Letter 633

To Agroicius and Eusebius. (361 AD) If this is how things stand, then necessity is stronger even than the gods, as the saying of the wise goes. For my part, considering both your hardships there and how affairs here are going worse for you — those who would have helped being absent — I was disheartened and thought you should come, so that there might be an end to these troubles. But a cycle of events that followed taught me that it was actually better to remain outside the turmoil. Still, I believe this too will come to a stop, and there will be a return for you.

Ἀγροικίῳ καὶ Εὐσεβίῳ. (361) Εἰ ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει, καὶ θεῶν ἀνάγκη κρείττων, ὡς ὁ τῶν σοφῶν λόγος. ἐγὼ δὲ ἐνθυμούμενος τήν τε ὑμετέραν ἐκεῖ κακοπάθειαν καὶ ὡς τἀνθάδε ὑμῖν ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω φέρεται τῶν βοηθησάντων ἂν ἀπόντων ἠθύμουν καὶ διὰ ταῦτα ᾤμην δεῖν ὑμᾶς ἐλθεῖν, ὅπως τούτων ἔσται πέρας. πραγμάτων δέ τις ἐπιγενόμενος κύκλος ἐδίδαξεν ὅτι ἄρα κρεῖττον ἦν ἵζω τοῦ κυδοιμοῦ μένειν, ἀλλ’ οἴμαι καὶ τοῦτον στήσεσθαι καὶ ὑμῖν ἐπάνοδον ἔσεσθαι.