Ep. XIV.

Do a kindness to yourself and to me, of a kind that you will not often have an opportunity of doing, because opportunities for such kindnesses do not often occur.  Undertake a most righteous protection of my dear cousins, who are worried more than enough about a property which they bought as suitable for retirement, and capable of providing them with some means of living; but after having completed the purchase they have fallen into many troubles, partly through finding the vendors dishonest, and partly through being plundered and robbed by their neighbours, so that it would be a gain to them to get rid of their acquisition for the price they gave for it, plus the not small sum they have spent on it besides.  If, then, you would like to transfer the business to yourself, after examining the contract to see how it may be best and most securely done, this course would be most acceptable both to them and me; but if you would rather not, the next best course would be to oppose yourself to the officiousness and dishonesty of the man, that he may not succeed in gaining one advantage over their want of business habits, either by wronging them if they retain their property, or by inflicting loss upon them if they part with it.  I am really ashamed to write to you on such a subject.  All the same, since we owe it to them, on account both of their relationship and of their profession (for of whom would one rather take care than of such, or what would one be more ashamed of than of being unwilling to confer such a benefit?) do you either for your own sake, or for mine, or for the sake of the men themselves, or for all these sakes put together, by all means do them this kindness.

[14] ΚΑΙΣΑΡΙΩΙ

Εὐεργέτησόν τι καὶ σεαυτὸν καὶ ἡμᾶς, οἷον οὐ πολλάκις εὐεργετήσεις, ὅτι μηδὲ πολλάκις παραπίπτουσιν εὐεργεσίας τοιαύτης καιροί. Τῶν κυρίων μου τῶν ἀνεψιῶν πρόστηθι προστασίαν δικαιοτάτην, καμνόντων ἱκανῶς ἐπὶ κτήματι, ὅπερ ὠνήσαντο μὲν ὡς καὶ πρὸς ἀναχώρησιν ἐπιτήδειον καί τινα τοῦ βίου παρέχειν αὐτοῖς ἀποτροφὴν δυνάμενον: ἐπεὶ δ' ὠνήσαντο, πλείοσι περιπεπτώκασι δυσχερείαις, τὰ μὲν τῶν πεπρακότων ἀγνωμόνων πειρώμενοι, τὰ δ' ὑπὸ τῶν γειτονούντων περικοπτόμενοι καὶ πορθούμενοι, ὥστε κέρδος εἶναι αὐτοῖς, τὸ τίμημα ὃ δεδώκασι κομισαμένοις, μεθ' ὧν προσαναλώκασιν, ὄντων οὐκ ὀλίγων, ἀπηλλαγῆναι τῆς κτήσεως. Εἰ μὲν οὖν σοι φίλον εἰς σεαυτὸν περιστῆσαι τὴν πραγματείαν, ὅπως ἂν κάλλιστα καὶ ἀσφαλέστατα ἔχῃ σοι τὸ συνάλλαγμα διασκεψαμένῳ, τοῦτο δὴ καὶ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἡμῖν ἥδιον. Εἰ δὲ μή, τό γε δεύτερον, τῇ περιεργίᾳ καὶ ἀγνωμοσύνῃ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀντίθες σεαυτόν, ἵνα μὴ πάντως ἕν γέ τι διὰ τὴν ἀπραγμοσύνην αὐτῶν ἔχῃ πλέον, ἢ κατέχοντας ἀδικῶν, ἢ ζημιῶν ἀπαλλαττομένους. Ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἠρυθρίασα περὶ τούτων ἐπιστέλλων. Ἐπειδή γ' ὁμοίως αὐτοῖς ὀφειλόμεθα, καὶ διὰ τὸ γένος, καὶ διὰ τὴν τοῦ βίου προαίρεσιν (τίνος γὰρ ἄν τις κήδοιτο μᾶλλον ἢ τῶν τοιούτων; ἐπὶ τῷ δ' ἂν αἰσχύνοιτο πλέον ἢ τὰ τοιαῦτα εὐεργετεῖν οὐ προθυμούμενος;), σὺ δ' ἢ διὰ σεαυτόν, ἢ δι' ἡμᾶς, ἢ διὰ τοὺς ἄνδρας αὐτούς, ἢ διὰ πάντα ταῦτα ὁμοῦ, ἀλλὰ πάντως γ' αὐτοὺς εὐεργέτησον.