Letter 20: 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...

To Genesius. (358/59) How could I have failed to be glad to see a young man who is the son of a good mother and the nephew of a man who is a savior of cities and a friend to us, a young man whose flight was a noble one, who has fled from your country, and the only flight that one is bound to praise? For to leave one's homeland for the acquisition of eloquence is a fine thing even for the homeland itself, since the exile will be able to make it great through that eloquence. But just as you praise us for the forethought which the one who has come here found, so persuade his mother to release him from his difficulty. For you will not be able to demand the accounting harshly, if the contributions on your side fall 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.