Letter 535
Libanius→Arsenius|libanius
To Arsenius.
It would have been fine if you had been here in person to follow the custom, and it is also not bad that even in your absence you have not abandoned it.
I was pleased both that the gold came with a letter and that you are doing the opposite of what most young men do. They run from their supervisors; you are inviting one to oversee you, showing that even now you spend your time working, with your father standing in for me. May you become like him -- though surpassing him is beyond anyone's reach.
Ἀρσενίῳ. (356/57)
Κἀκεῖνο ἂν εἶχε καλῶς, εἰ παρὼν ἐχρῶ τῷ νόμῳ, καὶ τὸ
νῦν οὐ κακῶς, τὸ μηδὲ ἀπόντα τὸν νόμον ἐκλιπεῖν.
ἥσθην
δὲ τῷ τε μετ’ ἐπιστολῆς ἴν τὸ χρυσίον καὶ ὅτι τἀναντία
τοῖς πολλοῖς τῶν νέων ποιεῖς. οἱ μὲν γὰρ φεύγουσι τοὺς
ἐφεστηκότας, σὺ δὲ καλεῖς τὸν ἐπιστησόμενον δηλῶν ὡς καἰ
νῦν ἐν τῷ πονεῖν διάγεις ἀντ’ ἐμοῦ τὸν πατέρα τιθέμενος· ᾧ
γένοιο παραπλήσιος· ὡς τό γε νικῆσαι τῶν ἀμηχάνων.
◆
To Arsenius.
It would have been fine if you had been here in person to follow the custom, and it is also not bad that even in your absence you have not abandoned it.
I was pleased both that the gold came with a letter and that you are doing the opposite of what most young men do. They run from their supervisors; you are inviting one to oversee you, showing that even now you spend your time working, with your father standing in for me. May you become like him -- though surpassing him is beyond anyone's reach.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.