To Andronicus. (360?)
If you have ever wondered what kind of man Callimachus is, you will find out from this visit. He is one of those rare people who are better than their reputation -- and his reputation is already excellent. I know this will seem like the kind of exaggeration friends are prone to, but spend an hour with him and you will see I am understating the case.
He has a matter requiring your judgment. I will not tell you which way to decide -- you know the law better than I do, and your sense of justice needs no instruction from a rhetorician. I simply ask that you give his case the careful hearing it deserves, and that you see him promptly rather than letting him languish while bureaucrats find excuses for delay.
What I can promise you is this: any kindness you show him will be repaid with a friendship worth more than any fee. He is that kind of man -- the kind who remembers what he owes and looks for opportunities to return it many times over.
If you have ever wondered what kind of man Callimachus is, you will find out from this visit. He is one of those rare people who are better than their reputation -- and his reputation is already excellent. I know this will seem like the kind of exaggeration friends are prone to, but spend an hour with him and you will see I am understating the case.
He has a matter requiring your judgment. I will not tell you which way to decide -- you know the law better than I do, and your sense of justice needs no instruction from a rhetorician. I simply ask that you give his case the careful hearing it deserves, and that you see him promptly rather than letting him languish while bureaucrats find excuses for delay.
What I can promise you is this: any kindness you show him will be repaid with a friendship worth more than any fee. He is that kind of man -- the kind who remembers what he owes and looks for opportunities to return it many times over.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.