy of this title, toward that man straightway come deeds as well. And neither in fear of danger nor overcome by toil would you prove false to a companion; but just as the man whom the gods assist cannot fail in an undertaking, so whoever has his own affairs managed through you must necessarily obtain them. Having indeed obtained and succeeded, I say these things, I who have troubled many and placed my hopes in many, yet found them all empty except for those that came from you. May you, then, never cease to have the power, nor may we fall away from being honored by you.

Εὐσεβίῳ. (361) Εἰ μὴ μοι φίλος ἦν Ἰουλιανός, κἂν ἐφθόνουν αὐτῷ τῆς τύχης, ὅτι σε καὶ μεθ’ ἡμῶν εἶχεν ἐνθάδε καὶ νῦν ἄνευ ἡμῶν πάλιν ἔχει· νῦν δὲ φθονῶ μὲν ἥκιστα, μακαρίζω δὲ μάλιστα καὶ συνόντα καὶ φιλούμενον. σὺ γὰρ οὐ ῥήμασι καὶ τραπέζῃ τὴν φιλίαν ὁρίζεις, ἀλλ’ ὅντινα τούτου τοῦ προσ- ῥήματος ἠξίωσας, περὶ τοῦτον εὐθὺς καὶ ἔργα. καὶ οὔτι κίν- δυνον φοβούμενος οὔθ’ ὑπὸ πόνου κρατούμενος γένοιο ἂν εἰς ἑταῖρον κακός, ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ ᾧ θεοὶ συλλαμβάνουσιν οὐκ ἔστιν ἁμαρτεῖν πράξεως, οὕτως ὅστις διὰ σοῦ τὰ αὑτοῦ ποιεῖται, καὶ τυχεῖν τούτων ἀνάγκη. τυχὼν δὴ καὶ κατωρθωκὼς ἐγὼ ταῦτα λέγω πολλοῖς μὲν ἠνωχληκὼς καὶ σχὼν ἐν πολλοῖς ἐλ- πίδας, κενὰς δὲ πάσας εὑρὼν πλὴν τῶν πορὰ σοῦ. μήτ’ οὖν σὺ παύσαιο δυνάμενος μήθ’ ἡμεῖς ἐκπέσοιμεν τοῦ τιμᾶσθαι παρὰ σοί.