Letter 440: There is no need to tell you about the ambassadors -- you know them both.
There is no need to tell you about the ambassadors -- you know them both. One you met when he was passing through your territory; the other, when he traveled as far as your city.
But I would add this: you have no small claim on them. Each has a son studying with me, and each son gives cause for high hopes.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ἀρισταινέτῳ. (355)
Οὐδέν σε διδάσκειν δεῖ περὶ τῶν πρέσβεων· ἄμφω γὰρ
οἶσθα, τὸν μέν, ἡνίκα διὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἤλαυνε, τὸν δέ, ὅτε
ἄχρι τῆς ὑμετέρας ἦλθεν.
ἀλλ᾿ ὅμως ἐκεῖνο προσθείην ἄν·
οὐ μικρόν σοι δίκαιον πρὸς αὐτούς· παῖς ἐστιν ἑκατέρῳ παρ᾿
ἡμῖν ἑκάτερος εὐφραίνων ἐλπίσιν.
Related Letters
Rufinus enjoyed something pleasant while he was with us -- he heard me speak.
Themistius drove our city mad with love for wisdom.
Leontius never delivered the letter.
So Aristainetus has become just one of the crowd -- the man who used to be one of the wise!
Your praises of the good Spectatus are entirely fitting, and by those praises you are honoring our whole family.