Letter 448
Libanius→Heraclianus|libanius
To Heraclianus. (355)
I have seen the arrows in your speeches, and I would not say "keep shooting like that." Rather: stop shooting. You know the saying about what kind of words you are using.
And if anyone speaks ill of me, do not let that make war for you -- it does not even pain me.
Ἡρακλειανῷ. (355)
Εἶδον ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου τὰ βέλη καὶ οὐκ ἂν φαίην·
βάλλ᾿ οὕτως, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον· πέπαυσο βάλλων. οἶσθα γὰρ
ὁπποῖόν εἴπῃσθα.
ἐμὲ δὲ εἴ τις λέγοι κακῶς, μὴ
τοῦτό σοι ποιείτω πόλεμον, ὃ μηδὲ ἡμᾶς ἀλγύνει.
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To Heraclianus. (355)
I have seen the arrows in your speeches, and I would not say "keep shooting like that." Rather: stop shooting. You know the saying about what kind of words you are using.
And if anyone speaks ill of me, do not let that make war for you -- it does not even pain me.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.