To Arabius. (356 AD)
My previous letter was carried by the sons of Bassus, whose father is a man of distinction. This Malchus here has no such advantage, but he possesses in abundance the truly good qualities — self-control, fairness, a passion for learning, and the practice of eloquence. He would never presume to ask a favor by making a nuisance of himself, yet if he receives a kindness, he would sooner forget his own name than the debt of gratitude.
He is so excellent a man that when, as he was asking for letters of introduction to my acquaintances there, I told him I would also give him one to you, he lowered his eyes to the ground and blushed, making clear by his silence that while he longed to receive such a letter, he considered it above his station. And it was precisely this that made me think he deserved it all the more — because he understood the value of the gift.
Such, then, is the character of our Malchus. That he is also fortunate, the present occasion shows: he will see your beautiful city made still more beautiful by the divine head that governs it [i.e., your governorship], which introduces every good thing and drives out every ill.
My previous letter was carried by the sons of Bassus, whose father is a man of distinction. This Malchus here has no such advantage, but he possesses in abundance the truly good qualities — self-control, fairness, a passion for learning, and the practice of eloquence. He would never presume to ask a favor by making a nuisance of himself, yet if he receives a kindness, he would sooner forget his own name than the debt of gratitude.
He is so excellent a man that when, as he was asking for letters of introduction to my acquaintances there, I told him I would also give him one to you, he lowered his eyes to the ground and blushed, making clear by his silence that while he longed to receive such a letter, he considered it above his station. And it was precisely this that made me think he deserved it all the more — because he understood the value of the gift.
Such, then, is the character of our Malchus. That he is also fortunate, the present occasion shows: he will see your beautiful city made still more beautiful by the divine head that governs it [i.e., your governorship], which introduces every good thing and drives out every ill.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.