To Demetrius. (360?)
The young men you sent are a credit to your city and to their fathers, and they have shown themselves worthy of the recommendation they carried. One of them has such a gift for speaking that he seems born for the platform, while the other matches him in diligence and good character. Between them they possess everything a teacher could wish for.
And do not worry that I treat them less well because they came through a different channel. Just as a good farmer does not neglect a fine tree because someone else planted it, I recognize quality wherever I find it and tend it accordingly.
I look forward to sending them back to you improved -- and to hearing your verdict on the progress they have made.
The young men you sent are a credit to your city and to their fathers, and they have shown themselves worthy of the recommendation they carried. One of them has such a gift for speaking that he seems born for the platform, while the other matches him in diligence and good character. Between them they possess everything a teacher could wish for.
And do not worry that I treat them less well because they came through a different channel. Just as a good farmer does not neglect a fine tree because someone else planted it, I recognize quality wherever I find it and tend it accordingly.
I look forward to sending them back to you improved -- and to hearing your verdict on the progress they have made.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.