To [unnamed military commander]. (355)
Do you realize that it speaks well of you that men of letters like me dare to write to a man of arms like you? This is proof, I think, that you are fierce toward enemies but gentle with your own people -- exactly as the old saying goes: the man in your position must be good at both.
Other generals we see only from a distance, and if they glance our way, we flee. But we approach you more gladly than we do our own parents, and when you leave, we grieve. The reason is that alongside your military training you have also learned the arts of the Muses -- one gives you victory in war, the other gives you both victory and kindness toward those you fight to protect.
It would therefore be fitting for you to lend a hand to this man Dionysius. He was orphaned when bandits killed his father. Fleeing because of that disaster, he lost much of his property at home when his estate was plundered. Yet even in poverty, he devoted himself to learning.
Now is his chance to recover some of his father's property, since you control the situation. Have pity on the young man's misfortune and admire his ambition.
Do you realize that it speaks well of you that men of letters like me dare to write to a man of arms like you? This is proof, I think, that you are fierce toward enemies but gentle with your own people -- exactly as the old saying goes: the man in your position must be good at both.
Other generals we see only from a distance, and if they glance our way, we flee. But we approach you more gladly than we do our own parents, and when you leave, we grieve. The reason is that alongside your military training you have also learned the arts of the Muses -- one gives you victory in war, the other gives you both victory and kindness toward those you fight to protect.
It would therefore be fitting for you to lend a hand to this man Dionysius. He was orphaned when bandits killed his father. Fleeing because of that disaster, he lost much of his property at home when his estate was plundered. Yet even in poverty, he devoted himself to learning.
Now is his chance to recover some of his father's property, since you control the situation. Have pity on the young man's misfortune and admire his ambition.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.