Kitap 17
5.2
Therefore, imagining that such a step would not be attempted unless the fabric of the empire were weakened, he swelled with still greater pride, embraced the name of peace, and proposed hard conditions; and dispatching one Narseus with gifts as his envoy, he sent a letter to Constantius, in no wise deviating from his native haughtiness, the tenor of which, as we have learned, was as follows:—
5.3
I Sapor, King of Kings, partner with the Stars, brother of the Sun and Moon, to my brother Constantius Caesar offer most ample greeting. I rejoice and at last take pleasure that you have returned to the best course and acknowledged the inviolable sanction of justice, having learned from actual experience what havoc has been caused at various times by obstinate covetousness of what belongs to others.
5.4
Since therefore the consideration of truth ought to be free and untrammelled, and it befits those in high station to speak as they feel, I shall state my proposal in brief terms, recalling that what I am about to say I have often repeated.
