Letter 479: Malchus admired me, and I grew fond of Malchus.
To Andronicus. (356 AD)
Malchus admired me, and I grew fond of Malchus. Since he does the former with you, do the latter with me: consider him a good man, trust his character, assist him in his affairs, and help him in whatever way you can, both through yourself and through the whole city. For I hear that you are a man of influence there — and rightly so.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ἀνδρονίκῳ. (356)
Μάλχος ἡμᾶς ἐθαύμασε καὶ Μάλχον ἡμεῖς ἐφιλήσαμεν. ἐπεὶ
οὖν τὸ πρότερον ἐκεῖνος ποιεῖ μετὰ σοῦ, <ποίει σὺ> μεθ’ ἡμῶν
τὸ δεύτερον καὶ χρηστόν τε ἡγοῦ καὶ θάρρει τῷ τρόπῳ καὶ
συλλαμβάνου πράξεων καὶ ὅ τι ἔχεις, ὠφέλει διά τε σαυτοῦ
καὶ τῆς πόλεως ὅλης. ἀκούω γὰρ ὡς εὖ ποιῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει
δύνασαι.
Related Letters
What have you done, Andronicus?
What Boeotians have you been keeping company with, that you've lost your skill in rhetoric?
I trust that a steady flow of letters from me is enough to comfort your heart.
I had wanted to write to you before -- everything people sing about your character encouraged it.
By writing you honor me, but by neither granting what I asked nor explaining why you did not, you cause me pain.