Letter 600

To Dicinnius the Protos [prōteuōn, the leading man of the town council]. Do not say, "I cannot reconcile to myself the man who is at enmity with me, since he is a wicked sort of person and incurable." For you can reconcile him to yourself and make him well-disposed, if only you are willing with your whole soul. For what, after all, is fiercer than a lion? And yet a man tames even this beast, and skill does violence to nature, and the lion becomes gentler than any sheep, and walks through the marketplace frightening no one. What pardon, then, will you have, what defense, when wild beasts are tamed, if you say that human beings cannot be tamed? And indeed for the beast gentleness is contrary to its nature, but for the human being it is savagery that is contrary to nature. Be willing, therefore, at least for the present occasion, to soften your neighbor and make him your friend.

Μὴ λέγε, ὅτι Οὐ δύναμαι διαλλάξαι μοι τὸν ἐχθρεύοντα ἄνθρωπον, πονηρόν τινα ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ ἀνίατον. Δύνη γὰρ καταλλάξαι σοι αὐτόν, καὶ εὐμενῆ ποιῆσαι, ἐὰν μόνον θελήσῃς ὅλῃ ψυχῇ. Τί γὰρ δή ποτε λέοντος ἀγριώτερον; Καὶ ὅμως τοῦτον ἡμεροῦται ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ἡ τέχνη τὴν φύσιν βιάζεται, καὶ γίνεται ὁ λέων προβάτου παντὸς ἐπιεικέστερος, καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀγορᾶς περιπατεῖ μηδένα δεδιττόμενος. Τίνα τοίνυν ἐξεῖς συγγνώμην, ποίαν ἀπολογίαν, θηρίων ἡμερουμένων, ἀνθρώπων λέγων μὴ δύνασθαι ἡμεροῦν; Καίτοι τῷ μὲν θηρίῳ παρὰ φύσιν τὸ ἥμερον, τῷ δὲ ἀνθρώπῳ παρὰ φύσιν τὸ ἄγριον. Θέλησον τοίνυν κἂν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος καταπραΰναι, καὶ φίλον σοι ποιῆσαι τὸν γείτονα.