1
The sons of Aphareus,Aphareus, son of the sophist Hippias and the son-in-law and adoptive son of Isocrates, was a tragic poet of some distinction. my grandsons, who were instructed in music by Agenor,Agenor and his school were well known as musicians before Aristoxenus. have asked me to write to you and beg that, since you have restored some of the other exiles, you will also allow Agenor, his father, and his brothers to return home. When I told them that I feared I should appear ridiculous and meddlesome in seeking so great a favor from men with whom I have never before spoken or been acquainted, they, upon hearing my reply, were all the more insistent.
2
And when they could obtain nothing of what they hoped, they clearly showed to all that they were displeased and sorely disappointed. So when I saw that they were unduly distressed I finally promised to write the letter and send it to you. That I may not justly seem foolish and irksome I make this explanation.
3
I think you have been well advised both in becoming reconciled to your fellow-citizens and, while trying to reduce the number of exiles, in increasing that of the participants in public life and also in imitating AthensA reference to the moderation of the Athenian democracy in 403 B.C. in handling the sedition. You are especially deserving of praise because you are restoring their property to the exiles who return; for thus you show and make clear to all that you had expelled them, not because you coveted the property of others, but because you feared for the welfare of the city.
