Letter 40: I am glad that you are well, and glad that your Titianus has more appetite for hard work than most people have for...
Libanius→Acacius|c. 318 AD|Libanius|AI-assisted
education books
To Acacius. (358/359)
I am glad that you are well, and glad that your Titianus has more appetite for hard work than most people have for idleness. Whether he has a better sophist now than you had before, I cannot say. But when you declare that he must surpass his father's eloquence, you are practically asking that your son sprout wings.
And yet he would sooner get wings like Perseus than surpass his father in rhetoric -- for not even Perseus surpassed Zeus. And this is no fault of the young man, any more than you would indict Hyllus because, being the son of Heracles, he did not eclipse his father.
I can even predict what he will say to you: "Father, I have come back a fine speaker, but not your equal. If my tongue has been bested by those with thick beards and professorial chairs, take your revenge on me for the defeat. But if this is the common lot of all who practice rhetoric today, do not blame me alone among so many who have been outmatched."
If he says this, "what shall we say in reply?" -- as Demosthenes, your model, puts it. You think about your answer. As for Marcellus, I was immediately persuaded he was an excellent man -- for you praised him -- and over time, as he proved himself, I found him no worse than the praise.
**To Acacius (358/359)**
I rejoice both that you are in good health and that Titianus is more in love with hard work than others are with idleness. Whether he has had the benefit of a better sophist than you had before, I do not know. But in saying that he must surpass his father's eloquence, you will soon be demanding that your son sprout wings.
And yet he would sooner get wings like Perseus than surpass his father in oratory — for not even Perseus surpassed Zeus. And this is no fault of the young man, unless you mean to indict Hyllus too, because, being the son of Heracles, he failed to eclipse his father.
I can even predict what he will say to you: "I have returned a fine speaker, but not your equal, Father. If men with full beards and professorial chairs have been defeated by your tongue, then exact from me the penalty for my defeat. But if this is the common lot of all who practice rhetoric today, do not blame me alone among so many who have been bested."
If he says this, "what shall we say, or how shall we answer?" — as Demosthenes, whom you imitate, puts it. What reply you will make, you must consider for yourself. As for Marcellus, I was persuaded at once that he was an excellent man — for you praised him — and in time, as he proved himself, I found him no less than the praises suggested. For the saying about "drinking the shadow" applies to the young man: there is never a moment when Marcellus is not at his side.
And yet it seems to me that even without Marcellus present, Titianus would be the same as he is with him there. For I cannot distinguish between the man compelled by a tutor and the man driven by his own desire. A good pedagogue would have roused even the laziest student, and a love of eloquence would have served the boy in place of any pedagogue.
Let Marcellus, then, know the esteem in which he is held. For even if he will need no urging in his devotion, he will certainly receive praises for it — and that is sweeter than honey.
As for me, I hunted down a letter of yours at Hermogenes' house in this fashion: I went in and stood near him on his right. He was reading a letter and was already near its end. Who had sent it I could not see, for the name was hidden in his other hand. But fixing my eyes on the character of the handwriting, I guessed that it had come from you.
He then decided to enjoy the letter a second time, and so the name was revealed. He made me a partner in the reading, and wonder was mingled with it throughout. When we had finished, Hermogenes launched into a long speech — or rather a short one, for when the subject is your virtues, even a lengthy discourse is too brief. He spoke of the beginning and growth of your friendship, and all the other things your character gives one cause to mention — how he had been distressed at your illness and had visited you as best he could.
This he related, and I listened, and we delighted one another — he delighting me with his account, and I delighting him by receiving it with pleasure.
I am glad that you are well, and glad that your Titianus has more appetite for hard work than most people have for idleness. Whether he has a better sophist now than you had before, I cannot say. But when you declare that he must surpass his father's eloquence, you are practically asking that your son sprout wings.
And yet he would sooner get wings like Perseus than surpass his father in rhetoric -- for not even Perseus surpassed Zeus. And this is no fault of the young man, any more than you would indict Hyllus because, being the son of Heracles, he did not eclipse his father.
I can even predict what he will say to you: "Father, I have come back a fine speaker, but not your equal. If my tongue has been bested by those with thick beards and professorial chairs, take your revenge on me for the defeat. But if this is the common lot of all who practice rhetoric today, do not blame me alone among so many who have been outmatched."
If he says this, "what shall we say in reply?" -- as Demosthenes, your model, puts it. You think about your answer. As for Marcellus, I was immediately persuaded he was an excellent man -- for you praised him -- and over time, as he proved himself, I found him no worse than the praise.
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.