Letter 118: An ascetic has been blamed for others' wrongs, and Procopius asks Diodorus to model humane advocacy.

Again there is an occasion for piety, and again the run is toward your wisdom. A certain man, one of those who have dedicated themselves to God and are known by their philosophy, has apparently fallen into the judge's anger through unjust slander, as though he had raised a hostile right hand against those who serve the laws. The people who reported these things shifted onto him, they say, the wrongs committed by others. The judge is full of anger. He summons the man to himself and hurries toward punishment. If ever there was a moment looking for humanity, it is now. Appear, then, and say something of your own. You will loosen the judge from his anger. Even if something dreadful had been done, which it has not, turn the man casting the vote toward pardon, if for no other reason than respect for the habit the accused wears. Appear with many people who are fitting for a petition; better still, appear before the others, so that you seem to contribute something personal. Then you yourself will receive everyone's praise, as the first and most earnest petitioner and as an example to others of noble humanity.

Διοδώρωι (?) Πάλιν εὐσεβείας καιρὸς καὶ πάλιν πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν σοφίαν ὁ δρόμος. ἀνὴρ γάρ τις τῶν ἑαυτοὺς ἀναθέντων θεῷ καὶ ἐκ φιλοσοφίας γνωριζομένων ἐξ ἀδίκου συκοφαντίας ὡς ἔοικε τῷ τοῦ δικαστοῦ θυμῷ περιπέπτωκεν ὡς δεξιὰν ἀντάρας πολέμιον κατὰ τῶν ἐξυπηρετουμένων τοῖς νόμοις. οἱ δὲ ταῦτα μηνύσαντες τὰ παρὰ τῶν ἄλλων ὥς φασιν ἀδικήματα κατὰ τούτου μετέστησαν. καὶ πλήρης ὁ δικάζων θυμοῦ, καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν καλεῖ καὶ πρὸς τιμωρίαν ἐπείγεται, καὶ πάρεστι καιρὸς εἴπερ ποτὲ καὶ νῦν φιλανθρωπίαν ζητῶν. φάνηθι δὴ καὶ φθέγξαι τι τῶν σῶν, καὶ τῆς ὀργῆς παραλύσεις τὸν δικαστήν. εἰ γάρ τι καὶ πέπρακται δεινόν, ὅπερ οὐδὲ γέγονενεἰς συγγνώ μην τρέψον τὸν ψηφιζόμενον, εἰ μηδὲν ἄλλο, τὸ περικείμενον αὐτῷ σχῆμα τιμήσαντα. φάνηθι μετὰ πολλῶν, οἳ πρὸς αἴτησιν τυγχάνουσιν εὐπρε πεῖς, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων, ὅπως οἰκεῖόν τι δόξῃς συνεισφέρειν. ἀλλ' οὖν αὐτὸς πάντων ἀναδέξῃ τὸν ἔπαινον ὡς καὶ πρῶτος καὶ λίαν αἰτήσας καὶ τῆς καλῆς φιλανθρωπίας γεγονὼς τοῖς ἄλλοις παράδειγμα.