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having acted gently and humanely and having shown nothing worthy of the hostility that previously seemed to exist, first of all I profess many thanks to the Almighty for the salvation of both, who has so humanely managed our affairs, and I have been delivered from the great care and despondency concerning both which arose from my thoughts, and then no less to you, because though you were able to cause grief in punishing him, 3.338 you were unwilling. But if any distress remained—for I will not deny that, with him in chains, I seem to suffer no less because of my sympathy for him—you have now completely removed it by promising to release him from his bonds after a short while. This you will do well to prove true in your actions. For you will have planned best for yourself not only for good repute, but also for security. For if you intend to hold your wife's brother in chains for life, it is uncertain whether, if he is able to escape, he will not wage war again; and it is by no means less uncertain whether, having waged war, he will not even be victorious. For many men many times, having recovered from great defeat and misfortune, have overcome their enemies by handling matters more skillfully because of their previous misfortunes. But if you should succeed in this, by using great foresight concerning his custody, to hold him in inescapable bonds for life, first, you will always be accompanied by many and varied cares, both by night and by day, always ruining your life and allowing you to have no sense of cheerfulness. For it is necessary to suspect not only the Roman officials of being conspirators, if you happen to have offended them in some way, but also those entrusted with his custody and even your closest associates, if one may say so. For besides the fact that men are prone to changes and always rejoice in 3.339 innovations, if they also find some pretext through which they think they will be able most easily to take revenge on those who have grieved them, one must rather expect them to be fickle and prone to plots when they have near them one who will either free them from their present evils or will fill them with many gifts and deem them worthy of great benefits. Then, if it should happen to you to die at this age—for it is not impossible, being a man—with your children being so young, no hope of well-being is left for them. For it is impossible for them to direct the government with their mother in such harsh and difficult times and with affairs utterly corrupt. What remains is for everyone, by agreement, either to summon that prisoner and choose him as king, or to choose one of the others, whoever may have the most supporters and seem more formidable and more fit to rule. If, then, he should be chosen, it seems to me he himself will strive no less to appear gentler to your children than you yourself appeared to him. And this is nothing other than shutting them in a prison and holding them for life, and adding nothing else more terrible. But if the rule should pass to some other—which I very much pray will not happen—I hesitate to speak, being tormented even by the word at the expectation of terrible things; but no hope is left that they will not all be utterly destroyed. But if 3.340 you are now willing to put into action that which you yourself willingly chose, you will have planned best for both yourself and him. For he, released from his bonds, will always feel a steadfast gratitude to you for your kindness and will try to be grateful while you live and to make it clear by his very deeds that you bestowed your kindnesses on a worthy man; and after your death, if this should happen, he will be everything to your children and with all that he has, if any should wish to harm them, he will aid them and help preserve their rule, as one striving on behalf of his own kin and the children of a genuine friend. And you will live the rest of your life most pleasantly, delivered not only from the cares and other difficulties which you would endure from suspicions, but also immediately reaping great rewards for your kindness to him, being praised by all and admired for your magnanimity. And in addition to these things, also the

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ἡμέρως χρησαμένου καὶ φιλανθρώπως καὶ οὐδὲν τῆς πρὶν δοκούσης δυσμενείας ἐπιδεδειγμένου ἄξιον, πρῶτα μὲν τῆς ἑκατέρων σωτηρίας τῷ κρείττονι πολλὰς τὰς χάριτας ὁμολογῶ, οὕτω τὰ ἡμέτερα διῳκηκότι φιλανθρώπως, καὶ τῆς πολλῆς ἀπήλλαγμαι φροντίδος καὶ ἀθυμίας τῆς ἐφ' ἑκατέροις ἐκ τῶν λογισμῶν ἐγγινομένης, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ σοὶ οὐδὲν ἧττον, ὅτι δυνάμενος λυπεῖν ἐν τῷ ἐκεῖνον τιμωρεῖσθαι, 3.338 οὐκ ἠθέλησας. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ' εἴ τι καὶ τῆς ἀνίας ὑπολέλειπτο, οὐ γὰρ οὖν ἀρνήσομαι, ὡς, ἐκείνου δεδεμένου, οὐ δοκῶ ἐλάττω ὑπομένειν διὰ τὴν συμπάθειαν τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον, ἀνῄρηκας παντάπασι νυνὶ, ἐπαγγειλάμενος ἀνήσειν τῶν δεσμῶν μετὰ μικρόν. ὃ καλῶς ποιήσεις ἀληθὲς ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων ἀποδείξας. οὐ γὰρ πρὸς εὐδοξίαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς ἀσφάλειαν ἄριστα σαυτῷ βουλεύσῃ. ἂν μὲν γὰρ διὰ βίου κατέχειν ἐν δεσμοῖς τὸν γυναικὸς ἀδελφὸν διανοήσῃ, ἄδηλον μὲν, εἰ μὴ διαδρᾶναι δυνηθεὶς αὖθις πολεμήσει, ἀδηλότερον δὲ οὐχ ἥκιστα, εἰ μὴ καὶ νικήσει πεπολεμηκώς. πολλοὶ γὰρ πολλάκις ἐκ μεγάλης ἥττης καὶ κακοπραγίας ἀνασφήλαντες περιεγένοντο τῶν πολεμίων ἐκ τῶν προτέρων ἀτυχημάτων, ἐμπειρότερον χρησάμενοι τοῖς πράγμασιν. εἰ δ' ἄρα σοι καὶ τοῦτο περιέσται τὸ πολλῇ προνοίᾳ χρησαμένῳ περὶ τὴν ἐκείνου φυλακὴν, κατέχειν ἐν ἀφύκτοις διὰ βίου, πρῶτον μὲν πολλαῖς ἀεὶ συνέσῃ καὶ ποικίλαις ταῖς φροντίσι, καὶ νύκτωρ καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν λυμαινομέναις ἀεὶ τῷ βίῳ καὶ οὐδεμίαν συγχωρούσαις εὐθυμίας αἴσθησιν λαμβάνειν. οὐ γὰρ τοὺς ἐν τέλει Ῥωμαίων ὑποπτεύειν ἀνάγκη μόνον ἐπιβούλους εἶναι, ἄν τι τύχῃς πρὸς αὐτοὺς προσκεκρουκὼς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς τὴν ἐκείνου φυλακὴν πεπιστευμένους καὶ τοὺς οἰκειοτάτους αὐτοὺς, εἰ οἷόντε εἰπεῖν. πρὸς γὰρ τῷ ῥᾳδίους εἶναι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους πρὸς μεταβολὰς καὶ χαίρειν ἀεὶ τοῖς 3.339 νεωτερισμοῖς, ἂν καὶ προφάσεώς τινος εὐπορῶσι, δι' ἧς ἂν ἀμύνασθαι ῥᾷστα τοὺς λελυπηκότας δυνήσεσθαι οἰήσονται, μᾶλλον χρὴ προσδοκᾷν εὐμεταβόλους ἔσεσθαι καὶ ῥᾳδίους πρὸς ἐπιβουλὰς ἔχοντας ἐγγὺς τὸν ἢ τῶν παρόντων ἀπαλλάξοντα κακῶν ἢ πολλῶν ἐμπλήσοντα δώρων καὶ μεγάλων ἀξιώσοντα τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν. ἔπειτα δὲ εἴ σοι καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν τήνδε, οὐ γὰρ ἀδύνατον, ἀνθρώπῳ γε ὄντι, ἐφ' οὕτω νηπίοις συμβαίη τοῖς τέκνοις ἀποθνήσκειν, ἐλπὶς ἐκείνοις οὐδεμία εὐπραγίας ἀπολείπεται. τὸ μὲν γὰρ τὴν ἀρχὴν αὐτοὺς ἰθύνειν μετὰ τῆς μητρὸς ἐφ' οὕτω χαλεποῖς καιροῖς καὶ δυσκόλοις καὶ παντάπασι διεφθαρμένοις πράγμασιν ἀδύνατον. λείπεται δὲ ἢ τὸν φρουρούμενον ἐκεῖνον προσκαλεσαμένους πάντας ἐκ συνθήματος αἱρεῖσθαι βασιλέα, ἢ τῶν ἄλλων ἕνα, ὃς ἂν μάλιστα πλείους σχοίη τοὺς σπουδαστὰς καὶ δεινότερος δοκοίη καὶ μᾶλλον ἄρχειν ἐπιτήδειος. ἂν μὲν οὖν ἐκεῖνος αἱρεθείη, δοκῶ μοι μηδὲν ἧττον καὶ αὐτὸς φιλονεικήσειν ἡμερώτερος φανεῖσθαι τοῖς παισὶ τοῖς σοῖς, ἢ αὐτὸς ἐκείνῳ ὤφθης. τοῦτο δὲ οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν, ἢ ἐν δεσμωτηρίῳ κατακλείσαντα κατέχειν διὰ βίου, καὶ μηδέν τι δεινότερον ἕτερον προσθεῖναι. εἰ δ' ἐφ' ἕτερόν τινα, ὅπερ μάλιστα ἀπεύχομαι, μεταβαίη ἡ ἀρχὴ, ὀκνῶ μὲν εἰπεῖν καὶ μέχρι λόγου δακνόμενος τῇ προσδοκίᾳ τῶν δεινῶν· ἐλπὶς δὲ οὐδεμία ἀπολείπεται, μὴ οὐ πάντας ἄρδην ἀπολεῖσθαι. εἰ δ' 3.340 ὅπερ αὐτὸς ἑκοντὶ προείλου, νῦν καὶ εἰς ἔργον ἐθελήσεις ἀγαγεῖν, ἄριστα ἔσῃ σαυτῷ τε κἀκείνῳ βεβουλευμένος. ἐκεῖνός τε γὰρ τῶν δεσμῶν ἀπολυθεὶς, ἀεί σοι χάριν εἴσεται βεβαίαν τῆς εὐεργεσίας καὶ ζῶντί τε πειράσεται εὐγνωμονεῖν καὶ ἔργοις αὐτοῖς ποιεῖν καταφανὲς, ὡς εἰς ἄξιον κατέθου τὰς εὐεργεσίας, καὶ μετὰ τελευτὴν, εἰ τοῦτο συμβαίη, πάντα ἔσται τοῖς παισὶ τοῖς σοῖς καὶ πᾶσιν, οἷς ἔχει, ἄν τινες ἀδικεῖν ἐθέλωσιν, ἐπικουρήσει καὶ συνδιατηρήσει τὴν ἀρχὴν αὐτοῖς, ὡς ἂν ὑπὲρ οἰκείων καὶ φίλου καὶ γνησίου παίδων ἀγωνιζόμενος. καὶ σὺ τὸν ἐπίλοιπον ἥδιστα βιώσεις βίον, οὐ τῶν φροντίδων μόνον ἀπηλλαγμένος καὶ τῶν ἄλλων δυσχερῶν, ἃ ὑπομενεῖς ἐκ τῶν ὑπονοιῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς εἰς ἐκεῖνον εὐεργεσίας μεγάλας εὐθὺς καρπούμενος τὰς ἀμοιβὰς, εὐφημούμενος ὑπὸ πάντων καὶ τῆς μεγαλοψυχίας θαυμαζόμενος. πρὸς τούτοις δὲ καὶ τοὺς