§5.1Ὁ μὲν Οὐλιάδης, ᾧ μάλιστʼ ἐπεποίθεις, οὔτε ὅτε ἀφίγμεθα εἰς Ῥόδον παρὼν ἔτυχεν, ἀλλὰ περὶ Αἰνδον ἧν, οὔτʼ ἐπανελθών εἰς Ῥόδον περιττῶς ήσμένισεν ἡμᾶς, ἔξω δὴ τοῦ τὰ κοινὰ ταῦτα προστάξαι, λέγειν, εἴ τινων χρῇζομεν.
Uliades, in whom you placed your greatest trust, happened not to be present when we arrived in Rhodes, but was around Lindus; nor did he welcome us with any special warmth when he returned to Rhodes, except for issuing those standard directives, telling us to speak up if we needed anything.
ὁ δὲ Κλεοκράτης, οὐδὲ μὰ τοὺς θεοὺς ἐπιστεῖλαί σοι δυναίμην ἂν αὐταρκῶς τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς φιλανθρωπίας, ὅσῃ κέχρηται περὶ ἐμέ.
But as for Cleocrates, not even by the gods could I sufficiently describe to you in a letter the abundance of the kindness which he has shown toward me.
§5.2καὶ γὰρ οἰκίαν παρεσκεύασέ μοι δημοσίᾳ δοθῆναι καὶ χωρίον ἐν Καμίρῳ, καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ἔπεμψεν ἡμῖν τὰ ἐπιτήδεια καὶ εἰς ἐνιαυτὸν ἄφθονα, οὐκ ἐμοὶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ Τεύθραντι καὶ Πλειστίᾳ, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα καὶ εἰ φαυλότερα τῶν Ἀθήνησιν, ὥσπερ ἔλαιον καὶ μέλι, ἀλλʼ οἵων παρόντων οὐδὲν ἂν τῶν ἐκεῖθεν δεηθείημεν, οἶνόν γε μὴν καὶ πολὑ ἀμείνω τοῦ παρʼ ὑμῖν, καὶ ἐκ στροβίλου ἄμα καὶ ἀλεύρων καὶ ἀρωμάτων πεποιημένα ἐν τύποις τραγήματα, ὧν καὶ πέπομφά σοι.
For he arranged for a house to be given to me publicly, and also a piece of land in Camirus, and he himself sent us provisions, and that too in abundance for a year, not only for me, but also for Teuthras and Pleistias. Although other things, such as olive oil and honey, might be of lesser quality than those in Athens, they are of such a kind that, since they are present, we should have no need of anything from there. His wine, however, is much better than what you have, and he also sent us sweetmeats made in molds from pine-cones, flour, and spices, some of which I have sent to you.
§5.3ταῦτά θʼ ἡμῖν ἔπεμψε, καὶ πυρῶν μεδίμνους, ὅσοις ἐγὼ μεδίμνοις οὐκ ὅπως ἐμαυτόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντας Κοθωκίδας διαρκεῖν ἂν ἐδυνάμην·
He sent us these, and also so many medimnoi of wheat that I would have been able to sustain not only myself, but also all the Cothocidae.
καὶ πολλὰ δὲ ἄλλα πρὸς τούτοις, ἄ γράφειν αἰσχύνομαι, ἵνα μή τινα δηλοῦν ἐμὴν μικρολογίαν δόξω.
And many other things besides these, which I am ashamed to write down, lest I should seem to display some pettiness of mine.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ τὰ μικρὰ πάνυ ὑπερασπάζεσθαι μικρολογίας τινὸς εἶναί φημι καὶ ἀπειροκαλίας, φιλοφρονημάτων δὲ καὶ μικρῶν πάνυ ἔγωγε ἡττᾶσθαι ὁμολογῶ.
For while I say that to welcome exceedingly small things is a mark of a certain pettiness and bad taste, I myself confess that I am completely overcome by even very small tokens of friendship.
§5.4παρέχει δὲ ἡμῖν καὶ ἄλλα καλλίω, συῶν τε ἀγρίων καὶ δορκάδων τῶν πέραθεν ἀπολαύσματα.
He also provides us with other and more beautiful things, the enjoyments of wild boars and gazelles from the opposite mainland.
ἔτι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἡμῖν σύνεστιν ὁσημέραι, καὶ μεταδίδωσι τῆς αὐτοῦ σοφίας, ἢ σοφωτέρα ἢ καθʼ ἡμᾶς ἐστιν.
Moreover, he himself associates with us every day and shares his wisdom with us, which is indeed too wise for our own standard.
ἂ γὰρ ἐγὼ παθὼν ἐδιδάχθην, ταῦτα πρὶν παθεῖν φυλάττεται, σοφίᾳ καὶ οὐχ ὥσπερ οἱ ἄφρονες πείρᾳ διδασκόμενος· §5.5οὐ γὰρ πολιτεύεται.
For what I was taught through suffering, he guards against before suffering, being instructed by wisdom and not, like foolish men, by experience; for he does not engage in politics.
καὶ ὅσον γʼ ἐπὶ Κλεοκράτει, οὐδεμιᾶς πόλεως ἄλλης οὐδὲ ἀνθρώπων ἐπιθυμῶ, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα ἀσμενίζω τῇ συμφορᾷ, καὶ ἀρχὴ δοκεῖ μοι τοῦ βίου ἡ ἀπαλλαγὴ τῆς αὐτόθι πολιτείας.
And as far as Cleocrates is concerned, I desire no other city nor any other men, but I even rejoice exceedingly in my misfortune, and the departure from the politics there seems to me to be the beginning of my life.
καὶ ὁτὲ μὲν ὑπεραγαπῶ τὰ παρόντα, καὶ ὅπερ φασὶ Σοφοκλέα ἤδη γέροντα ὑπὲρ ἄλλης ἡδονῆς εἰπεῖν, ὥσπερ κυνὸς λυττώσης ἀπηλλάχθαι ποτὲ τῆς τοῦ πολιτεύεσθαι ἡδονῆς δοκῶ, καὶ ὅταν ὁ νοῦς ἐπικρατῇ, τρισευδαίμων ἔγωγε ἐμαυτῷ τῆς φυγῆς, ἤν φεύγω, φαίνομαι· §5.6ὅταν δʼ αὖ πάλιν ὑπέλθῃ με λογισμός τε καὶ μνήμη τῶν αὐτόθι, οὐχ ἑταίρων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ συγγενῶν καὶ ἐκκλησίας καὶ Κολλυτοῦ, ἐν ᾧ πέντε καὶ τετταράκοντα ἔτη ῷκησα, καὶ τοῦ Ἁλῆσι χωρίου καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ μοι μετὰ σοῦ καὶ φιλίνου διατριβῶν γενομένων, μεταρρεῖ ἅπαν τὸ αἷμα ἄλλοσέ ποι τῶν σπλάγχνων πάλιν, καί μοι δήποτε καὶ λοιδορίαι, αἷς ἐλοιδορούμην ὑπὸ Δημοσθένους, ἥδισται δοκοῦσι, καὶ σκώμματα, ἐφʼ οἷς οὐδεὶς ἔξω Κτησιφῶντος ἐγέλασε πώποτε.
And sometimes I extremely cherish my present circumstances, and I seem to have been rid of the pleasure of political life, just as they say Sophocles, when already an old man, said concerning another pleasure, as if escaping from a mad dog; and whenever reason prevails, I seem to myself thrice-happy because of this exile which I endure; but when on the other hand the thought and memory of things there steal over me again—not only of my companions, but also of my relatives, the assembly, and Collytus, where I lived for forty-five years, and of the estate at Halae and of the pastimes spent there with you and Philinus—all the blood flows back from my vitals to somewhere else, and even the insults with which I was abused by Demosthenes seem most sweet to me, and those jests at which no one outside Ctesiphon ever laughed.
§5.7ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἄλις μὲν ῆδη δακρύων, σύ δʼ εὐτυχοίης, καὶ μὴ μόνον πολιτείαν ἄπασαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ Λεπτίνην φεῦγε, ὅτι πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἔχει φιλαπεχθημόνως, καὶ ὅτι τἄλλα τοιοῦτός ἐστιν, ὅτου περιεῖναι μὲν μηδενὸς λαμπρότερον, ἡττᾶσθαι δὲ ἀδοξότατον.
But indeed, enough of tears now; may you be prosperous, and flee not only all political life but also Leptines, because he is hostile towards us, and because in other respects he is the sort of person whom it is not at all glorious to surpass, but most shameful to be defeated by.
καὶ μάλιστα μὲν παραινῶ, φεῦγε τὰς μετʼ αὐτοῦ διατριβάς· εἰ δʼ αὗ συνέλθοις ἐκ τύχης καὶ καθʼ ἡμῶν λέγοι τι, πειρῶ σιωπᾶν, ἂν ἰσχύῃς, καὶ γελᾶν.
And above all, I advise you to flee associations with him; but if you should happen to meet him by chance and he should say something against us, try to remain silent, if you can, and to laugh.
§5.8ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν δίδωσιν ἀποχρῶσαν δίκην τῷ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις καὶ γέλωτος εἶναι δοκεῖν ἄμα καὶ μίσους ἄξιος· σύ δέ, εἰ μὴ πάνυ φοβῇ τὴν θάλατταν, ἀφίκοιο παρʼ ἡμᾶς ποτε, καὶ παρασχών σαυτὸν ἰδεῖν ἡμῖν ἐπανίοις πάλιν.
But he indeed pays a sufficient penalty by appearing to all men to be worthy of ridicule and at the same time of hatred; but you, if you do not fear the sea too much, should come to us sometime, and having shown yourself to us, return back again.