Letter 303
Libanius→Clearchus; then Elebocius|libanius
To Clearchus. (361?)
Since you love eloquence and honor those who practice it, I send you this young man with confidence. He has trained under me and carries away something worth having. See for yourself -- let him speak, and you will need no further testimony from me.
What he needs from you is practical help, not literary judgment. But knowing that you are the kind of man who values education, I thought it worth mentioning his accomplishments. A governor who respects learning will naturally wish to protect those who have earned it.
Σιδηρίῳ. (361?)
Οὔθ᾿ Μανὸν ἐγὼ δυναίμην ἂν περιιδεῖν λυπούμε-
νον οὔθ’ Ἡλιόδωρον ἐκεῖνος ἀπολλύμενον. ἐμέ τε γὰρ ἀνάγκη
βοηθεῖν τῷ κοινωνῷ τῶν πόνων ἐκεῖνόν τε τῷ τροφεῖ. τρο-
φέων δὲ ὅστις ἀμελεῖ, κἂν περὶ γονέας γένοιτο κακός.
δύο
τοίνυν αἰτοῦμεν, λῦσαί τε τὴν ζημίαν ἣν ἐπιβέβληκας ὡς
ἀπειθοῦντι, πεποίηκε γὰρ ὕβρει μὲν οὐδέν, πενίᾳ δὲ ἴσως,
καὶ τὴν φορὰν αὐτῷ μὴ πλείω ποιῆσαι τῆς ἀρχαίας, ὑφ’ ἧς
καὶ αὐτῆς πεπίεσται. ὁ δὲ μόλις ἃ νῦν φέρει φέρων ὑπὸ
μικρᾶς ἂν βαπτισθείη προσθήκης.
◆
To Clearchus. (361?)
Since you love eloquence and honor those who practice it, I send you this young man with confidence. He has trained under me and carries away something worth having. See for yourself -- let him speak, and you will need no further testimony from me.
What he needs from you is practical help, not literary judgment. But knowing that you are the kind of man who values education, I thought it worth mentioning his accomplishments. A governor who respects learning will naturally wish to protect those who have earned it.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.