Xenophon of Ephesus, An Ephesian Tale 1.16.3 · 1.16.3
Euxinus speaks for Corymbus
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Λέγει οὖν ὁ Εὔξεινος πρὸς τὸν Ἁβροκόμην ὑπὲρ Κορύμβου μειράκιον, εἰκὸς μέν ⟨σε⟩ ἐπὶ τῇ συμφορᾷ φέρειν χαλεπῶς, οἰκέτην μὲν ἐξ ἐλευθέρου γενόμενον, πένητα δὲ ἀντʼ εὐδαίμονος· δεῖ δέ σε τῇ τύχῃ πάντα λογίσασθαι καὶ στέργειν τὸν κατέχοντα δαίμονα καὶ τοὺς γενομένους δεσπότας ἀγαπᾶν.
So Euxinus spoke to Habrocomes on Corymbus' behalf: "Young man, it is natural for you to take your misfortune hard, now that you are a slave instead of a free man, and poor instead of rich. But you must put it all down to fortune, accept the fate that holds you, and love the masters you now have."
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The setting
Book 1, chapter 16. Euxinus, who is in love with Anthia, pleads with Habrocomes for Corymbus.
A note on this passage
Euxinus opens the way a comforter would: of course you take it hard. His word for the power over Habrocomes' life is δαίμων, the divine force that deals each person his lot. Habrocomes was εὐδαίμων, literally "with a good daimon," the everyday Greek word for rich and happy; now he is told to accept the daimon that holds him. The verbs he uses, στέργειν for the daimon and ἀγαπᾶν for the masters, are both ordinary words for love.
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