Letter 20

To Genesius. (358/59) How could I not be glad to welcome a young man who is the son of a good mother and the nephew of a man who is both a savior of cities and a friend of mine? He has undertaken a noble exile from your city -- the only kind of exile one must praise. For leaving one's homeland in pursuit of learning brings honor even to the homeland itself, which the exile will one day make great through his eloquence. But just as you praise us for the care we have shown the young man since his arrival, so you must persuade his mother to relieve his poverty. For you will not be able to hold us harshly to account if the support from your end falls short.

To Genesius (358/59) How could I not have been glad to see a young man who is the son of a good mother and the nephew of a man who is both a savior of cities and a friend of ours — one who has undertaken a noble exile, and from your own land at that, the only kind of exile one must praise? For to leave one's homeland in pursuit of eloquence is a credit even to the homeland itself, which the exile will have the power to make great through his learning. But just as you commend us for the care that your young man has found upon arriving here, so too persuade his mother to relieve his want. For you will have no grounds to call us harshly to account if what is lacking comes from your end.

Γενεσίῳ. (358/59) Πῶς δ’ οὐκ ἔμελλον ἡδέως ὄψεσθαι νέον μητρός τε ἀγαθῆς υἱὸν καὶ ἀδελφιδοῦν ἀνδρὸς πόλεων τε σωτῆρος καὶ ἡμῖν ἐπιτηδείου φυγήν τε καλὴν καὶ παρ’ ὑμῶν πεφευγότα καὶ ἣν μόνην ἐπαινεῖν ἀνάγκη; τὸ γὰρ ἐπὶ κτήσει λόγων ἀφεἱ- ναι πατρίδα καὶ αὐτῇ τῇ πατρίδι καλόν, ἣν ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων ὁ φυγὰς ἕξει μεγάλην ποιεῖν. ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ ἡμᾶς ἐπαινεῖς τῆς προνοίας ἧς εὗρεν ὁ δεῦρο ἥκων, οὕτω πεῖθε τὴν μητέρα λύειν αὐτῷ τὴν ἀπορίαν. οὐ γὰρ ἕξετε πικρῶς ἀπαιτῆσαι τὰς εὐθύνας, εἰ τὰ παρ’ ὑμῶν ἐλλείποι.