Letter 725

To Aetius, friend from Ancyra. (362) Among the consolations Obodianus found while nursing his injured shoulder in your city, he counted his time with you as a major one. He said the kindness was generous and the conversation no less effective than the medicines -- you eased his pain and gave him better hopes. He also said that you delighted in the praises he was making of me, and even added more of your own -- and these things too, he said, lightened his burden. Whenever he mentioned Aetius, he added "the admirable" -- congratulating both Ancyra and our city, the one for educating you, the other for producing you. I was pleased by all this, and at the same time I reflected that whenever young men come from your city to ours, you are the one guiding them all toward a better path -- having written nothing through them, yet contributing no small amount to their coming.

Ἀετίῳ. (362) Ἐν ταῖς παραμυθίαις, ἃς ἔσχεν ἐπὶ τῆς ὑμετέρας Ὀβο- 20 διανὸς κάμνων τὸν ὦμον, καὶ τὴν μετὰ σοῦ συνουσίαν ἠρίθμει μέγα μέρος αὐτῇ νέμων. τήν τε γὰρ ότητα πολλὴν ἔφασκεν εἷναι τούς τε λόγους οὐκ ἐλάττους τῶν φαρμάκων, οἷς τῆς τι λύπης ἀφῄρεις ἐλπίδας τε βελτίους ἐνεποίεις. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τοῖς ἐπαίνοις, οὕς γε ἐκεῖνος ἐποιεῖτο κοτ’ ἐμοῦ, χαίρειν σε προστιθέναι τε πλείους αὐτό καὶ ταῦτα ἔλεγεν αὐτῷ τὰ παρόντα κουφίσαι. τὸν δὲ Ἀέτιον ὁσάκις εἴποι τὸν κα- λὸν προσέθηκεν Ἀγκύρᾳ τε συνηδόμενος καὶ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ, τῇ μὲν ὡς παιδευσάσῃ, τῇ δὲ ὡς ἐνεγκούσῃ. ἐγὼ δὲ τούτοις τε ἐτερπόμην τὴν ψυχὴν κοὶ ἅμα ἐλογιζόμην ὅτι πάλιν νέων ἐκεῖθεν δεῦρο ἰόντων αὐτὸς ἡγῇ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἄμεινον πράττειν γράψας μὲν οὐδὲν δι’ αὐτῶν, οὐκ ὀλίγα δὲ συμβεβλημένος εἰς τὸ ταύτην ἐλθεῖν.