Letter 366
Libanius→Παύλῳ|libanius
To Paulus. (358 AD)
It was only fitting, dear Paulus, that he should not abolish a rule he himself established. And this was the rule: that remembering should be accompanied by writing. When the gods grant someone a blessing, gratitude is owed not only to them but also to the priests.
You, then, being ranked among our priests, share in what is rightly theirs. For I am well aware that you spurred on one who was already eager himself, and that while he was inclined to write, you praised the inclination. I trust, therefore, that both of you will hold to what you have done — you continuing to encourage, and he continuing to write.
Παύλῳ. (358)
Καὶ γὰρ ἦν εἰκός, ὦ φίλε Παῦλε, μὴ τὸν νόμον ἀνελεῖν,
ὃν αὐτὸς ἔθηκεν ἐκεῖνος. ἦν δὲ οὗτος ὁ νόμος τῷ μεμνῆσθαι
προστιθέναι τὸ γράφειν. οἷς δ’ ἂν ἔλθῃ τι παρὰ θεῶν ἀγα-
θόν, οὐκ ἐκείνοις δεῖ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καἰ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν εἰδέναι
χάριν.
σὺ τοίνυν ἡμῖν ἐν ἱερεῦσι τεταγμένος μετέχεις ὧν
ἐκείνους εἰκός. οὐ γὰρ ἀγνοῶ τοῦθ’ ὅτι ὤτρυνας σπεύ-
δόντα καὶ αὐτόν, καἰ ὡς ὁ μὲν ὥρμητο γράφειν, σὺ δὲ
ἐπῄνεις τὴν ὁρμήν. πιστεύω τοίνυν ἀμφοτέρους ἐμμενεῖν οῑς
πεποιήκατε, σὲ μὲν προτρέψειν, ἐκεῖνον δὲ ἐπιστελεῖν.
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To Paulus. (358 AD)
It was only fitting, dear Paulus, that he should not abolish a rule he himself established. And this was the rule: that remembering should be accompanied by writing. When the gods grant someone a blessing, gratitude is owed not only to them but also to the priests.
You, then, being ranked among our priests, share in what is rightly theirs. For I am well aware that you spurred on one who was already eager himself, and that while he was inclined to write, you praised the inclination. I trust, therefore, that both of you will hold to what you have done — you continuing to encourage, and he continuing to write.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.