Letter 349
To Aristainetos. (358 AD)
Tuscianus and I enjoyed each other's company — I by listening to him, he by hearing me speak. Or rather, I had the advantage, since the speeches I heard were finer than those I delivered.
When I was comparing Strategios with his predecessors in the same office — what did Tuscianus do? He went pale, could barely breathe, and looked like a man being struck and wounded, horrified that anyone might seem to have surpassed his favorites: Thalassios, Leontios, and the current one, who speaks no louder than his deeds are great.
Some thought he was criticizing, not understanding the situation — that the man who seemed most angry was actually most impressed. For if he hadn't seen the argument was strong, he would have laughed it off. But his distress testified to the power of the speech.
So if he suffers something similar in your presence when the speech is recalled, don't fail to notice that by protesting he is actually voting for the man he claims to dislike.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.