The letter's Daphne setting supplies a rare internal destination for this Procopius batch.
When the city seemed to be in good condition because of the laws of Solon the lawgiver, he thought it a terrible thing for the wonder of his wisdom to remain within Attica alone. He visited the Egyptians, though they boasted of being wiser than everyone else, and he visited Croesus, who wore his wealth like a crown of happiness. Solon thought it greater luxury to enjoy wisdom than to possess Pactolus flowing with gold. Wherever he travelled, those who saw him admired him; when he left, they longed for Solon again. The Athenians, among whom he had laid the foundation of learning, perhaps even prayed that Athena would return the lawgiver to the city. If he contrived his travels for this reason too, wanting to learn how much longing the Athenians felt for him, I would not be surprised.
Yet if the Athenians wept over the absence of one man, though they likely had other wise men, what would become of us when we are deprived of the whole treasure? The place one might once have hesitated to call either Attica or Italy is now suddenly silent and stripped of its marks. It suffers like Cithaeron when, after receiving the god in fullness, it is suddenly empty again at his departure and Dionysus is nowhere.
So I will complain against Apollo, who called him to himself while disregarding our affairs. I think the Muses share Apollo's good fortune. You, I suppose, are filled with old stories there beside Daphne itself, considering the god's passion, Daphne's chastity and kindness, and the plant that consoles a lover. Among you alone, visible things give the story its testimony. If thick cypresses grow in honor of Apollo's beloved, if there is abundant water, cicadas singing, a path softened by grass, trees rising one upon another, houses hidden among their height, mild breezes, mingled fragrance, and shade shutting out the sun's harshness, then it is your part either to report this quickly or to describe it in letters. Still, I would rather see you come to me, so that among other things I may hear you prophesy; I think Daphne has granted you that too.
When the city seemed to be in good condition because of the laws of Solon the lawgiver, he thought it a terrible thing for the wonder of his wisdom to remain within Attica alone. He visited the Egyptians, though they boasted of being wiser than everyone else, and he visited Croesus, who wore his wealth like a crown of happiness. Solon thought it greater luxury to enjoy wisdom than to possess Pactolus flowing with gold. Wherever he travelled, those who saw him admired him; when he left, they longed for Solon again. The Athenians, among whom he had laid the foundation of learning, perhaps even prayed that Athena would return the lawgiver to the city. If he contrived his travels for this reason too, wanting to learn how much longing the Athenians felt for him, I would not be surprised.
Yet if the Athenians wept over the absence of one man, though they likely had other wise men, what would become of us when we are deprived of the whole treasure? The place one might once have hesitated to call either Attica or Italy is now suddenly silent and stripped of its marks. It suffers like Cithaeron when, after receiving the god in fullness, it is suddenly empty again at his departure and Dionysus is nowhere.
So I will complain against Apollo, who called him to himself while disregarding our affairs. I think the Muses share Apollo's good fortune. You, I suppose, are filled with old stories there beside Daphne itself, considering the god's passion, Daphne's chastity and kindness, and the plant that consoles a lover. Among you alone, visible things give the story its testimony. If thick cypresses grow in honor of Apollo's beloved, if there is abundant water, cicadas singing, a path softened by grass, trees rising one upon another, houses hidden among their height, mild breezes, mingled fragrance, and shade shutting out the sun's harshness, then it is your part either to report this quickly or to describe it in letters. Still, I would rather see you come to me, so that among other things I may hear you prophesy; I think Daphne has granted you that too.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.