Letter 629
Libanius→Ἀμφιλοχίῳ|libanius
To Amphilochius. (361 AD)
If I were not doing these things, I would be doing wrong; but in doing them, I should not reasonably expect praise. After all, if you neglected your sons you would have accusers, but in caring for them do not look for someone to marvel at you.
Many things make me a father to these young men — chief among them their natural talent for eloquence.
Ἀμφιλοχίῳ. (361)
Εἰ μὴ ταῦτα ἐποίουν, ἠδίκουν ἄν, ποιῶν δὲ οὐκ ἂν
εἰκότως ἐπαινοίμην· ἐπεὶ καὶ σὺ τῶν μὲν υἱέων ἀμελῶν εἶχες
ἂν κατηγόρους, ἐπιμελούμενος δὲ μὴ ζήτει τὸν θαυμασόμενον
ἐμὲ δὲ τούτοις οὐκ ὀλίγα ποιεῖ πατέρα· ὧν κεφάλαιον τὸ
πρὸς λόγους εὖ πεφυκέναι.
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To Amphilochius. (361 AD)
If I were not doing these things, I would be doing wrong; but in doing them, I should not reasonably expect praise. After all, if you neglected your sons you would have accusers, but in caring for them do not look for someone to marvel at you.
Many things make me a father to these young men — chief among them their natural talent for eloquence.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.