Letter 499: Leontios saw my brother in the evening and said you had sent me a letter through him, but the next day he was...

To Aristaenetus. (356/57) Leontius, having seen my brother in the evening and having said that you had written to me through him, was on the following day a spectator of the chariot races, and he had forgotten me; but Gymnasius being in haste and not having received those letters, it was necessary to write. For what reason would there have been for him, or for me through him? To this man, then, in addition to what went before [...] him I for my part know, and on account of his present conduct, for he was the very same man as before; but it is necessary that you too should know it publicly. For he has made the city admirable to you, conferring glory upon the community out of his own ways. For he fled those whom one ought to flee, and made use of those whom, by not making use of them, he would have been wronging. And of the power which he both hoped for and laughed at as just from Fortune, he was not disturbed. This man too brings to you a narration of affairs, just as that man Clematius did. Concerning which things I beg you to feel no pain, so that you, being very much my friend, may not be unlike your friend; since to me at least the things that suggested to me the opinion that it would grieve you appeared gentler than utter calm. The affairs of the citizens, then, except for Coccylion, are ours, both young men and old, and of the foreigners as many as are masters of their belly; but as for those who are not able to plead the lawsuits, yet force their way in among those who do plead, men whom reviling their betters, and nothing else, would make known, these provide to those who entertain them, as the price of dining, their shouting over nonsense. And that old companion of yours is in other respects perhaps not bad, but he does not listen to Isocrates, for he wishes to be flattered. And of this you know how unskilled we are. Then he says that he praises our speeches, but in his ways, in which there are flatteries, he also does certain things that you would not praise. And a charming thing about both him and the others is that they are ashamed of what they do; for while doing these things they deny them. These things, then, come to you from us; but if you would gladly know down to the very smallest matters, you have near you Gymnasius, who is ignorant of nothing.

Ἀρισταινέτῳ. (356/57) Λεόντιος ἑσπέρας ἰδών μου τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ φήσας σε 15 ἐπεσταλκέναι μοι δι’ αὐτοῦ τῆς ὑστεραίας θεατὴς ἦν ἁρμά- των ἁμιλλητηρίων, ἐμοῦ δὲ ἐπελέληστο Γυμνασίου δὲ ἐπει- γομένου καὶ μὴ λαβόντα ἐκεῖνα γράφειν ἴδει. τίς γὰρ ἂν ἦν ἐκείνῳ λόγος ἢ ἐμοὶ δι’ ἐκείνου; τούτῳ τοίνυν πρὸς τοῖς ἔμπροσθε ἐκείνιος ἐγὼ μὲν οἶδα καὶ τῶν νῶν χάριν, αὐτὸς γὰρ ἦν ὅσπερ ἔμπροσθεν, δεῖ δὲ καὶ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι δημοσίᾳ. τὴν γὰρ πόλιν ὑμῖν ἀπέφηνε θαυμαστὴν ἐκ τῶν αὑτοῦ τρόπων τῷ κοινῷ δόξαν περιθείς. ἔφυγέ τε γὰρ οὓς ἔδει φυγεῖν ἐχρήσατό τε οἷς μὴ χρώμενος ἂν ἠδίκει. δυνάμεως δὲ ἧς ἤλπιζέ τε καὶ δικαίων παρὰ τῆς Τύχης ἐγέλα- σεν, οὐκ ἐταράχθη. κομίζει δέ σοι καὶ οὗτος διήγησιν πραγμάτων, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος Κλημάτιος. ἐφ’ οἷς δέομαί σου μηδὲν ἀλγῆσαι, ἕνα μὴ πάνυ μοι φίλος ὢν ἀνόμοιος ἦς τῷ φίλῳ· ὡς ἔμοιγε πίσης ἐφάνη γαλήνης πρᾳότερα τὰ παρα- στήσαντά μοι δόξαν ὅτι λυπήσει τὰ μὲν οὖν τῶν πολιτῶν πλὴν τοῦ Κοκκυλίωνος ἡμέτερα, καὶ νέοι καὶ γέροντες καὶ τῶν γε ξένων ὅσοι γαστρὸς ἐγκρατεῖς· τῶν δὲ τὰς δίκας λέγειν μὲν οὐ δυναμένων, εἰς δὲ τοὺς λέγοντας εἰσβιαζομένων, οὓς τὸ τοὺς ἀμείνους λοιδορεῖν, ἄλλο δὲ οὐδὲν ἂν ποιήσαι γνω- ρίμους, οὗτοι μισθὸν τοῦ δειπνεῖν τοῖς ἑστιῶσι παρέχουσι τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς φληνάφοις βοήν. ὁ δὲ σὸς ἐκεῖνος ἑταῖρος ὁ παλαιὸς τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἴσως οὐ κακός, Ἰσοκράτους δὲ οὐκ ἀκούει κολακεύεσθαι γὰρ ἐθέλει. τούτου δὲ ἡμεῖς οἶσθα ὡς ἀμαθεῖς. εἶτά φησι λόγους μὲν ἐπαινεῖν τοὺς ἡμετέρους, τρό- ποις δὲ ἐν οἷς θωπεῖαι καί τινα ὧν οὐκ ἂν ἐπαινέσαις ποιεῖ. χάριεν δὲ καὶ τούτου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τὸ ποιοῦσιν αἰσχύνε- σθαι· ποιοῦντες γὰρ ἐξαρνοῦνται. ταυτὶ μέν σοι παρ’ ἡμῶν εἰ δ’ ἄχρι τῶν σμικροτάτων ἡδέως ἂν εἰδείης, τὸν οὐδὶν ἀγνοοῦντα Γυμνάσιον ἐγγὺς ἔχεις.