Letter 542
Libanius→Heortius|libanius
To Heortius.
If I write something complimentary about Themistius [one of Libanius's students], you will show the letter to everyone, and quite a few people will tell you that you are being deceived -- that it is just what teachers do, praising their students even when they are mediocre.
So rather than write what I know about the young man, I will simply ask you to come and see his eloquence for yourself.
Ἑορτίῳ. (356/57)
Ἂν γράψω τι χρηστὸν περὶ τοῦ Θεμιστίου, σὺ μὲν πολ-
λοῖς τὰ γράμματα δείξεις, ἐκείνῳ δὲ οὐκ ὀλίγοι φήσουσι σὲ
ἐξαπατᾶσθαι· ταυτὶ γὰρ εἶναι τῶν διδασκάλων ἐπαινεῖν τοὺς
ὁμιλητάς, κἂν ὦσι φαῦλοι.
ἐγὼ οὖν ἃ σύνοιδα τῷ νεανί-
σκῳ γράφειν ἀφεὶς αὐτόν σε ἥκειν ἀξιῶ τοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ λόγους
ὀψόμενον.
◆
To Heortius.
If I write something complimentary about Themistius [one of Libanius's students], you will show the letter to everyone, and quite a few people will tell you that you are being deceived -- that it is just what teachers do, praising their students even when they are mediocre.
So rather than write what I know about the young man, I will simply ask you to come and see his eloquence for yourself.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.