Letter 301: I have long admired how you handle the affairs entrusted to you, and this admiration only grows with each report I...

LibaniusAndronicus, a general|c. 342 AD|Libanius|AI-assisted
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To Pappus. (361?)

When I asked for one, you sent two. What is the meaning of this? Were you deceived by the boy into thinking I needed two, or did you want to teach your son to give more than what is asked?

AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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

Πάππω. (361?)

Ἓν αἰτοῦντι δύο πέπομφας. τί τοῦτο; πότερον ὑπὸ τοῦ
παιδὸς ἐξηπατήθης, ὅτι δεοίμην δυοῖν, ἢ διδάξαι τὸν υἱὸν
ἐθέλων ὧν αἰτηθείη διδόναι πλείω δύο ἔπεμψας ἀνθ’ ἑνός;
ἀλλ’ εἴτε ἐκεῖνος ἠπάτησε, φιλολόγου τὸ πάθος, εἴτε σὸν ἡ
προσθήκη, πατρὸς ἡ νουθεσία.

τὸν δὲ ἄργυρον ὃν τοῖς
ἄκροις περιήλασας ἐμεμψάμην. οὔτε γὰρ ἐπ’ ἀγορᾶς χρησαί-
μην ἂν τοῖς ὧδε κεκαλλωπισμένοις ἀποκοσμῆσαί τε τὰ παρὰ
σοῦ δῶρα δίκαιον οὐκ ἐδόκει. μένει τοίνυν εἴσω θυρῶν.

παρακλήσεις δὲ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὑπὲρ Εὐσεβίου ποιούμενος καὶ
παρ’ ἡμῶν ἴσως αὐτὸς ἀξιώσεις ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ δέχεσθαι. εἰ δ
ἐκεῖνο λόγον οὐ ἂν ἔχοι, μηδὲ τοῦτο νόμιζε.

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