To Alkimos. (355 AD)
We have raised up a governor for you, and our pride rests not merely on the fact that he is our fellow citizen, but on his understanding of what governing actually means. He knows that a man who has held that office must leave it not richer, but more honored — and must act in ways that make his subjects pray for his tenure to continue.
The Egyptians offered that prayer many times. Now the benefit has passed to you. This man, who loves me deeply, asked which of your people I was fondest of, so that he might befriend him. When I heard the word "fondest," I was drawn to you at once and spoke the name Alkimos.
"Write to him, then," he said, "and I will deliver it — for the letter will delight the bearer no less than the recipient." And so I write, joining in one letter the learned teacher Alkimos and the just governor Apellion.
We have raised up a governor for you, and our pride rests not merely on the fact that he is our fellow citizen, but on his understanding of what governing actually means. He knows that a man who has held that office must leave it not richer, but more honored — and must act in ways that make his subjects pray for his tenure to continue.
The Egyptians offered that prayer many times. Now the benefit has passed to you. This man, who loves me deeply, asked which of your people I was fondest of, so that he might befriend him. When I heard the word "fondest," I was drawn to you at once and spoke the name Alkimos.
"Write to him, then," he said, "and I will deliver it — for the letter will delight the bearer no less than the recipient." And so I write, joining in one letter the learned teacher Alkimos and the just governor Apellion.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.