Letter 12: You ask whether I still remember you.

LibaniusAristaenetus|c. 315 AD|Libanius|AI-assisted
barbarian invasionconversioneducation booksfriendshipgrief deathillnessimperial politicstravel mobility

To Priscianus. (353)

Dionysius did not trample on his oath -- he is returning to you with the letters, just as he swore he would do. But when you call our city "blessed" -- you who were too afraid to live here -- you are having us on. If you truly thought her so fortunate, why did you refuse to share in that good fortune when you had the chance?

As for our dangers: if you are ignorant of them, you do wrong, for your ignorance comes from indifference, especially given how close you live. And if you know about them and yet call me blessed amid these terrors, you are the greatest risk-lover alive.

You are right to regard Dinius's affairs as your own, and I myself am no stranger to his cause. You will see my zeal in the letters we shall send in aid of the old man.

AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.

Latin / Greek Original

Πρισκιανῷ. (353)

Οὐ κατεπάτησε τὸν ὅρκον ὁ Διονύσιος, ἀλλ’ ἐπανήκει
σοι μετὰ τῶν γραμμάτων, ὃ δὴ καὶ ποιήσειν ὤμοσε. τὴν πόλιν

δὲ ἡμῶν εὐδαίμονα καλῶν, ἐν ᾗ κατοικεῖν ἔδεισας, παίζεις
ἔχων. εἰ γὰρ δὴ ὄντως αὐτὴν ᾤου τοιαύτην, τί παθὼν ἐξὸν
κοινωνεῖν τῆς εὐδαιμονίας οὐκ ἠβουλήθης;

τοὺς δ’ ἡμετέ-
ρους εἰ μὲν ἀγνοεῖς κινδύνους, ἀδικεῖς, ἀμελῶν γὰρ ἀγνοεῖς
καὶ ταῦτα οὕτως ὢν πρόσχωρος· εἰ δ’ ἐπιστάμενος μακαρίζεις
<με> μετὰ τῶν δεινῶν, φιλοκινδυνότατος εἶ.

τὰ Δεινίου
πράγματα καὶ σαυτοῦ νομίζων ὀρθῶς φρονεῖς εἰμὶ δ’ οὐδ
αὐτὸς τῶν ἀλλότρια τὰ Δεινίου ποιουμένων, ὄψει δὲ τὴν
σπουδὴν ἐν τοῖς γράμμασιν, ἃ πέμψομεν εἰς ἐπικουρία· τῷ
γέροντι·

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