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you propose, when no such occasion is at hand. With what eyes will you look up to heaven? And with what tongues will you ask the insulted lawgiver to grant to the marriage the fruit of children? Having considered these things and things like them among yourselves, and having received this counsel as from a father, cease from that wicked enterprise, and honor your marriage by the observance of the laws, and procure for yourselves salvation through obedience, and for us who have advised you, good cheer. 9 TO THE SAME. Those who succeed to their paternal inheritance are not content with what has been given, but are zealous to increase it. And it is necessary to transfer this zeal to spiritual matters, and to make your ancestral piety and generosity toward the poor ten thousand times greater. I beseech your nobility to give to our holy Church of God those things which your grandfather left behind, and to keep his memory unquenched. This will also procure blessing for your other possessions. Consider that if anyone should take away what was once consecrated to God and has become a votive offering, the act is clearly sacrilege, and needs no accusers. For those who dare to do so confess it is thus, being compelled by their conscience. May it never be that you should endure this, but may you double your ancestral blessings, and offer double gifts to God instead of single ones. 10 TO AERIUS THE SOPHIST. You do us wrong, O excellent sir, by not giving us a taste of your learning even with your fingertips, as the saying goes, but allowing us to remain thirsty, and hiding the springs of your words; and when you ought to set forth your streams for those who are ignorant, you do not even allow your acquaintances to enjoy them. And yet, wealth when hidden is useless to its possessors, but when displayed it renders them brilliant and conspicuous. They also say that wells, when not drawn from, wear out those who use them, but when drawn from, provide sweeter and purer streams. Moreover, the characteristic of the art which you offer to the young is not Pythagorean silence, but chatter and words flowing like a torrent. But if you are silent only towards us, tell us also the reason for your silence, that we may prove you are not right to be silent. 11 TO TITUS THE COMES. Justice indeed has many enemies; for its rival, injustice, arms its own nurslings against it, but it is conquered nevertheless, even though it has many subjects, since the lovers of justice strive eagerly on its behalf and most easily scatter its opponents. And you are one of those who contend so brilliantly, O excellent sir, and the witnesses of this are those who have been delivered from all sorts of machinations of injustice through your assistance. I beseech your Magnificence to excel in this way now as well, and to zealously defend the lord Palladius the philosopher, who is being wronged, as he says, by certain barbarians; for by assailing with slanders the soldier who was given to help him, they have caused him to be brought for trial to that court. Here we need your unwavering scales and your impartial vote, so that you may command that the philosopher, most worthy of all respect, obtain his rights, and that you may give courage to the slandered soldier, so that by explaining what happened, he may show the accusation leveled against him to be false.

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προβάλλησθε, μηδεμιᾶς τοιαύ της ἀφορμῆς προκειμένης. Ποίοις ὀφθαλμοῖς εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀναβλέψετε; Ποίαις δὲ γλώτταις τὸν ὑβρισθέντα νομοθέτην αἰτήσετε δοῦναι τῷ γάμῳ τὸν τῶν παίδων καρπόν; Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τούτοις ὅμοια παρ' ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς λογισάμενοι, καὶ ὡς παρὰ πατρὸς τὴν συμβουλὴν δεξάμενοι, παύσασθε μὲν ἐκείνης τῆς πονηρᾶς ἐγχειρήσεως, τῇ φυλακῇ δὲ τῶν νόμων τὸν γάμον τιμήσατε, καὶ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς σωτηρίαν διὰ τῆς εὐπειθείας, καὶ ἡμῖν εὐθυμίαν τοῖς συμβουλεύσασι πραγματεύσασθε. 9 ΤΟΙΣ ΑΥΤΟΙΣ. Οἱ τὸν πατρῷον κλῆρον διαδεχόμενοι οὐ στέργουσι τοῖς δοθεῖσιν, ἀλλὰ αὔξειν αὐτὰ σπουδάζουσι. Ταύτην δὲ δεῖ τὴν σπουδὴν εἰς τὰ πνευματικὰ μεταθεῖναι, καὶ τὴν προγονικὴν εὐσέβειαν καὶ τὴν περὶ τοὺς πτωχοὺς φιλοτιμίαν μυριοπλασίω ποιεῖν. Ἐγὼ τὴν ὑμετέραν εὐγένειαν παρακαλῶ ἐκεῖνα δοῦναι τῇ παρ' ἡμῖν ἁγίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίᾳ, ὅσα ὁ ὑμέτερος κατα λέλοιπε πάππος, καὶ ἄσβεστον αὐτοῦ φυλάξαι τὴν μνήμην. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις κτήμασι προξενήσει τὴν εὐλογίαν. Σκοπήσατε δέ, ὡς εἴ τις τὸ ἅπαξ ἀφιερωθὲν Θεῷ καὶ ἀνάθημα γεγενημένον ὑφέλοιτο, ἱεροσυλία τὸ πρᾶγμα σ[α]φ[ῶς], καὶ κατηγόρων οὐ χρῄζει. Ὁμολογοῦσι γὰρ τοῦθ' οὕτως οἱ τολμῶν τες, ὑπὸ τοῦ συνειδότος ἀναγκαζόμενοι. Ὑμᾶς δὲ μὴ γένοιτο τοῦθ' ὑπομεῖναί ποτε, ἀλλ' εἴη τὰς προγονικὰς εὐλογίας διπλασιάζειν, καὶ διπλᾶ ἀνθ' ἁπλῶν προσφέρειν τὰ δῶρα τῷ Θεῷ. 10 ΑΕΡΙΩ ΣΟΦΙΣΤΗ. Ἀδικεῖς, ὦ ἄριστε, μηδ' ὅσον ἄκροις δακτύλοις , τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον, τῆς σῆς ἡμᾶς παιδεύσεως ἀπογεύων, ἀλλὰ περιο ρῶν διψῶντας, καὶ τὰς τῶν λόγων κρύπτων πηγάς· καὶ δέον τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι προτιθέναι τὰ νάματα, οὐδὲ τοὺς γνωρίμους τούτων ἐᾷς ἀπολαύειν. Καὶ μὴν ὁ πλοῦτος κρυπτόμενος ἄχρησ τός ἐστι τοῖς κεκτημένοις, φαινόμενος δὲ λαμπροὺς τούτους ἀποφαίνει καὶ περιβλέπτους. Φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὰ φρέατα μὴ ἐξαν τλούμενα ἀποκναίειν τοὺς χρωμένους, ἐξαντλούμενα δὲ ἡδίω καὶ καθαρώτερα παρέχειν τὰ νάματα. Ἴδιον δὲ καὶ τῆς τέχνης, ἣν τοῖς νέοις προσφέρεις, οὐχ ἡ Πυθαγόρου σιγή, ἀλλὰ στω μυλία καὶ λόγοι χειμάῤῥου δίκην φερόμενοι. Εἰ δὲ σιγᾷς πρὸς μόνους ἡμᾶς, εἰπὲ καὶ τῆς σιγῆς τὴν αἰτίαν, ἵν' ἐλέγξωμεν οὐ δικαίως σιγῶντα. 11 ΤΙΤΩ ΚΟΜΗΤΙ. Πολλοὺς μὲν ἔχει πολεμίους τὸ δίκαιον· ἡ γὰρ ἀντίπαλος ἀδικία τοὺς οἰκείους ὁπλίζει κατὰ τούτου τροφίμους, ἡττᾶται δὲ ὅμως καὶ πολλοὺς ἔχουσα τοὺς ὑπηκόους, τῶν τῆς δικαιο σύνης ἐραστῶν προθύμως ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ἀ[θ]λούντων καὶ ῥᾷστα σκεδ[αννύν]των τοὺς ἀντιπάλους. Εἷς δὲ τῶν οὕτω λαμπρῶς ἀγωνιζομένων ὑπάρχεις, ὦ ἄριστε, καὶ τούτου μάρτυρες οἱ τῶν παντοδαπῶν τῆς ἀδικίας μηχανημάτων διὰ τῆς σῆς ἀπαλ λαγέντες ἐπικουρίας. Οὕτως ἀριστεῦσαι καὶ νῦν τὴν μεγαλο πρέπειάν σου παρακαλῶ, καὶ τῷ κυρίῳ Παλλαδίῳ τῷ φιλοσόφῳ ἐπαμῦναι σπουδαίως, ὑπὸ βαρβάρων τινῶν, ὥς φησιν, ἀδικου μένῳ· συκοφαντίαις γὰρ βάλλοντες τὸν εἰς βοήθειαν αὐτῷ δοθέντα στρατιώτην, ἀγώγιμον εἰς ἐκεῖνο τὸ δικαστήριον γενέσθαι παρεσκεύασαν. Ἐνταῦθα τῶν ἀκλινῶν ὑμῶν ζυγῶν καὶ τῆς ἀδεκάστου ψήφου δεόμεθα, ἵνα τὸν μὲν πάσης αἰδοῦς ἀξιώτατον φιλόσοφον τυχεῖν τῶν δικαίων κελεύσητε, τῷ δὲ συκοφαντουμένῳ στρατιώτῃ θάρσος παράσχητε, ὅπως τὰ γεγενημένα διδάξας, ψευδῆ δείξῃ τὴν τολμηθεῖσαν κατηγο ρίαν.