and separated against my will, and drawing us along with her. At any rate, suddenly, I know not how, while we were intending to travel, but to travel somewhere else rather than here, a soldier stood over us, bearing an order to escort and see safely our sister as she joined her husband, and to lead us also as fellow travelers with her; to do a favor both to our kinsman-by-marriage, and especially to our sister, so that she might not be unseemly or too hesitant for the journey, honored by her own servants and relatives, and having accomplished no small other useful thing, if we should come to the city of the Berytians, to complete there the study of the laws. Therefore all things moved us: what was reasonable toward our sister, our own study, and besides, the soldier (for it is necessary to mention this too), bearing authority for the use of several public vehicles, and warrants for a greater number for our sake rather than for our sister's alone. These were the apparent things; but the things not apparent, yet more true, were fellowship with this man, the true learning through him concerning the things of the Word, the benefit of our souls for salvation, which led us to this place, though we were blind and did not know it, but for our salvation. Therefore, it was not the soldier, but a certain divine fellow-traveler and good escort and guardian, the one who preserves us through this whole life as through a long journey, who, passing by both other places and Berytus, for the sake of which especially we thought we were setting out for here, brought and established us here; doing and moving all things, until by every contrivance he would bind us to this man, the cause of our many good things. And he indeed, the divine angel, having come through so many things and handing over the stewardship to this man, somewhere here perhaps rested, not from any weariness or toil (for the race of divine ministers is tireless), but because he had handed us over to a man who would fulfill, if possible, all providence and care.

6 But he who received us from the first day, which was truly my first day, the most precious of all days, if I must say so, when the true sun first began to rise for me, first contrived in every way to bind us, like some wild beasts or fish or some birds that have fallen into nets or into drag-nets, but are trying to slip out and escape, and wishing to depart from him for Berytus or for our fatherland; turning every argument and moving every rope (as the saying goes) and bringing forth all his powers; praising philosophy and the lovers of philosophy with long and many and fitting praises, saying that these alone truly live the life befitting rational beings, those who practice living rightly, knowing first themselves, who they are, and then the things that are truly good, which a man ought to pursue, and the things that are truly evil, from which he must turn away; and censuring ignorance and all the ignorant; and these are many, all who, like beasts, being blind in mind, have not even recognized this very thing which they are, having wandered like irrational creatures, neither knowing themselves at all what good or evil is, nor wishing to learn, they rush upon and are fluttered by money and reputations and honors from the many and the well-being of the body, as if upon a good thing, holding these things of great and total importance, and the arts, as many as can provide these things, and the ways of life, as many as will furnish them, military service and the legal profession and the study of the laws; these things he said, very artfully, especially agitated us, who had neglected, he said, the most sovereign thing in us, reason. I am not now able to say how many such utterances he sounded forth, urging us to philosophize, not on one day only, but on as many of the first days as we went to him, having been struck as by some dart by the word from him even from our first youth (for it was somehow mixed with a certain sweet grace and persuasion and a certain necessity), yet still somehow turning and reasoning, and though we persevered in philosophizing,

καὶ ἄκων κεχωρισμένος, καὶ ἡμᾶς δὲ ἅμα αὐτῇ συνεπισπώμενος. Ἐξαίφνης γοῦν οὐκ οἶδ' ὅπως ἀποδημεῖν μέν, ἀλλ' ἑτέρωθί ποι μᾶλλον ἀποδημεῖν ἤπερ ἐνταῦθα διανοουμένοις ἡμῖν ἐπέστη στρατιώτης φέρων ἐντολήν, παραπέμπειν μὲν καὶ δια σώζεσθαι τὴν ἀδελφὴν ἡμῶν καταλαμβάνουσαν τὸν ἄνδρα, ἄγειν δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς συνοδοιπόρους ἅμ' αὐτῇ· χαριου μένους μὲν καὶ τῷ κηδεστῇ, καὶ μάλιστα τῇ ἀδελφῇ, ὅπως μὴ οὐκ εὐσχήμων τε ἢ ὀκνηροτέρα πρὸς τὴν ὁδοιπορίαν ᾖ, οἰκέταις αὐτοῖς καὶ τοῖς συγγενέσι τιμήσασι, καὶ οὐ μικρόν τι ἕτερον τῶν προὔργου διαπραξαμένοις, εἰ ἐπὶ τὴν Βηρυτίων ἔλθοιμεν πόλιν, ἐκεῖ τὸ τῶν νόμων μάθημα ἐκπονήσαντες. Πάντα τοιγαροῦν ἐκίνει ἡμᾶς, τὸ πρὸς τὴν ἀδελφὴν εὔλογον, τὸ ἡμέτερον αὐτῶν μάθημα, πρὸς δὲ καὶ ὁ στρατιώτης (ἐπεὶ καὶ τούτου μνημονεῦσαι δεῖ), φέρων ἐξουσίαν πλειόνων τῶν δημοσίων ὀχημάτων τῆς χρήσεως, καὶ σύμβολα πλείονος ἀριθμοῦ ἡμῶν μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἀδελφῆς μόνης ἕνεκα. Φαινόμενα μὲν ταῦτα· τὰ δὲ μὴ φαινόμενα μὲν ἀληθέστερα δέ, ἡ πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον κοινωνία, τὴν ἀληθῆ δι' αὐτοῦ περὶ τὰ τοῦ λόγου μαθήματα, ἡ τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν ὠφέλεια εἰς σωτηρίαν ἦγεν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τάδε, τυφλώττοντας μὲν καὶ οὐκ εἰδότας, σωτηριωδῶς δὲ ἡμῖν. Τοιγαροῦν οὐχ ὁ στρατιώτης, θεῖος δέ τις συνοδοιπόρος καὶ πομπὸς ἀγαθὸς καὶ φύλαξ, ὁ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ βίου τούτου ὥσπερ μακρᾶς ὁδοιπορίας διασώζων ἡμᾶς, παραμειψάμενος τά τε ἄλλα καὶ τὴν Βηρυτόν, ἧς μάλιστα <ἕνεκα> ὁρμᾶν ἐνταῦθα ᾠήθημεν, ἐνταῦθα φέρων κατεστήσατο· πάντα ποιῶν καὶ κινῶν, ἕως πάσῃ μηχανῇ τῷ τῶν πολλῶν ἡμῖν ἀγαθῶν αἰτίῳ τούτῳ συνδήσεται. Καὶ ὁ μέν, διὰ τοσούτων ἐλθὼν τὴν οἰκονομίαν παραδιδοὺς τούτῳ, ὁ θεῖος ἄγγελος ἐνταῦθά που καὶ ἴσως ἀνεπαύσατο, οὐχ ὑπὸ καμάτου τινὸς ἢ μόχθου (ἀκάματον γὰρ τὸ τῶν θείων λειτουργῶν γένος), ἀλλ' ὅτι παρέδωκεν ἀνθρώπῳ, πᾶσαν εἰ δυνατὸν πρόνοιαν καὶ ἐπιμέλειαν ἀποπλήσοντι.

6 Ὁ δ' ὑποδεξάμενος ἐξ ἡμέρας τῆς πρώτης, τῆς ὄντως ἐμοὶ πρώτης, τῆς τιμιωτάτης πασῶν, εἰ δεῖ λέγειν, ἡμερῶν, ὅτε μοι πρῶτον ὁ ἀληθινὸς ἀνατέλλειν ἥλιος ἤρξατο, πρῶτον μέν, ὥσπερ θῆράς τινας ἀγρίους ἢ ἰχθύας ἤ τινας ὄρνεις, ἐμπεσόντας μὲν εἰς τὰς ἄρκυς ἢ εἰς τὰς σαγήνας, ἐξολισθαίνειν δὲ καὶ ἀποδιδράσκειν πειρωμένους, ἀναχωρεῖν τε ἀπ' αὐτοῦ βουλομένους ἐπὶ τὴν Βηρυτὸν ἢ ἐπὶ τὴν πατρίδα, συνδήσασθαι πάντα τρόπον ἐμη χανήσατο· πάντας λόγους στρέφων καὶ πάντα κάλων (τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τοῦ λόγου) κινῶν καὶ πάσας τὰς δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ προχειριζόμενος· ἐπαινῶν μὲν φιλοσοφίαν καὶ τοὺς φιλοσοφίας ἐραστὰς μακροῖς τοῖς ἐπαίνοις καὶ πολλοῖς τοῖς τε προσήκουσι, τούτους μόνους ζῆν ὄντως τὸν λογικοῖς προσήκοντα βίον λέγων, τοὺς ὀρθῶς βιοῦν ἐπιτηδεύοντας, ἑαυτούς τε γινώσκοντας πρῶτον οἵτινές εἰσι, κἄπειτα τὰ ὄντως ἀγαθά, ἃ μεταδιώκειν ἄνθρωπον χρή, καὶ τὰ ἀληθῶς κακά, ὧν ἀποτρέχειν δεῖ· ψέγων δὲ τὴν ἀμαθίαν καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀμαθεῖς· πολλοὶ δὲ οὗτοι, ὅσοι θρεμμάτων δίκην τυφλώττοντες τὸν νοῦν, οὐδ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο ὅπερ εἰσὶν ἐγνωκότες, ὥσπερ ἄλογοι πεπλανη μένοι, ἀγαθὸν ἢ κακὸν ὅ τι ποτέ ἐστιν ὅλως οὔτε εἰδότες αὐτοὶ οὔτε μαθεῖν θέλοντες, ὡς ἐπὶ ἀγαθὸν ἄττουσι καὶ ἐπτόηνται χρήματα καὶ δόξας καὶ τιμὰς τὰς ἀπὸ τῶν πολλῶν καὶ τὴν τοῦ σώματος εὐεξίαν, αὐτά τε περὶ πολ λοῦ καὶ τοῦ παντὸς τιθέμενοι, καὶ τῶν τεχνῶν, ὅσαι ταῦτα ἐκπορίζεσθαι δύνανται, καὶ τῶν βίων, ὅσοι ταῦτα παρέξον ται, στρατιὰς καὶ τὴν δικανικὴν καὶ ἐκμάθησιν τὴν τῶν νόμων· ταῦθ' ἅπερ ἡμᾶς ἀνέσειε μάλιστα λέγων καὶ μάλα τεχνικῶς, τοῦ κυριωτάτου, φησί, τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν, λόγου ἀμελήσαντας. Οὐκ ἔχω νῦν ἐγὼ λέγειν, ὅσας τοιαύτας ἐξήχει φωνὰς προτρέπων φιλοσοφεῖν, οὐ μιᾶς ἡμέρας μόνης, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλειόνων ὅσων αὐτῷ προσῄειμεν τῶν πρώτων, βεβλημένοι μὲν ὥσπερ τινὶ βέλει τῷ παρ' αὐτοῦ λόγῳ καὶ ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας (ἦν γάρ πως καὶ ἡδείᾳ τινὶ χάριτι καὶ πειθοῖ καί τινι ἀνάγκῃ μεμιγμένος), στρεφόμενοι δέ πως ἔτι καὶ λογιζόμενοι, καὶ φιλοσοφεῖν μὲν προσκαρτερή σαντες,