Letter 347: Many are the demands upon me, scarcely letting me breathe — the crowd of young men outside, the labor of writing...

To Florentius. (357/58) Many are the affairs that press upon us and scarcely allow us to draw breath: outside, a throng of young men; within, the labor of writing; and the troubles of friends who require our aid, some of which are being remedied, others still in turmoil. This multitude of cares has often kept us from our food, and somewhere I even neglected nourishment out of busyness; yet the memory of the noble Florentius nothing has ever cast out nor caused to wither, but it blossoms in us and flourishes, and to say something about you forms part of our festal celebration, as we praise your gentleness, the steadfastness of your character, the keenness of your mind, your honoring of Truth, and your placing of good men in the positions of which they are worthy. Such are the songs we sing, contending which of us shall say more; and, what is greatest of all, there is greater pleasure in saying something finer about you than in receiving praise from others-so much has each man set you before himself. Now the sweeter thing would be to have you here to see, but no small matter is the second-best voyage either: to send one letter and to receive another. Yet you alone, even when you do not write, cause no grief. For not even this is a sign of any change, but even by your silence you grant your friends confidence that your disposition remains the same as before.

Φλωρεντίῳ. (358/58) Πόλλα μὲν ἡμῖν τὰ πράγματα καὶ μόλις ἀναπνεῖν ἐῶντα, νέων ἔξω πλῆθος, ὁ τοῦ γράφειν ἔνδον πόνος, φίλων δυσκο- λίαι χρῄζουσαι βοηθείας, τὰ μὲν θεραπευόμενα, τὰ δὲ κινού- μενα. τουτὶ δὲ τὸ πλῆθος σιτίων μὲν ἡμᾶς πολλάκις ἀπέ- στῆσε, καί που καὶ ἠμέλησα τροφῆς ὑπ’ ἀσχολίας, τὴν δὲ τοῦ καλοῦ Φλωρεντίου μνήμην οὐδὲν πώποτε οὐτ’ ἐξέβαλεν Οὔτ ἐμάρανεν, ἀλλ’ ἀνθεῖ τοῦτο παρ’ ἡμῖν καὶ τέθηλε καὶ τὸ περὶ σοῦ τι λέγειν ἐν πανηγύρεως μέρει τὸ πρᾷον ἐπαινούντων, τὸ βέβαιον τῶν τρόπων, τὴν ὀξύτητα τοῦ νοῦ, τὸ τιμᾶσθαι τὴν Ἀλήθειαν, τὸ τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἐν οἷς ἄξιον εἶναι. τοιαῦτα ᾄδομεν ἐρίζοντες ὅστις ἐρεῖ πλείω, καὶ τὸ μέγιστον, μεί- ζων ἡδονὴ περὶ σοῦ τι κάλλιον εἰπεῖν ἢ παρ’ ἄλλων ἐπαίνου τυχεῖν· οὕτως ἕκαστος πρὸ αὑτοῦ σε πεποίηται. τὸ μὲν οὖν ἥδιον ἦν αὐτὸν ἔχειν ὁρᾶν, μικρὸν δὲ οὐδὲ ὁ δεύτερος πλοῦς, ἐπιστολὴν τὴν μὲν πέμψαι, τὴν δὲ λαβεῖν. μόνος δὲ σὺ καὶ μὴ γράφων οὐκ ἀνιᾷς. οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦτο μεταβολῆς σημεῖον, ἀλλὰ καὶ σιγῶν θαρρεῖν δίδως τοῖς φίλοις ὡς τῆς γνώμης ἐν ὁμοίῳ μενούσης.