Ep. 1.10.1Sī quandō urbs nostra līberālibus studiīs flōruit, nunc maximē flōret.If ever our city flourished in liberal studies, it flourishes most of all now. Ep. 1.10.2Multa clāraque exempla sunt;There are many famous examples; Ep. 1.10.2sufficeret ūnum, Euphrātēs philosophus.one would suffice, the philosopher Euphrates. Ep. 1.10.2Hunc ego in Syriā, cum adulēscentulus mīlitārem, penitus et domī īnspēxī, amārīque ab eō labōrāvī, etsī nōn erat labōrandum.I came to know him thoroughly and intimately in Syria, when I was serving in the army as a very young man, and I worked hard to be loved by him, although there was no need to work at it. Ep. 1.10.2Est enim obvius et expositus, plēnusque hūmānitāte quam praecipit.For he is approachable and open, and full of the humanity that he teaches. Ep. 1.10.3Atque utinam sīc ipse quam spem tunc ille dē mē concēpit implēverim, ut ille multum virtūtibus suīs addidit!And I wish I had fulfilled the hope he then conceived of me as fully as he has added greatly to his own virtues! Ep. 1.10.3aut ego nunc illās magis mīror quia magis intellegō.or else I now admire them more because I understand them more.
Ep. 1.10.4Quamquam nē nunc quidem satis intellegō;And yet even now I do not understand them sufficiently; Ep. 1.10.4ut enim dē pictōre scalptōre fictōre nisi artifex iūdicāre, ita nisi sapiēns nōn potest perspicere sapientem.for just as no one but an artist can judge a painter, a sculptor or a modeller, so no one but a wise man can perceive a wise man. Ep. 1.10.5Quantum tamen mihi cernere datur, multa in Euphrāte sīc ēminent et ēlūcent, ut mediocriter quoque doctōs advertant et afficiant.Yet as far as I am given to discern, many things in Euphrates stand out and shine so that they catch and move even the moderately learned. Ep. 1.10.5Disputat subtīliter graviter ōrnātē, frequenter etiam Platōnicam illam sublīmitātem et lātitūdinem effingit.He argues subtly, weightily and elegantly, and often reproduces that well-known loftiness and breadth of Plato. Ep. 1.10.5Sermō est cōpiōsus et varius, dulcis in prīmīs, et quī repugnantēs quoque dūcat impellat.His talk is copious and varied, above all charming, and such as to lead and drive on even those who resist. Ep. 1.10.6Ad hoc prōcēritās corporis, decōra faciēs, dēmissus capillus, ingēns et cāna barba;In addition there is his tall figure, his handsome face, his long hair, his great white beard; Ep. 1.10.6quae licet fortuīta et inānia putentur, illī tamen plūrimum venerātiōnis acquīrunt.and though these may be thought matters of chance and of no account, they nevertheless win him very great veneration.
Ep. 1.10.7Nūllus horror in cultū, nūlla trīstitia, multum sevēritātis;There is no roughness in his dress, no gloominess, but much austerity; Ep. 1.10.7revereāris occursum, nōn refōrmīdēs.you would feel awe at meeting him, not dread. Ep. 1.10.7Vītae sānctitās summa;The holiness of his life is supreme; Ep. 1.10.7cōmitās pār: īnsectātur vitia nōn hominēs, nec castīgat errantēs sed ēmendat.his courtesy equal to it: he attacks vices, not people, and he does not chastise those who go astray but corrects them. Ep. 1.10.7Sequāris monentem attentus et pendēns, et persuādērī tibi etiam cum persuāserit cupiās.You would follow his admonitions attentively and hanging on his words, and would long to be persuaded even after he has persuaded you. Ep. 1.10.8Iam vērō līberī trēs, duo marēs, quōs dīligentissimē īnstituit.Then again he has three children, two of them sons, whom he has brought up with the greatest care. Ep. 1.10.8Socer Pompeius Iūliānus, cum cēterā vītā tum vel hōc ūnō magnus et clārus, quod ipse prōvinciae prīnceps inter altissimās condiciōnēs generum nōn honōribus prīncipem, sed sapientiā ēlēgit.His father-in-law is Pompeius Julianus, great and famous both in the rest of his life and in this one thing above all, that though himself the foremost man of his province, among the most exalted matches he chose a son-in-law who was foremost not in office but in wisdom.
Ep. 1.10.9Quamquam quid ego plūra dē virō quō mihi fruī nōn licet?But why do I say more about a man whose company I am not allowed to enjoy? Ep. 1.10.9An ut magis angar quod nōn licet?Is it to be the more tormented that I am not allowed? Ep. 1.10.9Nam distringor officiō, ut maximō sīc molestissimō: sedeō prō tribūnālī, subnotō libellōs, cōnficiō tabulās, scrībō plūrimās sed illitterātissimās litterās.For I am distracted by my office, as important as it is irksome: I sit on the tribunal, I sign petitions, I draw up accounts, I write very many but most unliterary letters. Ep. 1.10.10Soleō nōn numquam - nam id ipsum quandō contingit!I sometimes (for when does even that happen!) Ep. 1.10.10- dē hīs occupātiōnibus apud Euphrātēn querī.complain to Euphrates about these occupations. Ep. 1.10.10Ille mē cōnsōlātur, affirmat etiam esse hanc philosophiae et quidem pulcherrimam partem, agere negōtium pūblicum, cognōscere iūdicāre, prōmere et exercēre iūstitiam, quaeque ipsī doceant in ūsū habēre.He consoles me, and even asserts that this is a part of philosophy, and indeed the finest part: to conduct public business, to hear cases and judge them, to bring out and administer justice, and to put into practice what philosophers themselves teach.
Ep. 1.10.11Mihi tamen hoc ūnum nōn persuādet, satius esse ista facere quam cum illō diēs tōtōs audiendō discendōque cōnsūmere.Yet on this one point he does not persuade me, that it is better to do these things than to spend whole days with him listening and learning. Ep. 1.10.11Quō magis tē cui vacat hortor, cum in urbem proximē vēneris - veniās autem ob hoc mātūrius -, illī tē expoliendum līmandumque permittās.All the more do I urge you, who have the time, that when you next come to the city (and come sooner for this reason) you entrust yourself to him to be polished and refined. Ep. 1.10.12Neque enim ego ut multī invideō aliīs bonō quō ipse careō, sed contrā: sēnsum quendam voluptātemque percipiō, sī ea quae mihi dēnegantur amīcīs videō superesse.For I do not, as many do, begrudge others a good which I myself lack, but on the contrary: I feel a certain sense of pleasure if I see my friends enjoying in abundance what is denied to me. Ep. 1.10.12Valē.Farewell.