Letter 109: Procopius asks Silanus to restore a daughter to her mother and show that law can defeat vice.

[The beginning of the letter is fragmentary.] In place of self-control there was wantonness; in place of the bridal chamber, lamentation; in place of lawful persuasion, violence and a sword raised high. If the man who dared these things had been someone rich or powerful, it would have been dreadful even then. How could it not be dreadful, by Zeus, in a civic order governed by laws, if captivity ruled over us? Still, there might have been some consolation in the matter. But now this is the height of the calamity: the man who dared it cannot even easily be identified by where he comes from, while the suffering has made him all too well known to us. Stop the lament of those who have suffered, wisest friend. Give the daughter back to her mother's arms, so that the drunken offenders may know that Justice exists and pursues those who do wrong. Show those who honor self-control that laws are useful when men in authority know how to wage war against vice.

Σιλανῶι ... παρῆν ἀντὶ σωφροσύνης ἀσέλγεια, ἀντὶ παστάδος οἱ θρῆνοι, ἀντὶ νομίμου πειθοῦς βία καὶ ξίφος αἰρόμενον. εἰ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἐπὶ πλούτῳ τις ἢ καὶ δυναστείᾳ ... ἐτύγχανεν ὁ ταῦτα τολμῶν, δεινὸν μὲν καὶ τότε πῶς γὰρ οὐ δεινὸν ἐν πολιτείᾳ καὶ νόμοις αἰχμαλωσίας ἡμῶν ἀρχόντων, ὦ Ζεῦ; ἦν δ' ἄν τις ὅμως παραμυθία τῷ πράγματι. νυνὶ δὲ τῶν συμφορῶν ἐστι τὸ κεφάλαιον, ὁ γὰρ ταῦτα τολμήσας οὐδ' ὅθεν ἐστὶ ῥᾳδίως γιγνώσκεται, ἡμῖν δὲ τὸ πάθος καὶ μάλα κατέστησε γνώριμον. ἀλλὰ στῆσον, ὦ σοφώ τατε, τοῖς πεπονθόσι τὸν θρῆνον· ἀπόδος κόλποις μητρὸς θυγατέρα, ἵνα γνῶσιν οἱ παροινοῦντες ὡς ἔστι Δίκη καὶ πλημμελοῦντας μετέρχεται. δεῖξον τοῖς σωφροσύνην τιμῶσιν ὡς ἐστι νόμων ὄφελος ἄνδρες ἐν ἀρχῇ κακίας στρατηγεῖν ἐπιστάμενοι.