Letter 565
Libanius→Maximus of Madaura|libanius
To Maximus.
It suits you to be a friend of Himerius [a famous Athenian sophist], and your sons, by doing well, are imitating the best of your qualities. Your son respects this young man, and the young man praises your son in return, rejoicing to see him enjoying a good reputation and my protection. He makes only one complaint: that though the young man offers generously, your son insists on accepting only a little.
So praise the one for his generosity and the other for his modesty.
Μαξίμῳ (357)
Σοί τε ἔπρεπεν Ἱμερίῳ φίλον εἶναι καὶ οἱ παῖδες ὑμῶν
εὖ ποιοῦντες τὰ ὑμέτερα μιμοῦνται. αἰδεῖται μὲν τοῦτον ὁ
σὸς υἱός, οὗτος δὲ ἐκεῖνον ἐπαινεῖ καὶ συγχαίρει δόξαν τε
ἀγαθὴν ὁρῶν ἔχοντα καὶ παρ’ ἡμῶν πρόνοιαν, ἓν δὲ αἰτιᾶται
μόνον, ὅτι πολλὰ τοῦδε διδόντος μικρὰ λαμβάνειν ἐθέλει.
σὺ τοίνυν ἐπαίνει τοῦ μὲν τὴν φιλοτιμίαν, τοῦ δὲ τὸ αἰ-
δεῖσθαι.
◆
To Maximus.
It suits you to be a friend of Himerius [a famous Athenian sophist], and your sons, by doing well, are imitating the best of your qualities. Your son respects this young man, and the young man praises your son in return, rejoicing to see him enjoying a good reputation and my protection. He makes only one complaint: that though the young man offers generously, your son insists on accepting only a little.
So praise the one for his generosity and the other for his modesty.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.