Letter 115: Orion's longing for bride and home may make him sail back without saying goodbye.

I think it is unnecessary to write to a man who is now dreaming of the return journey to me: how he will sing the wedding song and become the bridegroom of a beautiful maiden. It is only fair to grant a lover praise of the beloved. For her sake, though absent in body, you leap with love in your heart and are seized with longing for me. The things now around you seem small signs of human happiness; the only city for you is the little place where your dear ones are, perhaps more splendid in your eyes than the imperial capital. I am afraid that, if this longing pours out too strongly, you may suddenly set sail for me without even saying farewell to your friends, blaming the length of the voyage. Let this be joking. May you someday return with sober judgment, hastening toward the begetting of children.

Ὠρίωνι Περιττὸν οἶμαι γράφειν πρὸς ἄνδρα τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς λοιπὸν ὀνειροπολοῦντα καταγωγήν, ὅπως ᾄσῃ τὸν ὑμέναιον καὶ γένηται νυμφίος παρθένου καλῆς· δίκαιον γὰρ ἐρῶντι χαρίσασθαι τῆς ἐρωμένης τὸν ἔπαινον, δι' ἣν ἀπὼν τῷ σώματι ἐρωτικὰ τῇ καρδίᾳ πηδᾷς καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀνεπτόησαι, καὶ τὰ παρόντα σοι μικρὰ τῆς παρ' ἀνθρώποις εὐδαιμονίας ὄντως γνωρίσματα, μόνη δέ σοι πόλις τὸ τῶν σῶν παιδιῶν χωρίον εἶναι δοκεῖ καὶ τοῦ Βυζαντίου τάχα σεμνότερον. καὶ δέδοικα μὴ τοῦ πόθου πολλοῦ ῥεύσαντος μηδὲ τοῖς φίλοις χαίρειν εἰπὼν ἐξαίφνης στέλλῃ πρὸς ἡμᾶς, τοῦ πλοῦ τὸ μῆκος μεμφόμενος. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν παιζόντων· ἐπανήκοις δέ ποτε σώφρονι λογισμῷ πρὸς παίδων γονὴν ἐπειγόμενος.