Letter 446: Clematius struck us as far more admirable -- not because he picked up rhetoric in Rome, as he imagines, but because...
Clematius struck us as far more admirable -- not because he picked up rhetoric in Rome, as he imagines, but because he considered everything else secondary and made it his business to win your favorable opinion. For to speak well of those who deserve praise redounds to the credit of the one praising, just as criticizing the praiseworthy reflects badly on the critic.
I believe this will bring him both security and advancement in the future, with your hand present everywhere -- removing difficulties and providing better things.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Δατιανῷ. (355)
Πολὺ καλλίων ἡμῖν ἐφάνη Κλημάτιος οὐχὶ ῥητορικὴν
ἀπὸ τῆς 'Pώμης, ὥσπερ οἴεται, προσλαβών, ἀλλ’ ὅτι τἄλλα πάρ-
εργον ἡγησάμενος ἔργον ἔθετο τῆς σῆς διανοίας ἐπ’ ἀμείνοσι
μεμνῆσθαι. τὸ γὰρ οὓς προσῆκεν ἐπαινεῖν δι’ εὐφημίας ἔχειν
τῶν ἐπαινούντων ἀγαθόν, ὥσπερ, οἴμαι, τὸ ψέγειν τοῖς τοῦτο
ποιοῦσι κακόν.
ἡγοῦμαι δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὸ μέλλον ἀσφάλειάν
τε αὐτῷ τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ ἐπίδοσιν ἔσεσθαι τῆς σῆς αὐτῷ χειρὸς
πανταχοῦ παρούσης καὶ τά τε δυσχερῆ παυούσης καὶ τὰ βελ-
τίω παρεχούσης
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