Procopius of Gaza, Letters 29
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/441
Context
Procopius, later followed by his student Choricius, was a leading
figure in the rhetorical flowering at Late Antique Gaza. During his career spanning the
late 5th to early 6th centuries, he was a celebrated teacher and orator whose extant
writings include rhetorical works, letters, and biblical exegesis. In florid language
Procopius addresses the following letter to an associate Diodorus, who has failed to
stay in contact with Procopius upon moving from Gaza to Caesarea (cf.
Letters 110).
Text
ΔιοδώρωιἜτι σιγᾷς; ἔτι περιφρονεῖς τὰ ἡμέτερα; καὶ μὴν ᾤμην σε πρὸς
κόρον ἀφῖχθαι φρονήματος, σεμνὸν μὲν ἡγούμενον τὸ σιγᾶν, ἡμῶν δὲ φιλοτιμότερον
χρησομένων τῷ πράγματι, ἵνα καὶ νικήσωμεν ὀφρῦν διὰ σιγὴν ἐπηρμένην. τουτὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνο τὸ
σύνηθες· ἅμα τε τὴν Καίσαρος εἶδες καὶ βαίνεις ὑψοῦ καὶ
ἀγανακτεῖς ὅτι μὴ Περσέως πτεροῖς αἴρῃ μετέωρος, τὰ δὲ ἡμέτερά σοι λογιζομένῳ σμικρά τε
ἔτι δοκεῖ καὶ οὐδέν. ὅθεν σοι νόμος παλαιὸς καὶ πανταχοῦ κρατῶν παρεβαίνετο. χρὴ γὰρ
ἐπειδάν τις τοὺς συνήθεις καταλιπὼν ἐπ’ ἀλλοδαπῆς ἰθύνῃ τὸν δρόμον, αὐτὸν εἶναι πρῶτον
τὸν ἐπιστέλλοντα, ὁποῖον αὐτὸν ἦγεν ἡ θάλαττα, ὅπως ἡ γῆ τοῦτον ὁδοιποροῦντα παρέπεμπεν,
εἰ χρηστῆς ἀπέλαυε τύχης, εἰ τὸ χωρίον αὐτὸν εὐμενῶς ὑπεδέχετο. τούτων οὖν αὐτὸς ἔφης
οὐδέν, οὐδ’ ἡμεῖς ἔχομεν διηγήσασθαι, ἀλλὰ τοὐμὸν μέρος αὐτῶν ἰχθύων γέγονας ἀφωνότερος.
ἀλλ’ ἵνα μὴ τὰ τῆς φιλίας τῇ σιγῇ πρὸς λήθην ἐλθόντα κατὰ μικρὸν ὑπορρέῃ, ἀνανεοῦμαι
πάλιν τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ γίνομαί σοι φιλανθρωπότερος. καὶ σύ, πρὸς Φιλίου, παῖζε πρὸς ἡμᾶς τὰ
συνήθη καὶ τῆς σῆς χάριτος ἄξια.1
Textual Note
Ed. Garzya and Loenertz 1963 with ref. to Amato and Ciccolella 2010Translation
To Diodorus,Are you still silent? Do you still despise our news?
In fact, I thought you had reached your fill of arrogance: while you consider silence to
be a solemn act, we will use this action to competitive advantage, so that we might
defeat your eyebrow raised due to silence. For this is the usual story: you have just
seen Caesarea, and you go to the heights and are angry that you
do not to take yourself aloft on the wings of Perseus, but our goings-on seem in your
estimation to be small and worthless. Thus an ancient and universally valid law was
transgressed on your part. That is, whenever someone leaves behind his family and
travels to a foreign land, he must be the first to send word by letter about how his
trip by sea went, how his journey over land went, whether he enjoyed good fortune,
whether the region welcomed him favorably. You, however, said nothing of these matters,
and we ourselves are unable to tell the story. As far as I am concerned, you have become
dumber than the fish themselves. But in order that the bonds of friendship, having come
to oblivion because of silence, do not slowly wash away, I renew again our relationship
and become more benevolent toward you. And you, by Zeus the god of friendship, bring to
us the usual delight, a delight worthy of your grace.2
Translation Note
Trans. J. L. Rife with ref. to Amato and Ciccolella 2010Discussion Note
The reference to flying with the wings of Perseus here as elsewhere (Letters 58, 90, 123) may allude to a desire to escape human contact out of haughtiness or contempt (cf. Menander, Dyscolus 153-159), and in any case would seem to symbolize the distance between the author of the letter and its recipient; see Amato and Ciccolella 2010, p. 455 n. 263.Works Cited
- 1 Procopius of Gaza, Procopii Gazaei epistolae et declamationes, ed. Antonio Garzya and Raymond-Joseph Loenertz, Studia patristica et Byzantina (Ettal: Buch-Kunstverlag, 1963), bk: 29, p: 19.
- 2 Procopius of Gaza, Rose di Gaza: gli scritti retorico-sofistici e le Epistole di Procopio di Gaza, ed. Eugenio Amato, Frederica Ciccolella, and Gianluca Ventrella (Alessandria: Edizioni dell’Orso, 2010), p: 314-315.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Procopius of Gaza, Letters 29,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/441.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Procopius of Gaza, Letters 29.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/441.About this Entry
Entry Title: Procopius of Gaza, Letters 29
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Procopius of Gaza, Letters 29”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Procopius of Gaza, Letters 29”
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