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to check a course ever advancing to greater things and hastening to its prime. But now I was exceedingly pleased by your letter, not considering the praises—for I was flying high, carried everywhere by your words—but because we have been fortunate to call a child from the Muses. For even when moving your tongue thus to falsehood, how could you be anything but a man who has apprehended the truth? And I was pleased by you mocking yourself, because, being insatiably desirous of money, you extended your commerce even to my words. But fill your right hand, most fortunate one, and I will bear it with moderation, seeing my words for sale. But see that you do not also suffer a penalty, having demanded them in advance from my house, because you dared to publish my unseemly children. 163 To Cledonius Well done for the grace in your letters and a tongue flowing unhindered and able to say whatever it also wishes. For where you have lifted me up so high, who am small in words and invested with the art only in appearance, so that I am henceforth at a loss lest you were writing to others and then through forgetfulness inscribed my name, what could you not easily say if you wished? And you seem to me to have moved your tongue so much, wishing to make clear that you will demand from me the child who is able to speak thus. For which reason you have caused me such a struggle, that I nearly declined the promise to teach him, had not the thought occurred to me that, having by chance his father's nature, the young man will likely overcome my teaching, supplying from home what is lacking in it. Therefore it is time for you not to seek the whole thing from me, lest, being at a loss for an accounting, I be silent. But I promise him as much good will as you yourself would have provided, if you happened to be teaching; for the young man draws me to this, providing a zeal rivaling his nature. 164 To Gessius To my impulse to write until now, O best of men, a certain divine opposition has appeared, to speak in the Socratic manner, enveloping us in one illness after another, such as happen to us who partake of this present life. For a crowd of countless evils has, I know not how, been allotted the life of men; and one man is troubled by poverty, another is worn out by passions of the soul, for another the body is unwell, another laments having no child, while another bemoans those he has. And what need to speak of the loss of wives and children, which experience has given you to know by experience, not as it should be? And it would be a long story to go over the things that are set before our sight and that life shows us in deeds, with God so guiding our affairs, it seems to me, so that encountering a multitude of unwanted things on earth we should in no way cling to things that have nothing stable and unmoved, but leaving the place of misfortunes we might hasten to another life, flying up in thought to heaven itself, even if the body is still forced to remain, and let us not lament one who has departed from the bonds of this world and has been shown with difficulty to be free. For I praise the one who said, whoever was the father of this saying, that "1not to be born is best of all for those on earth, but being born, to pass through the gates of Hades as quickly as possible"2. Which the stage, perverting this, says that when we go to a gathering we must "1lament one who is born for all the evils he is coming to"2. Why then do we still lament, having sent our dearest ones safely forth from the storm of life, before they have had experience of the evils of this world, and why do we wish the divine to be according to what seems good to us, when it is necessary to judge that to be good, whatever seems so to Him? Such was truly the man who emulated that great Pythagoras, who indeed to the one who said in part of a prayer "1may God give you whatever you happen to wish"2, "1Speak well,"2 he says, "1but may I wish for the things he gives"2. For often having prayed for many things to happen for us, and then not obtaining them, we have learned from the events that it was fitting they did not happen, and having obtained many things supposedly according to my will, a little later I blamed my fortune that they did happen. Thus, it seems, men, looking at small things, do not have a sufficient nature, and we have been ignorant of what is going to be altogether profitable. Therefore it is necessary to yield to the superior one who wisely guides our affairs, even if his decrees are unknown to us. 165 To Musaeus The most learned Palladius gold

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ἀνακόψαι δρόμον ἐπὶ μεῖζον ἀεὶ χωροῦντα καὶ πρὸς ἀκμὴν ἐπειγόμενον. νυνὶ δέ σου καὶ λίαν ἥσθην τοῖς γράμμασιν, οὐ τοὺς ἐπαίνους σκοπῶνἦ γὰρ ἀνέπτην μετέωρος τοῖς σοῖς λόγοις παντα χοῦ μεθιπτάμενοςἀλλ' ὅτι παῖδα καλεῖν ἐκ τῶν Μουσῶν εὐτυχήκαμεν. καὶ γὰρ οὕτως ἐπὶ ψευδῆ τὴν γλῶτταν κινῶν τίς ἂν γένοιο τῆς ἀληθείας ἐπειλημμένος; ἥσθην δέ σοι καὶ σαυτὸν ἐπισκώπτοντι διότι χρημάτων ἀπλήστως ἐρῶν καὶ μέχρι τῶν ἐμῶν λόγων τὴν ἐμπορίαν ἐξέτεινας. ἀλλὰ πλήρου τὴν δεξιάν, εὐτυχέστατε, καὶ μετρίως οἴσω τοὺς λόγους ὠνίους θεώμενος. πλὴν ὅρα μὴ καὶ δίκην ὑπόσχῃς, προαπαιτήσας οἴκοθεν, ὅτι μου παῖδας ἀπρεπεῖς δημοσιεύειν ἐτόλμησας. 163 Κληδονίωι Εὖγε τῆς ἐν τοῖς γράμμασι χάριτος καὶ γλώττης ἀκωλύτως ῥεούσης καὶ λέγειν δυναμένης ὅσα καὶ βούλεται. ὅπου γὰρ ἐμὲ τὸν μικρὸν ἐν λόγοις καὶ τὴν τέχνην μέχρι τοῦ σχήματος περικείμενον τοσοῦτον ἦρας ἄνω, ὡς ἀπο ρεῖν με λοιπὸν μή ποτε πρὸς ἄλλους γράφων εἶτά σου κατὰ λήθην προσ ηγορίαν ἐπέγραψας, τί οὐκ ἂν ῥᾳδίως εἴποις βουλόμενος; καί μοι δοκεῖς τοσοῦτον κεκινηκέναι τὴν γλῶτταν, δηλῶσαι θέλων ὡς ἀπαιτήσεις παρ' ἐμοῦ τὸ παιδίον οὕτω λέγειν δυνάμενον. ὅθεν μοι καὶ τοσοῦτον ἀγῶνα πεποίηκας, ὥστε μικροῦ δεῖν καὶ τὴν τοῦ διδάξειν αὐτὸν ἀνεδυόμην ὑπό σχεσιν, εἰ μή με λογισμὸς εἰσῆλθεν, ὡς τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς φύσιν λαχὼν ἐκ τῶν εἰκότων ὁ νέος νικήσει τὴν ἐμὴν διδασκαλίαν, τὸ λεῖπον ἐκ ταύτης οἴκοθεν παρεχόμενος. ὥστε σοι καιρὸς μὴ παρ' ἐμοῦ τὸ πᾶν ζητεῖν, ἵνα μὴ πρὸς τὰς εὐθύνας ἀπορῶν σιωπήσωμαι. τὴν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν εὔνοιαν τοσαύτην κατ επαγγέλλομαι, ὅσην ἂν αὐτὸς παρέσχες, εἰ διδάσκων ἐτύγχανες· προσ εφέλκεται γάρ με πρὸς ταύτην ὁ νέος, τῇ φύσει τὴν σπουδὴν ἐφάμιλλον παρ εχόμενος. 164 Γεσσίωι Τῆς μέχρι νῦν, ὦ λῷστε, πρὸς τὸ γράφειν ὁρμῆς Σωκρατικῶς εἰπεῖν δαι μόνιόν τι πέφηνεν ἐναντίωμα, νοσήμασιν ἡμᾶς ἐξ ἄλλων ἄλλοις περιβάλλον, οἷα δὴ συμβαίνει τῆς παρούσης ἡμᾶς ἀπολαύειν ζωῆς. μυρίων γὰρ ὄχλος κακῶν τὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων οὐκ οἶδ' ὅπως ἐκληρώσατο βίον· καὶ τὸν μὲν πενία παρενοχλεῖ, τὸν δὲ πάθη παρατείνει ψυχῆς, ἄλλῳ διάκειται τὸ σῶμα κακῶς, ἕτερος παιδίον οὐκ ἔχων θρηνεῖ, ὁ δὲ τοὺς ὄντας ὀδύρεται. καὶ τί δεῖ λέγειν γυναικῶν καὶ παίδων ἀποβολήν, ἅπερ ὑμῖν οὐχ ὡς ἔδει γνῶναι τῇ πείρᾳ παρέσχεν ἡ πεῖρα; καὶ μακρὸν ἂν εἴη τῷ λόγῳ περινοστεῖν ἃ πρόκει ται τῇ θέᾳ καὶ δείκνυσιν ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων ὁ βίος, οὕτως ἄγοντος τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ ἡμέτερα, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν, ὅπως ἀβουλήτων πλήθει περιπεσόντες τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς μηδαμῶς ἀντεχώμεθα μηδὲν ἐχόντων ἑστηκὸς καὶ ἀκίνητον, ἀλλὰ καταλιπόντες τῶν συμφορῶν τὸ χωρίον πρὸς ἑτέραν ζωὴν ἐπειγώμεθα, ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἀναπτάντες τῇ διανοίᾳ τὸν οὐρανόν, εἰ καὶ μένειν ἔτι τὸ σῶμα βιάζεται, μηδὲ θρηνῶμεν τὸν ἀπελθόντα τῶν ἐντεῦθεν δεσμῶν φανέντα μόγις ἐλεύθερον. ἐπαινῶ γὰρ τὸν εἰπόντα, ὅστις ποτὲ ἦν ὁ τοῦ λόγου τούτου πατήρ, ὡς "1ἀρχῆθεν μὴ φῦναι τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς ἄριστον, φύντα δ' ὅτι τάχιστα πύλας Ἀΐδαο περῆσαι"2. ὅπερ ἡ σκηνὴ παρασπάσασα δεῖν ἡμᾶς φησὶν ἐπὶ σύλ λογον ἰόντας "1τὸν φύντα θρηνεῖν εἰς ὅσ' ἔρχεται κακά"2. τί οὖν ἔτι θρηνοῦμεν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ βίου ζάλης ἀσφαλῶς τοὺς φιλτάτους προπέμψαντες, πρὶν ἐν πείρᾳ γενέσθαι τῶν ἐντεῦθεν κακῶν, τί δὲ πρὸς τὸ δοκοῦν ἡμῖν τὸ θεῖον εἶναι βουλόμεθα, δέον τοῦτο κρίνειν καλόν, ὅπερ ἂν ἐκείνῳ δοκῇ; τοιοῦτος ἦν ὄντως ὁ τὸν πολὺν ἐκεῖνον Πυθαγόραν ἐζηλωκώς, ὅστις γε δὴ πρὸς τὸν ἐν εὐχῆς εἰπόντα μέρει "1δῴη σοι ὁ θεὸς ἅπερ ἂν τύχῃς βουλόμενος"2, "1εὐφήμει"2 φησίν, "1ἀλλὰ βουλοίμην ἅ γε δίδωσι"2. πολλὰ γὰρ ἡμῖν γενέσθαι πολλάκις εὐξάμενοι, εἶτα μὴ τυχόντες, ἔγνωμεν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ὡς δεόντως οὐ γέγονε, πολλῶν δὲ καὶ κατὰ γνώμην δῆθεν τυχὼν μικρὸν ὕστερον ἐμεμψάμην τὴν τύχην ὅτι καὶ γέγονεν. οὕτως ἄρα πρὸς μικρὰ βλέποντες ἄνθρωποι τὴν φύσιν οὐκ ἔχουσι διαρκῆ, καὶ ἅπερ ἂν μέλλῃ καθάπαξ λυσιτελεῖν ἠγνοήκαμεν. τοιγαροῦν παραχωρεῖν ἀνάγκη τῷ κρείττονι σοφῶς ἄγοντι τὰ ἡμέτερα, κἂν ἡμῖν ἀγνοῆται τὰ δόγματα. 165 Μουσαίωι Ὁ λογιώτατος Παλλάδιος χρυσὸν