To Andronicus.
Word of the deeds this man Maiorinus has done for me has probably reached you already. You make it your business to know everything about my affairs, and his actions on my behalf have been the kind to create a reputation. But there is no harm in hearing it from me as well.
This young man comes from a distinguished family -- his father held the highest office. He studied rhetoric under no mediocre sophist. But when I arrived and gave a performance, he was immediately won over. He did not dishonor his former teacher, but he admired me -- approaching me, spending time with me, showing affection, offering praise, and working to increase the size of my student body. He said everything and did everything, and proved himself no worse than you and the others who have chosen my side, and better than many people here.
When some people criticized him for placing someone who was not his teacher above his actual teacher, he replied: "Do you really think it is noble to place the inferior before the superior?" He answered them with arguments like that, and accused them of committing -- as the saying goes -- a crime against his own vital organs by asking him not to eat.
The young man is genuinely good in every respect: slow to anger, steadfast in friendship, and willing to make his fortune seem smaller than it is in order to help his associates. He gives away not just a leaf from the olive tree, as they say, but enough to make a man rich -- all to relieve his friends' difficulties. He is thoughtful where thought is needed and does not run from pleasures that delight the mind. Anyone who spends even a little time with him is captivated by the gentleness and charm of his character.
Through you, let him meet the best people among you, and through you, let him make them his friends. As for the fact that he travels in the company of men who are not friends of mine -- do not be suspicious. It is a matter of necessity: he shares their carriage, not their views. Test him and talk to him, and you will say I was not deceived.
Word of the deeds this man Maiorinus has done for me has probably reached you already. You make it your business to know everything about my affairs, and his actions on my behalf have been the kind to create a reputation. But there is no harm in hearing it from me as well.
This young man comes from a distinguished family -- his father held the highest office. He studied rhetoric under no mediocre sophist. But when I arrived and gave a performance, he was immediately won over. He did not dishonor his former teacher, but he admired me -- approaching me, spending time with me, showing affection, offering praise, and working to increase the size of my student body. He said everything and did everything, and proved himself no worse than you and the others who have chosen my side, and better than many people here.
When some people criticized him for placing someone who was not his teacher above his actual teacher, he replied: "Do you really think it is noble to place the inferior before the superior?" He answered them with arguments like that, and accused them of committing -- as the saying goes -- a crime against his own vital organs by asking him not to eat.
The young man is genuinely good in every respect: slow to anger, steadfast in friendship, and willing to make his fortune seem smaller than it is in order to help his associates. He gives away not just a leaf from the olive tree, as they say, but enough to make a man rich -- all to relieve his friends' difficulties. He is thoughtful where thought is needed and does not run from pleasures that delight the mind. Anyone who spends even a little time with him is captivated by the gentleness and charm of his character.
Through you, let him meet the best people among you, and through you, let him make them his friends. As for the fact that he travels in the company of men who are not friends of mine -- do not be suspicious. It is a matter of necessity: he shares their carriage, not their views. Test him and talk to him, and you will say I was not deceived.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.